Tablet cassette

Abstract

To provide a tablet cassette for improving tablet discharge stability by reducing a refill frequency of tablets by increasing a capacity and dividing a load applied to a rotor.SOLUTION: A tablet cassette 1 demountably mounted on a feeder base B of a tablet packaging machine, the tablet cassette 1 includes a tablet container 10 capable of containing a large number of tablets, tablet discharge ports 21 and 22 disposed on a lower side of the tablet container 10, and rotors 31 and 32 disposed between the tablet container 10 and the discharge ports 21 and 22, where the tablet cassette 1 includes two rotors installed therein, and the discharge ports 21 and 22 respectively are formed on the lower sides of the two rotors 31 and 32.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a tablet cassette for use in a tablet packaging machine capable of dispensing tablets one by one. [Background technology]

[0002] One example of a tablet cassette is one that includes a tablet container that can hold a large number of tablets, a rotor arranged below the tablet container, and a tablet discharge outlet arranged below the rotor; when the rotor, which has multiple concave-shaped partitions that run vertically along the outer periphery of the rotor, rotates, the tablets that are individually contained within the partitions are guided to the position of the discharge outlet by the rotation of the rotor, and are discharged one by one through the discharge outlet (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-22428 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in dispensing sites such as hospitals and pharmacies, when large amounts of medicine are used, it is known that the frequency of replacement for refilling the tablet cassette increases, resulting in a long downtime of the tablet packaging machine. In order to reduce such replacement frequency, there is a demand for a tablet packaging machine equipped with a larger capacity tablet cassette. However, if a large-capacity tablet cassette were simply made with the conventional mechanism, due to the mechanism in which tablets are finally discharged one by one by entering a partition as described above, it would be necessary to use a structure in which all of the tablets gather on the rotor, and there was a concern that the tablet load on the rotor would increase and make it difficult to rotate. The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tablet cassette that uses a large-capacity tablet cassette to reduce the frequency of tablet replenishment and divides the load on the rotor, contributing to stable packaging. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The tablet cassette of the present invention is a tablet cassette that can be removably attached to the feeder base of a tablet packaging machine, and comprises a tablet container capable of containing a large number of tablets, a tablet discharge outlet arranged below the tablet container, a rotor arranged between the tablet storage space of the tablet container and the discharge outlet, and a connecting shaft that can be removably connected to a drive shaft for driving the rotor provided on the feeder base and is used for transmitting power between the drive shaft and the rotating shaft of the rotor, and the rotor is rotated by the rotational power from the drive shaft, and guides tablets in the tablet storage space one by one to the discharge outlet and discharges them, the tablet cassette is characterized in that two rotors are provided, and the cassette is equipped with a power transmission mechanism that transmits the rotational power transmitted from the drive shaft to the connecting shaft to the rotating shafts of the two rotors, and the discharge outlets are formed on the underside of each of the two rotors.

[0006] Incidentally, in tablet packaging machines, in addition to reducing the downtime of the machine and the frequency of replenishment, there is also a demand for increasing the packaging speed. One method of improving the packaging speed in a tablet packaging machine is to increase the rotation speed of the rotor of the tablet cassette, for example. However, increasing the rotation speed of the rotor can lead to variations in the arrangement of tablets around the outer periphery of the rotor, which may reduce the stability of tablet discharge from the discharge outlet. In this regard, the tablet cassette of the present invention achieves faster tablet discharge and improves packaging speed by increasing the number of rotors without increasing the rotor rotation speed, thereby improving packaging speed without compromising discharge stability. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, by using a large-capacity tablet cassette, the frequency of tablet replenishment can be reduced, and the load on the rotor can be divided to improve the stability of tablet discharge. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams for explaining an embodiment of a tablet cassette according to the present invention, in which (a) is an oblique view showing the tablet cassette, (b) is an oblique view showing a feeder base to which the tablet cassette is attached and detached, (c) is a side view showing the tablet cassette, and (d) is a side view showing the feeder base. [Diagram 2] Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the tablet cassette shown in Fig. 1, where (a) is a perspective view showing an inner cup mounted in a tablet container of the tablet cassette, and (b) is an exploded perspective view showing a state where a cover of the tablet cassette is partially removed. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the tablet cassette shown in FIG. 1, where (a) is a cross-sectional view showing the AA cross-section of the tablet cassette, and (b) is a cross-sectional view showing the CC cross-section. [Figure 4] 4(a) is a bottom view of the tablet cassette shown in FIG. 1, showing the power transmission unit attached to the main body of the tablet cassette, with only the bracket removed for convenience; (b) is an oblique view showing the bracket on which the power transmission unit is provided, as viewed from below; and (c) is an oblique view showing the bracket in FIG. 4(b), as viewed from above. [Diagram 5]4(a) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part taken along the E-E section of FIG. 4(a) for explaining the locking mechanism of the tablet cassette shown in FIG. 1, where (a) is a cross-sectional view showing the locking mechanism in a locked state, and (b) is a cross-sectional view showing the locking mechanism in an unlocked state. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the tablet cassette shown in FIG. 1, and is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which tablets are fully contained in a tablet container with an inner cup attached. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Next, a tablet cassette according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] A tablet cassette 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used by being detachably attached to a feeder base B of a tablet packaging machine (not shown). It should be noted that a description of well-known configurations of the tablet cassette 1 may be omitted.

[0011] The tablet cassette 1 comprises a tablet container 10, discharge outlets 21, 22 for tablets T arranged below the tablet container 10 (see Figure 3(b)), rotors 31, 32 arranged between the tablet container 10 and the discharge outlets 21, 22, a power transmission section 40 (see Figure 4(a)) that transmits rotational power to rotation shafts 31y, 32y of the rotatably installed rotors 31, 32, and a locking mechanism 70 described below.

