Medicine packaging machine

Abstract

To easily perform maintenance work of an electric motor of a temporary storage mechanism of a medicine packaging machine.SOLUTION: A medicine packaging machine 10 comprises a plurality of feeder storages 12 including multiple medicine feeders 13 mounted thereon and configured to be pulled out from a housing, where each feeder storage is equipped with an upper medicine collection mechanism 20, a lower medicine collection mechanism 30 provided on the lower side thereof, a packaging device 40 provided on the lower side thereof, and a temporary storage mechanism 60 provided at an intermediate part of the upper and lower medicine collection mechanisms 20 and 30. The medicine packaging machine includes an electric motor 51 for opening / closing the temporary storage mechanism 60 disposed in front of the mechanism 60, where a front portion 22 of a lower end of the upper medicine collection mechanism 20 provided on the upper side thereof, is located rearward a front portion 21 of the upper end of the mechanism 20. The electric motor 51 is placed in front of a most lateral upper medicine collection mechanism 20. Further, a rear link mechanism is actuated by using a spindle for transmission, the spindle of an opening / closing member of the temporary storage mechanism 60 with the electric motor 51, so as to link a temporary storage mechanism 60 without electric motor placed in front thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This invention relates to a medicine packaging machine that is equipped with a large number of medicine feeders that store and sequentially discharge individually dischargeable medicines, such as tablets, by type, and automatically discharges and packages the desired medicine according to a prescription or dispensing instructions.More specifically, this invention relates to a medicine packaging machine that has a temporary storage mechanism between an upper medicine collecting mechanism and a lower medicine collecting mechanism. [Background technology]

[0002] Many drug packaging machines in practical use (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 6) are equipped with a drug feeder that stores and sequentially discharges drugs, a plurality of drug feeder housings each equipped with a plurality of the drug feeders and capable of being pulled out from a housing, an upper drug collecting mechanism equipped in the drug feeder housing which guides the drugs discharged from the drug feeders downward and causes them to fall, a lower drug collecting mechanism provided below the drug feeder housing which collects the drugs that have fallen from the upper drug collecting mechanism and deposits them downward, and a packaging device provided below the lower drug collecting mechanism which separates and packages the drugs deposited from the lower drug collecting mechanism into packaging strips.

[0003] Such a drug packaging machine discharges the relevant drug from the drug feeder that contains it, whether it is one type or multiple types, or whether there is only one or multiple drugs, in accordance with dispensing instructions, etc., and guides the discharged drug or drugs downward by an upper drug collection mechanism at the appropriate location, and then collects the drugs that fall from the multiple upper drug collection mechanisms by a lower drug collection mechanism and deposits them in the packaging device below, thereby separating and packaging the prescribed drugs one after another.

[0004] Additionally, medicine packaging machines equipped with a temporary storage mechanism between an upper medicine collecting mechanism and a lower medicine collecting mechanism are also in practical use (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 5). The temporary storage mechanism may be of a dependent type that is installed in the drug feeder housing and can be pulled out together with the drug feeder (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 to 5), but there is also an independent type that is installed below the drug feeder housing and is not necessarily pulled out together with the drug feeder (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0005] Regardless of the type, a common operating characteristic is that increasing the number of tiers of drug feeders in a drug feeder storage facility increases the variation between the upper and lower drug feeders in terms of the length of the drug drop path from the drug feeder to the lower drug collection mechanism, and therefore the drop time of the discharged drug, which tends to lengthen the waiting time for the packaging device to complete drug insertion. However, by interposing a temporary storage mechanism between the upper and lower drug collecting mechanisms, the influence of variations in the falling time of the discharged drug in the upper drug collecting mechanism can be blocked from the lower drug collecting mechanism and ultimately from the packaging device. Therefore, in a medicine packaging machine equipped with a temporary storage mechanism, the number of stages of medicine feeders in the medicine feeder storage can be increased without impeding the processing capacity of the packaging device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-087353 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2011-182890 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2012-135388 A [Patent Document 4] JP 2013-078525 A [Patent Document 5] JP 2013-085666 A [Patent Document 6] Patent Publication No. 2021-029378 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] In this type of drug packaging machine, in addition to the numerous drug feeders installed on the top, the temporary storage mechanism located below them must also be switched between a state / position that continues to hold the drugs and a state / position that drops the drugs under the control of the control device, so all of them are designed to switch states / positions by driving electric motors. With regard to this switching operation, since only those drug feeders that contain drugs to be dispensed operate and those that do not need to operate, the frequency of operation of each drug feeder is not very high. In contrast, the temporary storage mechanism operates every time a drug is packaged, regardless of the type of drug, just like the packaging device, and therefore operates more frequently.

