Drug dispenser

Abstract

A medicament feeder that can efficiently deliver medicaments even when the rotation of the inner inclined rotating body is reduced. The medicament feeder (100) includes an outer rotating body (200) that rotates around the longitudinal center line; an inner inclined rotating body (300) that rotates around the inclined center line; and a separating mechanism (600) and a restricting mechanism (700) that queue up solid medicaments transported from above the inner inclined rotating body (300) to the annular upper end surface (230) of the outer rotating body (200) by their rotation. On the upper inclined portion (330) of the inner inclined rotating body (300), transfer portions (340) that descend more outward even in the ascending position and upward pushing portions (350) that do not descend outward in this way are alternately formed in the circumferential direction. A convex portion (360) is formed on the upward pushing portion (350). The convex portion (360) is extended to the inner circumferential side of the transfer portion (340), and a promoting component (321) is formed on the upper surface portion (320).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a medicine feeder that automatically supplies medicines in the form of granular solids such as tablets and vials in order to automate drug dispensing performed in hospitals, pharmacies, etc. Specifically, the present invention relates to a medicine feeder that sequentially discharges and sequentially expels these medicines one by one by randomly accommodating a large number of medicines having the same shape and arranging these medicines in a line by a rotating body. Background Art

[0002] For example, a conventional medicine feeder shown in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-108277: U.S. Patent No. 10,828,238; WO2018 / 128133) includes an outer rotating body, an inner inclined rotating body, a restricting mechanism, and a differentiating mechanism. The outer rotating body has an internal space having an opening portion opening upward and an annular upper end surface surrounding the opening portion, and can rotate about an imaginary longitudinal line extending in the vertical direction in the internal space. In addition, the inner inclined rotating body is disposed in the internal space of the outer rotating body, and can rotate about an imaginary inclined line inclined with respect to the longitudinal line with a plurality of solid medicines placed on the upper surface portion, and moves the plurality of medicines onto the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body during rotation. Moreover, the restricting mechanism is a structure that arranges a plurality of medicines that have moved onto the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body in a line along the rotation direction of the annular upper end surface when the outer rotating body rotates.

[0003] Refer to Figures 9 to 13 and specifically describe the conventional structure in the structure of the conventional medicine feeder that helps to understand the invention of the present application. Figure 9 (A) and (B) are a top view and a longitudinal sectional view of the main part of the conventional medicine feeder 10. In addition, Figure 10 (A) is a top view when the link mechanism 73 disposed at the uppermost part of the medicine feeder and the upper layer portion of the top plate 11A of the housing 11 shown in Figure 9 are removed, Figure 10 (B) is a top view when the top plate 11A and the mounted objects 60, 71, 72 thereon shown in Figure 9 (B) are also removed. Furthermore, Figure 11 (A) is a front view, a right side view, and a right side view of the differentiating mechanism 60. Figure 11 (B) is an exploded cross-sectional view of the main part of the conventional medicine feeder. The top plate 11A, etc., the outer rotating body 20, and the inner inclined rotating body 30 are shown in a longitudinal section, and the rotation drive mechanism 50 and the rotation transmission members 42, 43 are shown in an external view. In addition, it should be noted that, for easy understanding, the labels in Figures 9 to 13The symbols and component names thereon have changed symbols and component names compared to those marked in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-108277; U.S. Patent No. 10,828,238; WO2018 / 128133). In addition, the following description omits the description of the structure described in detail in Patent Document 1 and only describes the parts related to the present invention.

[0004] As Figure 9 (B) shows, this medicine dispenser 10 is located at the uppermost part, and includes a top plate 11A having a circular through-hole 11B with a hollowed-out central part and a housing 11 having the top plate 11A. An outer rotating body 20 with its upper end rotatably fitted into the through-hole 11B is housed inside the housing 11. The main body 21 of the outer rotating body 20 has an internal space 22 having an opening 22A opening upward and an annular upper end surface 23 surrounding the opening 22A. Moreover, the outer rotating body 20 is rotatably supported in the housing 11 around an imaginary vertical line CL1 extending in the vertical direction in the internal space 22.

[0005] The inner inclined rotating body 30 is arranged in the internal space 22 of the outer rotating body 20 and can rotate around an imaginary inclined line CL2 inclined with respect to the vertical line CL1 in a state where a plurality of solid medicines are placed on the upper part, and moves the plurality of medicines above the annular upper end surface 23 of the outer rotating body 20 when rotating. This medicine dispenser includes a support mechanism 40 that rotatably supports both the inner inclined rotating body 30 and the outer rotating body 20 outside it, a rotation drive mechanism 50 that undertakes the rotation drive of them, a separating mechanism 60 provided on the upper side of the top plate 11A of the housing 11, and a restricting mechanism 70.

[0006] Moreover, the outer rotating body 20 is held by the support mechanism 40 in a state where it can rotate around the vertical line CL1, and the inner inclined rotating body 30 is held by the support mechanism 40 in a state where it can rotate around an inclined line CL2 inclined from the vertical. The internal space 22 of the outer rotating body 20 is partitioned by the inner inclined rotating body 30 with a gap, constituting a rotating container (20, 30) of a double-rotation type medicine dispenser. In this medicine dispenser, the medicine is transported from above the inclined portion 33 of the inner inclined rotating body 30 to above the annular upper end surface 23 of the outer rotating body 20 through the lifting of the medicine generated by the rotation of the inner inclined rotating body 30 and the separation of the medicine by the separating mechanism 60. In addition, in this medicine dispenser, through the horizontal transportation of the medicine by the rotation of the outer rotating body 20 and the queuing function of the restricting mechanism 70, the medicine above the annular upper end surface 23 is queued and transported to the falling discharge port 14.

[0007] Furthermore, the upper surface of the annular inclined portion 33 located at the periphery of the inner inclined rotating body 30 is processed into a gentle serrated waveform that helps to pick up the medicament over the entire circumference (refer to Figure 9 (A), Figure 10 ). The inner inclined rotating body 30 is in a so-called outwardly descending state where it descends more as it moves further outward, that is, further away from the center (refer to Figure 9 (B), Figure 11 (B)). Moreover, this outward descent maintains the outward descent inclination regardless of which part of the inclined portion 33, especially at the uppermost position where the outward descent becomes the gentlest and reaches a position above the annular upper end surface 23 of the outer rotating body 20, in the state where the inner inclined rotating body 30 is inclined and disposed in the outer rotating body 20. Therefore, it helps to smoothly feed the picked-up medicament to the annular upper end surface 23 of the outer rotating body 20 by rolling generated by the inclined portion 33.

[0008] The support mechanism 40 (refer to Figure 9 (B), Figure 11 (B)) is composed of a plurality of components 41 - 43 distributed in various places, including, for example, several passive components 41 mainly composed of radial bearings, etc., and rotating transmission components 42, 43 composed of, for example, ring-shaped bodies such as hard rubber O-rings. The rotation drive mechanism 50 (refer to Figure 9 (B), Figure 11 (B)) has a structure including a rotation drive component 51 disposed below the rotating container (20 + 30) and a rotation drive motor 54 that rotates this rotation drive component 51 around an axis. The rotating transmission components 42, 43 of the support mechanism 40 are also part of the rotation drive mechanism 50.

[0009] The rotation drive mechanism 50 is structured such that by rotating the rotation drive component 51 with the rotation drive motor 54, the outer rotating body 20 rotates at a relatively high speed, and the inner inclined rotating body 30 rotates at a relatively low speed.

[0010] The distinguishing mechanism 60 (refer to Figures 9 to 11 ) is mainly composed of an elongated bar extending from the base end portion 61 of the swing fulcrum to the front end portion 62 of the swing end. The base end portion 61 is supported above the top plate 11A and the outer rotating body 20 by the support portion 63, and the front end portion 62 can swing up and down around this point. Most of the medicament that is transported without slipping from the inclined portion 33 of the inner inclined rotating body 30 to the annular upper end surface 23 of the outer rotating body 20 returns to the concave portion 32 of the inner inclined rotating body 30 by abutting against the front end portion 62 of the distinguishing mechanism 60.

[0011] The restricting mechanism 70 (refer to Figure 9 、 Figure 10(A)) It is provided with a first restricting member 71 disposed in front of the outer rotating body 20 in the rotational direction compared to the differentiating mechanism 60 with respect to the rotational direction of the annular upper end surface 23 of the outer rotating body 20; a second restricting member 72 disposed further in front compared thereto; a link mechanism 73 connecting the first restricting member 71 and the second restricting member 72; and a sample placement area 74 capable of accommodating the sample medicine.

[0012] Since both the first restricting member 71 and the second restricting member 72 have the swing center portion on the side of the top plate 11A and the swing end portion above the annular upper end surface 23 of the outer rotating body 20, the restricting mechanism 70 has a structure that narrows the width of the medicine delivery path above the annular upper end surface 23 from the outer peripheral side.

[0013] Further ahead compared to the restricting mechanism 70, a drop outlet 14 penetrating the top plate 11A vertically is formed. In order to send the medicine above the annular upper end surface 23 of the outer rotating body 20 into here by the rotation of the outer rotating body 20, a discharge guide 13 is also provided on the top plate 11A. The medicine transported on the annular upper end surface 23 of the outer rotating body 20 abuts obliquely against the side wall of the discharge guide 13 and advances obliquely along the side wall from here to reach the drop outlet 14.

[0014] Furthermore, at the front end portion of this discharge guide 13, a transport surface guide 12 extending downward and also forward from here to become the foremost end is formed. Although not shown in the drawings, a controller for controlling the operation of the rotation drive motor 54 and a power source for supplying operation power to them are also provided inside the housing 11 or outside the housing 11. In addition, an optical sensor or the like for detecting the drop of the medicine in the drop outlet 14 is also attached, and its detection signal is transmitted to the controller and the tablet counter.

[0015] The rotation control of the controller starts from low-speed rotation. If, after detecting the discharge of the first medicine, the discharge of a preset specified number of medicines is further detected, it changes to high-speed rotation. In addition, the remaining quantity is also calculated from the preset total discharge quantity and the number of discharges completed, and if the remaining quantity still reaches the specified specified quantity, the rotation speed is reduced, or after the medicine discharge is completed, reverse rotation is performed to prevent unwanted excessive dropping.

[0016] Regarding this medicine supply device 10, its operation and the like will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, there are cases where the medicine 5 is referred to as the sample medicine 5a, the randomly accommodated medicine 5b, and the queuing completed medicine 5c according to their respective placement conditions. In order to sequentially send out a large number of medicines 5 using the medicine supply device 10 (refer to Figure 12), before that, the medicine delivery path width restriction operation and the random delivery of medicines are completed in advance. The medicine delivery path width restriction operation is completed by a simple operation in which the operator selects a suitable one from a large number of medicines 5 as the sample medicine 5a, stores it in the sample placement place 74, and adjusts the position of the link mechanism 73 so that one end of the link mechanism 73 abuts against it.

[0017] When this operation is performed, the first limiting component 71 and the second limiting component 72 both move in conjunction with the link mechanism 73, and the width of the drug transport path on the annular upper end surface 23 of the outer rotating body 20 is narrowed at two locations by the free ends of the first limiting component 71 and the second limiting component 72 to a position corresponding to the diameter of the sample drug 5a.

[0018] When the medicine feeder 10 is operated in a simple continuous delivery mode, for example, the rotation drive member 51 rotates around the axis. This rotational motion is transmitted to the outer rotating body 20 by friction transmission via the first transmission member 42, and is also transmitted to the inner inclined rotating body 30 by friction transmission via the second transmission member 43, and the first transmission member 42 and the second transmission member 43 rotate in the same direction. The first transmission member 42 rotates at a higher speed than the second transmission member 43.

[0019] When the inner inclined rotating body 30 rotates around the axis, the medicine 5 on the inclined portion 33 of the inner inclined rotating body 30 among the randomly contained medicines 5b accumulated on the inner bottom of the rotating container (20+30) is scooped up from a low position to a high position by the circular motion of the sawtooth-shaped inclined portion 33. Figure 12 As shown in FIG. 2B , most of the medicines 5 conveyed to a position where the inclined portion 33 is higher than the annular upper end surface 23 of the outer rotor 20 slide and roll due to the inclination of the inclined portion 33 and are transferred onto the annular upper end surface 23 .

[0020] Since the outer rotating body 20 rotates at a higher speed than the inner inclined rotating body 30, the medicine 5 on the annular upper end surface 23 has a certain degree of deviation corresponding to the difference in rotation speed when it is transferred from the inclined portion 33. In the case of small medicines 5, if there are medicines in a vertical row, there may also be medicines arranged horizontally or obliquely horizontally. If the medicines 5 are transported to the first limiting component 71 by the rotation of the outer rotating body 20, a row of medicines 5 will pass unchanged, but as for the medicines 5 arranged horizontally, the inner medicines 5 will be pushed out from the annular upper end surface 23 due to the interference with the first limiting component 71, and fall onto the inner inclined rotating body 30, returning to the randomly collected medicines 5b. The medicines 5 that have passed the first limiting component 71 are then transported to the second limiting component 72 by the rotation of the outer rotating body 20, and the same medicine queue is forced again.

[0021] In this way, the queuing completion agent 5c that clears the double restrictions and queues up in a line (refer to Figure 13 ), if it is transported successively to the discharge guide 13 by the circular motion of the annular upper end face 23 accompanying the rotation of the outer rotating body 20, it abuts against the outer side surface of the discharge guide 13 that obliquely intersects the agent transport path above the annular upper end face 23. Moreover, most of the queuing completion agent 5c immediately advances along the abutting side surface of the discharge guide 13, forms a line, and is sent into the dropping discharge port 14. Since the agent 5 sent into the dropping discharge port 14 is accelerated by gravity and the dropping speed is increased, the separation distance between the front and rear agents 5 is enlarged. Therefore, by detecting the dropping agent 5 with a photoelectric sensor or the like provided at a sufficient distance from the separation distance, the agent 5 can be accurately counted. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0022] PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0023] In a conventional agent supply device, by queuing agents with a restricting mechanism, it is not necessary to provide a fixed rectifying guide in the rotating body. In addition, in a conventional agent supply device, the common use range for agents of various shapes and sizes is expanded. If the common use range is expanded, not only the differences in shape and size, but also the demand for common use of agents with different materials is increased.

[0024] As a countermeasure to meet the above demands, first, reducing the rotation speed of the inner inclined rotating body can be cited. However, if the rotation speed of the inner inclined rotating body is reduced, the lifting speed of the agent generated by the rotation of the inner inclined rotating body is reduced, and the number of agents transferred from the inner inclined rotating body to the outer rotating body per hour is reduced. In particular, if the agent at the inner bottom of the rotating container becomes less, since the distance and time for the inner inclined rotating body to lift the agent in the monomer state separated from the block are longer, if the rotation of the inner inclined rotating body has no momentum, there is a bad situation that the agent reaching the outer rotating body due to inertia and inertia is further reduced.

[0025] In addition, as part of the expansion of the scope of sharing, the demand for sharing is increasing for medicines in shapes that are easy to roll, such as spheres and spindles, as well as tablets that are relatively stable in shape (hereinafter referred to as easy-to-roll medicines). However, when the easy-to-roll medicine is transferred from the inner inclined rotating body to the outer rotating body or when the outer rotating body rotates, it rolls on the outer rotating body, and the position and posture are often unstable. In order to share it, as part of strengthening the medicine queuing function of the medicine feeder, it is also necessary to add and strengthen the medicine rolling inhibition function. In order to carry out such functional enhancement, it is conceivable to enhance the already mentioned distinguishing mechanism 60 and limiting mechanism 70 that bear the medicine queuing function. However, a large number of structures have been installed in their equipment parts, and it is a heavy burden to add a new structure just for the rolling inhibition function.

