Tablet splitting device

Abstract

To provide a tablet splitting device capable of accurately splitting a tablet according to the shape of the tablet, even without any information about the tablet.SOLUTION: The tablet splitting device includes a tablet splitting unit having: a positioning member 71 for positioning a tablet supplied from a tablet supply unit and cutting blades 38, 67 for splitting the tablet positioned by the positioning member 71. The tablet splitting device also includes: a tablet length calculating unit for calculating a length of the tablet supplied from the tablet supply unit; and a length adjusting unit for adjusting a position of the positioning member relative to the cutting blades according to the tablet length detected by the tablet length calculating unit such that the tablet is split at a prescribed position by the cutting blades.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 19

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a tablet dividing device capable of dividing a tablet into individual halves and dispensing them as half tablets. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, Patent Document 1 describes a tablet dividing device equipped with a cutting mechanism that receives tablets supplied from a tablet cassette down a tablet drop path with a pair of receiving members and cuts the tablets by clamping them with opposing blades.

[0003] In the tablet splitting device of Patent Document 1, shape information such as the length, width, thickness, etc. of the tablet is obtained by reading identification information written in advance on the barcode or RFID tag of the tablet cassette, downloading it from a higher-level device via a communication line, or inputting it into the operation unit, and the cross-sectional shape of the groove in the tablet drop path is changed according to the shape of the tablet, thereby adjusting the dropping and passing posture of the tablet.

[0004] As described above, in conventional tablet dividing devices, it was necessary to prepare data on tablet shape information in advance and write it into the tablet cassette, store it in a host device, or input it into the operation unit. Therefore, if there was an error in the data, the tablet discharged from the tablet cassette would not pass through the tablet drop path, or the tablet would not be divided at the center. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5627508 Specification Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its objective is to provide a tablet dividing device that can accurately divide tablets according to their shape even without information about the tablets. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] As a means for solving the above problems, the tablet dividing device of the present invention comprises: a tablet dividing unit having a positioning member for positioning tablets supplied from a tablet supply unit that accommodates a large number of tablets, and a cutting blade for dividing the tablets positioned by the positioning member; a tablet length calculation unit that calculates the length of the tablet supplied from the tablet supply unit; The tablet cutting device further includes a length adjustment unit that adjusts the position of the positioning member relative to the cutting blade in accordance with the tablet length calculated by the tablet length calculation unit so that the cutting blade divides the tablet at a predetermined position.

[0008] In the tablet dividing device of the present invention, the tablet length of the tablet supplied from the tablet supply unit is calculated by the tablet length calculation unit, and the position of the positioning member relative to the cutting blade is adjusted by the length adjustment unit according to the tablet length. This allows the tablet to be divided at the center without acquiring tablet information.

[0009] The tablet supply unit includes a tablet height measuring unit that measures the height of a tablet and a tablet width measuring unit that measures the width of a tablet, The tablet dividing section includes a first tablet limiting member that limits movement of the tablet in a height direction parallel to the dividing direction, and a second tablet limiting member that limits movement of the tablet in a width direction perpendicular to the dividing direction, A height adjustment unit that adjusts the position of the first tablet limiting member based on the height of the tablet measured by the tablet height measurement unit; and a width adjustment unit that adjusts the position of the second tablet limiting member based on the width of the tablet measured by the tablet width measurement unit.

[0010] The tablet feeder has a first inclined surface and a second inclined surface along which the tablets fed from the tablet feeder slide down, and the cross sections of the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface perpendicular to the tablet feed direction are V-shaped, The first tablet limiting member is configured to face the first inclined surface, and the second tablet limiting member is configured to face the second inclined surface.

[0011] The first tablet limiting member is moved, and then the second tablet limiting member is moved, so that the tablet positioned by the positioning member is divided by the cutting blade.

[0012] The tablet dividing device of the present invention comprises: A tablet dividing device including a positioning member for positioning tablets supplied from a tablet supplying unit that accommodates a large number of tablets, and a tablet dividing unit having a cutting blade for dividing the tablets positioned by the positioning member, The tablet dividing section includes a first tablet limiting member that limits movement of the tablet in a direction parallel to the tablet dividing direction, and a second tablet limiting member that limits movement of the tablet in a direction intersecting the tablet dividing direction. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, the length of a tablet supplied from the tablet supply unit is calculated in the tablet length calculation unit, and the position of the positioning member relative to the cutting blade is adjusted in the length adjustment unit according to the tablet length, thereby having the effect of accurately dividing the tablet according to its shape even if no information about the tablet is available. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1A is a perspective view of the tablet dividing device of the present invention as viewed diagonally from above on the left side, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the tablet dividing device of the present invention as viewed diagonally from above on the right side. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tablet supply unit as viewed diagonally from above on the rear side. [Diagram 3] 4A and 4B are perspective and enlarged views showing a cross section of a tablet supply path. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tablet dividing section viewed diagonally from above on the front side. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tablet dividing section viewed diagonally from above on the rear side. [Figure 6] 1A is a perspective view of the upper cutter unit and the drive unit as viewed diagonally from above, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the upper cutter unit as viewed diagonally from below. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tablet table and the drive unit as viewed diagonally from above. [Figure 8]FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the tablet table as viewed diagonally from above, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the tablet table as viewed diagonally from below. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] A perspective view of the tablet length adjustment section, tablet width adjustment section, and tablet height adjustment section viewed diagonally from above on the tablet discharge chute side. [Figure 11] A perspective view of the tablet length adjustment section, tablet width adjustment section, and tablet height adjustment section viewed diagonally from above on the tablet discharge chute side. [Figure 12] FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. [Figure 14] 4 is a cross-sectional view of the tablet width adjustment section at a division position. FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tablet height adjustment section from diagonally above the left front side. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tablet height adjustment section from diagonally above on the right front side. [Figure 17] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tablet height adjustment unit as viewed from below. [Figure 18] FIG. [Figure 19] FIG. [Figure 20] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the origin positions of the length positioning member, the width pressing member, and the height pressing member. [Figure 21] FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the state when the positioning of an oval tablet is completed. [Figure 22] Sectional view of line XXI-XXI in Figure 21 [Figure 23] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the ejection state of a divided tablet. [Figure 24] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the state when the positioning of the large circular tablet is completed. [Diagram 25] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the state when the positioning of the small circular tablet is completed. [Figure 26] 4 is a timing chart of tablet detection by the tablet detection sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0016] FIG. 1 shows a tablet dividing device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The tablet dividing device 1 comprises a tablet supplying unit 2 and a tablet dividing unit 3. The tablet supplying unit 2 is detachably mounted on the front of a main body frame 5 which is mounted vertically on a main body base 4. The tablet dividing unit 3 is mounted diagonally on the rear of the main body frame 5. The tablet dividing device 1 divides tablets supplied from the tablet supplying unit 2 into half tablets in the tablet dividing unit 3 and discharges them onto a tray 6 on the main body base 4. Note that the outer cover 7 which covers the tablet dividing unit 3 is omitted in FIG. 1.