[0008] Incidentally, when electric motors operate frequently, maintenance work such as inspection and repairs must be performed frequently. Therefore, for packaging devices having multiple electric motors, which occupy most of the lower part of the housing, a structure is adopted in which the electric motors can be exposed by pulling the device forward together with the support base. Therefore, maintenance of the electric motors of the packaging device can be performed from either the front or the side, reducing the workload.

[0009] In contrast, for the temporary storage mechanism installed between the upper and lower medicine collecting mechanisms, the upper and lower medicine collecting mechanisms are pulled forward from the housing to be frequently cleaned by the user to remove medicine dust, and so the drive system of the temporary storage mechanism, including the transmission members and the electric motor, is arranged deep inside the housing. Even in medicine packaging machines in which the opening and closing members, which are essential for the temporary storage mechanism, can be pulled forward from the housing (see, for example, Patent Documents 4 and 5), the electric motor and transmission members remain inside the housing. Therefore, maintenance work on the electric motor of the temporary storage mechanism must basically be performed from the rear or a side near the rear of the housing.

[0010] However, larger devices such as drug packaging machines are often installed alongside walls in pharmacies, or even when they are away from the wall, they are often placed back-to-back, making it difficult to easily perform maintenance work from the rear of the housing. Even if maintenance work can be performed from the side near the rear of the housing, it can be cramped, and relatively lighter devices placed nearby must often be temporarily moved to perform the work, which can make maintenance work a heavy burden. Therefore, a technical challenge is to improve the medicine packaging machine so that maintenance work related to the electric motor of the temporary storage mechanism can be easily performed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The medicine packaging machine of the present invention (Solution 1) has been invented to solve such problems, and comprises a medicine feeder that stores and sequentially discharges medicines, a plurality of medicine feeder housings each equipped with a plurality of the medicine feeders and removable from a housing, an upper medicine collecting mechanism that is equipped in the medicine feeder housing and guides the medicines discharged from the medicine feeders downward so that they fall, a lower medicine collecting mechanism that is provided below the medicine feeder housing and collects the medicines that have fallen from the upper medicine collecting mechanism and deposits them downward, a temporary storage mechanism that is provided between the upper medicine collecting mechanism and the lower medicine collecting mechanism and temporarily retains and collects the medicines that fall from the upper medicine collecting mechanism to the lower medicine collecting mechanism and deposits them downward, and a packaging device that is provided below the lower medicine collecting mechanism and separates and packages the medicines deposited from the lower medicine collecting mechanism into packaging strips, A front portion of a lower end of the upper medicine collecting mechanism is located rearward of a front portion of an upper end of the upper medicine collecting mechanism, a front end of the temporary storage mechanism is located rearward of a front surface of the housing, and an electric motor for driving the temporary storage mechanism is located in front of the temporary storage mechanism. a plurality of sets of the upper drug collecting mechanism and the temporary storage mechanism are provided, a transmission shaft is provided for any one of the plurality of sets so as to extend from the front to the back along the temporary storage mechanism, a transmission mechanism for transmitting the motion of the transmission shaft to the plurality of sets of the temporary storage mechanisms is provided at the inner back of the housing, and the electric motor drives the transmission mechanism via the transmission shaft, whereby the electric motor located at the front coordinates all of the plurality of sets of the temporary storage mechanisms to perform opening and closing operations. It is characterized by:

[0012] Furthermore, the drug packaging machine of the present invention (Solution 2) is the drug packaging machine of Solution 1 above, characterized in that a plurality of pairs of the upper drug collection mechanism and the temporary storage mechanism are provided, a transmission shaft is provided for any one of the plurality of pairs extending back and forth along the temporary storage mechanism, a transmission mechanism for transmitting the movement of the transmission shaft to the plurality of pairs of the temporary storage mechanisms is provided deep inside the housing, and the electric motor drives the transmission shaft.

[0013] Furthermore, the drug packaging machine of the present invention (Solution 3) is the drug packaging machine of Solution 2 above, characterized in that the electric motor is located in front of the temporary storage mechanism that is located most laterally in the housing among the multiple sets of the temporary storage mechanisms.

[0014] In addition, the medicine packaging machine of the present invention (Solution 4) is a medicine packaging machine of the above-mentioned Solutions 2 and 3, characterized in that the transmission shaft serves as a support shaft for an opening and closing member for switching the storage state in the temporary storage mechanism.