[0012] The tablet container 10 has a tablet accommodating space 10s (see FIG. 3(b)) capable of accommodating a large number of tablets T therein, and has a through-hole 11 formed on the lower side of the tablet accommodating space 10s. The tablet accommodating space 10s communicates with a space (rotor space) 30s above the upper surfaces 31s, 32s of the rotors 31, 32 via the through-hole 11. The tablets T contained in the tablet container 10 flow downward due to gravity, and are capable of flowing through the through-hole 11 into the space 30s on the rotor side.

[0013] The two rotors 31, 32 (see FIG. 2(b)) arranged below the tablet container 10 have the same shape, and are rotatably installed on the bottom 50, which is the lower end of the tablet cassette 1. The directions of the rotation axes 31y, 32y of both rotors 31, 32 are oriented in the vertical direction Y when the tablet cassette 1 is attached to the feeder base B (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as the cassette attached state), and the rotation axes 31y, 32y of both rotors 31, 32 are installed on the bottom 50 of the tablet cassette 1 in a state where they vertically penetrate the bottom 50. In the following description, directions are those in a cassette-loaded state unless otherwise specified.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 3, one of the first rotors 31 has a conical central portion 31c having an inclined surface (upper surface) 31s that slopes downward from the position of the rotation center where the rotation axis 31y is located toward the outer periphery, and an outer periphery portion 31d arranged on the outer periphery of the central portion 31c. The outer circumferential portion 31d is formed with a plurality of first concave tablet conveying recesses 31a and a plurality of first convex blade portions 31b, which are alternately formed along the outer circumferential edge. Further, the lower surface of the first rotor 31 is disposed adjacent to the upper surface of the bottom portion 50 of the tablet cassette 1 in a non-contact state.

[0015] The first tablet conveying recess 31a, which is a partition of the tablet cassette 1, is a portion having a U-shaped horizontal cross section with an opening on the outer periphery of the rotor, and is a space in which one tablet T is accommodated. The first tablet conveying recess 31a penetrates in the vertical direction Y, and has a horizontal cross-sectional shape and horizontal cross-sectional area that allows only one tablet T contained in the tablet container 10 to pass therethrough in the vertical direction. The tablet cassette 1 is provided with an arc-shaped outer guide surface 12 that is disposed adjacent to the outer periphery of the first rotor 31 and surrounds the outside of the outer periphery. Therefore, one tablet T in the first tablet conveying recess 31a is surrounded by the first tablet conveying recess 31a and the outer circumferential guide surface 12. When the first rotor 31 rotates, the tablet T in the first tablet conveying recess 31a moves (is conveyed) along the outer circumferential edge of the first rotor 31 (or the outer guide surface 12) in the rotation direction of the first rotor 31.

[0016] The first vane portion 31b, which is a convex portion protruding toward the outer periphery of the first rotor 31, is disposed at a position that separates the adjacent first tablet conveying recesses 31a, 31a. The multiple first tablet conveying recesses 31a are disposed at equal intervals along the outer periphery of the rotor, and the multiple first vane portions 31b are disposed at equal intervals along the outer periphery of the rotor.

[0017] The other second rotor 32 has the same shape as the first rotor 31, and is provided with a second tablet conveying recess 32a and a second vane portion 32b. The structure of the tablet cassette 1 is basically symmetrical, and the installation configuration of both rotors 31, 32 and the tablet cassette structure around both rotors are also symmetrical. Therefore, detailed description of the second rotor 32 and the configuration related thereto will be omitted here.

[0018] The left-right direction X (see FIG. 1(a)) refers to the left-right direction when the tablet cassette 1 is viewed from the front and when viewed from the front while being viewed from the front (see FIG. 3(b)). The front-rear direction Z (see FIG. 1(a)) refers to the front-rear direction when the tablet cassette 1 is viewed from the front.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 3, the first rotor 31 and the second rotor 32 are disposed so as to be positioned at the same height when the cassette is installed. As described below, both rotors 31, 32 are rotated by rotational power transmitted via a common power transmission mechanism 42, and are adapted to rotate simultaneously in conjunction with each other. As shown in Figure 3(b), both rotors 31, 32 are linked to each other via a power transmission mechanism 42 so that when any of the first tablet conveying recesses 31a of the first rotor 31 is positioned above the first discharge outlet 21, any of the vane portions 32b of the second rotor 32 is positioned above the second discharge outlet 22. In other words, when the first tablet conveying recess 31a of the first rotor 31 is positioned directly above the first discharge outlet 21 and a tablet is being discharged from the first tablet conveying recess 31a, the second blade portion 32b of the second rotor 32 is positioned directly above the second discharge outlet 22, and the second rotor 32 is not performing a tablet discharge operation. In addition, it can be said that the first rotor 31 and the second rotor 32 are linked via the power transmission mechanism 42 with different phases. By linking them in this way, the tablet discharge operation can be performed alternately on the first rotor 31 side and the second rotor 32 side. According to this configuration, the tablets T are not discharged from the first rotor 31 side and the second rotor 32 side at the same time, so that the timing at which the tablets fall can be easily controlled.

[0020] The two discharge ports 21 and 22 (see FIG. 3(b)) are formed in a bottom portion 50 disposed below the rotors 31 and 32. One of the first discharge outlets 21 is positioned so as to be located below the annular outer peripheral portion 31d of the first rotor 31, and the other, the second discharge outlet 22, is positioned so as to be located below the annular outer peripheral portion 32d of the second rotor 32.