[0017] The tablet supply unit 2 can store tablets and dispense the required number of tablets, and in this embodiment, a universal tablet feeder as described in International Publication WO2015 / 041220 (Patent No. 6477478) is used. A detailed description is given in the publication, but the tablet supply unit 2 includes a disk-shaped first rotor 10a inclined with respect to the horizontal plane and an annular second rotor 10b as shown in FIG. 2. When the first rotor 10a and the second rotor 10b are rotated by the first drive motor 11a and the second drive motor 11b, respectively, the tablets stored on the first rotor 10a are transferred onto the second rotor 10b, transported on the second rotor 10b, and supplied to the tablet dividing unit 3 from the tablet outlet 12 through the tablet supply chute 58. The tablet outlet 12 is provided with a tablet count sensor 15 that detects tablets passing through the tablet outlet 12. The tablet supply section 2 is equipped with a height regulating section 13 that regulates the height of the tablet transported on the second rotating body 10b, and a width regulating section 14 that regulates the width of the tablet that has passed through the height regulating section 13.

[0018] The height regulating unit 13 has a regulating wall 13a parallel to the conveying surface of the second rotating body 10b, and is provided so that the height H from the second rotating body 10b to the regulating wall 13a can be adjusted by the height regulating motor 13b, so that tablets larger than the regulating height H are dropped onto the first rotating body 10a, and tablets smaller than the regulating height H are allowed to pass. Therefore, even if the shape information of the tablets contained in the tablet supplying unit 2 is unknown, when discharging the tablets, the height regulating unit 13 is driven to increase the regulating height from zero, so that the tablets pass through the height regulating unit 13, and the regulating height H when the tablet is detected by the tablet count sensor 15 becomes the tablet height. This tablet height is stored in the memory unit 104 of the control unit 100 described later.

[0019] The width regulating unit 14 has a regulating wall 14a perpendicular to the conveying surface of the second rotating body 10b, and is provided so that the width W from the inner peripheral edge of the second rotating body 10b to the regulating wall 14a can be adjusted by the width regulating motor 14b, so that tablets having a width greater than the regulated width W by a certain amount or more are dropped onto the first rotating body 10a, and tablets smaller than the regulated width W are allowed to pass. Therefore, even if the shape information of the tablets contained in the tablet supplying unit 2 is unknown, the regulated width W when the tablet passes through the width regulating unit 14 by driving the width regulating unit 14 to increase the regulated width from zero when the tablet is discharged and detected by the tablet count sensor 15 becomes the tablet width. This tablet width is stored in the memory unit 104 of the control unit 100 described later.

[0020] The measurement of the width and height of the tablet in the tablet supply section 2 is performed only once at the beginning, before the tablet is fed into the tablet supply section 2 and divided in the tablet dividing section 3 .

[0021] The tablet supply chute 58 between the tablet supply unit 2 and the tablet dividing unit 3 has a U-shaped cross section, and its inner surface is the tablet supply path 60. As described above, the tablet dividing unit 3 is disposed at an angle to the main body frame 5. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1(b), the tablet dividing unit 3 is fixed to the fixed base 4a on the main body base 4 and the fixed wall 5a of the main body frame 5 via fixed blocks 4b and 5b, respectively, and as shown in FIG. 3, the tablet supply chute 58 is inclined downward from the tablet supply unit 2 toward the tablet dividing unit 3, and the bottom surface and one side surface of the tablet supply chute 58 are inclined so as to form a V-shape. In the drawings from FIG. 4 onwards, the tablet dividing unit 3 is shown with the tablet table 50 to which the tablets are supplied horizontally for convenience. In addition, the direction in which the tablet supply chute 58 is located to the right is the front.

[0022] The tablet dividing section 3 mainly comprises a frame 20 , an upper cutter section 30 , a tablet table 50 , and a lower cutter section 65 .

