Tablet Cassette

Abstract

To provide a tablet cassette causing tablets to drop early into a plurality of tablet storage chambers when the number of tablets in the tablet storage chambers decreases.SOLUTION: A movable body 8 is stored in a tablet storage space 32. The movable body 8 has such a geometry not to be fitted in the tablet storage chamber 43 and moreover, with rotation of a rotor 4, is movable in the tablet storage space 32 in an unconstrained state. A tablet cassette 1 includes a fitting unit 7 that constitutes a part of a temporary engagement part temporarily engaged with the movable body 8 during the rotation of the rotor 4 to temporarily stop the movable body 8 in the tablet storage space 32.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a tablet cassette that forms the driven part in a tablet feeder for automating prescription dispensing in hospitals, pharmacies, etc., and more specifically, to a tablet cassette that has a tablet container for storing tablets and a rotor inside the tablet container, and when the rotor is rotated, the tablets are aligned around the rotor and drop one by one from the discharge outlet of the tablet container. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventional tablet feeders (see, for example, FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1) use a driving unit that is fixed and arranged in a row on the drawer shelf of a tablet packaging machine or the main body of a tablet dividing machine for power supply and control, and a tablet cassette that is detachable from the driving unit for facilitating tablet refilling work. This tablet feeder randomly stores a large number of tablets in a tablet storage space of a tablet container of the tablet cassette, and operates the driving unit intermittently or continuously as necessary to feed tablets one by one from the tablet cassette. As shown in Patent Documents 2 and 3, the tablet cassette has a tablet storage space that randomly stores a plurality of tablets, a tablet container having a discharge port in a bottom wall portion through which the plurality of tablets in the tablet storage space drop one by one, a rotating shaft whose axis extends in a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall portion, and a rotor that rotates about the axis in the tablet storage space of the tablet container as the rotating shaft rotates, and further has a plurality of tablet storage chambers that can store tablets one by one and pass them to the discharge port, and is provided on the outer periphery so that the plurality of tablet storage chambers are arranged in the rotation direction of the rotating shaft. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-192702 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2015-12893 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2019-141330 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In such a tablet cassette, when the number of tablets in the tablet storage container decreases, some tablets will not enter the tablet storage chamber and will continue to rotate while remaining on the rotor.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a tablet cassette which is capable of dropping tablets into a plurality of tablet storage chambers early when the number of tablets in the tablet storage container becomes low.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a tablet cassette which can achieve its object by utilizing the structure of an existing cassette as it is. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The tablet cassette of the present invention comprises a tablet container having a tablet storage space for randomly storing a plurality of tablets, a bottom wall of which is provided with a discharge port for dropping the plurality of tablets in the tablet storage space one by one, a rotating shaft whose axis extends in a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall, and a rotor which rotates about the axis in the tablet storage space of the tablet container as the rotating shaft rotates, further comprising a plurality of tablet storage chambers capable of storing tablets one by one and passing them through the discharge port, and which is provided on the outer periphery of the rotor so that the plurality of tablet storage chambers are aligned in the direction of rotation of the rotating shaft. The tablet cassette of the present invention comprises one or more movable bodies which are stored in the tablet storage space, have a shape and dimensions that do not get stuck in the tablet storage chambers, and can move in an unconstrained state in the tablet storage space as the rotor rotates. The tablet cassette of the present invention also comprises a temporary engagement portion which temporarily engages with the one or more movable bodies during rotation of the rotor to temporarily stop the one or more movable bodies in the tablet storage space.

[0008] In the present invention, when the moving body that rotates with the rotation of the rotor is temporarily stopped by the temporary engagement part, the following tablets are accumulated on the rotor at the position where the moving body is stopped. As a result, the tablets scattered on the rotor are collected. When the number of accumulated tablets increases, the rotational force of the rotor is added from the multiple tablets to the moving body that is temporarily stopped, and finally the moving body starts moving again. The tablets that are accumulated behind the moving body that has stopped in a position and are located above the tablet storage chamber fall into the tablet storage chamber as the rotor rotates. By repeating this operation, the tablets remaining on the rotor fall into the tablet storage chamber and are discharged from the discharge port. Since the moving body is inserted into the tablet storage space in an unconstrained state, when there are many tablets in the tablet storage space, it is surrounded by multiple tablets and does not move much. Therefore, there is no damage to the surrounding tablets until the number of tablets decreases. Also, since the moving body is in an unconstrained state, as the number of tablets decreases, the moving body moves downward, and when the number of tablets decreases, it comes into contact with the upper surface of the rotor. As a result, when the moving body is temporarily stopped, it acts as a stopper for the plurality of tablets remaining on the rotor, effectively retaining the plurality of tablets at the rear of the rotor in the direction of rotation.