[0021] More specifically, the first discharge outlet 21 is disposed at a rear position in the front-rear direction Z of the tablet cassette 1, and is disposed immediately below the rearmost position of the annular outer circumferential portion 31d of the first rotor 31. Moreover, one of the first discharge outlets 21 is sized to have a horizontal cross-sectional shape and horizontal cross-sectional area that allow the tablets T contained in the storage container 10 to pass therethrough in the vertical direction, and in this embodiment, the opening cross-sectional area is larger than that of the first tablet conveying recess 31a. When the first rotor 31 rotates, the first tablet conveying recesses 31a arranged at equal intervals on the outer circumferential portion 31d of the first rotor 31 pass successively directly above the first discharge outlet 21 arranged at the rear position. A single tablet T captured and separated in the first tablet conveying recess 31a is discharged through the first discharge outlet 21 to the below thereof when the first tablet conveying recess 31a passes directly above the first discharge outlet 21.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1(b), the feeder base B has two tablet drop openings E1 and E2. When the tablet cassette is installed, the first tablet drop port E1 is positioned so as to be located directly below the first discharge port 21, and the other, the second tablet drop port E2, is positioned so as to be located directly below the second discharge port 22, and both tablet drop ports E1, E2 have a larger opening cross-sectional area than the discharge ports 21, 22. Therefore, the tablets T that have passed through the discharge ports 21, 22 are discharged to the lower side of the feeder base B through the tablet drop ports E1, E2.

[0023] The second discharge outlet 22 has the same shape as the first discharge outlet 21, and both discharge outlets 21, 22 are arranged symmetrically in the tablet cassette 1. The second tablet drop outlet E2 has the same shape as the first tablet drop outlet E1, and both tablet drop outlets E1, E2 are arranged symmetrically in the feeder base B. Therefore, detailed explanations of the second discharge port 21, the second tablet drop port E2 and the configurations related thereto will be omitted here.

[0024] The power transmission unit 40 (see Figure 4) is configured to transmit rotational power to the rotating shafts 31y, 32y of the two rotors 31, 32 mentioned above, and includes a connecting shaft 41 that is detachably connected to a drive shaft D (see Figure 1(b)) for driving the rotors provided on the feeder base B, and a power transmission mechanism 42 that transmits the rotational power of the connecting shaft 41 to the two rotors 31, 32.

[0025] The power transmission unit 40 is configured to be assembled to the main body of the tablet cassette 1 using a bracket 60 (see FIG. 4(b)) that is detachably attached to the main body of the tablet cassette 1. Here, the power transmission unit 40 attached to the main body of the tablet cassette 1 via the bracket 60 will be described. FIG. 4(a) is a bottom view of the tablet cassette showing the power transmission unit 40 attached to the main body side of the tablet cassette 1 with the bracket 60 removed.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 4, the connecting shaft 41 is rotatably installed on the bottom 50 (see FIG. 4(a)) of the tablet cassette 1 with its axial direction facing the vertical direction Y. More specifically, the connecting shaft 41 is disposed at the center of the bottom 50 of the tablet cassette 1, and is disposed at a position equidistant from the rotation axes 31y, 32y of both rotors 31, 32.

[0027] In addition, the connecting shaft 41 protrudes below the bottom 50 of the tablet cassette 1 and has a lower end in which the connecting socket portion 41a is formed, and an upper end that protrudes above the bottom 50 of the tablet cassette 1 and to which the drive pulley 42e is attached.

[0028] The concave coupling socket portion 41a at the lower end of the coupling shaft 41 is coupled to the head portion Dh of the drive shaft D by a so-called spline connection, and an internal spline is formed inside the concave shape of the coupling socket portion 41a. The coupling socket portion 41a having the internal spline is detachably coupled to an external spline on the outer periphery of the head portion Dh of the drive shaft D of the feeder base B. That is, when the tablet cassette 1 is mounted on the feeder base B and enters a cassette mounted state, the connecting shaft 41 is connected to the drive shaft D, and the rotational power of the drive shaft D is transmitted to the connecting shaft 41, entering a connected state. Further, the cassette removed state in which the tablet cassette 1 has been removed from the feeder base B is a disconnected state in which the connection between the connecting shaft 41 and the drive shaft D has been released. An engagement concave-convex portion 41b that is formed so that a lock member 71 described below can be engaged therewith is formed on the outer periphery of the connection socket portion 41a of the connection shaft 41. The shape of this engagement concave-convex portion 41b is the same concave-convex shape as the external spline.

[0029] A drive pulley 42e that drives a drive belt 42v (see FIG. 4(b)) is attached to the upper end of the connecting shaft 41. When the belt 42v is wound around the drive pulley 42e, the belt 42v rotates together with the rotation of the drive pulley 42e.

[0030] The power transmission mechanism 42 (see FIG. 4(a)) includes, in addition to the drive pulley 42e of the connecting shaft 41, a first driven pulley 42a attached to the rotating shaft 31y of the first rotor 31, a second driven pulley 42b attached to the rotating shaft 32y of the second rotor 32, a drive belt 42v wound around these pulleys, and a tension pulley 42t that applies tension to the belt 42v. Therefore, when the connecting shaft 41 is rotated by the rotational power from the drive shaft D, the rotational power is transmitted to both driven pulleys 42a, 42b via the belt 42v, and both rotors 31, 32 rotate simultaneously in conjunction with each other. The external spline shaped portions arranged on driven pulleys 42a, 42b (see FIG. 4(c)) are connecting portions 42c, 42d which are connected to central portions 31c, 32c of rotors 31, 32 when the tablet cassette is in a completed assembled state.

[0031] The locking mechanism 70 (see FIG. 5) is a mechanism for locking the connecting shaft 41, which is in a disconnected state when the tablet cassette 1 is in a cassette detached state, to prevent it from rotating. As shown in FIG. 5, the lock mechanism 70 includes a lock member 71 used to lock the connecting shaft 41, and a coil spring 73 (urging means) used to operate the lock member 71.

[0032] The locking member 71 includes a main body 72 of the locking member 71 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the locking main body) that is axially supported on the bottom 50 of the tablet cassette 1 in a rotatable state. The locking body 72 is positioned adjacent to the connecting socket portion 41a of the connecting shaft 41, and comprises an axis portion 71b supported so as to be freely rotatable on the bottom 50 of the tablet cassette 1, an engagement portion 71c shaped to be able to engage with the connecting shaft 41 (the engagement uneven portion 41b on the outer surface of the connecting shaft 41), a spring holding portion 71d which holds one end of the coil spring 73, and a trigger portion 71e which is used to apply a force in a direction opposed to the biasing force (resilient force) received from the coil spring 73. The rotation axis direction of the shaft portion 71b is horizontal and extends in the lateral direction (left-right direction) X of the tablet cassette.