[0026] Furthermore, in the conventional medicine feeder, in order to make the solid medicine line up in a row on the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body in a stable posture, two first and second limiting components 71 and 72 for limiting the lateral width of the medicine that can pass through the medicine delivery path are provided in a front-to-back manner, and a distinguishing mechanism 60 for limiting the height of the medicine is placed before the limiting mechanism 70. As described above, in order to avoid damage to the medicine, the front end of the distinguishing mechanism 60 swings and evades upward when the reaction force from the medicine is strong, so it cannot be said that the height restriction is always reliably performed. Nevertheless, since the height restriction performed by the distinguishing mechanism 60 is a pre-processing restriction to reduce the burden of the width restriction performed by the limiting mechanism 70, there is no fatal adverse condition in actual application. In contrast, if the common use range is expanded as described above, the common use demand increases for medicines of different shapes, sizes, and materials, such as hard medicines, but also medicines with brittle surfaces, spherical and spindle-shaped medicines that are easy to roll, etc. In order to handle fragile medicines and medicines that are easy to roll in response to this demand, it is necessary to mitigate the collision between the medicines and the separation components in the separation mechanism, and for this purpose, the separation components are required to be made softer and more diverse. However, since such a response often weakens the height restriction function of the separation components in the separation mechanism, it is required to maintain the height restriction function.

[0027] In order to maintain and strengthen the height limiting function, it is possible to consider arranging the height limiting distinguishing components along the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body on the basis of multiplexing the limiting mechanism for width limiting. However, a large number of components are already arranged in parallel on the part responsible for transporting the medicine around the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body, and it is not preferable to insert a new component into the column and extend the length of the column.

[0028] In addition, in the current situation, if multiple medicine supply devices can be allocated to the same type of medicine, it can be dealt with by decentralized storage, etc. However, when only a single medicine supply device can be used for the same type of medicine, since the medicine must be replenished during the process, the operation of the medicine supply device is temporarily stopped on the way. If the medicine supply device to be replenished is used alone, it is okay. However, if a large number of medicine supply devices containing various medicines are all installed on a medicine packaging machine, etc., a large number of medicine supply devices will also stop operating due to being carried along, so the impact is significant. Therefore, there is a demand for a medicine supply device that can easily increase the medicine storage capacity.

[0029] An object of the present invention is to provide a medicine supply device that can efficiently deliver medicine even when the rotation of the inner inclined rotating body is reduced.

[0030] In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a medicine supply device that can efficiently deliver even easily rollable medicine through the improvement of the outer rotating body.

[0031] In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a medicine supply device that can easily increase the medicine storage capacity.

[0032] Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to provide a medicine supply device that is less likely to cause the discharge of unwanted excess medicine.

[0033] Means for solving the problem

[0034] In the following description, in order to easily understand the present invention, the symbols marked on the drawings are used to explain the means for solving the problem. In addition, the symbols used here should not be used to limit the present invention.

[0035] The medicament feeder of the present invention includes an outer rotating body 200, an inner inclined rotating body 300, and a restricting mechanism 700. The outer rotating body 200 has an internal space 220 with an opening 220A opening upward and an annular upper end surface 230 surrounding the opening 220A, and can rotate about an imaginary vertical line CL1 extending in the vertical direction within the internal space. The inner inclined rotating body 300 is disposed within the internal space 220 of the outer rotating body 200 and can rotate about an imaginary inclined line CL2 inclined with respect to the vertical line CL1 with a plurality of solid medicaments placed on its upper surface portion, and moves the plurality of medicaments onto the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body during rotation. The restricting mechanism 700 queues up the plurality of medicaments that have moved onto the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body along the rotation direction of the annular upper end surface when the outer rotating body rotates. In the medicament feeder of the present invention, on the peripheral region of the upper surface portion 320 of the inner inclined rotating body 300, a plurality of delivery portions 340 having an outward downward slope 341 that slopes downward toward the outside even in the raised position and a plurality of push-up portions 350 not having the outward downward slope 341 are alternately formed one by one in the circumferential direction. Moreover, each of the plurality of delivery portions 340 has a structure that can transfer the medicament onto the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200 by using the outward downward slope 341 when one or more medicaments are placed thereon in the raised position. In addition, the push-up portion 350 has a structure that can push up one or more medicaments in the delivery portion 340 to the raised position, and the delivery portion 340 is located in front of the forward rotation direction of the inner inclined rotating body 300.

[0036] The above-mentioned vertical line is an imaginary line, typically the aforementioned vertical line, but it can also be slightly inclined from the vertical line to such an extent that it does not impair the medicament transfer function of the outer rotating body.

[0037] In the medicament feeder of the present invention, since a plurality of transfer portions 340 having an outwardly descending slope 341 and a plurality of upward pushing portions 350 having no outwardly descending slope are alternately formed one by one in the circumferential direction on the peripheral region of the upper surface portion of the inner inclined rotating body, a step is generated at the boundary portion between the transfer portion 340 and the upward pushing portion 350. That is, the upward pushing portion 350 is higher than the transfer portion 340. Therefore, when the transfer portion 340 of the peripheral region reaches the lowermost position as the inner inclined rotating body rotates, the medicament quickly rides on the transfer portion. Moreover, the medicament on the transfer portion 340 is pushed forward by the upward pushing portion 350 (especially the step surface) which is behind the transfer portion 340 as the inner inclined rotating body 300 rotates. As a result, regardless of the amount of the medicament and further regardless of the slow rotation speed of the inner inclined rotating body, the medicament can be pushed onto the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body with a high probability. Therefore, according to the present invention, a medicament feeder capable of efficiently discharging the medicament even when the rotation of the inner inclined rotating body is reduced can be realized.

[0038] The rising position is a position where the edge of the outwardly descending slope 341 of the transfer portion 340 of the inner inclined rotating body coincides with the annular upper end surface 230 or a position above the annular upper end surface 230. If it is this position, the medicament on the outwardly descending slope 341 smoothly changes to the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body.

[0039] Preferably, in the entire region of the transfer portion 340, the inclination angle of the outwardly descending slope 341 is constant. Moreover, preferably, the upward pushing portion 350 includes a standing portion 350A continuously formed with the end portion of the transfer portion located in the reverse rotation direction of the inner inclined rotating body. This standing portion 350A serves as a stopper for the medicament having an easily rollable shape such as a spherical shape or a spindle shape, and functions to push up these medicaments. Preferably, the standing portion 350A has a standing surface that continuously extends in the same direction as the direction in which the imaginary inclined line CL2 extends with the outwardly descending slope 341. This standing surface constitutes a reliable stopper.

[0040] The plurality of transfer portions 340 are composed of a first transfer portion 340A and a second transfer portion 340B that are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction of the peripheral region. The inner inclined rotating body 300 has a convex portion 360 composed of a first convex portion 361 protruding from a first portion of the upper surface portion 320 adjacent to the peripheral region and a second convex portion 362 protruding from a second portion continuously extending from the first convex portion 361 to the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface portion. Moreover, the first transfer portion 340A has a structure in which the upper surface portion 320 of the inner inclined rotating body and the downward inclination 340A are continuous. In addition, the second transfer portion 340B has a structure in which at least a part of the downward inclination 340A extends to the outside of the first convex portion 361. Moreover, it is preferable that the standing surface of the standing portion 350A extends to the outside of the second convex portion 362. If the convex portion 360 composed of the first convex portion 361 and the second convex portion 362 is provided, when the medicament on the transfer portion 340 tends to roll down toward the upper surface portion 320 adjacent to the peripheral region due to its own weight, it is blocked by these convex portions 361 and 362. Therefore, the enhanced upward pushing ability can be maintained. Therefore, for example, for medicaments having an easily rollable shape such as spherical or spindle-shaped, they can also be accurately pushed upward with a high probability to a height exceeding the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body.

[0041] Preferably, a promoting component 321 is provided on a portion of the upper surface portion 320 of the inner inclined rotating body 300 that is inner compared to the peripheral region. The promoting component 321 generates frictional force in the circumferential direction of the inner inclined rotating body, promotes the stirring of the plurality of medicaments on the upper surface portion 320, and promotes the rolling of the medicaments in the direction toward the first transfer portion 340A. In addition, the promoting component 321 can be composed of a plurality of wave-shaped unevenness arranged in the circumferential direction and extending toward the first transfer portion 340A. If such a promoting component 321 is provided, when the inner inclined rotating body rotates, although small, frictional force is also applied to the medicaments riding on the upper surface portion 320 of the inner inclined rotating body 300 from the inner inclined rotating body, and accordingly, the medicaments are stirred. In addition, when the inner inclined rotating body rotates, the loading of the medicaments toward the first transfer portion 340A is facilitated by the promoting component 321.

[0042] It may also be provided with a falling medicine detection component 560 for detecting the fall of the medicine discharged after queuing on the annular upper surface of the outer rotating body 200; and a controller 570 for detecting the falling interval of the medicine from the output of the falling medicine detection component and controlling the rotation of at least one of the inner inclined rotating body 300 and the outer rotating body 200 accordingly. Preferably, the controller 570 has a function of individually reversing the rotation directions of the inner inclined rotating body 300 and the outer rotating body 200. While rotating the outer rotating body 200 in the positive direction, the inner inclined rotating body is temporarily reversed accordingly with the medicine falling detection detected by the falling medicine detection component 560. In this way, the reversal of the inner inclined rotating body 200 and the reversal of the outer rotating body 300 can be performed individually. If the outer rotating body is rotated forward while the inner inclined rotating body 300 is reversed, the speed of the medicine transportation by the outer rotating body will not be reduced, and a stirring effect that cannot be obtained only by the forward rotation of the inner inclined rotating body can be obtained by the reverse rotation of the inner inclined rotating body. In particular, the first convex portion 361 and the second convex portion 362 of the inner inclined rotating body 300 exhibit a large stirring effect during reversal.

[0043] There is a case where the medicine supply device is further provided with a discharge guide 13 disposed behind the restricting mechanism 700 for guiding the medicine on the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side of the annular upper end surface and feeding it into the discharge outlet 14. In this case, preferably, the outer rotating body 200 is provided with a plurality of grooves 231 arranged at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction on the annular upper end surface 230. These plurality of grooves extend in the radial direction and have widened portions 231A with an enlarged width dimension in the middle of the radial direction. In addition, preferably, the plurality of grooves have a shape in which the width dimension becomes smaller as they approach the inner peripheral edge and the outer peripheral edge of the annular upper end surface 230 compared with the widened portion 231A. In this way, if the easily rollable medicine rolls in the circumferential direction of the outer rotating body due to the rotation of the outer rotating body, the medicine is caught in the nearby groove 231 during its movement, and then the medicine is guided by the groove 231 from the narrow groove width to the wide groove width and stabilized there. Therefore, the function of suppressing the rolling of the easily rollable medicine is enhanced. According to the present invention, even without adding additional components in the installation positions of the distinguishing mechanism 600 and the restricting mechanism 700 and their vicinity, the desired rolling suppression function can be easily exerted. Therefore, according to the present invention, a medicine supply device capable of efficiently discharging even easily rollable medicine can be realized by improving the outer rotating body. In addition, the plurality of grooves 231 may also reach the inner peripheral edge of the annular upper end surface 230.

[0044] It is also possible to form a curved concave portion 233 with a deeper depth closer to the inner peripheral edge between two adjacent grooves 231 on the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200. This concave portion 233 opens inward in the radial direction on the inner peripheral edge side.

[0045] Preferably, the controller 570 performs the following control: if the dropping agent detection component 560 detects a dropping discharge related to a single agent before the end of the discharge, the rotation speed of the outer rotating body 200 is decelerated; if the dropping agent detection component 560 detects the end of the discharge of the last agent, the rotation of the outer rotating body 200 is temporarily stopped or temporarily reversed. By performing such control, a chemical feeder that is less likely to cause an unwanted excess chemical discharge can be provided.

[0046] A ring-shaped inclined surface 232 that descends as it goes outward in the radial direction may be formed over the entire circumference of the outer peripheral edge of the ring-shaped upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body, and the plurality of grooves 231 extend into the ring-shaped inclined surface 232. In this way, when the chemical agent above the outer rotating body 200 is loaded outward in the circumferential direction by the discharge guide 13 or the like, if the stable chemical agent disengages from the groove 231, it is immediately accelerated by the inclination of the ring-shaped inclined surface 232. Therefore, even if the rolling of the chemical agent on the outer rotating body is suppressed, the delivery of the chemical agent from the outer rotating body to the circumferential direction is carried out smoothly and quickly.

[0047] Preferably, the imaginary vertical line CL1 that is the rotation center of the outer rotating body is inclined by only an angle β from the vertical line, and the inclination direction of the imaginary vertical line CL1 is the direction of the portion of the outer rotating body near the dropping discharge port 14, and the angle β is smaller than the inclination angle α of the ring-shaped inclined surface 232. By slightly inclining the outer rotating body 200 in the direction of the portion near the dropping discharge port 14, the chemical agent transported close to the dropping is collected from one side of the dropping discharge port 14 to one side of the discharge guide due to the loading caused by the inclination of the outer rotating body 200. As a result, an unwanted situation in which the chemical agent rolls due to an excess of the chemical agent and reaches the dropping discharge port earlier than expected can be accurately suppressed. Moreover, since the inclination of the entire outer rotating body or the inclination of the ring-shaped upper end surface 230 is smaller than the inclination of the inclined surface 232 of the outer peripheral portion of the ring-shaped upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body (since the angle β is smaller than the inclination angle α of the inclined surface), the loading function of the inclined surface 232 is not damaged and is maintained.

[0048] A plurality of irregularities (234, 235) in a scatter pattern may be formed between adjacent grooves 231. If a plurality of irregularities (234, 235) in a scatter pattern are provided, due to the action of the plurality of irregularities in the scatter pattern with high sliding resistance, the chemical agent is difficult to slide when the outer rotating body rotates at a reduced speed or during reverse conveyance. Therefore, the forward feed speed of the outer rotating body can be increased. Therefore, according to this structure, a chemical feeder that can efficiently deliver both easily rollable chemical agents and difficult-to-roll chemical agents can be realized.

[0049] On the outer peripheral edge of the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200, an annular inclined surface 232 that descends as it goes outward in the radial direction is formed over the entire circumference, and a curved concave portion 233 is formed. The curved concave portion 233 is formed between two adjacent grooves 231 and has a greater depth closer to the inner peripheral edge. In this case, regarding the plurality of unevennesses (234, 235), the plurality of unevennesses (234, 235) can also be formed over the entire area surrounded by the groove 231, the concave portion 233, and the annular inclined surface 232 between this concave portion 233 and the annular inclined surface 232. Additionally, the plurality of unevennesses (234, 235) can be formed over the entire area surrounded by the groove 231, the concave portion 233, and the annular inclined surface 232. In this way, the feeding performance of the medicament that is difficult to roll can be improved without impairing the feeding function of the medicament that is easy to roll. In this way, the feeding performance of the medicament that is difficult to roll can be improved without impairing the feeding function of the medicament that is easy to roll.

[0050] A distinguishing mechanism 600 may also be provided. When the outer rotating body rotates, the distinguishing mechanism 600 queues up the plurality of solid medicaments transported onto the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200 by the rotation of the inner inclined rotating body 300. The distinguishing mechanism 600 is configured to limit the height of the plurality of medicaments above the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200. Additionally, the restricting mechanism 700 may be configured to restrict the position in the lateral width direction of the plurality of medicaments above the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body and also restrict the height. In this way, when the outer rotating body 200 rotates, in the distinguishing mechanism 600 and the restricting mechanism 700 that queue up the medicaments, not only does the distinguishing mechanism 600 restrict the height of the medicaments, but on top of that, the restricting mechanism 700, which originally functions to restrict the width of the row of rotating medicaments, also restricts the height. As a result, the height restriction during the queuing of the medicaments arranged in a row above the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body can be strengthened.

[0051] The restricting mechanism 700 is a structure that narrows the width of the medicament transport path above the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body. Therefore, the restricting mechanism includes a height restricting portion 712 that faces the annular upper end surface at a predetermined interval and a width restricting portion 711 that extends onto the annular upper end surface to restrict the width of the medicament transport path. When the restricting mechanism 700 exerts the height restricting function, in the case where the height restricting portion 712 and the width restricting portion 711 are each constituted by a stepped portion, the two functions are embodied by making the inward extension amounts of the stepped portions different.