[0009] The moving body preferably has a long axis and a short axis and has a non-spherical shape symmetrical with respect to the long axis and the short axis. A typical shape of this type is like a rugby ball, and a moving body of this shape moves irregularly rather than regularly. Therefore, the posture of the tablets remaining on the rotor changes every time it moves, and multiple tablets can be effectively retained behind the rotor in the rotation direction.

[0010] It is preferable that the moving body is provided with a permanent magnet in such a manner that the tablets are not damaged during movement, and the tablet container is provided with a magnetic force generating unit that generates an attractive force between the permanent magnet and the moving body to temporarily stop the moving body. It is preferable that the magnetic force generating unit is composed of one or more permanent magnets arranged adjacent to the peripheral wall of the tablet container. In this embodiment, the temporary engagement unit is composed of the permanent magnet and the magnetic force generating unit arranged on the moving body. By arranging such a temporary locking unit, the moving body can be temporarily stopped at a fixed position without damaging the remaining tablets, and the movement start condition of the moving body can be changed to some extent arbitrarily by setting the magnetic force. Therefore, the magnetic force can be changed according to the weight of the tablets to set an effective temporary suspension period.

[0011] The magnetic force generating unit may be configured as a fitting unit that is fitted from the outside to the peripheral wall of the tablet container. In this way, the present invention can be implemented by simply fitting this fitting unit to the tablet container of an existing tablet cassette and inserting the moving body into the tablet container. Therefore, it is not necessary to purchase a new dedicated tablet cassette, and the present invention can be implemented using an existing tablet cassette, which is economical.

[0012] A permanent magnet may be housed inside the movable body, and the movable body may have a hole formed to expose the permanent magnet. In this way, the magnetic attraction force can be applied through the hole, thereby ensuring stable operation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is an external perspective view of a tablet cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention with a lid portion removed; FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the tablet cassette of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tablet cassette in which parts other than the mating unit are shown as transparent. [Diagram 5]1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a tablet cassette with its lid removed and a main part of a drive section to which the tablet cassette is attached. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7(A)] FIG. 1 is a diagram used to explain the action of a moving body. [Figure 7(B)] FIG. 1 is a diagram used to explain the action of a moving body. [Figure 7(C)] FIG. 1 is a diagram used to explain the action of a moving body. [Figure 7(D)] FIG. 1 is a diagram used to explain the action of a moving body. [Figure 7(E)] FIG. 1 is a diagram used to explain the action of a moving body. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a tablet cassette according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0015] [Embodiment 1] Fig. 1 is an external perspective view of a tablet cassette 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention with its lid removed, and Fig. 2 is a front view of the tablet cassette. The tablet cassette 1 of this embodiment is an existing tablet cassette in which a fitting unit 7, which will be described later, is fitted to a peripheral wall of a tablet container 3. Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the fitting unit 7, which will be described in detail later. Fig. 4 is a perspective view in which parts other than the fitting unit 7 are depicted as transparent, and Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the tablet cassette 1 of this embodiment with its lid removed and essential parts of the drive unit 2 to which it is attached.

[0016] In the tablet cassette 1, the tablet container 3 includes a container body 31, a tablet storage space 32 for randomly storing a plurality of tablets, and a discharge port 33 in a bottom wall portion 34 for dropping the plurality of tablets in the tablet storage space 32 one by one. A rotor 4 is disposed in the tablet container 3. The rotor 4 includes a rotating shaft 41 whose axis extends in a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall portion 34 of the container body 31 of the tablet container 3, and a rotor body 42 that rotates about the axis in the tablet storage space 32 of the tablet container 3 as the rotating shaft 41 rotates. A plurality of tablet storage chambers 43 that can store tablets T one by one and pass the tablets to the discharge port 33 are provided on the outer periphery of the rotor body 42 so as to be aligned in the rotation direction of the rotating shaft 41 (the circumferential direction of the rotor body 42).