[0033] The coil spring (biasing means) 73 biases the engagement portion 71c of the locking member 71 in a direction to move it to the locking position (engagement position) P1, and has its lower end held by the spring holding portion 71d and its upper end fixed to the spring fixing portion on the tablet cassette side. In addition, the coil spring 73 is mounted in a compressed state between the spring holding portion 71d and the spring fixing portion on the tablet cassette side so as to generate a spring force in a direction that rotates the locking member 71 in the locking direction R1 (the direction in which the engaging member approaches the connecting shaft).

[0034] More specifically, the lock body 72 is attached to the tablet cassette 1 with the shaft portion 71b positioned above the position of the engaging uneven portion 41b on the outer periphery of the connecting socket portion 41a of the connecting shaft 41, and has an arm portion 72a extending downward from the shaft portion 71b, with an engagement portion 71c formed on a swinging front portion 72b extending from the lower end of the arm portion 72a toward the connecting shaft side, and a spring retaining portion 71d and a trigger portion 71e formed on a swinging rear portion 72c extending from the lower end of the arm portion 72a to the opposite side to the connecting shaft side.

[0035] The engaging portion 71c is formed at a position where it moves toward or away from the engaging uneven portion 41b on the outer periphery of the connecting socket portion 41a of the connecting shaft 41 when the locking member 71 rotates (swings). The engaging portion 71c has a rack shape that can engage with the engaging concave-convex portion 41b on the outer periphery of the connecting socket portion 41a, and the teeth (convex and concave portions) of the rack are arranged to extend in the vertical direction. When the engaging portion 71c rotates in a direction R1 approaching the connecting shaft 41 (see FIG. 5(a); moving toward the locking direction), the engaging portion 71c moves toward the engaging uneven portion 41b of the connecting shaft 41 and ultimately moves to an engaging position (position shown in FIG. 5(a); locking position) P1 where it engages with the engaging uneven portion 41b. When the engagement portion 71c of the locking member 71 and the engagement uneven portion 41b of the connecting shaft 41 are engaged with each other, the locking member 71 of the locking mechanism 70 prevents the connecting shaft 41 from rotating, thereby preventing the connecting shaft 41 from rotating. On the other hand, when the engaging portion 71c rotates in a direction R2 away from the connecting shaft 41 (see FIG. 5(b); it moves away in the unlocking direction), the engaging portion 71c moves away from the engaging uneven portion 41b of the connecting shaft 41 and moves to a separated position (position shown in FIG. 5(b); unlocked position) P2 where the engagement between the engaging portion 71c and the engaging uneven portion 41b is released. The state where the engaging portion 71c of the locking member 71 is separated from the engaging uneven portion 41b of the connecting shaft 41 is an unlocked state, in which the connecting shaft 41 is rotatable.

[0036] The spring holding portion 71d is positioned in such a position that when the locking member 71 receives a downward elastic force (biasing force) in the expanding direction from the coil spring 73, it rotates in the locking direction R1 (the direction in which the engagement portion 71c moves closer to the connecting shaft 41). The spring holding portion 71d is disposed on the upper portion of the swing rear portion 72c of the lock main body 72, and the lower end of the coil spring 73 disposed above the spring holding portion 71d is fixed thereto. Therefore, when the compressed coil spring 73 expands and the locking member 71 rotates in the locking direction R1, the engagement portion 71c eventually engages with the engagement uneven portion 41b of the connecting shaft 41, resulting in a locked state in which rotation of the connecting shaft 41 is prevented.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 5(a), the trigger portion 71e is a downwardly convex protrusion (protrusion) arranged in a downward protruding state on the swinging rear portion 72c of the lock body 72, and is a portion used when rotating the lock member 71 in the opposite unlocking direction R2 (the separating movement direction in which the engaging portion 71b is separated from the engaging uneven portion 41b) against the downward elastic force when the coil spring 73 is extended. When the tablet cassette 1 is not attached to the feeder base B, the trigger portion 71e is in a downward protruding position, and the engagement portion is in a locked position (P1 state). When the mounting operation is performed to mount this tablet cassette 1 on the feeder base B, halfway through the mounting operation (before mounting is completed), the trigger portion 71e abuts against the unlocking surface Bs (see Figures 1 and 5(b)), which is part of the upper surface of the feeder base B, and is pushed relatively upward, rotating to the upper retracted position (the position shown in Figure 5(b)). Since the trigger portion 71e is formed integrally with the engagement portion 71c below the lock body 72, the engagement portion 71c rotates toward the unlocking direction R2. As a result, when the mounting operation is completed, the engagement portion 71c is in the unlocking position (separated position) P2 as shown in FIG. 5(b).

[0038] On the other hand, a description will be given of the operation when the tablet cassette 1 is removed from the feeder base B. Before the tablet cassette 1 is removed, as shown in Fig. 5(b), the engagement portion 71c is in the unlocked position P2, and the trigger portion 71e is in the upper retracted position. When the tablet cassette 1 is separated from the feeder base B, the unlocking surface Bs disengages from the trigger portion 71e, and the elastic force of the coil spring 73 when expanded causes the swing rear portion 72c to rotate in the locking direction R1, and the engaging portion 71c engages with the connecting shaft 41.

[0039] Therefore, when the tablet cassette 1 is not attached to the feeder base B (ie, in a cassette detached state), the engaging portion 71c is engaged with the connecting shaft 41 and is in a locked state. On the other hand, when the tablet cassette 1 is in the cassette attachment state, the locking member 71 is rotated in the unlocking direction R2 by the trigger portion 71e being pushed relatively upward by the unlocking surface Bs of the feeder base B, and the engagement portion 71c is in an unlocked state away from the connecting shaft 41.