[0023] <frame> 4 and 5, the frame 20 is formed in a frame shape by an upper plate 21, a lower plate 22, two upper and lower stages of left plates 23a, 23b, and two upper and lower stages of right plates 24a, 24b, and has two middle stages 25a, 25b between the upper plate 21 and the lower plate 22. As shown in Fig. 6, the middle stages 25a, 25b are formed with through holes 26a, 26b through which the upper blade holder 32 of the upper cutter part 30 advances and retreats when ascending and descending.

[0024] <Upper cutter section> As shown in FIG. 6, the upper cutter section 30 is made up of a slide block 31, an upper blade holder 32, and a cam section 33 and a drive section 34 as an upper blade lifting mechanism.

[0025] 6, the slide block 31 is elastically supported on the middle plate 25 via a first coil spring 35. The slide block 31 is also slidable along a slide shaft 36 provided between the upper plate 21 and the middle plate 25. A pair of rollers 37 are attached to the slide block 31, which serve as followers of a pair of first cams 41 described later.

[0026] 6, the upper blade holder 32 is attached integrally to the underside of the slide block 31, and has a shape that allows it to enter and exit the through-hole 26 of the middle plate 25. An upper blade 38 is attached to the upper blade holder 32 so that the cutting edge protrudes downward and is parallel to the tablet supply path 60.

[0027] The cam section 33 constituting the upper blade lifting mechanism has a pair of first cams 41, a pair of second cams 42, a drive pulley 43, and a sensor dog 44 on a horizontally extending camshaft 40 rotatably attached to the left plate 23a and the right plate 24a of the frame 10 via bearings 39. The first cam 41 abuts against a pair of rollers 37 of the slide block 31 to lift and lower the slide block 31. The second cam 42 abuts against rollers 56 of a pair of table pushers 52 that press the tablet table 50 described below to lift and lower the tablet table 50. The sensor dog 44 is for detecting the upper limit and lower limit positions of the upper blade 38 by sensors 45a, 45b.

[0028] The drive unit 34, which constitutes the upper blade lifting mechanism, transmits the rotational force of a blade drive motor 46 attached to the upper plate 21 of the frame 20 from a motor pulley 47 via a belt 48 to the drive pulley 43 of the cam unit 33, thereby rotating the camshaft 40.

[0029] <Tablet table> 7, the tablet table 50 has a pair of slide guides 51. The tablet table 50 has a table pusher 52 and a table lifting mechanism consisting of the cam portion 33 and the drive portion 34 described above.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 8, a tablet support surface 50a is provided on the upper surface of the tablet table 50 above the tablet supply path 60. A slit 50b through which a lower blade 72 of a lower cutter unit 65 (described later) passes when the tablet table 50 moves up and down, and a tablet discharge port 50c are formed in the tablet support surface 50a. In addition, a first tablet guide 53a and a second tablet guide 53b are provided on both sides of the tablet supply path 60 on the tablet support surface 50a.

[0031] The tablet table 50 is provided with a length positioning member 71, a width pressing member 81, and a height pressing member 91. These will be described in detail later together with their adjustment units.

[0032] The pair of slide guides 51 are provided on both sides of the lower surface of the tablet table 50, and are elastically supported on the lower plate 22 via second coil springs 54. A guide shaft 55 provided between the middle plate 25 and the lower plate 22 passes through the pair of slide guides 51, and the pair of slide guides 51 are slidable along the guide shaft 55.

[0033] 7, table pusher 52 of the table lifting mechanism has its lower end fixed to both side surfaces of a pair of slide guides 51 and its upper end extending above tablet table 50, penetrating middle plate 25 and extending below camshaft 40 of cam section 33. A roller 56 is provided at the upper end of table pusher 52, and roller 56 faces second cam 42 of cam section 33.

[0034] The second cam 42 of the cam portion 33, the drive pulley 43 of the drive portion 34, the blade drive motor 46, and the motor pulley 47, which have already been described, form a table lifting mechanism.

[0035] 10, a tablet supply chute 58 that guides tablets supplied from the tablet supply unit 2 to the tablet support surface 50a is provided on the tablet supply side of the tablet table 50, and a tablet discharge chute 59 is provided on the tablet discharge side of the tablet table 50. A tablet supply path 60 extends from the tablet supply chute 58 to the tablet support surface 50a of the tablet table 50.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 3, the tablet supply chute 58 is a groove having a U-shaped cross section, with one side and the bottom inclined to form a V-shape. That is, the tablet supply chute 58 has a first inclined surface 58a and second and third inclined surfaces 58b and 58c on both sides thereof, and the first and second inclined surfaces 58a and 58b are inclined at equal angles on both sides with respect to the vertical line Z. For this reason, the bottom surface of a circular flat tablet slides down the first inclined surface 58a, and the outer peripheral surface slides down the second inclined surface 58b. Also, the bottom surface of an elliptical flat tablet slides down the first inclined surface 58a, and the major axis portion of the outer peripheral surface faces the tablet supply direction, and the minor axis portion slides down the second inclined surface 58b.

[0037] As shown in Fig. 10, sensor cases 61 are provided on both sides of the tablet supply chute 58, and in the sensor case 61, first and second tablet detection sensors 61a, 61b for detecting tablets supplied from the tablet supply section 2 are provided at a predetermined interval along the tablet supply path 60, as shown in Fig. 19. Each of the tablet detection sensors 61a, 61b consists of a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element, and detects the front and rear ends of tablets passing through the tablet supply chute 58 depending on whether or not the light-receiving element receives light from the light-emitting element.