[0017] The tablet container 3 is mainly composed of a box-shaped container body 31 mass-produced by plastic injection molding or the like. The internal space of the container body 31 forms a tablet storage space 32 capable of randomly storing a large number of tablets T, and the tablet storage space 32 is opened and closed by a lid (not shown) when refilling the tablets. A handle 35 for carrying is provided on the outside of the container body 31, and the lower part of the container body 31 forms a detachable part 36 for the drive unit 2. Note that what is shown as the drive unit 2 in FIG. 5 is the upper end part of the base to which the tablet cassette 1 is attached and detached, and is not included in the tablet cassette 1.

[0018] In addition, the tablet container 3 has a discharge port 33 formed penetrating one portion of the bottom wall portion 34 of the container body 31 (in the area on the left side of the bottom wall portion 34 in FIG. 5). When the rotor 4 rotates about the rotation shaft 41 and the tablets stored in the tablet storage chamber 43 are carried above the discharge port 33, the tablets fall downward through the discharge port 33. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the tablet container 3 has a structure that allows the partition unit 50 to be detachably attached to the container body 31. Then, when the partition holding portion 51 is attached to the container body 31 from the outside and the partition action portion 52 is inserted into the tablet storage space 32 through the slit of the container body 31, the partition action portion 52 is positioned above the discharge port 33. In this state, the tablets below the partition action portion 52 fall, but the tablets above the partition action portion 52 are prevented from falling. As a result, the tablets T fall one by one. This structure is explained in detail in JP 2019-141330 A, so explanation will be omitted.

[0019] 4, the tablet container 3 has a structure in which the belt holding part 53 can also be attached to or detached from the outside of the container body 31. The belt holding part 53 holds, in a taut state, an endless belt 54 made of elastic rubber, for example, in the shape of a round cord. When the partition unit 50 is attached to the container body 31 and the endless belt 54 is inserted into the tablet storage space 32 through the slit in the container body 31, the endless belt 54 is positioned above the discharge port 33 and the partition action part 52. This structure is described in detail in JP 2015-12893 A, and therefore will not be described here.

[0020] The rotor 4 (see Figs. 2 to 4) is housed in the tablet container 3 in a state in which it can rotate together with the rotating shaft 41, similarly to conventional products (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). A plurality of partition plates 44 are provided on the outer periphery of the rotor body 42, which are integrally formed at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction and extend in the radial direction. A plurality of tablet storage chambers 43 are formed on the bottom wall 34 side of the tablet storage space 32 between two adjacent partition plates 44. The rotor 4 transports tablets that have fallen into each tablet storage chamber 43 together with the tablet storage chamber 43 and above the discharge port 33 when rotating.

[0021] Most of the rotor 4, excluding the protruding portion of the rotating shaft 41, is an inserted portion located in the tablet storage space 32 inside the container body 31. The rotating shaft 41 is inserted into the through hole 37 in the bottom wall portion 34 of the tablet container 3 and rotatably penetrates the bottom wall portion 34. The lower end of the rotating shaft 41 protrudes outward from the bottom wall portion 34 and fits with the rotary drive shaft 21 of the drive unit 2. The upper surface 45 of the rotor 4 has a shape in which a central portion is high and a sloping surface is formed that slopes gently downward from there to the peripheral portion, and a tablet T that comes into contact with the upper surface 45 slides down radially outward.