[0052] In addition, the restricting mechanism 700 is provided with a mechanism for variably adjusting the position of the width restricting portion 711 in order to variably adjust the width of the medicine conveying path corresponding to the lateral width dimension of the medicine. Specifically, after placing a sample medicine, which is the same as the medicine to be discharged in sequence, on the sample placement area 74, by imitating it, the narrowing amount of the medicine conveying path width performed by the restricting mechanism 700 can be easily and appropriately adjusted. Furthermore, it is preferable to attach a cover for opening and closing to the sample placement area in advance. If such a cover is provided, even when an upward thrust is applied to the sample medicine by manually or by spring force or the like so that the link member for imitation or the like abuts against the sample medicine accommodated in the sample placement area, the cover presses the sample medicine and suppresses its floating. Therefore, an undesired situation such as the sample medicine flying out of the sample placement area can be appropriately prevented. In addition, if the cover of the sample placement area is made transparent, it is easy to visually confirm forgetting to place or forgetting to take out the sample medicine.

[0053] The differentiating mechanism 600 may also be provided with one or more pendulums 612. If the one or more pendulums 612 hang down from above the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200 and laterally press the lower end portions, they can be deformed. The pendulum 612 is relative to the medicine restricting height above the annular upper end surface 230. If such an easily deformable pendulum is adopted, the collision of the differentiating member against the medicine on the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body is alleviated.

[0054] The pendulum 612 may also be a structure in which a plurality of beads or spheres 613 are loosely connected. Since a member formed by loosely connecting a plurality of beads or spheres into a chain shape has a structure with appropriate weight and deformability and is available on the market, the desired differentiating mechanism can be easily realized.

[0055] Preferably, one or more pendulums are composed of a plurality of pendulums, and the plurality of pendulums 612 are different in radial position of the outer rotating body. In addition, it is preferable that the plurality of pendulums 622, 632 are different in circumferential position of the outer rotating body. If the pendulums are arranged dispersedly in the radial direction and the circumferential direction, since the collision of each pendulum against the medicine is alleviated, but the sum of the collisions of the plurality of pendulums against the medicine is sufficient for collision, the necessary height restricting function can be exerted.

[0056] One or more pendulums 622, 632 may also include a pendulum having one end mounted on the radially outer side of the outer rotating body and hanging from the other end of the support member 621 extending above the restricting mechanism. It is also possible that the pendulum 632 is located beside the restricting mechanism 700, and an attracting member 640 for applying an attractive force to the pendulum 632 is attached to the restricting mechanism. If the attracting member 640 is attached to the restricting mechanism and the horizontally arranged pendulums 632 are attracted to one side of the restricting member, it is possible to simply embody the function enhancement and sway suppression of the horizontally arranged pendulums while avoiding enlargement.

[0057] The plurality of pendulums 622, 632 may also include pendulums of different sizes. Although the pendulum 622 with a larger size generates a relatively strong restricting force, it is often prone to stronger collision with the medicine. In contrast, although the pendulum 633 with a smaller size generates only a relatively weak restricting force, the collision with the medicine is weak. Therefore, if pendulums of different sizes are provided, since the magnitude and acting position of the restricting force are dispersed, it is possible to achieve diversification of height restriction.

[0058] Preferably, the pendulum 622 with a larger size of beads or balls among the plurality of pendulums has a higher lower end position than the pendulum 632 with a smaller size of beads or balls. The strength of the engagement between the pendulum and the medicine varies corresponding to the height of the lower end position of the pendulum. If the lower end of the larger pendulum 622 with stronger collision is relatively higher and the lower end of the smaller pendulum 633 with weaker collision is relatively lower, it is possible to achieve diversification of height restriction. At the same time, for the collision situation between the pendulum and the medicine, it is possible to simply avoid part of the oversize by homogenization.

[0059] A manual adjustment mechanism 650 and a lower limit setting mechanism 651 may also be provided. The manual adjustment mechanism 650 can variably adjust the height of the raw material restriction of the sorting mechanism 600 by manual operation, and the lower limit setting mechanism 651 can mechanically set the lower limit of its adjustment range by clamping the medicine or its substitute. After placing a sample medicine 5a or a substitute identical to the medicine to be discharged in sequence on the lower limit setting mechanism and imitating it, it is possible to easily and appropriately set the basic lower limit of the adjustment range of the manual adjustment mechanism 650. When it is desired to slightly increase the restriction height based on trial operation, actual operation, etc., fine adjustment can be simply performed by operating the manual adjustment mechanism 650. Furthermore, when it is desired to further lower the restriction height from the basic lower limit, after removing the sample medicine, etc. from the lower limit setting mechanism 651, it is possible to respond by operating the manual adjustment mechanism 650.

[0060] It is also possible to further provide a scale member 652 for restricting the height by the discrimination mechanism 600, which indicates that an adjustment has been made by the manual adjustment mechanism 650. If the scale member 652 is provided, when storing and recording the scale value after adjustment, for the same medicine, even if a sample medicine or a substitute is not placed on the lower limit setting mechanism 651, the adjustment can be easily performed by an operation of aligning the scale.

[0061] It is also possible to further include a housing 11 and an internal space expander 800. The housing 11 has a peripheral wall that rotatably houses the outer rotating body therein, and the internal space expander 800 is mounted on the peripheral wall 11C of the housing to expand the internal space 220 of the outer rotating body upward. If the internal space expander 800 is added, when the medicine storage capacity is insufficient, the medicine storage capacity of the rotating container can be easily increased.

[0062] Preferably, the internal space expander 800 includes a flange portion 810 and a cylindrical portion 820. The flange portion 810 has a through hole 811 corresponding to the opening 220A of the internal space 220 of the outer rotating body 200 and is fixed to the upper end portion of the peripheral wall 11C of the housing 11. The cylindrical portion 820 stands up from the peripheral edge portion of the through hole 811 and extends upward from the flange portion so as to extend the internal space 220 upward. In this way, since the cylindrical portion stands up upward from the through hole 811, it becomes a state in which the opening of the rotating container extends upward, and it becomes a state equivalent to an increase in the medicine storage capacity of the rotating container.

[0063] Preferably, the internal space expander 800 further includes a hanging portion 830 that extends into the internal space 220 of the outer rotating body 200. Moreover, the hanging portion 830 is located beside the restricting mechanism 700 and extends into the internal space 220 so that the hanging portion 830 does not interfere with the restricting mechanism 700, the inner inclined rotating body 300, and the outer rotating body 200 in a state where the flange portion 810 is fixed to the top plate 11A located at the upper end portion of the peripheral wall 11C of the housing 11. If such a hanging portion 830 is provided, it is possible to prevent an adverse situation in which the medicine rushes from the middle and lower portions of the cylindrical portion 820 of the internal space expander 800 toward the portion where the restricting mechanism 700 acts on the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body.

[0064] It may also be provided with a dropped medicine detection component 560 and a controller 570. The dropped medicine detection component 560 detects the dropping of the medicine discharged after queuing, and the controller 570 variably controls the rotation speed of the outer rotating body correspondingly to the detection of the dropped medicine detection component 560. In this case, the controller 570 has a function of estimating the medicine size of the medicine by detecting the time length when a medicine drops from the output of the dropped medicine detection component 560; and a function of changing the rotation speed of the outer rotating body 200 correspondingly to the estimated value of the medicine size. If the controller 570 estimates the medicine size correspondingly to the detection time length when the discharged medicine drops, the dropped medicine detection component 560 can be used not only to detect the presence or absence of the dropped medicine, but also to measure the size of the medicine. As a result, it is possible to avoid undesirable complications and cost increases such as adding new detection components or replacing detection components with high-grade products.

[0065] The controller 570 may also change the rotation speed of the outer rotating body and the inner inclined rotating body from high speed to low speed during the initial operation before obtaining the estimated value. In this way, during the initial operation such as when the medicine is first put into the empty rotating container, for the controller, since the medicine size is completely unclear, in the past, it has continuously rotated at a low speed for safety reasons from the start of the operation until the detection of the first medicine discharge, so it took a long time as the initial operation. However, if the high speed is only applied in the first half of the initial operation, the time of the initial operation is shortened correspondingly, so the efficiency can be improved. In addition, as a specific example of the timing for switching the rotation speed from high speed to low speed, for example, it can be cited when the time required to lift the medicine from the bottom to the edge in the rotating container has passed; when the time from when the medicine is transferred from the inner inclined rotating body to the outer rotating body until it is transported to the initial action position of the restricting mechanism has passed; and when the combined time of them has passed, etc.

[0066] It may also be that when the controller 570 changes the rotation speed after obtaining the estimated value, it determines the high or low rotation speed correspondingly to the size of the estimated value. Compared with the dropping discharge port with a constant size, the smaller the medicine with a more obvious size difference is, the more likely it is to drop multiple times. In such a situation where multiple drops occur, when the estimated value of the medicine size is large, the two rotating bodies rotate at a high speed. However, when the estimated value of the medicine size is small, the two rotating bodies rotate at a low speed. Thereby, it is possible to simply and accurately prevent undesirable multiple drops of the medicine.

[0067] The chemical agent feeder may also be provided with rotation drive mechanisms (541, 542) for rotating the inner inclined rotating body and the outer rotating body. The rotation drive mechanisms can use a structure that can individually reverse the rotation directions of the inner inclined rotating body 300 and the outer rotating body 200 in response to instructions from the controller 570. In this case, the controller 570 may have the following function: when the inner inclined rotating body rotates forward and the falling chemical agent detection assembly 560 detects the falling of the chemical agent, the outer rotating body is temporarily reversed. In this way, on the basis that the reverse rotations of the inner inclined rotating body and the outer rotating body can be performed individually, if the outer rotating body rotates forward while the inner inclined rotating body is temporarily reversed during the discharge of the chemical agent, a stirring effect of the chemical agent can be obtained.

[0068] In a chemical agent feeder equipped with a falling chemical agent detection assembly for detecting the falling of the chemical agent discharged after queuing and a controller 570 for controlling the rotation speed and rotation direction of the outer rotating body according to the detection of the falling chemical agent detection assembly to discharge a specified number of chemical agents, the controller 570 performs the following control: if the falling chemical agent detection assembly 560 detects the falling discharge related to one chemical agent before the end of the discharge, the rotation speed of the outer rotating body 200 is decelerated, and if the falling chemical agent detection assembly 560 detects the end of the discharge of the last chemical agent, the rotation of the outer rotating body 200 is temporarily stopped or temporarily reversed. In this way, the undesired multiple falling of the chemical agent can be simply and accurately prevented. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0069] FIG. 1(A) is a top view of the inner inclined rotating body of the chemical agent feeder.

[0070] FIG. 1(B) is a sectional view taken along line A-A of the inner inclined rotating body in FIG. 1(A).

[0071] FIG. 1(C) is a front view of the inner inclined rotating body.

[0072] FIG. 1(D) is a perspective view of the inner inclined rotating body.

[0073] Figure 2 Shows the structure of the outer rotating body of the chemical agent feeder. (A) is a longitudinal sectional view of the whole, (B) is an enlarged view of a part of it, and (C) is a longitudinal sectional view of the upper part.

[0074] FIG. 3(A) is a top view of the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body.

[0075] FIG. 3(B) is an enlarged view of a part of the outer rotating body.

[0076] FIG. 3(C) is a top view of the annular upper end surface of another outer rotating body.

[0077] Figure 3(D) is an enlarged view of a part of another outer rotating body.

[0078] Figure 4 Showing the structure of the limiting mechanism of the medicine dispenser, (A) is a top view when a larger sample medicine is placed at the sample placement location, (B) is a top view when a smaller sample medicine is placed at the sample placement location, (C) is a top view, front view, and bottom view related to the first and second limiting components, and (D) and (E) are end views respectively.

[0079] Figure 5 Showing the structure of the differentiating mechanism of the medicine dispenser, (A) is a perspective view of the differentiating mechanism and the part where it is installed, (B) is the front view of the first differentiating component, and (C) is the front view of the second differentiating component.

[0080] Figure 6 Showing the structure of the internal space expander of the medicine dispenser, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is a bottom view, and (C) is a side view.

[0081] Figure 7 Showing the overall structure of the medicine dispenser, (A) is an external perspective view with the large cover open, and (B) is an external perspective view with the large cover closed.

[0082] Figure 8 (A) shows the mechanical structure inside the medicine dispenser, and (B) is a block structure diagram of the control unit.

[0083] Figure 9 Showing the overall structure of a conventional medicine dispenser, (A) is a top view, and (B) is a longitudinal sectional front view.

[0084] Figure 10 Related to a conventional medicine dispenser, (A) is a top view when the link mechanism and the upper part of the peripheral wall are removed, and (B) is a top view when the peripheral wall is also removed.

[0085] Figure 11 Related to a conventional medicine dispenser, (A) is the front view, right side view, and left side view of the differentiating component, and (B) is an exploded view of the main part of the dispenser. The peripheral wall, etc. and the rotating container show longitudinal sections, and the rotation drive mechanism and the rotation transmission component show the external appearance.

[0086] Figure 12 Showing the operating state of a conventional medicine dispenser when the stored medicine starts to queue up, (A) is a top view, and (B) is a longitudinal sectional front view.

[0087] Figure 13 Showing the operating state of a conventional medicine dispenser when the queued medicine is sent to the dropping discharge port, (A) is a top view, and (B) is a longitudinal sectional front view. Detailed implementation mode

[0088] For the way to implement the invention

[0089] Next, with reference to the drawings, an example of the implementation mode of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0090] FIG. 1 to Figure 8 is a diagram showing the structure of the medicine supply device 100 according to the implementation mode of the present invention. In FIG. 1 to Figure 8 in, for Figures 9 to 13 the parts that are substantially common to the conventional medicine supply device 10 shown are marked with the same symbols as those marked in Figures 9 to 13 . Since the housing 11, the discharge guide 13, the dropping discharge port 14, the support mechanism 40, and the overall component arrangement, etc. can be of substantially the same structure as the conventional medicine supply device, the repeated description is omitted.

[0091] In addition, since the outer rotating body 20, the inner inclined rotating body 30, the rotation driving mechanism 50, the distinguishing mechanism 60, and the restricting mechanism 70 (refer to Figures 9 to 11 ) of the conventional medicine supply device are respectively modified to become the new outer rotating body 200, the inner inclined rotating body 300, the rotation driving mechanism 500, the distinguishing mechanism 600, and the restricting mechanism 700, each part will be described in detail with the points different from the conventional ones as the center.

[0092] First, the outline of the structure of this implementation mode will be described. As Figure 8 shown, the medicine supply device 100 of this implementation mode includes an outer rotating body 200, an inner inclined rotating body 300, a distinguishing mechanism 600, and a restricting mechanism 700. As Figure 2 and Figure 8 shown, the outer rotating body 200 has an internal space 220 with an opening facing upward and an annular upper end surface 230 surrounding the opening 220A, and can rotate around an imaginary vertical line CL1 extending in the vertical direction in the internal space 220. In addition, as Figure 8 shown, the inner inclined rotating body 300 is arranged in the internal space 220 of the outer rotating body 200 and can rotate around an imaginary inclined line CL2 inclined with respect to the vertical line CL1 in a state where a plurality of solid medicines are placed on the upper surface portion 320. The inner inclined rotating body 300 moves a plurality of medicines onto the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200 when rotating. The restricting mechanism 700 queues up a plurality of medicines that have moved onto the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200 along the rotation direction of the annular upper end surface 230 when the outer rotating body 200 rotates. The distinguishing mechanism 600 is configured to restrict the height of a plurality of medicines above the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200.