[0038] The tablet discharge chute 59 is in the shape of a rectangular tube, and its upper end is connected to the tablet discharge outlet 50c of the tablet table 50. As shown in Figure 19, the tablet discharge chute 59 is provided with a divided tablet detection sensor 62 that detects divided tablets. The divided tablet detection sensor 62 consists of a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element, and detects a divided tablet passing through the tablet discharge chute 59 depending on whether or not the light-receiving element receives light from the light-emitting element.

[0039] <Lower cutter section> 9, lower cutter section 65 is composed of a lower blade holder 66 attached to lower plate 22 of frame 20, and a lower blade 67 attached to lower blade holder 66. Lower blade 67 fits into slit 50b of tablet table 50 and faces upper blade 38.

[0040] 10 and 11 show a tablet length adjusting unit 70, a tablet width adjusting unit 80, and a tablet height adjusting unit 90, which are arranged on the tablet table. These will be described below.

[0041] <Tablet length adjustment unit> As shown in FIG. 12, the length adjustment unit 70 includes a length positioning member 71 and a length positioning motor 72.

[0042] The length positioning member 71 is placed on the tablet table 50, and has a base 73 and an arm 74. The base 73 is rotatably mounted on the tablet table 50 by a support shaft 73a. The arm 74 extends from the base 73 to the terminal end of the tablet supply path 60, and has an abutment portion 74a at its tip that abuts against the front edge of the tablets in the supply direction. A sensor dog 75 is provided on the base 73 of the length positioning member 71, and a sensor 76 provided on the frame 20 detects the position of the abutment portion 74a of the arm 74. The length positioning motor 72 is attached to the tablet table 50 and is directly connected to a support shaft 73 a of the base 73 of the length positioning member 71 .

[0043] The tablet length adjustment unit 70 rotates the arm portion 74 of the length positioning member 71 by the length positioning motor 72, so that the distance between the abutment portion 74a of the arm portion 74 and the dividing position, i.e., the length from the abutment portion 74a of the arm portion 74 to the upper blade 38, can be adjusted.

[0044] <Tablet width adjustment section> As shown in FIG. 13, the tablet width adjusting section 80 includes a width pressing member 81 which is the second tablet limiting member of the present invention, a slide block 82, a support plate 83, and a width pressing motor 84.

[0045] The width pressing member 81 is placed on the tablet table 50 and has a base 85 and a tablet pressing part 86. As shown in FIG. 14, a cylindrical guide 85a is protruded from the bottom surface of the base 85, and the guide 85a penetrates a guide hole 50d extending in a direction perpendicular to the tablet supply path 60 formed in the tablet table 50. As shown in FIG. 13, the tablet pressing part 86 extends from the base 85 toward the tablet supply path 60 in a direction perpendicular to the tablet supply path 60. At the tip of the tablet pressing part 86, a slit 86a into which the upper blade 38 enters is formed, thereby forming two arms 86b. The tip surfaces of the two arms 86b face the second inclined surface 58b of the tablet supply chute 58, and are formed in a V shape with an angle of less than 180 degrees around the slit 86a as shown in FIG. 21, so that the tablets can be pressed in a stable state. The tip of the arm 86b, which is located upstream of the slit 86a in the tablet supply path 60, extends toward the second tablet guide 53b so as to prevent tablets from becoming caught in the gap between the second tablet guide portion 53b and the tablet pressing portion 86.

[0046] The slide block 82 is accommodated in a guide groove 50e formed on the back surface of the tablet table 50 shown in Fig. 8(b) so as to extend in a direction perpendicular to the tablet supply path 60. The slide block 82 is fixed integrally to the width pressing member 81 by a bolt 85b passing through a guide 85a of the width pressing member 81. A rack 82a is formed on the side edge of the slide block 82 in parallel with the guide groove 50e. A sensor dog 82b is provided on the slide block 82, and a sensor 87 provided on the support plate 83 detects the slide position.

[0047] The support plate 83 is provided on the lower surface of the tablet table 50 so as to cover the slide block 82 housed in the guide groove 50e. The support plate 83 supports the slide block 82 via the LM guide 88 so as to be slidable. The width pressing motor 84 is attached to the lower plate 22 of the frame 20, and has a pinion 84a on its rotation shaft. The pinion 84a meshes with a rack 82a of the slide block 82.

[0048] In the tablet width adjustment section 80, the pinion 84a is rotated by the width pressing motor 84, and the rack 82a is driven to move the slide block 82, which causes the tablet pressing section 86 of the width pressing member 81 to move, making it possible to adjust the width between the tip of the tablet pressing section 86 and the first tablet guide 53a, and to press the tablet against the second tablet guide 53b that is continuous with the second inclined surface 58b of the tablet supply chute 58. The width pressing member 8 only needs to limit the movement of the tablet in the width direction, and it is acceptable for there to be a gap between the tablet and the width pressing member 8 without actually pressing the tablet.

[0049] <Tablet height adjustment unit> As shown in Figures 15 to 17, the tablet height adjustment section 90 comprises a height pressing member 91, which is the first tablet limiting member of the present invention, a support block 92, a slide plate 93, a rotating shaft 94, a pair of guide blocks 95, and a height regulating motor 96.