[0040] Incidentally, the tablet cassette 1 is provided with an inner cup 80, which is an inner attachment that can be detachably attached inside the tablet container 10, as required (see FIG. 2(a)). Although the inner cup 80 is shown in FIG. 2 as being cup-shaped, the inner cup 80 is not limited to this configuration.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 2, the inner cup 80 is to be attached inside the tablet container 10, and has an outer peripheral plate portion 81 that is inserted into the tablet container 10. The inner cup 80 of this embodiment has four outer peripheral plate portions 81 corresponding to the four outer side surfaces of the tablet container 10. The inner cup 80 is attached to the tablet container 10 in a so-called nested manner, and the outer peripheral plate portion 81 is formed into a shape that matches the inner wall of the tablet container 10 and is positioned along the inner wall of the tablet container 10. The inner cup 80 is attached in the tablet container 10 with the outer periphery of the guide plate portions 82a, 82b, 82c and / or the through portion 83, which will be described later, abutting against the tablet container 10 and being positioned vertically. Therefore, the inner cup 80 attached in the tablet container 10 is positioned relative to the tablet container 10 and attached in a state where no rattle occurs.

[0042] As shown in Figure 3, when the inner cup 80 is attached to the tablet container 10, it is provided with guide plate portions 82a, 82b, 82c which are guide portions arranged between a lower space (rotor space) 30s facing the rotors 31, 32 below the inner cup 80 and an upper space 80s which is also the space within the tablet container 10 above the inner cup 80, and a through portion 83 which is a communicating portion used for the flow of tablets T from the upper space 80s to the lower space 30s.

[0043] In addition, when viewed in a plane while attached to the tablet container 10, the inner cup 80 has a first guide plate portion (one of the eaves portions) 82a that covers at least a portion of the first rotor 31, and a second guide plate portion (the other eaves portion) 82b that covers at least a portion of the second rotor 32. The upper surfaces (tablet guide surfaces) 82f, 82g of the guide plate portions 82a, 82b, 82c are all surfaces that are inclined downward toward a through-hole 83 formed in the center of the inner cup 80.

[0044] The lower edge 82d of the first guide plate portion 82a is an edge facing the through-hole 83, and is located closer to the center 10c of the tablet cassette 1 than the position of the rotation axis 31y of the first rotor 31, and when viewed in a plan view, the first guide plate portion 82a is disposed so as to cover more than half the area of ​​the first rotor 31. In other words, the first guide plate portion 82a is disposed so that the area it covers of the upper surface 31s of the first rotor 31 is larger than the area it does not cover. The first guide plate portion 82a is disposed so as to cover the first rotation axis 31y. Similarly, the second guide plate portion 82b is disposed so as to cover more than half the area (region larger than half) of the upper surface 32s of the second rotor 32, and is disposed so as to cover the second rotating shaft 32y. In the following description, the area of ​​the upper surfaces 31s, 32s of the rotors 31, 32 and the space extending above the rotor upper surface that is covered by the guide plate portions 82a, 82b may be referred to as the shielded area A1 (see Figure 6), and the area not covered by the guide plate portions 82a, 82b, 82c may be referred to as the normal area A2.

[0045] The through portion 83 is formed at the lower end portion of the inner cup 80 . An opening region (lower opening) of the through portion 83 corresponds to the normal region A2. The through portion 83 is disposed so as to overlap with the upper surfaces 31s, 32s of the rotors 31, 32 in plan view.

[0046] In addition, in this embodiment, the through portion 83 of the inner cup 80 is formed by the edge of the plate-shaped guide plate portions 82a, 82b, and 82c, and the upper and lower openings of the through portion 83 differ in position only by the thickness of the plate material of the guide plate portions 82a, 82b, and 82c, so in this embodiment, it is also possible to say that the upper and lower openings of the through portion 83 are in the same position.

[0047] Therefore, when a large number of tablets T are contained in the tablet container 10 with the inner cup 80 attached (so-called fully filled state, see Figure 6), only the normal area A2 of the first rotor 31 and the second rotor 32 bears the weight load of all layers of the tablets T contained therein, from the upper layer to the lower layer. The weight load due to the tablet weight received by most of the areas other than the normal area A2, that is, the shielded areas A1 of the upper surfaces 31s, 32s of the rotors 31, 32, is very small even when the rotors 31, 32 are fully filled. In this manner, by using the inner cup 80, the load applied to the rotors 31, 32 due to the tablet weight can be reduced. If the tablet weight load applied to the rotor can be reduced in this manner, the stability of the rotor rotation can be more reliably maintained, and the stability of the tablet dispensing operation can be more reliably ensured.

[0048] In addition, the guide plate portions 82a, 82b, and 82c of the inner cup 80 of this embodiment cover the rotation shafts 31y, 32y of both rotors 31, 32, and the positions of the rotation shafts 31y, 32y are within the shielded area A1. When the rotation shafts 31y, 32y are in the shielded area A1 in this way, the rotation direction of the upper surfaces 31s, 32s of the rotors 31, 32 in the normal area A2 is limited to either the upward or downward direction in the front-rear direction Z in FIG. 5(b), and the flow direction of the tablets T is the same direction. It can be said that such a configuration contributes to the smooth flow of the tablets T. Furthermore, the guide plate portions 82a, 82b cover the discharge ports 21, 22 arranged below the rotors 31, 32, and the discharge ports 21, 22 are located within the shielded area A1. With this configuration, the effect of the tablet weight load on the tablets T to be discharged sent to the discharge ports 21, 22 by the rotation of the rotors 31, 32 can be minimized, and the stability of the tablet behavior when the tablets are discharged can be more reliably ensured.

[0049] Next, the operation of the tablet cassette according to this embodiment will be described. Here, the explanation will be given starting from the tablet cassette 1 in a removed state before being attached to the feeder base B, where the inner cup 80 is attached to the tablet container 10 and the tablet container 10 is fully filled with tablets T (see Figure 6).