[0093] In the medicament feeder of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, on the peripheral region of the upper surface portion 320 of the inner inclined rotating body 300, six transfer portions 340 having an outward descending inclination 341 that descends outward even in the raised position and six push-up portions 350 without the outward descending inclination 341 are alternately formed one by one in the circumferential direction. Here, the raised position is a position where the edge of the outward descending inclination 341 of the transfer portion 340 of the inner inclined rotating body 300 coincides with the annular upper end surface 230 or a position above the annular upper end surface 230. Moreover, the six transfer portions 340 are configured to transfer the medicament to the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200 by using the outward descending inclination if one or more medicaments are placed on the outward descending inclination 341 in the raised position respectively. In addition, the six push-up portions 350 are configured to push up one or more medicaments in the transfer portion 340 to the raised position, and the transfer portion 340 is located in front of the forward rotation direction of the inner inclined rotating body 300.

[0094] Next, each component will be described in detail. First, the inner inclined rotating body 300 shown in FIG. 1 is a structure obtained by modifying the above-described inner inclined rotating body 30. FIGS. 1(A) to (D) show the structure of the inner inclined rotating body 300 of the medicament feeder 100. FIGS. 1(A) to (D) are a top view, an A-A cross-sectional view, a front view, and a perspective view of the inner inclined rotating body 300.

[0095] The inner inclined rotating body 300 has a structure with a substantially disk-shaped main body 310 as the main body, and a central protrusion 31 similar to the conventional one is provided at the center of the upper surface.

[0096] The upper surface portion 320 around the central protrusion 31 of the main body 310 becomes substantially flat. This upper surface portion 320 may be recessed like the upper surface portion 32 of the inner inclined rotating body 30 of a conventional medicine dispenser, but in this example, it becomes substantially flat in consideration of strength, processing, etc. Preferably, a promoting component 321 is provided on a portion of the upper surface portion 320 of the inner inclined rotating body 300 that is closer to the inside than the peripheral region, which generates frictional force in the circumferential direction of the inner inclined rotating body 300, promotes the stirring of a plurality of medicines on the upper surface portion 320, and promotes the rolling of the medicines described later in the direction toward the first transfer portion 340A. In addition, this promoting component 321 is composed of three sets of wavy unevenness, and the three sets of wavy unevenness are composed of a plurality of elongated linear grooves arranged in the circumferential direction and extending toward the first transfer portion 340A. If such a promoting component 321 is provided, with respect to the medicine carried on the upper surface portion 320 of the inner inclined rotating body 300, when the inner inclined rotating body 300 rotates, although small, frictional force acts from the inner inclined rotating body 300, and accordingly, the medicines are stirred. In addition, when the inner inclined rotating body 300 rotates, the loading of the medicines into the transfer portion 340A is facilitated by the promoting component 321.

[0097] As shown in FIG. 1, the main body 310 forms six transfer portions 340 and six upward pushing portions 350 at six positions on the upper inclined portion 330 that surrounds the upper surface portion 320 for one week. The transfer portions 340 and the upward pushing portions 350 are alternately formed in the circumferential direction. Over the entire area of the transfer portion 340, the inclination angle of the outward downward inclination 341 is constant. Moreover, the upward pushing portion 350 includes a standing portion 350A that is continuously formed with the end of the transfer portion 340 located in the reverse rotation direction of the inner inclined rotating body 300. This standing portion 350A serves as a stopper for medicines having an easily rollable shape such as a spherical shape or a spindle shape, and functions to push up these medicines. The standing portion 350A has a standing surface 350B that continuously extends in the same direction as the direction in which the imaginary inclined line CL2 extends with the outward downward inclination 341.

[0098] The outward downward angle of the outward downward inclination 341 of each transfer portion 340 is approximately 45°, which is larger than the inclination angle θ at the time of installation of the inner inclined rotating body 300, which is approximately 20° - 30°. Therefore, even if the inner inclined rotating body 300 is installed in the outer rotating body 200 in an inclined state and rotates in this state, at the rising position where the inclination of the transfer portion 340 is closest to the horizontal, the outward downward angle of the transfer portion 340 with respect to the horizontal is maintained at approximately 15° or more. A wavy uneven pattern similar to the above-mentioned promoting component 321 is also formed in such a transfer portion 340.

[0099] The transfer part 340 of six parts is composed of a first transfer part 340A and a second transfer part 340B which are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction in the peripheral region. In addition, the inner inclined rotating body 300 has three convex parts 360 composed of a first convex part 361 protruding from a first part of the upper surface part 320 adjacent to the peripheral region and a second convex part 362 protruding from a second part continuously extending from the first convex part 361 to the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface part 320. Moreover, the first transfer part 340A has a structure in which the upper surface part 320 of the inner inclined rotating body 300 and the descending slope 341 are continuous. In addition, the second transfer part 340B has a structure in which at least a part of the descending slope 341 extends to the outside of the first convex part 361. Moreover, the standing surface 350B of the standing part 350A extends to the outside of the second convex part 362. If the convex part 360 composed of the first convex part 361 and the second convex part 362 is provided, when the medicine on the transfer part 340 tends to roll down to the side of the upper surface part 320 adjacent to the peripheral region by its own weight, it is blocked by these first and second convex parts 361 and 362. Therefore, the enhanced upward pushing ability can be maintained. Therefore, for example, for medicines with easily rollable shapes such as spherical and spindle-shaped, they can also be accurately pushed upward with a high probability to a height exceeding the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200.

[0100] The convex part 360 may be attached to all the transfer parts 340 and the upward pushing parts 350, but in this embodiment, it is only attached to the second transfer part 340B.

[0101] Figure 2 The outer rotating body 200 shown in FIG. 3 is a modified outer rotating body of the above-described outer rotating body 20. Figure 2 (A) to (C) are diagrams for explaining the structure of the outer rotating body 200 of the medicine supply device 100. Figure 2 (A) is a longitudinal sectional view of the outer rotating body 200. Figure 2 (B) is Figure 2 (A) is a longitudinal sectional view with the right end part of the upper part enlarged. Figure 2 (C) is a longitudinal sectional view showing the inclined state of the outer rotating body 200. In addition, FIG. 3(A) is a top view related to the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200, FIG. 3(B) is an enlarged view related to a part of the annular upper end surface 230, FIG. 3(C) is a top view related to the annular upper end surface 230 of another type of outer rotating body 200, and FIG. 3(D) is an enlarged view related to a part of the annular upper end surface 230 of another type of outer rotating body 200.

[0102] The outer rotating body 200 (refer to Figure 2(A)) The upper part 215 and the lower part 210 are integrated to form a shape like the bottom of a bowl-shaped main body being cut off. Moreover, the diameter of the inner space 220 of the outer rotating body 200 is the largest at the annular upper end surface 230 at the uppermost position, and the diameter becomes smaller as it descends from here. Therefore, the inner inclined rotating body 300 can be freely received or withdrawn with respect to the inner space 220 of the outer rotating body 200, facilitating assembly and component replacement. The annular upper end surface 230 of the upper part 215 (refer to Figure 2 (B)) An inclined surface 232 is formed over the entire circumference on the outer peripheral side portion. The inclination angle α of this inclined surface 232 is not emphasized in Figure 2 (B), but is, for example, about 7°.

[0103] In addition, as shown in Figure 2 (C), the upper part 215 or the vertical line CL1 corresponding to the rotation center axis of the outer rotating body 200 (double-dot dash line in the figure) is inclined by only an angle β from the vertical line (single-dot dash line in the figure) 201. This inclination angle β is not emphasized in Figure 2 (C), but is, for example, about 3.5°, which is smaller than the above-mentioned inclination angle α so as not to impair the drug delivery function. Therefore, the inclination of the inclined surface 232 from the horizontal varies between the maximum inclination (α + β) in the state of the inclined surface 232 on the left side in the figure and the minimum inclination (α - β) in the state of the inclined surface 232 on the right side in the figure as the annular upper end surface 230 rotates. However, since the inclination angle α of the inclined surface 232 is larger than the inclination angle β of the outer rotating body 200, a state where it is always lower than the horizontal is maintained in the outer peripheral portion of the inclined surface 232.

[0104] The direction of the inclination (angle β) of the vertical line CL1 is not shown in the figure, but the height (vertical position) of the upper surface (drug delivery path) of the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200 becomes higher in the vicinity of the drop outlet 14 ( Figure 8 ). This inclination (angle β) can also be specifically embodied by the installation method of the outer rotating body 200 in the housing 11 of the drug supply device 10, but since the inclination (β) is small, for example, it can also be specifically embodied by inclining only the upper surface of a shelf board or the like at the destination where the housing 11 of the drug supply device 10 is installed by an angle β.

[0105] Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 3(A) and (B) or (C) and (D), on the annular upper end surface 230 (drug delivery path) of the outer rotating body 200, a plurality of grooves 231 are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. These grooves 231 are all formed by intaglio in the shape similar to a rhombus or a spindle, with the length direction facing the radial direction of the annular upper end surface 230 and the width becoming smaller at both ends in the radial direction. Moreover, the width of the groove 231 expands in the middle of the radial direction to form a widened portion 231A. At the widened portion 231A, a structure is formed where the drug is likely to be stable. In addition, as Figure 2 (B) shows, the depth e of the deepest part of the groove 231 is deeper than the depth d of the inclined surface 232 described above. Furthermore, as Figure 2 (B) and FIGS. 3(A) and (B) show, since the outer diameter-side end of the groove 231 reaches the inclined surface 232, the movement of the drug from the groove 231 to the inclined surface 232 is smoothly carried out.

[0106] In addition, as Figure 2 (B) and FIGS. 3(A) and (B) show, a plurality of concavo-convex portions 33 are also formed on the inner peripheral portion of the upper surface of the annular upper end surface 230. The intaglio 233 is located between two adjacent grooves 231, 231, and has a curved shape that is deeper toward the inner circumference. It serves to quickly return the easily rolling drug that is not received in the groove 231 and approaches the inner circumference side by the restricting mechanism 700 or the like from the drug delivery path of the outer rotating body 200 to above the inner inclined rotating body 300 on the inner side. This concave portion 233 may also open on the inner side in the radial direction at the inner peripheral edge side.

[0107] The inner surfaces of these plurality of grooves 231, the inclined surface 232, and the inner surface of the concave portion 233 are smooth surfaces so as not to hinder the movement of the drug. However, in FIGS. 3(A) and (B), on the surface of the annular upper end surface 230 except for the plurality of grooves 231 and the inclined surface 232, sandblasting or the like is performed to form a rough surface in order to prevent excessive sliding of the drug.

[0108] Figures 3(C) and (D) are different from the examples of Figures 3(A) and (B), and are structures for forming a rough surface other than by sandblasting. In this example, a ring-shaped inclined surface 232 that descends as it goes toward the outer side in the radial direction is formed over the entire circumference of the outer peripheral edge of the ring-shaped upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200, and a curved recess 233 is formed between two adjacent grooves 231, and the depth of the curved recess 233 becomes deeper as it gets closer to the inner peripheral edge. In this example, a plurality of irregularities (234, 235) are formed over the entire area surrounded by the two grooves 231, the recess 233, and the ring-shaped inclined surface 232. Moreover, in this example, a plurality of scattered points composed of depressions 235 on a bowl with a diameter of about 0.5 mm, which is sufficiently smaller than the diameter of the chemical agent to be processed, are formed, and convex portions (234) are formed by the flat portions around them. Since the plurality of depressions 235 are formed at substantially equal intervals and are separated by the flat portions 234, unlike the sandblasted surface, they do not adhere to each other. If a plurality of irregularities (234, 235) of the scattered point pattern are provided, due to the action of the plurality of irregularities of the scattered point pattern with high sliding resistance, the chemical agent is difficult to slide even when the outer rotating body 200 rotates and decelerates or during reverse conveyance. Therefore, the forward feed speed of the outer rotating body 200 can be increased. In addition, the shape of the planar contour of the plurality of recesses 235 can be arbitrary, and can be a rectangular shape or other shapes. In addition, the plurality of recesses 235 can also be formed in a radial pattern on concentric circles.

[0109] Figure 4 (A) to (E) are diagrams for explaining the restricting mechanism 700. Figure 4 (A) is a top view of the restricting mechanism 700 when a relatively large sample is placed on the sample placement area 740 with the chemical agent 5a. Figure 4 (B) is a top view of the restricting mechanism 700 when a relatively small sample is placed on the sample placement area 740 with the chemical agent 5a. In addition, Figure 4 (C) is a drawing showing the components for the first restricting member 710 and the second restricting member 720. The upper drawing is a top view of this component, the middle drawing is a front view of this component, and the lower drawing is a bottom view of this component. Figure 4 (D) is an end view of this component as viewed from the direction of arrow E shown in Figure 4 (C). Figure 4 (E) is an end view of this component as viewed from the direction of arrow F shown in Figure 4 (C). The restricting mechanism 700 is the same restricting mechanism as the conventional restricting mechanism 70 shown in Figure 9 and Figure 10 but improvements have been made to the first restricting member 710, the second restricting member 720, and the sample placement area 740.

[0110] Since the first restricting member 710 and the second restricting member 720 have the same shape, the first restricting member 710 will be described in detail. The first restricting member 710 is the same as the first restricting member 71 described above. In Figure 4 (A) and (B), the swing center portion at the left end is located on the side of the housing 11. In Figure 4 (A) and (B), the swing end portion at the right end is located above the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200. Corresponding to the forward and backward movement of the link mechanism 73 in the longitudinal direction, the first restricting member 710 and the second restricting member 720 perform a lateral width restricting function of narrowing the width of the chemical agent transport path above the annular upper end surface 230 from the outer peripheral side (see Figure 4 (A), (B)).

[0111] On the first restricting member 710, not only the lower stepped portion 711 as a width restricting portion that undertakes the lateral width restricting function is formed, but also the upper stepped portion 712 as a height restricting portion that is not present in the first restricting member 71 described above is formed. As shown in Figure 4 (D) and (E), the upper stepped portion 712 projects inwardly from the lower stepped portion 711, and an inclined surface is formed between the upper stepped portion 712 and the lower stepped portion 711. Therefore, the first restricting member 710 has the following structure: on the basis of the strict lateral width restricting function corresponding to the state of the link mechanism 73 by the lower stepped portion 711, the upper stepped portion 712 performs a gentle height restriction. The second restricting member 720 is the same as the first restricting member.

[0112] In addition, as shown in Figure 4As shown in (A), in the restricting mechanism 700, the sample placement area 740 is improved. Further, a spring 730 for loading the link mechanism 73 toward the sample placement area 740 is attached. When the front end of the link mechanism 73 abuts against the sample drug agent 5a and stops, the lower stepped portions 711 and 721 of the swinging ends of the first and second restricting members 710 and 720 narrow the width of the drug agent transportation path on the annular upper end surface 230 by the amount of one drug agent passing through. In the sample placement area 740, a small lid 741 and a fastening screw 742 are attached. Since the small lid 741 is an openable and closable lid and is made of a transparent member, it serves to prevent forgetting to store or take out the sample drug agent 5a. In addition, the fastening screw 742 is structured to pre-fix the small lid 741 so that the closed small lid 741 is not opened by the loading force of the spring 730. If such a lid 741 is provided, even when an upward thrust is applied to the sample drug agent by manually or by spring force or the like causing the link mechanism 73 for imitation to abut against the sample drug agent housed in the sample placement area 740, the lid 741 presses the sample drug agent and suppresses its floating. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately prevent an undesirable situation such as the sample drug agent flying out from the sample placement area 740. In addition, if the lid 741 of the sample placement area 740 is made transparent, it is easy to visually confirm forgetting to place or take out the sample drug agent.

[0113] Figure 5 Shows the structure of the differentiating mechanism 600 of the drug agent supply device 100, Figure 5 (A) is an external perspective view related to the differentiating mechanism 600 and the part where it is set, Figure 5 (B) is a front view related to the first differentiating member 610 of the differentiating mechanism 600, Figure 5 (C) is a front view related to the second differentiating member 620 of the differentiating mechanism 600. The differentiating mechanism 600 includes a first differentiating member 610 disposed upstream of the restricting mechanism 700 in the drug agent transportation path on the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200 and a second differentiating member 620 disposed in a position side by side with the restricting mechanism 700 in the above-mentioned drug agent transportation path. The first differentiating member 610 and the second differentiating member 620 perform a differentiating function in multiple stages.