[0050] As shown in Fig. 15, the height pressing member 91 has a base 91a and a height regulating portion 91b. The base 91a is located outside the right plate 24 of the frame 20, and extends laterally from above the tablet supply chute 58. The height regulating portion 91b is located above the tablet supply chute 58, and is integrally provided at one end of the base 91a, faces the first inclined surface 58a of the tablet supply chute 58, and extends along the tablet supply path 60 of the tablet supply chute 58. One end of the height regulating portion 91b extends to the dividing position of the tablet table 50, and is provided with a slit 91c into which the upper blade 38 enters.

[0051] The support block 92 is attached onto the base portion 91 a of the height pressing member 91 . As shown in Fig. 16, the slide plate 93 is attached to a support block 92 and extends upward from the support block 92. As shown in Fig. 15, a screw block 93b having a female screw 93a is attached to the slide plate 93 on the side facing the right plate 24 of the frame 20, and a sensor dog 93c is provided on the opposite side to the screw block 93b, as shown in Fig. 16. The elevated position of the sensor dog 93c is detected by a sensor 97 attached to a guide block 95, which will be described later.

[0052] 15, the rotating shaft 94 has a male thread 94a that screws into the female thread 93a of the screw block 93b, and extends parallel to the slide plate 93. The lower end of the rotating shaft 94 is rotatably supported by a lower bearing block 94b fixed to the right plate 24 of the frame 20, and the upper end passes through an upper bearing block 94b fixed to the right plate 24 of the frame 20, and a driven pulley 94d is attached to it. The height regulating motor 96 is attached to the upper plate 21 of the frame 20, and has a drive pulley 96a on its rotation shaft, which is connected to a driven pulley 94d of the rotation shaft 94 via a belt 96b. The pair of guide blocks 95 are fixed to the right plate 24 of the frame 20, and have slide grooves 95a formed on the opposing surfaces thereof, into which the slide plate 93 slidably fits.

[0053] In the tablet height adjustment unit 90, a driving pulley 96a is rotated by a height regulating motor 96, and the rotation is transmitted from the driving pulley 96a to a driven pulley 94d via a belt 96b, which rotates a rotating shaft 94, and the screw block 93b, the slide plate 93, and the support block 92 are raised and lowered, so that the height pressing member 91 is raised and lowered, and the height from the upper surface of the tablet supply path 60 of the tablet supply chute 58 to the lower surface of the height pressing member 91 can be adjusted, and the tablet can be pressed against the first inclined surface 58a of the tablet supply chute 58 and the tablet table 50. In addition, the lower surface of the height pressing member 91 facing the first inclined surface 58a of the tablet supply chute 58 is formed flat, so that the tablet sliding down the tablet supply chute 58 is prevented from jumping out of the tablet supply chute 58. The height pressing member 91 only needs to limit the movement of the tablet in the height direction, and there may be a gap between the tablet and the height pressing member 91 without actually pressing the tablet.

[0054] FIG. 18 shows a block diagram of a control unit 100 which controls the tablet supply unit 2, the tablet dividing unit 3, the tablet length adjusting unit 70, the tablet width adjusting unit 80, and the tablet height adjusting unit 90.

[0055] The control unit 100 includes a central processing unit 101, an operation unit 102 such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a switch, a display unit 103 such as a display and a lamp, and a storage unit 104. The control unit 100 transmits a drive signal to the first drive motor 11a and the second drive motor 11b of the tablet supply unit 2, and rotates the first rotor 10a and the second rotor 10b to supply the tablets. The control unit 100 also transmits a drive signal to the height restriction motor 13b for the tablet supply unit 2, and raises the height restriction unit 13 from the origin until the tablet passes through the height restriction unit 13. The control unit 100 also transmits a drive signal to the width restriction motor 14b, and moves the width restriction unit 14 from the origin until the tablet passes through the width restriction unit 14.

[0056] The control unit 100 has a tablet height measurement unit 105, a tablet width measurement unit 106, and a tablet length calculation unit 107. The tablet height measurement unit 105 measures the height to which the height regulation unit 13 rises from the origin until the tablet passes through the height regulation unit 13 as the tablet height, based on the drive amount of the height regulation motor 13b, and stores this in the memory unit 104. The tablet width measurement unit 106 measures the distance that the width regulation unit 14 moves from the origin until the tablet passes through the width regulation unit 14, based on the drive amount of the width regulation motor 14b, as the tablet width, and stores this in the memory unit 104. The tablet length calculation unit 107 calculates the tablet speed based on the distance between the first tablet detection sensor 61a and the second tablet detection sensor 61b provided on the tablet supply chute 58 and the time it takes for the tablet to pass between the first tablet detection sensor 61a and the second tablet detection sensor 61b, and calculates the tablet length by multiplying the tablet speed by the passing time it takes for the front and rear ends of the tablet to pass through the first tablet detection sensor 61a and the second tablet detection sensor 61b, and stores this in the memory unit 104.

[0057] The control unit 100 transmits drive signals to the height pressing motor 96, width pressing motor 84, and length positioning motor 72 in accordance with the tablet height, tablet width, and tablet length stored in the memory unit 104 for the tablet dividing unit 3, and positions the height pressing member 91, width pressing member 81, and length positioning member 71. The control unit 100 also drives the blade driving motor 46 to cut the tablet on the tablet table 50 and divide it into half tablets.

[0058] <Operation of the tablet dividing device> Next, the operation of the tablet dividing device 1 having the above configuration will be described.