[0050] In addition, when the tablet cassette 1 is in the cassette detached state, the locking member 71 is in a locked state in which the connecting shaft 41 is prevented from rotating. In the locked state, the engaging portion 71c of the locking member 71 is rotated in the locking direction R1 by the elastic force (biasing force) of the coil spring 73 and engages with the engaging uneven portion 41b of the connecting shaft 41, thereby preventing rotation of the connecting shaft 41. In addition, in the locked state, the trigger portion 71e of the locking member 71 is located at a downward protruding position.

[0051] From this state, the tablet cassette 1 is mounted on the feeder base B of the tablet packaging machine (mounting operation). In the mounting operation, the tablet cassette 1 is mounted so that the connecting socket portion 41a of the connecting shaft 41 is connected to the head portion Dh of the drive shaft D of the feeder base B. To connect the connecting socket portion 41a to the head portion Dh, the bottom 50 of the tablet cassette 1 is brought close to the upper surface of the feeder base B, the connecting socket portion 41a is positioned above the head portion Dh, and the socket portion 41a of the connecting shaft 41 is moved downward Y2 in the vertical direction Y (axial direction of the connecting shaft) to connect it to the head portion Dh of the drive shaft D. Note that here, the relative movement direction (vertical direction Y or connecting axis direction) of the tablet cassette 1 (connecting shaft 41) when attaching or detaching the tablet cassette (when connecting or detaching the connecting shaft 41) may be referred to as the attachment / detachment direction. Furthermore, among the attachment / detachment directions, the downward movement direction of the tablet cassette 1 (connecting shaft 41) when attached may be referred to as one attachment / detachment direction Y1, and the upward movement direction of the tablet cassette 1 (connecting shaft 41) when removed may be referred to as the other attachment / detachment direction Y2.

[0052] When the bottom 50 of the tablet cassette 1 is brought close to the upper surface of the feeder base B to perform the mounting operation, the trigger portion 71e of the locking member 71, which is positioned in the downward protruding position, abuts against the unlocking surface Bs on the upper surface of the feeder base B during the mounting operation. Thereafter, until the connection between the connecting shaft 41 and the drive shaft D is completed, the bottom 50 of the tablet cassette 1 moves even closer to the upper surface of the feeder base B, and the trigger portion 71e is pushed relatively upward by the unlocking surface Bs against the elastic force of the coil spring 73, causing it to rotate to the upward retracted position (see Figure 5(b)).

[0053] When the trigger portion 71e is rotated to the upper retracted position, the engagement portion 71c is in an unlocked state where the engagement portion 71c is rotated to the unlocked position P2. This unlocked position can also be said to be a separated position where the engagement portion 71c is separated from the connecting shaft 41. That is, in the tablet cassette 1 of this embodiment, simply by mounting the tablet cassette 1 on the feeder base B (simply performing the mounting operation), the connecting shaft 41, which was in a locked state before mounting, can be set to an unlocked state.

[0054] Thereafter, when the feeder base B is operated to rotate the drive shaft D, both rotors 31, 32 of the tablet cassette 1 rotate, and the tablets T are intermittently discharged from the discharge ports 21, 22 one by one.

[0055] The first rotor 31 and the second rotor 32 are linked with different phases, so that when the first tablet conveying recess 31a of the first rotor 31 is positioned directly above the first discharge outlet 21, the second vane portion 32b of the second rotor 32 is positioned directly above the second discharge outlet 22 (see Figure 3(b)). Therefore, when the tablet cassette 1 of this embodiment is used, the tablets T in the tablet container 10 are discharged alternately from the first discharge outlet 21 and the second discharge outlet 22 one tablet at a time. Furthermore, since two rotors 31, 32 are provided and the tablets T are discharged from two discharge ports 21, 22, high speed discharge of the tablets T can be realized, and in turn, high speed packaging can be realized.

[0056] Furthermore, since an inner cup 80 is attached inside the tablet container 10, even when the tablet container 10 is fully filled with tablets T, only the normal area A2 of the first rotor 31 and the second rotor 32 bears the weight load of all layers of tablets T from the upper layer to the lower layer (see Figure 6). In the tablet cassette 1 of this embodiment, even when it is fully loaded with tablets T, most of the area of ​​the upper surface of the rotors 31, 32 is a shielded area A1 covered by the guide plate portions 82a, 82b, and the weight load due to the tablet weight is extremely small. If the weight load of the tablets applied to the rotors 31, 32 is reduced, the rotation of the rotors 31, 32 is not hindered by the weight, so that the stability of the discharging operation can be ensured and improved. Furthermore, in the tablet cassette 1 of this embodiment, the guide plate portions 82a, 82b are positioned so that the positions of the rotation axes 31y, 32y of the rotors 31, 32 and the positions of the discharge outlets 21, 22 are within the shielded area A1, which contributes to improving the stability of the rotor rotation and the stability of the tablet discharge operation.

[0057] When the discharging operation of the tablets T is to be completed, the operation of the feeder base B is stopped and the rotation of the drive shaft D is stopped. Thereafter, the tablet cassette 1 is removed from the feeder base B (removal operation).

[0058] Before the start of the removal operation, the tablet cassette 1 in the cassette-mounted state is in a connected state in which the connecting socket portion 41a of the connecting shaft 41 is connected to the head portion Dh of the drive shaft D, and the connecting shaft 41 is in an unlocked state. When in the unlocked state, the trigger portion 71e of the locking member 71 is pushed relatively upward by the unlocking surface Bs and moved to an upward retracted position against the elastic force (biasing force) of the coil spring 73, and the engagement portion 71c is positioned in the unlocked position (separated position) P2.

[0059] During the removal operation, when the tablet cassette 1 is moved upward in the removal direction Y and the bottom 50 is moved away from the upper surface of the feeder base B, the connecting socket portion 41a of the connecting shaft 41 is disengaged from the head portion Dh of the drive shaft D, and the two become decoupled.