[0114] The first differentiating member 610 and the second differentiating member 620 are mounted on the top plate 11A of the housing 11 that includes the discharge guide 13 and supports the restricting mechanism 700. The first differentiating member 610 (refer to Figure 5 (A), (B)) includes a short supporting member 611 whose vertical position can be adjusted by a manual screw mechanism and two upstream pendulums 612 mounted at the front end portion thereof and moving up and down along with the supporting member 611. The upstream pendulums 612 (refer to Figure 5(B) is a structure in which multiple large beads 613 (two spheres in the figure) are loosely connected in a chain-like shape. As long as it is a ball chain or the like sold in the market, it is sufficient and can be easily and inexpensively embodied. In the first dividing member 610, two pre-stage pendants 612 hang downward from the support member 611 in a horizontally arranged state above the chemical agent transport path on the annular upper end surface 230, and their vertical positions are usually adjusted so that the lower ends of the pre-stage pendants 612 are only slightly higher than the height of the chemical agent. The second dividing member 620 (refer to Figure 5 (A), (C)), it also has a long support member 621 whose vertical position can be manually adjusted; two intermediate pendants 622 and two post-stage pendants 632 installed at the front end thereof and moving up and down along with the support member 621; and a manual adjustment mechanism 650 for adjusting the vertical position of the support member 621. The intermediate pendant 622 (refer to Figure 5 (C)) is a structure in which multiple medium beads 623 (three spheres in the figure) are loosely connected in a chain-like shape, but the medium beads 623 are smaller than the large beads 613 and the number of connections increases. Each of the two post-stage pendants 632 is also a structure in which multiple (seven in the front and six in the depth in the figure) small beads 633 are loosely connected in a chain-like shape, and the small beads 633 are even smaller than the medium beads 623 and the number of connections increases.

[0115] The manual adjustment mechanism 650 manually operates to lift the support member 621. After expanding the gap between the support member 621 and the lower limit setting mechanism 651, a sample chemical agent 5a (although it is an article different from the sample chemical agent 5a placed in the above-mentioned sample placement location 740, but it is one of the chemicals 5 with the same shape) is placed on the lower limit setting mechanism 651, and then the support member 621 is manually operated to be lowered to a position where it slightly collides with the sample chemical agent 5a. By this operation, the vertical position of the support member 621 reaches a position corresponding to the sample chemical agent 5a.

[0116] As Figure 5 (C) shows, a scale member 652 is attached to the lower limit setting mechanism 651. The scale of the scale member 652 indicates the interval between the lower limit setting mechanism 651 and the support member 621 and the size of the sample chemical agent 5a, and further indicates the restricted height performed by the second dividing member 620 adjusted by the manual adjustment mechanism 650. In addition, since the size measurement and display of the sample chemical agent 5a are carried out as the vertical position of the support member 621 is adjusted, it also becomes the adjustment target of the first dividing member 610.

[0117] Next, the above-mentioned front drooping objects 612, middle drooping objects 622, and rear drooping objects 632 are described in terms of their positional relationships, role sharing, etc. Both of the front drooping objects 612 droop above the chemical agent transportation path on the annular upper end surface 230 and are arranged in the transverse direction of the chemical agent transportation path in the radial direction of the annular upper end surface 230. Since the lower end position of the front drooping object 612 depends on the adjustment policy, it cannot be generalized, but it is generally set slightly higher than the chemical agent so as to interfere with the upper chemical agent if the chemical agent is heavy on the chemical agent transportation path. In the front drooping object 612, the large beads 613 are heavier and can efficiently eliminate the overlap of the chemical agents. However, since the large beads 613 at the lower end as free ends are avoided by the deformation of the connecting part directly above, the impact on the chemical agent can be small.

[0118] When the chemical agent is spherical, the chemical agent is prone to rolling and is often in an unstable position. When the spherical chemical agent is located at the center in the transverse direction of the chemical agent transportation path, the chemical agent passes through between the laterally arranged front drooping objects 612. In addition, when the chemical agent is located at a position slightly offset to the side compared to the center of the chemical agent transportation path, the front drooping object 612 on the offset side slightly interferes with the chemical agent, and the chemical agent converges toward the center (if it is an easily rolling chemical agent, it is at the widened part 231A of the groove 231 on the annular upper end surface 230 of the above-mentioned outer rotating body 200). In contrast, when the chemical agent is greatly offset from the center of the chemical agent transportation path, although there are chemical agents that converge toward the center according to the collision situation, many chemical agents are pushed out above the annular upper end surface 230 and return above the inner inclined rotating body 300.

[0119] The two middle drooping objects 622 serve as spanning components whose supporting components 621 span the restriction mechanism 700. Any one of the middle drooping objects 622 also droops above the chemical agent transportation path on the annular upper end surface 230, is located beside the restriction mechanism 700 (especially the second restriction component 720), and becomes a laterally arranged drooping object.

[0120] In addition, both of the two middle drooping objects 622 are located above the chemical agent transportation path on the annular upper end surface 230, and they are arranged obliquely with respect to the chemical agent transportation path. Furthermore, in the standard setting of the relationship between the supporting component 621 and the manual adjustment mechanism 650, the lower end positions of the two middle drooping objects 622 are slightly lower than the chemical agent on the chemical agent transportation path. Therefore, for the two middle drooping objects 622, if the chemical agents overlap on the chemical agent transportation path, the middle beads 623 interfere with the upper chemical agent to eliminate the overlap of the chemical agents. In addition, the two middle drooping objects 622 also perform the following functions: for example, by returning the chemical agents that are in a single isolated state or are occasionally placed obliquely on the inner peripheral side of the chemical agent transportation path to the center of the chemical agent transportation path or to the inner inclined rotating body 300, the chemical agent queuing function on the chemical agent transportation path is strengthened.

[0121] One of the two post droppers 632 (refer to Figure 5 (A)) (the six - connected object in the depth direction in the figure) droops above the inner - peripheral side of the chemical - agent transport path on the annular upper - end surface 230, and the other (the seven - connected object in the front in the figure) detaches from above the chemical - agent transport path on the annular upper - end surface 230 and droops above the outer - peripheral side of the inner - side inclined rotating body 300, and they are arranged in the transverse direction of the chemical - agent transport path. Moreover, along with the height adjustment of the support member 621 by the manual adjustment mechanism 650, the lower - end position of one post dropper 632 is set slightly lower than the lower - end position of the above - mentioned middle dropper 622, and the lower - end position of the other post dropper 632 is set even lower. Therefore, the lower - end positions of the above - mentioned first - division member 610 connected to the large beads 613, the middle dropper 622 connected to the middle beads 623, and the post dropper 632 connected to the small beads 633 are in the order of the bead sizes.

[0122] Furthermore, as Figure 5 (A) shows, among the two post droppers 632, at least the inner - peripheral - side post dropper 632 (the seven - connected object in the front in the figure), a magnetic material such as iron is used as the material of the small beads 633. And on the second restricting member 720, at a position close to the post dropper 632, an attracting member 640 composed of a permanent magnet or the like is installed by embedding or the like. If this is done, the attractive force of the attracting member 640 is added to the component of gravity, and the post dropper 632 exerts a stable but effective reaction force on the chemical agent abutting from above the chemical - agent transport path. Thus, since the chemical agent away from the second restricting member 720 approaches the second restricting member 720, the function of the second restricting member 720 is strengthened. Such a post dropper 632 has a structure that emphasizes the strengthening of the lateral - width restriction of the chemical agent of the second restricting member 720 compared to its own height - restriction function of the chemical agent.

[0123] Figure 6 The internal - space expander 800 shown is a structure that is installed on the peripheral wall of the housing 11 and expands the internal space 220 of the outer - side rotating body 200 upward. Figure 6 (A) to (C) show the structure of the internal - space expander 800 of the chemical - agent supply device 100, Figure 6 (A) is a perspective view, Figure 6 (B) is a bottom view, Figure 6(C) is a side view. The internal space extender 800 includes a flange portion 810 and a cylindrical portion 820. The flange portion 810 has a through hole 811 corresponding to the opening of the internal space 220 of the outer rotating body 200 and is fixed to the top plate 11A located on the peripheral wall 11C of the housing 11. The cylindrical portion 820 stands up from the peripheral edge of the through hole 811 and extends upward from the flange portion 810 so as to extend the internal space 220 upward. In addition, the internal space extender 800 further includes a drooping portion 830 that extends into the internal space 220 of the outer rotating body 200. The drooping portion 830 is located beside the restricting mechanism 700 and extends in the internal space 220 so that the drooping portion 830 does not interfere with the restricting mechanism 700, the inner inclined rotating body 300, and the outer rotating body 200 when the flange portion 810 is fixed to the top plate 11A at the upper end of the peripheral wall 11C of the housing 11.

[0124] The flange portion 810 is structured to be directly or indirectly attachable and detachable in an additional state relative to the top plate 11A via a plate body forming the discharge guide 13. In the state where the flange portion 810 is mounted on the top plate 11A, the through hole 811 is located above the outer rotating body 200 and the inner inclined rotating body 300, and the cylindrical portion 820 protrudes while slightly expanding upward from the flange portion 810, extending the through hole 811 upward, thereby increasing the storage capacity of the medicament. In addition, in the state where the flange portion 810 is mounted relative to the top plate 11A, the drooping portion 830 enters the inside of the outer rotating body 200 (at least the inside of the opening of the annular upper end surface 230), and is located near the restricting mechanism 700 (particularly the first restricting member 710 and the second restricting member 720), thereby preventing the medicament in the cylindrical portion 820 from flowing into the restricting mechanism 700 and the annular upper end surface 230 around it. In addition, the drooping portion 830 allows the medicament that has separated from above the annular upper end surface 230 in front of the discharge guide 13 to smoothly return onto the inner inclined rotating body 300.

[0125] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a bulge 812 is formed on a part of the through hole 811 (refer to Figure 6 (B)), and a bulge 821 is also formed on the corresponding part of the cylindrical portion 820 connected thereto (refer to Figure 6 (A)). Thus, the bulges 812 and 821 can avoid unwanted interference with the inner inclined rotating body 300 and smoothly transfer the medicament from the inner inclined rotating body 300 to the outer rotating body 200.

[0126] Figure 7(A) and (B) show the overall structure related to the arrangement of two medicine supply devices 100, 100. The two medicine supply devices 100, 100 are a medicine supply device equipped with an internal space expander 800 and a medicine supply device not equipped with the space expander 800. Figure 7 (A) is an external perspective view of the medicine supply device 100 with the cover 110 opened. Figure 7 (B) is an external perspective view of the medicine supply device 100 with the cover 110 closed. The cover 110 is connected to the upper surface of the top plate 11A of the housing 11 or the plate body forming the discharge guide 13, etc. via a hinge member, covering or opening the upper part of the top plate 11A. In addition, a bi-stable spring or the like is installed in the hinge member, and the cover 110 is stable in either the fully opened state or the fully closed state. The cover 110 is made of a transparent or semi-transparent structure so that the operation status of the inner inclined rotating body 300, etc. can be visually confirmed even when the upper part of the top plate 11A is covered.

[0127] Furthermore, in the medicine supply device 100 equipped with the cover 110 and the internal space expander 800, the depth of the cover 110 and the height of the internal space expander 800 are designed in relation to each other so that when the cover 110 is closed, the lower surface of the cover 110 approaches the upper end of the cylindrical portion 820 of the internal space expander 800 until it is about to touch. As a result, when the cover 110 is closed, the upper end opening of the cylindrical portion 820 of the internal space expander 800 is closed by the lower surface of the cover 110 to a state where medicine cannot pass through.

[0128] In addition, as shown in the figure, if the hinge member is provided at the rear of the medicine supply device 100 (right rear in the figure) and the cover 110 is lowered forward, the medicine supply device 100 is closed, and the medicine supply device 100 with the cover 110 lifted backward in advance is opened. If so, it is easy to use even when multiple medicine supply devices 100 are arranged horizontally. Of course, it is also possible to open multiple covers 110 in different directions.

[0129] Figure 8 (A) shows the internal structure of the medicine supply device 100 with a rotation drive mechanism 500 built in. In addition, Figure 8 (B) shows a block structure diagram of the controller 570, etc. (control unit) related to rotation drive control. Figure 8 The rotation drive mechanism 500 shown in (A) includes instead of Figure 11 the rotation drive member 51 shown, a rotation drive member 511 and a rotation drive member 512; instead of Figure 11The rotary drive motors 541 and 542 of the rotary drive motor 54 shown; the newly added inner inclined rotary body mounting detection component 550; and the chemical agent dropping detection component 560 marked with symbols for clear indication. The rotary drive motor 541 is structured to rotate the outer rotary body 200 via the rotary drive member 511. The rotary drive motor 542 is structured to rotate the inner inclined rotary body 300 via the rotary drive member 512. In this embodiment, by dividing the drive system into two systems, the outer rotary body 200 and the inner inclined rotary body 300 can be independently driven. In addition, as the rotary drive motors 541 and 542, motors are adopted that can alternatively switch the rotation direction to forward rotation or reverse rotation corresponding to the control of the controller 570. Therefore, the rotary drive mechanism 500 becomes a structure that can individually reverse the rotation directions of the outer rotary body 200 and the inclined rotary body 300.

[0130] The inner inclined rotary body mounting detection component 550 is composed of a photoelectric sensor or the like attached to a shaft support portion or the like of the rotary shaft portion 370 of the inner inclined rotary body 300. If the inner inclined rotary body 300 is properly installed, the rotary shaft portion 370 is located at the detection target of the photoelectric sensor. In contrast, if the inner inclined rotary body 300 is removed, or even if it is installed but the installation state is inappropriate, the rotary shaft portion 370 is separated from the detection target of the photoelectric sensor. As a result, the attachment and detachment of the inner inclined rotary body 300 can be detected.

[0131] The chemical agent dropping detection component 560 is composed of a photoelectric sensor or the like facing the dropping path of the chemical agent extending downward from the dropping discharge port 14, and detects the dropping state of the chemical agents that line up on the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotary body 200 and are sequentially discharged through the dropping path in order.

[0132] The controller 570 is a control circuit (control component) mainly composed of a microprocessor, receives various instructions such as an initialization instruction and a chemical agent discharge instruction from an operation unit (not shown) and an upper device, and performs rotation control of a set of rotary drive motors 542 that can be independently driven. The controller 570 includes a chemical agent discharge operation control program (chemical agent discharge operation control component) and a chemical agent quantity management program (chemical agent quantity management component). The chemical agent discharge operation control program (chemical agent discharge operation control component) refers to the presence or absence of the initialization instruction and the detection result of the chemical agent dropping detection component 560, and while adjusting the rotation direction and rotation speed of the rotary drive motor 541 and the rotation direction and rotation speed of the rotary drive motors 541 and 542, discharges the chemical agents in sequence. The chemical agent quantity management program (chemical agent quantity management component) is used to discharge only the number of chemical agents indicated by the chemical agent discharge instruction.

[0133] In the control performed by the dose quantity management program, after the drug feeder 100 is disassembled and the power is just turned on, if the drug feeder 100 is further supplied with drugs, reset operations, and initialization instructions issued after the drug discharge timeout, the estimated value of the drug size is cleared. In addition, by monitoring the detection results of the inner tilt rotating body installation detection component 550, it is determined whether the inner tilt rotating body 300 or the outer rotating body 200 is properly equipped, and the next dose quantity management process is performed only when it is properly equipped. That is, in this dose quantity management process, the drug discharge action control program is started, and then the detection results of the drug drop detection component 560 are monitored to grasp the number of discharged drugs. If only the number of drugs specified by the drug discharge instruction is discharged, the action of the drug discharge action control program is stopped.