[0059] First, the tablet supplying section 2 is in a state in which tablets to be divided are stored and can be discharged one by one. Also, as shown in FIG. 19, the slide block 31 of the tablet dividing section 3 is biased by the first coil spring 35, and the roller 37 contacts the cam surface of the smallest radius below the first cam 41, so that the upper blade 38 is separated from the lower blade 67. Also, the tablet table 50 is biased upward by the second coil spring 54 and abuts against the cam surface of the smallest radius below the second cam 42 via the table pusher 52 and the roller 56, so that it is stopped at a predetermined position. Furthermore, the height pressing member 91, the width pressing member 81, and the length positioning member 71 of the tablet table 50 shown in FIG. 20 are each at the origin position. That is, the height pressing member 91 is at the position farthest from the tablet supply path 60, the width pressing member 81 is at the position farthest from the first guide member 53a, and the length positioning member 71 is closest to the dividing position, so that the abutting portion 74a faces the tablet path 60 at a right angle. As shown in FIG. 19, the lower blade 67 is located in the slit 50b of the tablet table 50 and is positioned below the tablet supporting surface 50a.

[0060] In this standby state, the tablet supply unit 2 operates and dispenses the required number of tablets in sequence. In the tablet supply unit 2, before dividing the tablet in the tablet dividing unit 3, the height regulating unit 13 is driven to increase the regulated height from zero, and the regulated height H when the tablet passes through the height regulating unit 13 and is detected by the tablet count sensor 15 is stored as the tablet height in the memory unit 104 of the control unit 100. In addition, the width regulating unit 14 is driven to increase the regulated width from zero, and the regulated width W when the tablet passes through the width regulating unit 14 and is detected by the tablet count sensor 15 is stored as the tablet width in the memory unit 104 of the control unit 100. The regulated height and regulated width may be increased from the height and width of the smallest tablet among the tablets that can be supplied by the tablet supply unit 2, instead of increasing from zero.

[0061] Tablets T dispensed from the tablet supply unit 2 slide down the tablet supply chute 58. The tablet chute 58 is inclined in a V shape consisting of a first inclined surface 58a and a second inclined surface 58b, so that the bottom surface of a circular flat tablet slides down the first inclined surface 58a and the outer circumferential surface slides down the second inclined surface 58b. Also, the bottom surface of an oval flat tablet slides down the first inclined surface 58a and the major axis portion of the outer circumferential surface faces the tablet supply direction and the minor axis portion slides down the second inclined surface 58b.

[0062] The tablet is detected by the first tablet detection sensor 61a and the second tablet detection sensor 61b while sliding down the tablet supply chute 58. Fig. 26(a) shows a timing chart when the first tablet detection sensor 61a and the second tablet detection sensor 61b detect the leading end and trailing end of the tablet. If the detection times of the leading end and trailing end of the tablet by the first tablet detection sensor 61a are tA and tA', the detection times of the leading end and trailing end of the tablet by the second tablet detection sensor 61b are tB and tB', and the distance between the first tablet detection sensor 61a and the second tablet detection sensor 61b is S, the tablet velocity V and tablet length L can be calculated by the following formulas. V = S / (((tB-tA)+(tB´-tA´)) / 2) L=V*((tA´-tA)+(tB´-tB´)) / 2 The calculated tablet length is stored in the memory unit 104 of the control unit 100, which will be described later. It is also possible to use only one of the first tablet detection sensor 61a and the second tablet detection sensor 61b and perform the calculation using the following formula. V = S / (tB-tA) L = V*(tA´-tA)

[0063] If the tablet's posture is not stable when it slides down the tablet supply chute 58, or if the tablet's falling speed is not constant due to friction between the tablet and the wall of the tablet supply chute 58, the passing times of the first tablet detection sensor 61a and the second tablet detection sensor 61b may differ significantly, as shown in Fig. 26(b). In such a case, an error can be reported when the difference between the passing time of the first tablet detection sensor 61a and the passing time of the second tablet detection sensor 61b exceeds a predetermined threshold value ΔTth. |(tA´-tA)-(tB´-tB)|>ΔTth

[0064] The tablet that slides down through the tablet supply chute 58 moves on the tablet table 50, abuts against the length positioning member 71, and stops on the tablet support surface 50a. In this state, as shown in Fig. 20, when tablets of different lengths abut against the abutment portion 74a of the length positioning member 71, the center of the tablet is shifted from the upper blade 38 and the lower blade 67, and the tablet is not divided in the middle. Therefore, in this embodiment, the tablet is positioned by the length adjustment portion 70 so that the center of the tablet is located at the position of the upper blade 38 and the lower blade 67.

[0065] That is, the length positioning motor 72 of the length adjustment unit 70 is driven, and based on the tablet length stored in the memory unit 104, the length positioning member 71 is rotated so that the distance from the dividing position by the upper blade 38 to the abutment part 74a of the length positioning member 71 becomes 1 / 2 of the tablet length L, as shown in Fig. 21. This makes it possible to divide the tablet accurately at the center of its length according to its length.

[0066] Even if the tablet is a large diameter circular tablet as shown in Figure 24 or a small diameter circular tablet as shown in Figure 25, the length positioning member 71 is rotated according to the length, i.e., diameter, of the tablet, so that the tablet can be accurately divided in the middle of its length.