[0022] Three slits 47 are formed in each partition plate 44 at intervals in the vertical direction. The slits 47 are open in both directions of rotation and outward in the radial direction. The above-mentioned partitioning portion 52 fits into the central slit 47 when the rotor 4 is rotating. The slits 47 are sized so that the partitioning portion 52 fits inside the slit 47 when the rotor 4 is rotating but does not interfere with the slit 47.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 5, in the tablet cassette 1 of this embodiment, a movable body 8 is housed in the tablet accommodating space 32. The movable body 8 has a shape and dimensions that prevent it from getting stuck in the tablet accommodating chamber 43, and is capable of moving in an unconstrained state within the tablet accommodating space 32 as the rotor 4 rotates. The tablet cassette 1 also includes a movable body 8 movable member that is temporarily engaged with the movable body 8 while the rotor 4 is rotating, to move the movable body 8 within the tablet accommodating space 32. within 32 The temporary engagement portion is provided with a fitting unit 7 which constitutes a part of the temporary engagement portion that temporarily stops the movement of the movable member.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 6, the rugby ball-shaped moving body 8 has a long axis LA and a short axis SA, and has a non-spherical shape symmetrical with respect to the long axis LA and the short axis SA. Specifically, the moving body 8 has a shape in which the diameter dimension becomes smaller toward both ends in the direction in which the long axis LA extends, and the diameter dimension of the area through which the short axis SA passes is constant within a predetermined range in the direction in which the long axis LA extends. A permanent magnet 81 is arranged inside the moving body 8 in a manner that does not damage the tablet during movement. A hole 82 is formed in the moving body 8 so as to expose the permanent magnet 81. The moving body 8 is insert-molded with a soft material such as rubber that does not damage the tablet, with the permanent magnet 81 as an insert. A fitting unit 7 having three permanent magnets 71 as a magnetic force generating unit that generates an attractive force between the permanent magnet 81 in the moving body 8 and the moving body 8 to temporarily stop is fitted into the lower peripheral wall portion 31A of the container body 31 of the tablet container 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the fitting unit 7 includes a magnet holding part 72 that holds three permanent magnets 71 and forms a magnetic field in the tablet storage space 32 through the lower peripheral wall part 31A of the container body 31, and a pair of holding parts 73, 73 that hold the outer peripheral surface of the lower peripheral wall part 31A in order to press the magnet holding part 72 against the lower peripheral wall part 31A. A horizontally long opening hole 74 is formed in the lower region of the magnet holding part 72. This opening hole 74 contributes to reducing the weight of the fitting unit 7, and if the container body 31 is transparent, it can be used to check the internal state of the container body 31. However, this opening hole 74 is not necessarily required. If the magnetic force generating part is constituted by the fitting unit 7 that is fitted from the outside to the peripheral wall part of the tablet container 3, the present invention can be implemented simply by fitting this fitting unit 7 to the tablet container of an existing tablet cassette and inserting the moving body 8 into the tablet container.

[0025] The operation of the tablet cassette of this embodiment, which is provided with the movable body 8 and the temporary engagement portion (permanent magnets 81, 71), will be described below with reference to Figs. 7(A) to (E). Figs. 7(A) to (E) show only the parts necessary for the explanation of the operation, and the same parts as those shown in Figs. 1 to 6 are denoted with the same reference numerals as those in Figs. 1 to 6. Fig. 7(A) shows a state in which the number of tablets T in the tablet storage space 32 of the container body 31 is reduced. In this state, the remaining tablets T become difficult to move and are difficult to smoothly enter the tablet storage chamber 43, that is, are difficult to fall into the tablet storage chamber 43. In this state, the rotor 4 rotates with the movable body 8 on the upper surface 45 of the rotor 4 together with the remaining tablets T in the tablet storage space 32 [Fig. 7(B)]. For example, as shown in FIG. 7(C), when the moving body 8 is temporarily caught on the elastic endless belt 54 made of rubber and stops temporarily, or as shown in FIG. 7(D), when the permanent magnet in the moving body 8 and the permanent magnet 71 [see FIG. 3] in the magnet holding part 72 attract each other by magnetic force and the moving body is temporarily stopped, the following tablets T are accumulated at the position where the moving body 8 is stopped. As a result, the tablets scattered on the upper surface 45 of the rotor 4 are collected. When the number of accumulated tablets T increases, the rotational force of the rotor 4 is added from the tablets T to the moving body 8 that is temporarily stopped, and finally, the moving body 8 starts moving again. Then, the tablets T accumulated behind the moving body 8 that was stopped at a position and located above the tablet storage chamber 43 fall into the tablet storage chamber 43 as the rotor 4 rotates. By repeating this operation, the tablets T remaining on the upper surface 45 of the rotor 4 fall into the tablet storage chamber 43 and are discharged from the discharge port 33 (FIG. 5). Then, as shown in FIG. 7(E), when the moving body 8 comes to a halt near the magnet holding portion 72 due to the magnetic attraction force, the last tablet T hits the moving body and finally falls into the tablet storage chamber 43.