[0134] In the control performed by the medicine discharge action control program, when the estimated value of the medicine size is confirmed and the estimated value is cleared, an initial action before obtaining the estimated value of the medicine size is performed. When performing this initial action, the rotation speed of the rotating container (200, 300) that combines the outer rotating body 200 and the inner inclined rotating body 300 is first switched from high speed to low speed. The previous high-speed rotation is performed only for the assumed time until the first medicine in the medicine feeder 100 in the initial state is transferred from the inner inclined rotating body 300 to the outer rotating body 200, for example, only for about a quarter of a rotation of the inner inclined rotating body 300. The subsequent low-speed rotation is performed at such a low speed that even medicine that is easy to roll will not take advantage of the momentum to fall to the discharge port 14 in excess until the first falling medicine is detected by the medicine drop detection component 560. As a result, even at the stage where the size of the medicine is unknown, it is possible to avoid excessive discharge while shortening the time required.

[0135] In addition, in the control performed by the medicine discharge action control program, if the medicine drop detection component 560 detects the drop of medicine, a notification of the completion of medicine discharge is sent to the medicine quantity management program each time, but when the initial action of clearing the estimated value of the medicine size is performed, the estimated value is also set. Specifically, when the initial drop of medicine is detected, the medicine detection time length is measured, and the measured value is directly used as the estimated value of the medicine size or the value obtained by multiplying the measured value by a predetermined constant is used. At this point, the initial action ends.

[0136] After setting the estimated value and when the estimated value has been set, normal operation is performed under the control of the chemical agent discharge operation control program. During this normal operation, the rotation speed of the rotary containers (200, 300) is variably controlled corresponding to the estimated value of the chemical agent size. Specifically, for example, the reciprocal of the above-mentioned estimated value is directly used as the control target value of the rotary containers (200, 300), or a value obtained by multiplying it by a constant is used as the control target value of the rotary containers (200, 300) for feedback control. In addition, when the operation stop is instructed from the chemical agent quantity management program, in the control of the chemical agent discharge operation control program, in order to prevent excessive rolling of the chemical agent, the rotation of the rotary containers (200, 300) is not suddenly stopped, but gradually decelerated, or in order to prevent excessive dropping of the chemical agent, reverse rotation is performed.

[0137] The reverse rotation of the rotary container is performed when only the number of chemical agents indicated by the chemical agent discharge instruction has been discharged. Therefore, for example, in a case where a chemical agent discharge instruction is issued from the chemical agent packing machine of the upper device, a so-called reverse discharge operation is performed in units of one pack.

[0138] In addition, the reverse rotation of the rotary containers (200, 300) can reverse-rotate the outer rotary body 200 and the inner inclined rotary body 300 together, but in this embodiment, the outer rotary body 200 continues to rotate forward, and only the inner inclined rotary body 300 slightly rotates in reverse.

[0139] Regarding the chemical agent supply device 100 of such an embodiment, with reference to the drawings, its usage state and operation will be described. Regarding the content that follows the matters already described for the chemical agent supply device 10, only a brief description will be given, and below, the improvements and new matters will be described in detail. First, if the outer rotary body 200 is not properly installed and the inner inclined rotary body 300 is not properly installed either, the inner inclined rotary body installation detection component 550 cannot detect the rotary shaft portion 370 of the inner inclined rotary body 300, and an alarm is issued accordingly. If the alarm is noticed, the settings of the outer rotary body 200 and the inner inclined rotary body 300 are redone.

[0140] Moreover, in order to use the chemical agent supply device 100 to sequentially send out a large amount of chemical agents 5, the cover 110 is opened (refer to Figure 7 (A)), and when the amount of the chemical agent 5 does not exceed the capacity of the rotary container, there is no need to install the internal space expansion body 800 (refer to the chemical agent supply device 100 in the upper right front of Figure 7 (A)), and when the amount of the chemical agent 5 exceeds the capacity of the rotary container, after installing the internal space expansion body 800 (refer to the chemical agent supply device 100 in the left depth of Figure 7 (A)), the required number or a slightly larger number of chemical agents 5 are randomly put into the rotary container (in addition, since the illustration of the chemical agent 5 is the same as the previously described Figure 12, Figure 13 (which is omitted here as it is based on [specific reference]).

[0141] In addition, since it is possible both before and after the medicine injection, adjustment operations related to the width restriction on the medicine transportation path performed by the restriction mechanism 700 (refer to Figure 4 ), and adjustment operations related to the height restriction on the medicine transportation path performed by the discrimination mechanism 600 (refer to Figure 5 ) are carried out. In addition, since even when the internal space extender 800 is installed, the sample placement area 740 of the restriction mechanism 700, the manual adjustment mechanism 650 of the discrimination mechanism 600, etc. are not hidden (refer to Figure 7 ), the adjustment can be carried out in the same manner as when not installed even when the internal space extender 800 is installed.

[0142] The adjustment of the width restriction of the restriction mechanism 700 (refer to Figure 4 (A), (B)) is performed by closing the small lid 741 after placing the sample medicine 5a in the sample placement area 740, and then tightening the fastening screw 742 to reliably fix the sample medicine 5a. In addition, the set state of the sample medicine 5a can be easily confirmed visually. Furthermore, due to the loading of the spring 730, the alignment of the double restriction members 710, 720 is also easy and accurate.

[0143] The adjustment of the height restriction performed by the second discrimination member 620 in the discrimination mechanism 600 (refer to Figure 5 (A), (C)) is easily and accurately completed by lowering the manual adjustment mechanism 650 after placing another sample medicine 5a on the lower limit setting mechanism 651 to clamp the sample medicine 5a. In most cases, this adjustment alone is sufficient, but when fine adjustment is desired based on trial operation, previous actual operation, etc., if necessary, the sample medicine 5a can be removed and the support member 621 can be slightly lifted or lowered with reference to the scale. In addition, the adjustment of the height restriction performed by the first discrimination member 610 in the discrimination mechanism 600 (refer to Figure 5 (A), (B)) can also be easily and accurately completed by manually adjusting while referring to the scale member 652 indicating the size of the sample medicine 5a.

[0144] After all the above preparatory operations are completed, the cover 110 is closed (refer to Figure 7 (B)) to prepare for the sequential discharge of the medicine. When the cover 110 is closed, the top plate 11A and the upper part of the rotary containers (200, 300) are covered by the cover 110, and the upper end opening of the cylindrical part 820 of the internal space extender 800 is also substantially sealed to prevent the medicine 5 from spilling. In addition, an initialization instruction is issued corresponding to the opening and closing operation and manual operation of the cover 110 (refer to Figure 8(B), the estimated value of the chemical agent size is cleared in the controller 570 accordingly, and preparations for discharging the chemical agent are made. However, when the chemical agent dispenser 100 performs the discharging operation, since the condition that the rotation axis portion 370 of the inner inclined rotating body 300 is detected by the inner inclined rotating body mounting detection component 550 is applied, the sequential discharging of the chemical agent is only in a safe state where the rotating containers (200, 300) are properly installed (refer to Figure 8 (A)) is executed.

[0145] Moreover, in the chemical agent dispenser 100, in a state where preparations for sequentially discharging the chemical agent are ready, when a chemical agent discharge instruction reaches the controller 570, the chemical agent discharge operation control of the chemical agent discharge operation control program is performed under the chemical agent quantity management of the chemical agent quantity management program. Initially, since the estimated value of the chemical agent size is cleared, an initial operation is performed, and the rotation of the rotating containers (200, 300) starts from a high speed first. Even when called high speed, it is not a high speed at which the brittle chemical agent 5 collapses or is damaged on the surface or the like. Moreover, when the first chemical agent is transferred from the inner inclined rotating body 300 to the outer rotating body 200, the rotation of the rotating containers (200, 300) becomes low speed. Therefore, even if the first chemical agent 5 is fed onto the outer rotating body 200 in advance, an undesirable situation where the chemical agent that is likely to roll goes to the drop discharge port 14 will not occur.

[0146] When rotating at a low speed, it cannot be expected that the chemical agent 5 runs on the inclined inner surface of the outer rotating body 200 due to the centrifugal force generated in the peripheral portion of the inner inclined rotating body 300. However, since the transfer portion 340 (refer to FIG. 1) forming an outward descending inclination 341 is formed in the peripheral portion of the inner inclined rotating body 300, when the transfer portion 340 descends along with the rotation of the inner inclined rotating body 300, the chemical agent 5 falls from above the upper surface portion 320 of the inner inclined rotating body 300 or the like. Moreover, as the transfer portion 340 rises further along with the rotation of the inner inclined rotating body 300, the chemical agent 5 in the transfer portion 340 is pushed up by the rear pushing portion 350.

[0147] By the above operation, the chemical agent 5 can be transported from the inner inclined rotating body 300 to above the outer rotating body 200. However, as in this embodiment, in the transfer portion 340B provided with the convex portion 360, in addition to the first convex portion 361 of the convex portion 360, the height of the pushing portion 350 increases, and on this basis, the inner peripheral side of the transfer portion 340B is also raised by the second convex portion 362 of the convex portion 360. Therefore, even if the rotation of the inner inclined rotating body 300 is extremely slow, for example, the chemical agent 5 can be pushed up from the inner inclined rotating body 300 to the outer rotating body 200 with a high probability and transferred onto the annular upper end surface 230.

[0148] In addition, in this embodiment, a promoting component 321 composed of wavy unevenness is formed on the relatively flat upper surface portion 320 of the upper surface of the inner inclined rotating body 300, and the wavy unevenness is composed of a plurality of linear grooves. Therefore, even when the inner inclined rotating body 300 rotates and the relative acting direction of gravity changes, the acting direction of the frictional force of the promoting component 321 changes, and the rotation of the inner inclined rotating body 300 is slow, and the medicament 5 riding on the upper surface portion 320 is effectively stirred. As a result, the tablets slide from the upper surface portion 320 into the transfer portion 340. Furthermore, since the same wavy unevenness as that of the promoting component 321 is formed on both the transfer portions 340A and 340B, when the medicament 5 on the transfer portion 340 is pushed up by the upward pushing portion 350, most of the medicament 5 quickly collapses if it becomes a mass. As a result, when the medicament 5 is transferred from the inner inclined rotating body 300 to the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200, a considerable amount of the medicament 5 in the state of being stacked up and down is reduced.

[0149] Moreover, the medicament 5 (refer to Figure 2 (A)) riding on the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200, if it is a medicament that is easy to roll and rolls, it reaches the groove 231 and is stable at the place where the groove width is wide (refer to Figure 2 (B), Figure 3). Even if it is a medicament that is difficult to roll, it is stabilized by slight interference at the groove 231, and is sequentially transported by the circular motion of the annular upper end surface 230 constituting the medicament transport path (refer to Figure 5 (A)) under the front-stage drooping object 612 of the first distinguishing component 610 of the distinguishing mechanism 600, on the inner peripheral side of the first restricting component 710 of the restricting mechanism 700, between the intermediate-stage drooping object 622 of the second restricting component 720 of the restricting mechanism 700 and the second distinguishing component 620 of the distinguishing mechanism 600, between the rear-stage drooping object 632 of the second restricting component 720 of the restricting mechanism 700 and the second distinguishing component 620 of the distinguishing mechanism 600, and to the outer peripheral side of the discharge guide 13 and the drop discharge port 14. In addition, during the transportation, since the annular upper end surface 230 is inclined by only an angle β (refer to Figure 2 (C)) in the direction of raising the position of the drop discharge port 14, the component of gravity attempts to push the medicament 5 back. However, since this component force is small and the propulsive force generated by the interference of the groove 231 and the like is even smaller, the medicament 5 that is easy to roll is also smoothly transported.

[0150] The transportation status of the medicament will be described in detail step by step. First, when the medicament 5 comes under the front-stage drooping object 612 of the distinguishing mechanism 600 (refer to Figure 5((A) and (B)), the single medicament 5 located approximately at the center of the medicament delivery path on the annular upper end surface 230, whether it is a flat medicament or a spherical medicament, will not interfere with the previous-stage drooping object 612 and can be smoothly transported. For the medicaments stacked on other medicaments 5 or the medicaments abutting against other medicaments 5, since they interfere with the lower part of the previous-stage drooping object 612, the stacking situation is mostly eliminated. Moreover, the interfering medicaments 5 tend to converge between the double previous-stage drooping objects 612, that is, to the center of the medicament delivery path, or are pushed toward the inner peripheral side compared with the medicament delivery path and often return above the inner inclined rotating body 300. In addition, since the interference at this time is an interference that the previous-stage drooping object 612 can easily deform and avoid, even if the medicament 5 is a brittle medicament, the medicament 5 is difficult to be damaged. Thus, at the previous-stage drooping object 612, the height limit of the medicament 5 is gently carried out, and the distribution in the lateral width direction is also carried out according to the situation.

[0151] Next, when the medicament 5 comes to the side of the first restricting member 710 of the restricting mechanism 700 (see Figure 5 (A)), since a lower stepped portion 711 that undertakes the lateral width restricting function is formed on the inner peripheral side surface of the first restricting member 710 (see Figure 4 (C)), for the two laterally arranged medicaments 5, 5, the lower stepped portion 711 pushes the inner peripheral side medicament out of the medicament delivery path toward one side of the inner inclined rotating body 300, or rearranges the two medicaments before and after on the medicament delivery path. In addition, since an upper stepped portion 712 that undertakes the height restricting function is also formed on the inner peripheral side surface of the first restricting member 710 (see Figure 4 (C)), for the medicaments stacked on other medicaments 5 or the medicaments abutting against other medicaments, since they interfere with the protrusion of the upper stepped portion 712 or the inclined surface thereunder, the stacking of the two medicaments 5 with each other is eliminated. Since the stacking of the two medicaments 5 with each other has been eliminated to a certain extent by the first separating member 610, it is basically eliminated by the first restricting member 710.

[0152] Thereafter, when the medicament 5 comes between the second restricting member 720 of the restricting mechanism 700 and the intermediate drooping object 622 of the separating mechanism 600 (see Figure 5(A)), the single medicine 5 slightly interferes with the intermediate pendant 622, but because the interference between the intermediate pendant 622 and the medicine is weak, it will not hinder the movement of the medicine and the medicine delivery. In contrast, the medicines stacked on other medicines 5 and the medicines 5 that are abutting each other interfere more strongly with the intermediate pendant 622 than with the single medicine 5, so the stacking is often eliminated. Since the interference at this time is also the interference that the intermediate pendant 622 is easier to deform and avoid than the front-stage pendant 612, even if the medicine 5 is a brittle medicine, it is difficult to destroy the medicine 5. Furthermore, the medicine 5 that has interfered is pushed toward the inner circumference compared to the medicine delivery path, returns to the inner inclined rotating body 300, or gathers toward the second partitioning component 620 to reach the medicine delivery path.

[0153] Furthermore, if the medicine 5 reaches between the second limiting member 720 of the limiting mechanism 700 and the subsequent hanging object 632 of the dividing mechanism 600 (see Figure 5 (A)), the two medicines 5 that overlap each other and the two medicines 5 that are arranged horizontally have almost disappeared, but there may be medicines 5 that remain on the medicine delivery path but are too close to the inner circumference. Such medicines 5 interfere with the subsequent pendant 632, and on one hand, they continue to stay on the medicine delivery path, and on the other hand, they gather to one side of the second partitioning component 620. The interference between the subsequent pendant 632 and the medicine is weak and gentle because the beads 633 are small particles. Moreover, due to the assistance of the attraction of the suction component 640, even when the subsequent pendant 632 shakes, the shaking is suppressed by the attraction of the suction component 640 and immediately calmed down. As a result, the load that gathers the medicine 5 to the second partitioning component 620 is stable.