[0067] Thus, in this embodiment, the tablet supplied from the tablet supply unit 2 is detected by the first tablet detection sensor 61a and the second tablet detection sensor 61b while passing through the tablet supply path 60, the tablet length is calculated by the tablet length calculation unit 107, and the position of the length positioning member 71 relative to the upper blade 38 and the lower blade 67 is adjusted in the length adjustment unit 70 according to the tablet length, so that the tablet can be accurately divided according to the tablet shape even without tablet information. Note that if the tablet reaches the length positioning member 71 before the position adjustment of the length positioning member 71 is completed, the length positioning member 71 moves after the tablet hits the length positioning member 71 and positions the tablet at the accurate dividing position.

[0068] After the adjustment of the length positioning member 71 is completed, the width pressing motor 84 of the width adjustment unit 80 is driven, and based on the tablet width stored in the memory unit 104, as shown in Figs. 21 and 22, the width pressing member 81 is moved so that the distance from the tip of the arm 86a of the width pressing member 81 to the first tablet guide 53a becomes the same as the tablet width W. This makes it possible to press the tablet against the first tablet guide 53a according to the tablet width and prevent the tablet from shifting during tablet division. Furthermore, the presence of the width adjustment unit 80 that presses the tablet in the width direction eliminates the need to provide a leaf spring or the like on both sides of the upper blade 38 that presses the tablet from above, making it easier to clean the upper blade 38.

[0069] On the other hand, in the height adjustment mechanism 90, before the tablets are discharged from the tablet supply unit 2, the height pressing motor 96 of the height adjustment mechanism 90 is driven and, based on the tablet height stored in the memory unit 104, moves the height pressing member 91 so that the distance from the lower surface of the height regulating portion 91b of the height pressing member 91 to the tablet table 50 becomes slightly larger than the tablet height H, as shown in Fig. 22. In this way, by adjusting the gap between the tablet and the height pressing member 91 according to the tablet height, the tablet does not jump out of the tablet supply path 60, but slides down the tablet supply path 60 and is reliably supplied to the tablet table 5.

[0070] When the length positioning member 71, the width pressing member 81, and the height pressing member 91 are positioned, the blade drive motor 46 of the tablet dividing unit 3 rotates the cam unit 33, rotating the first cam 41 and the second cam 42. The first cam 41 presses the roller 37 downward, causing the slide block 31 to descend against the biasing force of the first coil spring 35. As a result, the upper blade 38 descends and comes into contact with the tablet T, the tablet table 50 is pushed by the upper blade 38 via the tablet T and descends, and the lower blade 67 protruding from the slit 50b comes into contact with the tablet T, and the tablet T is sandwiched between the upper blade 38 and the lower blade 67.

[0071] Returning to Figure 19, the upper blade 38 descends further, and the tablet T is cut and divided by the upper blade 38 and the lower blade 67. At this point, the tablet table 50 is biased upward by the second coil spring 54, and therefore the tablet table 50 is in contact with the tablet T from below from before division until the completion of division, so that the position of the tablet T is stable and it is divided evenly.

[0072] Next, the second cam 42 pushes the roller 56 of the table pusher 52 downward, causing the tablet table 50 to descend against the biasing force of the second coil spring 54. The tablets T on the tablet support surface 50a of the tablet table 50 descend together with the tablet table 50. This causes the lower blade 67 to bite into the tablets T more strongly, and the tablets T are cut from below by the lower blade 67.

[0073] In this way, the upper blade 38 is moved toward the lower blade 67 to pinch the tablet between the upper blade 38 and the lower blade 67, cutting into the tablet T without the blade tips coming into contact, and the tablet table 50 is moved toward the lower blade 67 to press the tablet T against the lower blade 67, further cutting into the tablet T to divide it, so that even if there is a gap between the blade tips of the upper blade 38 and the lower blade 67, the tablet T can be divided by the upper blade 38 and the lower blade 67. As a result, the blades are not damaged by contact of the blade tips, and as the cutting depth is small, no fragments are scattered.

[0074] When the first cam 41 moves away from the roller 37, the slide block 31 rises due to the biasing force of the first coil spring 35. Also, as the second cam 42 moves away from the roller 37, the tablet table 50 rises due to the biasing force of the second coil spring 54, and the lower blade 38 retreats into the slit 50b of the tablet table 50. This returns the tablet table 50 to its original state.

[0075] When it is detected that the cam portion 33 has rotated once, the length positioning member 71 and the width pressing member 81 retreat from the division position as shown in Fig. 23. As a result, the divided tablet T on the tablet table 50 slides down from the tablet table 50 due to its own weight and falls from the tablet discharge chute 59 onto the tray 6. The tablet T is detected by the tablet detection sensor 61 while falling through the tablet discharge chute 59. When the discharge of the tablet is confirmed, the length positioning member 71 and the width pressing member 81 each return to their original positions. The height pressing member 91 does not need to return to the original position every time a tablet is divided, and only needs to return to the original position when a new type of tablet is fed into the tablet storage unit 2 and is discharged for the first time.

[0076] When the division of tablet T is completed by the above operations, the next tablet is supplied from the tablet supply section 2 to the tablet dividing section 3, and by repeating the same operations, the required number of tablets T can be divided and dispensed onto the tray 6.

[0077] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

[0078] For example, the length positioning member 71 is configured to rotate in the above embodiment, but may be configured to move parallel to the tablet supply path 60. Similarly, the width pressing member 81 is configured to slide perpendicular to the tablet supply path 60 in the above embodiment, but may be configured to rotate.