[0015] In addition, the drug packaging machine of the present invention (Solution 5) is a drug packaging machine according to any one of Solutions 2 to 4 above, characterized in that a cam mechanism for converting one rotational motion of the output shaft of the electric motor into partial rotational reciprocating motion of the transmission shaft is provided between the electric motor and the transmission shaft, and the transmission mechanism is constituted by a link mechanism. Effect of the Invention

[0016] In the medicine packaging machine of the present invention (Solution 1), the lower end of the front end face and other front-facing parts of the upper medicine collecting mechanism are set back from the upper end and middle parts to reduce the size of the lower medicine collecting mechanism and to secure a place to install a manual dispensing unit if one is present. Moreover, by arranging the electric motor in front of the temporary storage mechanism, the electric motor can be moved from the back of the housing to a position near the front without sacrificing the medicine feeder storage space or, if sacrificed, with only a small sacrifice. Therefore, the location where maintenance work can be performed on the electric motor of the temporary storage mechanism is no longer limited to the rear of the medicine packaging machine, and the degree of freedom of maintenance work is increased, thereby solving the above-mentioned technical problem.

[0017] Furthermore, in the drug packaging machine of the present invention (Solution 2), even if the electric motor installation location is moved from the rear to the front, the drive of the electric motor is transmitted to the rear via the transmission shaft, and the driven mechanism for sharing the drive of the electric motor among multiple temporary storage mechanisms is left deep inside the housing as before, thereby minimizing the burden of modifications such as changes to the structure and components.

[0018] Furthermore, in the drug packaging machine of the present invention (Solution 3), when the electric motor is moved forward, if there are multiple temporary storage mechanisms, the electric motor is arranged to be located in front of the lateralmost temporary storage mechanism.This means that not only the front of the drug packaging machine but also the forward lateral side is now a clear location where maintenance work on the electric motors of the temporary storage mechanisms can be easily performed, further increasing the flexibility of maintenance work.

[0019] Furthermore, in the drug packaging machine of the present invention (Solution 4), the support shaft of the temporary storage mechanism also serves as the transmission shaft, eliminating the need for an additional transmission shaft, thereby avoiding an increase in components that would otherwise increase costs and the design burden.

[0020] Furthermore, in the drug packaging machine of the present invention (Solution 5), even if the driven mechanism is constructed with a link mechanism that tends to have play, a cam mechanism that is more likely to tolerate play is used in the transmission section, so not only does the electric motor not need to be highly accurate, but the control of the electric motor does not need to be precise, thereby making it possible to avoid or suppress increases in costs. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows the structure of a medicine packaging machine for Example 1 of the present invention, with (a) being an oblique view of the exterior, (b) being a schematic diagram showing the internal structure, (c) being an oblique view of the exterior with the leftmost medicine feeder housing pulled out, (d) being a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the rear portion of the leftmost medicine feeder housing, and (e) being a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the front portion of the leftmost medicine feeder housing. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2A is a left side view showing a medicine feeder storage unit and a temporary storage mechanism double-row storage section, and FIG. 2B is a left side view showing a longitudinal section of an upper medicine collecting mechanism and a temporary storage mechanism. [Diagram 3] 1A to 1C are a plan view, a front view, and a vertical cross-sectional view of a single-row temporary storage mechanism and its drive mechanism. [Figure 4] FIG. 2A is a plan view of a double-row temporary storage mechanism, its drive mechanism, and a transmission link mechanism, and FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C are front views of the link mechanism. [Diagram 5] 13 is an external perspective view of the medicine cabinet with the leftmost medicine feeder cabinet pulled out and the left side panel removed. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] A specific embodiment for carrying out such a medicine packing machine of the present invention will be described below with reference to Example 1. The first embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 5 embodies all of the above-mentioned solutions 1 to 5 (claims 1 to 5 as originally filed). In addition, for the sake of simplicity, when illustrating these components, fasteners such as bolts, connectors such as hinges, electrical circuits such as motor drivers, and electronic circuits such as controllers have been omitted, and only those components necessary for explaining the invention and those related thereto are illustrated. EXAMPLES

[0023] The specific configuration of the first embodiment of the medicine packing machine of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows the overall structure of a medicine packing machine 10, where (a) is an external perspective view, (b) is a schematic view showing the internal structure, and (c) is an external perspective view with the leftmost medicine feeder housing 12 pulled out to the front.

[0024] In addition, Figure 1(d) is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the rear portion of the leftmost drug feeder housing 12, and Figure 1(e) is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the front portion of the leftmost drug feeder housing 12. 2(a) is a left side view of the drug feeder storage 12 and the temporary storage mechanism double-row storage section 50, and FIG. 2(b) is a left side view in vertical section of the upper drug collecting mechanism 20 and the temporary storage mechanism 60. FIG.