[0060] Furthermore, when a removal operation is performed to separate bottom 50 of tablet cassette 1 from the upper surface of feeder base B, trigger portion 71e, which has been pressed downward by the elastic force of coil spring 73, is pressed relatively downward by that elastic force while maintaining a contact state with unlocking surface Bs of feeder base B, and rotates downward from the upper end retracted position, and finally, the trigger portion moves to a downward protruding position, and engaging portion 71c of locking member 71 moves to locking position P1 where it engages with engaging uneven portion 41b of connecting shaft 41. Then, connecting shaft 41 is locked by engaging portion 71c of locking member 71.

[0061] That is, in the tablet cassette 1 of this embodiment, simply by removing the tablet cassette 1 from the feeder base B (simply performing the removing operation), the connecting shaft 41, which was in an unlocked state before removal, can be put into a locked state. When the locked state is reached, rotation of the connecting shaft 41 and both rotors 31, 32 are prevented, so that even if tablets T remain contained in the tablet container section 10, discharge of unnecessary tablets T from the discharge outlets 21, 22 is prevented, thereby improving the ease of handling of the tablet cassette 1.

[0062] <1> The tablet cassette of the present invention is a tablet cassette that can be removably attached to the feeder base of a tablet packaging machine, and comprises a tablet container capable of containing a large number of tablets, a tablet discharge outlet arranged below the tablet container, a rotor arranged between the tablet storage space of the tablet container and the discharge outlet, and a connecting shaft that can be removably connected to a drive shaft for driving the rotor provided on the feeder base and is used for transmitting power between the drive shaft and the rotating shaft of the rotor, and the rotor is rotated by the rotational power from the drive shaft, and guides tablets in the tablet storage space one by one to the discharge outlet and discharges them, the tablet cassette is characterized in that two rotors are provided, and the cassette is equipped with a power transmission mechanism that transmits the rotational power transmitted from the drive shaft to the connecting shaft to the rotating shafts of the two rotors, and the discharge outlets are formed on the underside of each of the two rotors.

[0063] <2> The tablet cassette of the present invention further comprises: <1> In addition to the configuration described above, the two rotors are of the same shape and rotate in conjunction with each other by the power of the power transmission mechanism, each rotor has a plurality of concave-shaped partitions that penetrate vertically and are formed on its outer periphery, the plurality of partitions are arranged at equal intervals along the outer periphery of the rotor, each partition has a space for accommodating one tablet, the discharge outlet is formed in the bottom of the tablet cassette arranged below the rotor, and when the drive shaft is operated with the tablet cassette attached to the feeder base, the two rotors rotate in conjunction with each other at the same time, and tablets can be discharged one tablet at a time from both of the discharge outlets arranged below the two rotors, respectively. According to this configuration, the two rotors can be driven by a single drive source, so that both low cost and high discharge speed can be achieved.

[0064] <3> The tablet cassette of the present invention further comprises: <1> or <2> In addition to the configuration described above, the rotor has concave partitions and convex vane portions arranged alternately along its outer periphery, and the two rotors are linked via the power transmission mechanism so that when any of the partitions of one rotor is positioned above one of the discharge outlets, any of the vane portions of the other rotor is positioned above the other discharge outlet, and when the power transmission mechanism operates to rotate the two rotors, tablets are discharged one tablet at a time alternately from the two discharge outlets. According to this configuration, tablets are not discharged from the two discharge ports at the same time, so that the timing of the drops can be easily controlled.

[0065] <4> The tablet cassette of the present invention further comprises: <1> ~ <3> In addition to the configuration described above, the present invention further includes an inner attachment that can be attached to the tablet container, and when the inner attachment is attached to the tablet container, the inner attachment has a communication portion (through portion) that connects a lower space facing the rotor below the inner attachment to an upper space that is the space within the tablet container, and has a guide portion on which a guide surface is formed that is inclined downwardly toward the upper opening end of the communication portion, and the guide portion is characterized in that, when the inner attachment is attached to the tablet container and viewed in a plane, it has one eaves portion that covers at least a portion of one of the rotors and the other eaves portion that covers at least a portion of the other rotor. With this configuration, the weight of only a portion of the tablets in the tablet container is placed on the rotor, and the majority of the tablets are supported by the inner attachment and the guide surface, so that rotation of the rotor is not impeded even when the tablet cassette is increased in capacity.

[0066] <5> The tablet cassette of the present invention further comprises: <1> ~ <4> In addition to the configuration described above in 1., the present invention further comprises a locking member having an engaging portion movable between an engaging position where the connecting shaft is engaged with the connecting shaft to lock the rotation of the connecting shaft, and a releasing position where the lock with the connecting shaft is released, and a biasing means for biasing the engaging portion in a direction to move the engaging portion to the engaging position, the locking member further comprising an integrally formed trigger portion which moves in conjunction with the movement of the engaging portion between the releasing position and the engaging position, the trigger portion being disposed such that, when moving in conjunction with the engaging portion, a movement component in the attachment / detachment direction occurs when the tablet cassette is attached to or detached from the feeder base, and the trigger portion When the tablet cassette is attached to the feeder base, it abuts against the feeder base, causing it to move to one side in the attachment / detachment direction, and when the tablet cassette is removed from the feeder base, it is released from contact with the feeder base, causing it to move to the other side in the attachment / detachment direction, and the engagement portion moves to the release position to unlock the connecting shaft when the trigger portion moves to the one side when the tablet cassette is attached, and moves to the engagement position to lock the connecting shaft when the trigger portion moves to the other side when the tablet cassette is removed. With this configuration, the rotor is rotatable when attached to the feeder base, and when removed from the feeder base, the rotation of the rotor is restricted, thereby preventing tablets from unintentionally falling off.