[0079] In addition, to prevent tablets coming from the tablet supply path 60 from hitting the length positioning member 71 and bouncing off, the length positioning member 71 may be moved downstream of the tablet supply path 60 a predetermined time after the tablet is detected by the first tablet detection sensor 61a, and the tablet may be received while the length positioning member 71 is moving.

[0080] In the above embodiment, the positions of the height regulating unit 13 and the width regulating unit 14 can be adjusted by the height regulating motor 13b and the width regulating motor 14b, respectively, but they may be adjusted manually instead of by the motor. In this case, it is preferable to rotate the first rotator 10a and the second rotator 10b at a low speed until the first tablet of the tablets stored on the first rotator 10a is transferred onto the second rotator 10b, conveyed on the second rotator 10b, and discharged from the tablet outlet 12, and then rotate the first rotator 10a and the second rotator 10b at a high speed after the first tablet is discharged. Even if the height regulating unit 13 and the width regulating unit 14 are incorrectly adjusted and multiple tablets pass through the height regulating unit 13 and the width regulating unit 14, since the first rotator 10a and the second rotator 10b are rotating at a low speed, the multiple tablets can be collected from the second rotator 10b before being discharged from the tablet outlet 12, and excessive dispensing of tablets can be prevented.

[0081] In the above embodiment, the height of the tablet is measured by the restricted height H when the tablet passes through the height restricting portion 13 of the tablet supplying section 2. If the height restricting portion 13 is too low, the tablet does not pass through, and the restricted height H of the height restricting portion 13 is not stored as the tablet height. However, if the height restricting portion 13 is too high, the tablet passes through the height restricting portion 13, and the restricted height H of the height restricting portion 13 at that time is stored as the tablet height, making it difficult for the tablet pressing member 91 in the tablet dividing section 3 to press the tablet.

[0082] Therefore, in addition to the measurement of the tablet height by the height regulating unit 13, a plurality of third tablet detection sensors 61c and fourth detection sensors 61d may be provided at predetermined intervals in the height direction of either the first tablet detection sensor 61a or the second tablet detection sensor 61b (in FIG. 19, the second tablet detection sensor 61b) for measuring the length of the tablet shown in FIG. 19, and the height of the tablet passing through the tablet supply chute 58 may be measured by these plurality of tablet detection sensors 61b, 61c, 61d. In this case, if the tablet height measured by the plurality of tablet detection sensors 61b, 61c, 61d of the tablet supply chute 58 differs from the regulating height H measured during manual adjustment of the height regulating unit 13 of the tablet supply unit 2, a warning is issued to notify the user that there has been an error in the manual adjustment of the height regulating unit 13, and a readjustment of the height regulating unit 13 can be prompted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0083] 1...Tablet splitting device 2. Tablet supply unit 3…Tablet dividing section 13…Height restriction section 14…Width regulation section 38…Upper blade (cutting blade) 50…Pill table 50a...Tablet support surface 58...Tablet ejection chute 60...Tablet supply path 58a…First slope 58b…Second slope 61a...First tablet detection sensor 61b...Second tablet detection sensor 67…Lower blade (cutting blade) 70…Tablet length adjustment section 71...Length positioning member 80…Tablet width adjustment section 81...Width pressing member (second tablet limiting member) 90…Tablet height adjustment section 91...Height pressing member (first tablet limiting member) 100...Control unit 105...Tablet height measuring section 106...Tablet width measuring section 107...Tablet length calculation section

Claims

1. a tablet dividing unit having a positioning member for positioning tablets supplied from a tablet supply unit that accommodates a large number of tablets, and a cutting blade for dividing the tablets positioned by the positioning member; a tablet length calculation unit that calculates the length of the tablet supplied from the tablet supply unit; A tablet dividing device characterized by being equipped with a length adjustment unit that adjusts the position of the positioning member relative to the cutting blade in accordance with the tablet length calculated by the tablet length calculation unit so that the cutting blade divides the tablet at a predetermined position.

2. The tablet supply unit includes a tablet height measuring unit that measures the height of a tablet and a tablet width measuring unit that measures the width of a tablet, The tablet dividing section includes a first tablet limiting member that limits movement of the tablet in a direction parallel to the tablet dividing direction, and a second tablet limiting member that limits movement of the tablet in a width direction intersecting the tablet dividing direction, a height adjustment unit that adjusts the position of the first tablet limiting member based on the height of the tablet measured by the tablet height measurement unit; The tablet dividing device according to claim 1, further comprising a width adjustment unit which adjusts the position of the second tablet limiting member based on the width of the tablet measured by the tablet width measurement unit.

3. a tablet feeding device having a first inclined surface and a second inclined surface along which the tablets fed from the tablet feeding section slide, the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface each having a V-shaped cross section perpendicular to the tablet feeding direction; The tablet dividing device according to claim 2, characterized in that the first tablet limiting member is configured to face the first inclined surface, and the second tablet limiting member is configured to face the second inclined surface.

4. A tablet dividing device as described in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that after the first tablet limiting member moves, the second tablet limiting member moves, and the tablet positioned by the positioning member is divided by the cutting blade.

5. A tablet dividing device including a positioning member for positioning tablets supplied from a tablet supplying unit that accommodates a large number of tablets, and a tablet dividing unit having a cutting blade for dividing the tablets positioned by the positioning member, A tablet dividing device characterized in that the tablet dividing section comprises a first tablet limiting member that limits the movement of the tablet in a direction parallel to the tablet dividing direction, and a second tablet limiting member that limits the movement of the tablet in a direction intersecting the tablet dividing direction.

Images