[0025] In addition, each of Figures 3(a) to (c) is a set of plan views, front views, and vertical cross-sectional views arranged from top to bottom, with the plan view in the top row relating to the temporary storage mechanism 60 at the lower end of the leftmost drug feeder storage chamber 12 and the drive mechanisms 51 to 54 that directly drive it, the front view in the middle row relating to the temporary storage mechanism 60 and parts 53, 54 of the drive mechanism, and the front view in the bottom row showing the vertical cross-sectional view of the temporary storage mechanism 60. 4(a) is a plan view of the double row temporary storage mechanisms 60, 60, 60, their drive mechanisms 51-54, and a transmission link mechanism 70, and (b) and (c) are front views of the link mechanism 70. In FIG.

[0026] The medicine packaging machine 10 (see FIG. 1) is an improved version of the medicine packaging machines described above, and similarly to those machines (see also Patent Documents 1 to 5), a medicine storage unit 11 is provided in the upper part of the housing, and a lower medicine collecting mechanism 30 and a packaging device 40 are built in a vertical arrangement in the lower part of the housing. In this example (see FIG. 1), a temporary storage mechanism multi-row storage unit 50 is also provided in the lower part of the housing and is located above the lower medicine collecting mechanism 30 and immediately below the medicine storage unit 11. In the medicine storage unit 11, a plurality of medicine feeder storage units 12 (three in this example) are arranged side by side on the left and right, and each medicine feeder storage unit 12 can be individually pulled out from the medicine storage unit 11 to the front as necessary, such as when refilling medicines or performing maintenance work (see FIG. 1(c)).

[0027] The drug feeder storage facility 12 is equipped with a large number of drug feeders 13, and in the illustrated example (see Figures 1 and 2), the drug feeders 13 are arranged in 6 rows and 6 columns on the left side (see solid lines in Figure 2(a)), and drug feeders 13 are also arranged in 6 rows and 6 columns on the right side (see dashed lines in Figure 2(b)). However, in order to avoid interference with the inclined plate provided in the front portion 22 of the lower end of either the left or right drug feeder 13, the drug feeder 13 is not provided in the drug feeder mounting avoidance portion 12a there (see FIG. 2).

[0028] Any drug feeder 13 may be capable of storing a large number of drugs at once and sequentially discharging the stored drugs one by one under the control of a controller not shown, and may be a drug feeder for specific tablets with a detachable cassette, or an integrated, fixed type drug feeder for multiple types of tablets (see, for example, Patent Document 6). Dispensing instructions and the like for the controller can be given by communication from a dispensing server (not shown) or can be given by manual input via the touch panel 14. The touch panel 14 is also configured to display the operating status of the medicine packaging machine 10 and information for the dispensing operator by the controller.

[0029] The upper drug collection mechanism 20 (see Figures 1 and 2) is a thin box-like structure with two thin sides, and one is installed in each drug feeder storage unit 12. It receives the drugs discharged from the numerous drug feeders 13 arranged on the left and right sides through the drug guide path slide-out opening 25 into the hollow interior and guides them downward so that they fall. The lower drug collection mechanism 30 (see Figure 1) consists of a large funnel-shaped member and is located below the multiple drug feeder storage chambers 12 of the drug storehouse 11.It collects the drugs that have fallen from the numerous drug feeders 13, ..., 13 mounted therein, through the multiple upper drug collection mechanisms 20 and then through the multiple temporary storage mechanisms 60, and deposits them into the packaging device 40 below.

[0030] The packaging device 40 is provided below the above-mentioned lower drug collection mechanism 30, and when the drugs that have been narrowed down by the lower drug collection mechanism 30 are dropped from the lower drug collection mechanism 30, the packaging device 40 separates and packages the drugs in packaging strips according to the control of a controller. In this example, a temporary storage mechanism multi-row storage section 50 is also incorporated in the lower part of the housing that houses the packaging device 40 and the above-mentioned lower medicine collecting mechanism 30 (see FIG. 1). Moreover, the temporary storage mechanism row storage section 50 is disposed above the lower medicine collecting mechanism 30 and is provided between the upper medicine collecting mechanism 20 and the lower medicine collecting mechanism 30.