[0154] Furthermore, if the medicine 5 comes to the side of the rear end portion of the second limiting member 720 of the limiting mechanism 700 (see Figure 5 (A)), when the medicine arrives next to the first limiting component 710, the final medicine queuing processing is implemented by the lateral width limiting function of the lower step part 721 and the height limiting function of the upper step part 722 in the same way as described above, and the medicine 5 is arranged in a row on the medicine delivery path of the annular upper end surface 230.

[0155] Thus, in this medicine feeder 100, since the front-stage pendant 612, the first limiting component 710, the middle-stage pendant 622, the rear-stage pendant 632 and the second limiting component 720 limit the height and lateral width of the medicine, the medicine 5 on the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200, even in any sparse or dense state, is formed into a row on the medicine delivery path due to the height and lateral width limitations of the medicine that are repeatedly performed multiple times in multiple stages.

[0156] Next, when the medicine 5 reaches the outer peripheral side of the discharge guide 13 (seeFigure 5 (A), the chemical agent 5 is fed along the outer peripheral side surface of the discharge guide 13 toward the discharge outlet 14 as the outer rotating body 200 rotates. At this time, chemical agents that are difficult to roll, such as disk-shaped ones, move on top of the annular upper end surface 230 while maintaining a stable state due to friction with the annular upper end surface 230, and thus enter the discharge outlet 14 one by one. The easily rollable chemical agents, such as spherical ones, are pushed by the discharge guide 13 and move from the widened portion 231A of the groove 231 on the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200 to the front end side of the groove 231 and then to the inclined surface 232 of the annular upper end surface 230 (see Figure 2 (B), Figure 3). The timing of the movement of the easily rollable chemical agents from the groove 231 to the inclined surface 232 is stabilized by the inclination (β) of the annular upper end surface 230 (see Figure 2 (C)). In addition, since the subsequent movement toward the discharge outlet 14 becomes a rapid and stable movement due to the inclination (α - β) of the inclined surface 232, the easily rollable chemical agents also enter the discharge outlet 14 one by one.

[0157] Moreover, the chemical agent 5 that has entered the discharge outlet 14 falls in a substantially free-falling state on the falling path (see Figure 8 (A)) and passes through the detection target of the chemical agent falling detection assembly 560. When the estimated value of the chemical agent size is cleared, that is, when the chemical agent 5 is the first discharged chemical agent, the chemical agent size is estimated according to the detection time length of the passing time detected at this time. Furthermore, based on the estimated value of the chemical agent size, the rotation speed of the subsequent rotation drive motor 540 and the rotation speed of the rotating containers (200, 300) are set. Specifically, the following speed setting is automatically performed: when the estimated value of the chemical agent size is large, the rotating containers (200, 300) are rotated at a high speed, but when the estimated value of the chemical agent size is small, the rotating containers (200, 300) are rotated at a low speed. Thereafter, the rotating containers (200, 300) are rotated at the set speed. Therefore, for smaller chemical agents, the low speed is used to prevent unwanted multiple falls, and for larger chemical agents, the high speed is used to improve efficiency.

[0158] Furthermore, if the medicine dropping detection component 560 detects the dropping of the medicine, each time in the controller 570, a notice of the completion of one medicine discharge is sent from the medicine discharge operation control program to the medicine quantity management program. Moreover, if the medicine quantity management program confirms that the number of times of medicine discharge has reached the indicated value of the medicine discharge instruction, an instruction to stop the discharge operation is sent from the medicine quantity management program to the medicine discharge operation control program. When this instruction is issued, the operation of the rotation drive motor 540 stops under the control of the medicine discharge operation control program, and thus the medicine discharge operation stops. In this way, the medicine 5 in the number indicated by the medicine discharge instruction is sent out from the medicine supply device 100, and the medicine supply corresponding to one medicine discharge instruction ends quickly and accurately.

[0159] In the above action description, some parts are omitted to avoid complication. However, the action in the case where the internal space expander 800 (refer to Figure 7 (the object in the left depth of (A)) is installed on the medicine supply device 100 and the medicine 5 is put there to exceed the height of the outer rotating body 200 will be additionally described.

[0160] In this case, from the position immediately behind the place where the medicine 5 is transferred from the inner inclined rotating body 300 to the outer rotating body 200 to the vicinity of the discharge guide 13 (refer to Figure 5 (A)), the medicine transport path above the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200 and the upper space of the inner inclined rotating body 300 are separated by the hanging part 830 of the internal space expander 800 (refer to Figure 6 (A)). Therefore, the medicine 5 in the cylinder part 820 of the internal space expander 800 will not undesirably flow in, and the medicine 5 is loaded little by little onto the medicine transport path through the bulge 812 of the through hole 811 (refer to Figure 6 (B)).

[0161] Similarly, when the internal space expander 800 is installed on the medicine supply device 100, the medicine 5 that returns from the medicine transport path above the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200 to above the inner inclined rotating body 300 through the distinguishing mechanism 600 and the restricting mechanism 700 (refer to Figure 5 (A)) is received on the inner peripheral wall surface of the outer rotating body 200 (refer to Figure 2 (A)) and the outer peripheral surface of the hanging part 830 of the internal space expander 800 (refer to Figure 6) into the gap, and then return below the through hole 811 of the internal space expander 800 by the inner inclined rotating body 300. Since the transfer part 340, the upward pushing part 350, and the convex part 360 are formed on the upper inclined part 330 on the upper surface of the inner inclined rotating body 300, the medicine 5 transported by the inner inclined rotating body 300 can be accurately fed even in a situation where it is below a large amount of the medicine 5 that has penetrated into the internal space expander 800.

[0162] In addition, the control method of the controller 570 will be described. In the controller 570, not only can the discharge operation mode of driving the outer rotating body 200 and the inner inclined rotating body 300 in the forward and reverse directions simultaneously be selected, but also the single-side sequential reverse rotation discharge operation mode of the outer rotating body 200 and the inner inclined rotating body 300 rotating reversely in sequence can be selected. In the case of selecting the latter sequential reverse rotation discharge operation mode, even if the discharge of one medicine 5 is detected, the inner inclined rotating body 300 is only slightly rotated reversely each time. Thus, the transportation speed of the medicine transportation path above the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotating body 200 is not reduced, and excessive discharge of the easily rolling medicine 5 is accurately prevented. Furthermore, the stirring effect that cannot be obtained only by forward rotation can also be exerted by reverse rotation. In particular, the convex part 360 provided on the upward pushing part 350 of the inner inclined rotating body 300 also exerts a large stirring effect during reverse rotation. In addition, the ratio of reverse rotation to forward rotation is not limited to the above-mentioned each time, and can also be one reverse rotation for every two forward rotations, one reverse rotation for every multiple forward rotations, etc., and can be appropriately selected.

[0163] Furthermore, when the medicine processed by the medicine supply device 100 is changed or when there is still medicine remaining in the medicine supply device 100, the remaining medicine will be recovered. However, two remaining medicine recovery components are provided on the medicine supply device 100. The first is the remaining medicine recovery component that makes the rotating containers (200, 300) continuously rotate reversely for a sufficient time. In this case, the medicine riding on the outer rotating body 200 is pushed into the inside of the outer rotating body 200 by the distinguishing mechanism 600, the restricting mechanism 700, and the inner peripheral side extension surface of the discharge guide 13 during reverse rotation, and accumulates on the inner inclined rotating body 300. The accumulated medicine is taken out by manual operation or the like. The second is the remaining medicine recovery component that makes the rotating containers (200, 300) continuously rotate forward until the discharge is completed. In this case, when the supply device is used alone, the discharged medicine is recovered by a recovery container or the like, and when it is loaded using a sub-packaging machine, it is sealed in sub-packaging paper for recovery.

[0164] In addition, when the drug processed by the drug supply device 100 is changed, the sample drug 5a is also replaced. First, the set sample drug 5a must be removed. However, since the small lid 741 of the sample placement area 740 of the restriction mechanism 700 is transparent, it is easy and reliable to visually check the presence, shape, etc. of the sample drug 5a placed there. Therefore, it is difficult to accidentally forget to remove it. The same applies to the sample drug 5a placed in the manual adjustment mechanism 650 of the sorting mechanism 600, which is also visible without being clamped shut.

[0165] [Drug discharge control]

[0166] Regarding the case where the controller 570 controls the rotation of the outer rotor 200, deceleration control is performed before discharging a pack of drugs, and reverse rotation control is performed after discharging a pack of drugs. There are also matters that overlap with the cases already described, but they will be summarized here. When there are multiple packs of drugs, initially the outer rotor 200 rotates at an appropriate speed that can queue the drugs, and the sequential discharge of the drugs and the detection of the discharged drugs are quickly repeated. However, if a drop discharge related to the drug just before the end of discharge (the last one approaching) is detected, the rotation of the outer rotor 200 decelerates accordingly. With this deceleration, the degree of "overrun operation causing excessive discharge" should be smaller than when there is no deceleration. Moreover, in response to the detection of the drop discharge related to the drug at the end of discharge (the last one) that occurs immediately thereafter, the outer rotor 200 quickly stops rotating temporarily or performs reverse rotation (reversal, inversion) after stopping. As a result, the next drug is kept away from the drop discharge port 14, so it is difficult to cause an unwanted excessive discharge of drugs (dropping multiple tablets).

[0167] When the number of the same type of drugs enclosed in one pack based on a prescription instruction is large, if the drop detection and counting are accurately performed from the first drug to the drug just before the end of discharge (the last one approaching), even if these drugs are strung together above the annular upper end surface 230 of the outer rotor 200 and high-speed feeding is performed, there are no adverse conditions. Furthermore, by decelerating the rotation of the outer rotor 200 after the drop discharge detection of the drug just before the end of discharge, it is possible to expect an improvement in the detection accuracy of the drop discharge related to the drug at the end of discharge. Moreover, since the unevenness (234, 235) of the scatter pattern between two adjacent grooves 231, 231 prevents and suppresses the unwanted sliding of the drugs that is likely to occur during deceleration and reverse rotation on the annular upper end surface 230, it is possible to avoid excessive discharge of drugs while aiming for high-speed drug discharge.

[0168] If the time from when the medicament falls from the outer edge of the upper surface (medicament transport path) of the annular upper end surface 230 of the rotating outer rotating body 200 to the detection by the medicament fall detection component 560 is defined as the "time lag", the time required to decelerate and stop the rotation of the outer rotating body 200 so that the medicament on the upper surface does not slide is defined as the "deceleration time", and the number of the same kind of medicaments included in one pack is defined as "N pieces", then among the above "time lag", the above "deceleration time" and the above "N pieces", there is a relationship as follows related to the occurrence of the above "over-limit operation causing excessive discharge".

[0169] From the first one of the N medicaments included in one pack to the (N - 1)-th one before the last one, if the medicament detection of the medicament fall detection component 560 functions normally, since the number of discharged medicaments is appropriately counted, this is sufficient, and there is no problem of over-limit operation caused by the magnitude of the set value, etc. regarding the rotation speed of the outer rotating body 200, the time lag, and the deceleration time. In contrast, after detecting the fall of the N-th medicament, which is the last medicament in one pack amount, the rotation of the outer rotating body 200 must be quickly decelerated and even stopped to prevent over-limit operation such as the undesired fall and discharge of medicaments into the next pack amount.

[0170] Moreover, at this time, if it is assumed that the medicaments are closely connected in a string, on the basis of the need to keep the allowable rotation amount and time lag during the deceleration of the outer rotating body 200 small, in order to prevent the medicaments from sliding on the annular upper end surface 230 and becoming uncontrollable, the rotation speed of the outer rotating body 200 is restricted corresponding to the time lag, etc. If over-limit operation causes undesired excessive discharge of medicaments, the sub-packaging operation is immediately stopped, and the excess medicaments are taken out, or without stopping the sub-packaging operation, instead, re-sub-packaging is performed, and then the excess sub-packages are taken out. However, since both require high-burden manual operations such as visual confirmation, over-limit operation must be avoided as much as possible.

[0171] Therefore, regarding the reduction in the rotational speed of the outer rotating body 200, it is rapidly carried out at an appropriate constant speed from the first to the (N - 1)th medicament every time a pack of N medicaments is discharged. During the period from detecting the discharge of the (N - 1)th medicament to detecting the discharge of the last Nth medicament, the function of preventing the sliding of the medicaments by the unevenness (234, 235) of the scatter pattern is enhanced. For example, it is carried out while decelerating from the above-mentioned constant speed to 60% of the speed. In this way, by narrowing the deceleration target to the last medicament in a pack and gently transporting only at that time, in a situation where overrun operation becomes a problem, the occurrence of overrun operation can be suppressed, and the medicaments that should be included in the next pack stay on the outer rotating body 200 without falling and discharging. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the efficiency reduction caused by deceleration to the minimum while accurately detecting the falling and discharging of the medicaments in a pack until the last medicament.

[0172] Furthermore, regarding the reverse rotation of the outer rotating body 200 after detecting the discharge of the last Nth medicament in a pack of medicaments, the outer rotating body 200 rotates reversely, for example, about 3°. In this way, by performing reverse rotation on the basis of deceleration, the first medicament of the next pack amount close to the falling discharge port 14 returns to a sufficient safety circle. Therefore, the function of preventing unwanted overrun operation is further enhanced. More specifically, the reverse rotation (counter-rotation) of the outer rotating body 200 is carried out in response to the detection of the fall of the "last medicament in a pack". However, since the rotational speed of the outer rotating body 200 is decelerated to about 60% immediately before that, as described above, the occurrence of overrun operation is suppressed. Therefore, during reverse rotation, it is possible to avoid the unwanted sliding of the medicaments in the next pack while quickly returning the medicaments in the next pack to a safety circle sufficiently away from the falling discharge port 14.

[0173] Moreover, during the discharge of the medicaments in the next pack, the outer rotating body 200 rotates from reverse rotation back to the original transporting direction. Therefore, the first medicament in the next pack of medicaments is quickly sent to the falling discharge port 14 at an arbitrarily set rotational speed of the outer rotating body 200 from the "position in a further safety circle" reliably separated from the falling discharge port 14. Even if it is said that the first medicament in the next pack leaves the falling discharge port 14 to the safety circle, the reverse rotation amount is suppressed to about 3°. On this basis, during the acceleration at this time, the unevenness (234, 235) of the scatter pattern between the grooves 231, 231 also prevents and suppresses the unwanted sliding of the medicaments. Therefore, the medicaments in the next pack are also discharged appropriately and quickly.

[0174] [Other]

[0175] In the above-described embodiment, the sample drug 5a selected from the drug 5 is placed in the sample placement area 740 of the manual adjustment mechanism 650 and the restriction mechanism 700 of the second partitioning member 620. However, the sample drug 5a is not limited to the drug selected from the drug 5, and may be a substitute other than the drug as long as the main dimensions are the same.

[0176] In the above-described embodiment, only the support member 621 of the second partitioning member 620 in the partitioning mechanism 600 becomes the cross-partitioning member, and the support member 611 of the first partitioning member 610 does not become the cross-partitioning member. However, this is not necessary, and the support member 611 of the first partitioning member 610 may also become the cross-partitioning member.

[0177] The control and usage method in which the inner inclined rotating body 300 is slightly reversed to prevent excessive rolling of the drug have been described. However, the ratio of reverse rotation to forward rotation can be further increased. Since the convex portion 360 is formed on the inner inclined rotating body 300 described above, the inner inclined rotating body 300 can also push up the drug 5 during reverse rotation and transfer it to the outer rotating body 200. Therefore, by alternately repeating forward rotation and reverse rotation at an appropriate ratio, the drug 5 in the rotating containers (200, 300) can be sufficiently stirred while being transferred.

[0178] In the above-described embodiment, as the inner inclined rotating body mounting detection component 550, a photoelectric sensor fitted into the shaft support portion of the rotating shaft portion 370 of the inner inclined rotating body 300 is exemplified. However, if the inner inclined rotating body mounting detection component 550 can detect the inner inclined rotating body 300 mounted in an appropriate posture, it may be other sensors. For example, it may be a mechanical switch. The mounting position of the inner inclined rotating body mounting detection component 550 is not limited to the shaft support portion of the rotating shaft portion 370. For example, it may be a support plate of the rotation drive motors 541 and 542, or an intermediate position between the rotation drive motors 541 and 542. The detection method is not limited to the method of directly detecting the rotating shaft portion 370, and may be indirectly detected via an appropriate link member or the like.