[0026] Since the moving body 8 is inserted into the tablet storage space 32 in an unconstrained state, when there are many tablets in the tablet storage space 32, the moving body 8 is surrounded by the tablets and does not move much. Therefore, the surrounding tablets are not damaged until the number of tablets decreases. Also, since the moving body 8 is in an unconstrained state, as the number of tablets decreases, the moving body 8 moves downward, and when the number of tablets decreases, the moving body 8 comes into contact with the upper surface 45 of the rotor 4. As a result, as described above, when the moving body 8 is temporarily stopped, it acts as a stopper for the tablets T remaining on the rotor 4, and the tablets can be effectively retained behind the rotor 4 in the rotation direction, allowing the tablets to fall into the tablet storage chamber 43.

[0027] As in this embodiment, when the temporary engagement portion is composed of the permanent magnet 81 arranged on the moving body 8 and the permanent magnet 71 of the magnetic force generating portion, the moving body 8 can be temporarily stopped at a fixed position without damaging the remaining tablets, and the movement start condition of the moving body 8 can be changed to some extent arbitrarily by setting the magnetic force. Therefore, it is possible to set an effective temporary stop period by changing the magnetic force according to the weight of the tablets T. In addition, the moving body 8 having such a shape moves irregularly rather than regularly. Therefore, the posture of the tablets T remaining on the rotor is changed every time it moves, and multiple tablets T can be effectively retained behind the rotor 4 in the rotation direction.

[0028] Furthermore, the shape of the moving body 8 is not limited to that in the above embodiment, and it may have an asymmetrical outer shape. [Industrial Applicability]

[0029] According to the present invention, when the number of tablets in the tablet storage container becomes low, the tablets can be dropped into the plurality of tablet storage chambers at an early stage. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1...tablet cassette, 2...drive part, 3...tablet container, 31...container body, 32...tablet storage space, 33...discharge outlet, 34...bottom wall part, 4...rotor, 41...rotating shaft, 42...rotor body, 43...tablet storage chamber, 44...partition part, 45...upper surface, 50...partition unit, 51...partition holding part, 52...partition action part, 53...belt holding part, 54...endless belt, 7...engaging unit, 71...permanent magnet, 8...moving body, 81...permanent magnet, T...tablet.

Claims

1. a tablet container including a tablet storage space for randomly storing a plurality of tablets, and a discharge port in a bottom wall portion for dropping the plurality of tablets in the tablet storage space one by one; a rotation shaft having an axis extending in a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall portion; a rotor which rotates about the axis within the tablet storage space of the tablet container as the rotating shaft rotates, and further has a plurality of tablet storage chambers which can store the tablets one by one and pass the tablets through the discharge port, the rotor being provided on an outer periphery thereof so that the plurality of tablet storage chambers are aligned in the rotational direction of the rotating shaft, one or more movable bodies that are housed in the tablet storage space, have a shape and size that do not get stuck in the tablet storage chamber, and are movable in the tablet storage space in an unconstrained state as the rotor rotates; a temporary engagement portion that temporarily engages with the one or more moving bodies during rotation of the rotor to temporarily stop the one or more moving bodies within the tablet storage space, A permanent magnet is disposed on the moving body in such a manner that the tablet is not damaged during movement. The tablet container is provided with a magnetic force generating unit that generates an attractive force between the tablet container and the permanent magnet to temporarily stop the moving body, A tablet cassette, characterized in that the temporary engagement portion is constituted by the permanent magnet and the magnetic force generating portion, which are disposed on the movable body.

2. 2. The tablet cassette according to claim 1, wherein the movable body has a major axis and a minor axis and has a non-spherical shape symmetrical about the major axis and the minor axis.

3. 2. The tablet cassette according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic force generating portion is constituted by one or more permanent magnets disposed adjacent to a peripheral wall portion of the tablet container.

4. 2. The tablet cassette according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic force generating portion is configured as a fitting unit that is fitted from outside to the peripheral wall portion of the tablet container.

5. 2. The tablet cassette according to claim 1, wherein the permanent magnet is housed inside the movable body, and the movable body is formed with a hole formed so as to expose the permanent magnet.

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