[0067] The tablet cassette according to the present invention is not limited to the system described in the embodiment. Modifications that do not deviate from the spirit of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 1...tablet cassette, 10...tablet container, 10c...center of tablet cassette, 10s...tablet storage space, 11...through-hole, 12...outer circumferential guide surface, 21...1st discharge port, 22...2nd discharge port, 30s...space (rotor space, lower space), 31...first rotor, 31a...first tablet conveying recess (partition portion, recess), 31b...first slat portion (convex portion), 31c...center, 31d...outer periphery, 31s...slanted surface (top surface), 31y...first rotation axis, 32... second rotor, 32a... second tablet conveying recess (partition portion, recess), 32b...second slat portion (convex portion), 32c: center portion, 32d: outer periphery, 32s: upper surface, 32y: second rotation axis, 40...Power transmission section, 41...Connection shaft, 41a...connecting socket portion (connecting portion), 41b...engaging concave-convex portion, 42...power transmission mechanism, 42a...first driven pulley, 42b...second driven pulley, 42c, 42d...connection portion, 42t...tension pulley, 42v...drive belt, 50...Bottom part (bottom plate part), 60…Bracket, 70: lock mechanism, 71: lock member, 71b: shaft portion, 71c: engagement portion, 71d: spring holding portion, 71e: trigger portion; 72: main body of lock member (lock main body); 72a...arm portion, 72b...swing front portion, 72c...swing rear portion, 73...coil spring (urging means), 80...inner cup (inner attachment), 80s...upper space, 81...peripheral plate portion, 82a...first guide plate portion (one of the eaves portions, guide portion), 82b... second guide plate portion (the other eaves portion, guide portion), 82c... third guide plate portion (guide portion), 82d: lower edge of the first guide plate portion; 82e: lower edge of the second guide plate portion; 82f, 82g ... tablet guide surface (upper surface of guide plate portion), 83 ... through-hole portion (communicating portion), A1...shielding area (protection area, protection area), A2...normal area (tablet loading area), B… Feeder base, Bs… Unlock surface, D: drive shaft, Dh: head, E1, E2: tablet drop hole, P1: Locked position (engaged position), P2: Unlocked position (released position, separated position), R1: Lock direction (approach direction, approach movement direction, one rotation direction), R2…Unlock direction (separation direction, separation movement direction, other rotation direction) T: tablet, X: left-right direction (horizontal direction), Y: up-down direction, Y1: downward mounting direction when mounting the tablet cassette (one mounting / removal direction), Y2: upward removal direction when removing the tablet cassette (the other attachment / detachment direction), Z…Anteroposterior direction

Claims

1. A tablet cassette that can be detachably mounted on a feeder base of a tablet packaging machine, A tablet container capable of accommodating a large number of tablets; a tablet outlet disposed below the tablet container; a rotor disposed between the tablet storage space of the tablet container and the discharge port; a connecting shaft that is detachably connectable to a drive shaft for driving a rotor provided on the feeder base and is used for transmitting power between the drive shaft and a rotation shaft of the rotor, The rotor is rotated by rotational power from the drive shaft, and guides the tablets in the tablet accommodating space one by one to the discharge port and discharges them. Two of the rotors are provided, a power transmission mechanism that transmits the rotational power transmitted from the drive shaft to the connecting shaft to the rotation shafts of the two rotors, A tablet cassette, wherein the discharge port is formed on the underside of each of the two rotors.

2. the two rotors have the same shape and rotate in conjunction with each other by the power of the power transmission mechanism, Each rotor has a plurality of concave partitions formed on an outer periphery thereof and penetrating vertically, The partitions are arranged at equal intervals along the outer periphery of the rotor, Each compartment has a space for accommodating one tablet, the discharge port is formed in a bottom of the tablet cassette disposed below the rotor, The tablet cassette of claim 1, wherein when the drive shaft is operated with the tablet cassette attached to the feeder base, the two rotors rotate simultaneously in conjunction with each other, allowing tablets to be discharged one by one from both of the discharge outlets located respectively below the two rotors.

3. The rotor has a configuration in which the concave partition portions and the convex vane portions are alternately arranged along an outer periphery thereof, the two rotors are linked via the power transmission mechanism such that, when any of the partitions of one rotor is positioned above the one discharge port, any of the vane portions of the other rotor is positioned above the other discharge port, 3. The tablet cassette according to claim 2, wherein when said power transmission mechanism is operated to rotate said two rotors, tablets can be discharged alternately from said two discharge ports one tablet at a time.

4. The tablet container further includes an inner attachment that can be attached to the tablet container, the inner attachment has a communication part (penetrating part) that communicates a lower space facing the rotor on the lower side of the inner attachment with an upper space that is a space within the tablet container when the inner attachment is attached to the tablet container, and has a guide part on which a guide surface is formed that is inclined downward toward an upper opening end of the communication part, The tablet cassette of claim 3, wherein the guide portion has one eave portion covering at least a portion of the one rotor and another eave portion covering at least a portion of the other rotor when viewed in a plane with the inner attachment attached within the tablet container.

5. a locking member including an engaging portion movable between an engagement position where the locking portion engages with the connecting shaft to lock the rotation of the connecting shaft and a release position where the locking portion is released from the connecting shaft; and a biasing means for biasing the engaging portion in a direction in which the engaging portion moves to the engaging position, The locking member further includes an integrally formed trigger portion that moves in conjunction with movement of the engagement portion between the release position and the engagement position, the trigger portion is disposed so that, when moving in conjunction with the engaging portion, a movement component occurs in an attachment / detachment direction when the tablet cassette is attached to or detached from the feeder base, the trigger portion comes into contact with the feeder base when the tablet cassette is attached to the feeder base, causing it to move in one direction in the attachment / detachment direction, and the trigger portion comes out of contact with the feeder base when the tablet cassette is removed from the feeder base, causing it to move in the other direction in the attachment / detachment direction; The tablet cassette as described in claim 4, wherein the engagement portion moves to the release position to unlock the connecting shaft when the trigger portion moves to the one side when the tablet cassette is installed, and moves to the engagement position to lock the connecting shaft when the trigger portion moves to the other side when the tablet cassette is removed.

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