[0179] In relation to the above-described embodiment Figure 8In (A), the rotation drive motors 541 and 542 are shown as being slightly smaller than the rotation drive components 511 and 512, but the rotation drive motors 541 and 542 can also be larger, and the rotation drive components 511 and 512 can also be smaller. Additionally, the rotation drive motor 541 and the rotation drive component 511 are not inclined. In contrast, the rotation drive motor 542 and the rotation drive component 512 are inclined, but for any setting, whether to be inclined is also arbitrary. Furthermore, the left - right positions of the rotation drive motor 541 and the rotation drive component 511, and the left - right positions of the rotation drive motor 542 and the rotation drive component 512 are also arbitrary design matters.

[0180] Industrial Applicability

[0181] The medicament dispenser of the present invention can be used to replace part or all of the large number of queuing - tray - rotating - type medicament dispensers mounted on a tablet - packaging machine, or can be mounted on a tablet - dividing machine that only mounts one or a few medicament dispensers. Furthermore, it can also be mounted on a tablet counter (medicament counter) that counts the number of medicaments successively sent out, etc. in a device for filling a medicine bottle with tablets or other medicaments.

[0182] Explanation of Symbols

[0183] 5: Agent; 5a: Sample Application Agent; 5b: Random Containment Agent; 5c: Queue Completion Agent; 10: Agent Feeder; 11: Peripheral Wall; 12: Conveyor Surface Guide; 13: Discharge Guide; 14: Drop Discharge Port; 20: Outer Rotating Body; 21: Main Body; 22: Internal Space; 23: Ring-Shaped Upper End Surface (Agent Conveyor Path); 30: Inner Tilted Rotating Body; 31: Central Projection; 32: Recess; 33: Tilted Portion; 40: Support Mechanism; 41: Driven Component; 42: Rotation Transmission Component; 43: Rotation Transmission Component; 50: Rotation Drive Mechanism; 51: Rotation Drive Component; 54: Rotation Drive Motor; 60: Discrimination Mechanism; 61: Base End Portion; 62: Front End Portion (Agent Contact Portion); 63: Support Portion; 70: Restriction Mechanism; 71: First Restriction Component; 72: Second Restriction Component; 73: Linkage Mechanism; 74: Sample Placement Location; 100: Agent Feeder; 110: Cover; 200: Outer Rotating Body; 201: Vertical Line; 210: Lower Portion; 220: Internal Space; 230: Ring-Shaped Upper End Surface (Agent Conveyor Path); 231: Groove; 232: Tilted Surface; 233: Recess; 300: Inner Tilted Rotating Body; 310: Main Body; 320: Upper Surface Portion; 330: Upper Surface Tilted Portion; 340: Transfer Portion; 350: Pushing-Up Portion; 351: Central Extended Surface; 360: Projection; 361: First Projection; 362: Second Projection; 370: Rotation Shaft Portion; 500: Rotation Drive Mechanism; 511, 512: Rotation Drive Components; 541, 542: Rotation Drive Motors; 550: Inner Tilted Rotating Body Installation Detection Component; 560: Agent Drop Detection Component; 570: Controller (Control Component); 610: First Discrimination Component; 611: Support Component; 612: Pre-Stage Hanging Object; 613: Sphere, Large Bead; 620: Second Discrimination Component (Crossing Discrimination Component); 621: Support Component (Crossing Portion); 622: Intermediate Hanging Object (Horizontally Arranged Hanging Object); 623: Medium Bead; 632: Post-Stage Hanging Object (Horizontally Arranged Hanging Object); 633: Small Bead; 640: Attraction Component; 650: Manual Adjustment Mechanism; 651: Lower Limit Setting Mechanism; 652: Scale Component; 700: Restriction Mechanism; 710: First Restriction Component; 711: Width Restriction Portion, Lower Step Portion; 712: Height Restriction Portion, Upper Step Portion; 720: Second Restriction Component; 721: Lower Step Portion; 722: Upper Step Portion; 730: Spring (Loading Component); 740: Sample Placement Location; 741: Small Cover (Transparent Component); 742: Fastening Screw (Fixing Component); 800: Internal Space Expander; 810: Flange Portion; 811: Through Hole; 820: Cylindrical Portion; 830: Hanging Portion.

Claims

1. A medicament feeder, the medicament feeder comprising an outer rotating body, an inner inclined rotating body, and a restricting mechanism, The outer rotating body has an internal space with an opening portion opening upward and an annular upper end surface surrounding the opening portion, and is capable of rotating about an imaginary longitudinal line extending in the vertical direction within the internal space, The inner inclined rotating body is disposed within the internal space of the outer rotating body and is capable of rotating about an imaginary inclined line inclined with respect to the longitudinal line with a plurality of solid medicaments placed on the upper surface portion, and moves the plurality of medicaments onto the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body during rotation, The restricting mechanism queues up the plurality of medicaments that have moved onto the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body along the rotation direction of the annular upper end surface when the outer rotating body rotates, The medicament feeder is characterized in that, On the peripheral region of the upper surface portion of the inner inclined rotating body, a plurality of transfer portions and a plurality of pushing portions are alternately formed one by one in the circumferential direction. The plurality of transfer portions have an outward downward inclination that slopes downward toward the outside even in the raised position, and the plurality of pushing portions do not have the outward downward inclination, The plurality of transfer portions are structured such that if one or more of the medicaments ride on the outward downward inclination at the raised position, the medicament can be transferred onto the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body by means of the outward downward inclination, The pushing portion is structured such that it can push up one or more of the medicaments in the transfer portion to the raised position, and the transfer portion is located in front of the forward rotation direction of the inner inclined rotating body.

2. The medicament feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that, The raised position is a position where the end edge of the outward downward inclination of the transfer portion of the inner inclined rotating body coincides with the annular upper end surface or a position above the annular upper end surface.

3. The medicament feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that, Throughout the entire region of the transfer portion, the inclination angle of the outward downward inclination is constant, The pushing portion includes a raised portion continuously formed with the end of the transfer portion located in the reverse rotation direction of the inner inclined rotating body.

4. The medicament feeder according to claim 3, characterized in that, The raised portion has a raised surface that is continuous with the downward inclination and extends in the same direction as the direction in which the imaginary inclined line extends.

5. The medicament feeder according to claim 4, characterized in that, The plurality of transfer portions are composed of a first transfer portion and a second transfer portion alternately arranged in the circumferential direction of the peripheral region, The first transfer portion has a structure in which the upper surface portion of the inner inclined rotating body and the downward inclination are continuous, The inner inclined rotating body has a convex portion composed of a first convex portion and a second convex portion. The first convex portion protrudes from a first portion of the upper surface portion adjacent to the peripheral region, and the second convex portion is continuous with the first portion and protrudes from a second portion extending to the outer periphery of the upper surface portion. The second transfer portion has a structure in which at least a part of the downward slope extends outside the first convex portion. The upright surface of the upright portion extends outside the second convex portion.

6. The medicament dispenser according to claim 5, characterized in that A promoting component is provided on a portion of the upper surface portion of the inner inclined rotating body that is inner compared to the peripheral region. The promoting component generates frictional force in the circumferential direction of the inner inclined rotating body, promotes the stirring of a plurality of medicaments on the upper surface portion, and promotes the rolling of the medicaments in the direction toward the first transfer portion.

7. The medicament dispenser according to claim 6, characterized in that The promoting component is composed of a plurality of wavy unevenness arranged in the circumferential direction and extending toward the first transfer portion.

8. The medicament feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that, It further includes a falling medicament detection component and a controller. The falling medicament detection component detects the fall of the medicament that is discharged after queuing on the upper surface portion of the outer rotating body. The controller detects the falling interval of the medicament from the output of the falling medicament detection component, and controls the rotation of at least one of the inner inclined rotating body and the outer rotating body accordingly. The controller has a function of individually reversing the rotation directions of the inner inclined rotating body and the outer rotating body. While rotating the outer rotating body in the positive direction, the inner inclined rotating body is temporarily reversed accordingly with the detection of the medicament fall detected by the falling medicament detection component.

9. The medicament dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that It further includes a discharge guide member that is provided behind the restricting mechanism and guides the medicament on the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side of the annular upper end surface and feeds it into the falling discharge port. The outer rotating body is provided with a plurality of grooves arranged at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction on the annular upper end surface. The plurality of grooves respectively extend in the radial direction and have a widened portion where the width dimension is enlarged in the middle of the radial direction. In addition, the plurality of grooves have a shape in which the width dimension becomes smaller as they go toward the inner peripheral edge and the outer peripheral edge of the annular upper end surface compared to the widened portion.

10. The medicament dispenser according to claim 9, characterized in that The plurality of grooves reach the inner peripheral edge.

11. The medicament dispenser according to claim 9, characterized in that On the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body, a curved concave portion that becomes deeper toward the inner peripheral edge is formed between two adjacent grooves. The concave portion opens inward in the radial direction on the inner peripheral edge side.

12. The medicament dispenser according to claim 8, characterized in that The controller performs the following control: if the falling discharge related to one medicament before the end of discharge is detected by the falling medicament detection component, the rotation speed of the outer rotating body is decelerated; if the discharge of the last medicament is detected by the falling medicament detection component, the rotation of the outer rotating body is temporarily stopped or temporarily reversely rotated.

13. The medicament dispenser according to claim 9, characterized in that On the outer peripheral edge of the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body, an annular inclined surface that descends as it goes outward in the radial direction is formed over the entire circumference. A plurality of the grooves extend into the annular inclined surface.

14. The medicament dispenser according to claim 13, wherein the imaginary vertical line that is the rotation center of the outer rotating body is inclined by only an angle β from the vertical line, and the inclination direction of the imaginary vertical line is the direction that raises the portion of the outer rotating body near the discharge outlet for dropping. The angle β is smaller than the inclination angle α of the inclined surface.

15. The medicament dispenser according to claim 13, wherein A plurality of irregularities in a scatter pattern are formed between adjacent ones of the grooves.

16. The medicament dispenser according to claim 15, wherein On the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body, a curved concave portion that becomes deeper as it approaches the inner peripheral edge is formed between two adjacent ones of the grooves. On the outer peripheral edge of the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body, an annular inclined surface that descends as it goes outward in the radial direction is formed over the entire circumference. The plurality of irregularities are also formed between the curved concave portion and the annular inclined surface.

17. The medicament dispenser according to claim 15, wherein On the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body, a curved concave portion that becomes deeper as it approaches the inner peripheral edge is formed between two adjacent ones of the grooves. The plurality of irregularities are formed in a region surrounded by the groove, the curved concave portion, and the inclined surface.

18. The medicament dispenser according to claim 1, wherein It further includes a sorting mechanism that queues up a plurality of solid medicaments transported to above the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body by the rotation of the inner inclined rotating body when the outer rotating body rotates. The sorting mechanism is configured to limit the height of the plurality of medicaments above the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body. The limiting mechanism is configured to limit the position in the lateral width direction of the plurality of medicaments above the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body and also limit the height.

19. The medicament dispenser according to claim 18, wherein The limiting mechanism is a structure that narrows the width of the medicament transport path above the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body from the outer peripheral side. The limiting mechanism includes a height limiting portion and a width limiting portion. The height limiting portion faces the annular upper end surface with a predetermined interval therebetween, and the width limiting portion extends onto the annular upper end surface to limit the width of the medicament transport path.

20. The medicament dispenser according to claim 19, wherein The limiting mechanism includes a mechanism for variably adjusting the width limiting portion in order to variably adjust the width of the medicament transport path corresponding to the lateral width dimension of the medicament.

21. The medicament dispenser according to claim 18, wherein The distinguishing mechanism has one or more pendulums. If the one or more pendulums hang down from above the annular upper end surface of the outer rotating body and push the lower end laterally, they can be deformed. The pendulum is at a height that restricts the medicine above the annular upper end surface.

22. The medicine dispenser according to claim 21, wherein: The pendulum is a structure in which a plurality of beads or spheres are loosely connected.

23. The medicine dispenser according to claim 21, wherein: The one or more pendulums are composed of a plurality of pendulums, and the plurality of pendulums are at different radial positions of the outer rotating body.

24. The medicine dispenser according to claim 21, wherein: The one or more pendulums are composed of a plurality of pendulums, and the plurality of pendulums are at different circumferential positions of the outer rotating body.

25. The medicine dispenser according to claim 23, wherein: The one or more pendulums include a pendulum with one end mounted on the outer side in the radial direction of the outer rotating body and hanging down from the other end of the supporting member extending above the restricting mechanism.

26. The medicine dispenser according to claim 24, wherein: The pendulum is located beside the restricting mechanism, and an attracting member for applying an attractive force to the pendulum is attached to the restricting mechanism.

27. The medicine dispenser according to claim 22, wherein: The plurality of pendulums include the plurality of beads of different sizes.

28. The medicine dispenser according to claim 27, wherein: Among the plurality of beads, the beads with larger sizes are at a higher lower end position than the beads with smaller sizes.

29. The medicine dispenser according to claim 18, wherein: A manual adjustment mechanism and a lower limit setting mechanism are further provided. The manual adjustment mechanism can variably adjust the restricted height performed by the distinguishing mechanism through manual operation, and the lower limit setting mechanism can mechanically set the lower limit of the adjustment range by the clamping of the medicine or its substitute.

30. The medicine dispenser according to claim 29, wherein: A scale member is further provided, and the scale member indicates the restricted height performed by the distinguishing mechanism adjusted by the manual adjustment mechanism.

31. The medicament feeder according to claim 1, wherein It further includes a housing and an internal space extender. The housing has a peripheral wall that rotatably houses the outer rotating body inside. The internal space extender is mounted on the peripheral wall of the housing and extends the internal space of the outer rotating body upward.

32. The medicine dispenser according to claim 31, wherein: The internal space extender has a flange portion and a cylindrical portion. The flange portion has a through hole corresponding to the opening of the internal space of the outer rotating body and is fixed to the upper end portion of the peripheral wall. The cylindrical portion stands up from the peripheral edge portion of the through hole and extends upward from the flange portion in a manner of extending the internal space upward.

33. The medicine dispenser according to claim 32, wherein: The internal space extender further has a hanging portion extending into the internal space of the outer rotating body. The drooping portion is located beside the limiting mechanism and extends into the internal space to prevent the drooping portion from interfering with the limiting mechanism, the inner inclined rotating body, and the outer rotating body when the flange portion is fixed to the upper end portion of the peripheral wall.

34. The medicament feeder according to claim 1, characterized in that, It further includes a falling medicine detection component and a controller. The falling medicine detection component detects the fall of the medicine discharged after queuing. The controller variably controls the rotation speed of the outer rotating body according to the detection of the falling medicine detection component. The controller has a function of estimating the medicine size of the medicine by detecting the time length when one medicine falls from the output of the falling medicine detection component; and a function of changing the rotation speed of the outer rotating body according to the estimated value of the medicine size.

35. The medicine feeder according to claim 34, wherein At the initial operation before obtaining the estimated value, the controller changes the rotation speeds of the outer rotating body and the inner inclined rotating body from high speed to low speed.

36. The medicine feeder according to claim 34, wherein When changing the rotation speed after obtaining the estimated value, the controller determines the high or low rotation speed according to the size of the estimated value.

37. The medicine feeder according to claim 34, wherein It further includes a rotation driving mechanism for rotating the inner inclined rotating body and the outer rotating body. The rotation driving mechanism is structured to be able to individually reverse the rotation directions of the inner inclined rotating body and the outer rotating body according to instructions from the controller. The controller has the following function: when the outer rotating body rotates forward, when the falling medicine detection component detects the fall of the medicine, the inner inclined rotating body is temporarily reversed.

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