[0031] The temporary storage mechanism double-row storage section 50 incorporates the same number of temporary storage mechanisms 60 as the upper drug collection mechanisms 20, and these upper drug collection mechanisms 20 and temporary storage mechanisms 60 are arranged one-to-one in a vertical relationship (see Figure 1). The temporary storage mechanism 60 (see Figure 3) comprises a long box frame 61 that is open on the top and is long from front to back, a slanting plate 62 fixed to one side of the frame, an opening / closing member 63 that faces the slanting plate 62 and can open and close the bottom, and a support shaft 64 connected to the upper end of the opening / closing member 63. When the support shaft 64 is driven to rotate axially within a limited range, the opening / closing member 63 is swung to close the bottom of the box frame 61 (see Figures 3(a) and 4(a)), open the bottom to reveal an opening 63a (see Figure 3(b)), or even enlarge the opening 63a (see Figure 3(c)).

[0032] When drugs discharged from multiple drug feeders 13 are guided to and fall into the upper drug collecting mechanism 20 above, this temporary storage mechanism 60 receives the drugs in a closed state and temporarily retains them, and then opens the bottom at an appropriate time to release the retained drugs all at once through the opening 63a, causing them to fall into the lower drug collecting mechanism 30. This temporary storage eliminates variations in the collection time of drugs due to differences in the discharge timing of each drug feeder 13, differences in the length of the fall path in each upper drug collecting mechanism 20, and ultimately variations in fall time, and by collecting a packet of drugs and dropping them all at once into the lower drug collecting mechanism 30, the waiting time for the packaging device 40 to be loaded is shortened, which helps to speed up drug packaging.

[0033] These basic components are largely the same as those of conventional products, but while based on such basic configuration, in this medicine packaging machine 10, the electric motor 51 that drives the temporary storage mechanism 60 is installed in such a way that it is positioned in front of the temporary storage mechanism 60, rather than behind it (see Figures 1(d), (e), 2, 3, and 4(a)). The electric motor 51 is preferably installed at one of the left and right ends of the housing, and in this example (see FIG. 4(a)), it is installed only in front of the temporary storage mechanism 60 located at the left end.

[0034] A transmission cam mechanism 52 is provided between the rotation output shaft of the electric motor 51 and the front end of the support shaft 64 (64a) of the temporary storage mechanism 60 behind it. Each time the drive member 53 of the cam mechanism 52 is rotated once by the electric motor 51, the follower member 54 of the cam mechanism 52 swings several tens of degrees, causing the support shaft 64 to rotate back and forth by the same angle, and causing the opening / closing member 63 to open and close the bottom of the temporary storage mechanism 60 (see Figure 3), thereby switching the drug storage state of the temporary storage mechanism 60.

[0035] Moreover, the support shaft 64 is incorporated in the temporary storage mechanism 60 in a state of reaching the front and rear along the temporary storage mechanism 60 which is long in the front-rear direction, and when the front end is rotated within a limited range by the electric motor 51 and the cam mechanism 52, the axial rotation motion is transmitted to the rear cam mechanism 64b at the rear end (see Figs. 3(a) and 4(a)), and further transmitted to the rear cam mechanism 64b and the swing end 72a of the swing member 72 of the link mechanism 70 (see Figs. 7(b) and (c)), so that it also serves as the transmission shaft 64a that transmits to the link mechanism 70 (transmission mechanism) behind the temporary storage mechanism 60. On the other hand, the support shaft 64 of the other temporary storage mechanism 60 remains as a driven shaft that receives the drive of the link mechanism 70 (see Fig. 4). Such a cam mechanism 52 converts one rotation motion of the output shaft of the electric motor 51 into a partial rotation reciprocating motion of the transmission shaft 64a.

[0036] Furthermore, in order to enable the above-mentioned arrangement, i.e., positioning the drive mechanisms 51-54 in front of the temporary storage mechanism 60, without compromising the basic requirement that the drugs falling from the upper drug collection mechanism 20 are reliably deposited in the temporary storage mechanism 60 below, at least the leftmost drug feeder storage chamber 12, i.e., the drug feeder storage chamber 12(B) on the side where the electric motor 51 is located, and the upper drug collection mechanism 20 thereon (see Figures 1 and 2), also have further requirements that are not required for the drug feeder storage chamber 12(C) on the side where the electric motor 51 is not located and the upper drug collection mechanism 20 thereon.

[0037] Specifically (see Figures 1(c)-(e) and Figure 2), the forward portion 22 (specifically, an inclined plate) of the lower end of the upper drug collecting mechanism 20 incorporated in the drug feeder storage chamber 12(B) on the side where the electric motor 51 is arranged is located rearward of the forward portion 21 of the upper end and middle portion of the upper drug collecting mechanism 20. The upper end of the forward portion 22 of the lower end of the upper drug collecting mechanism 20 is connected to the upper end of the upper drug collecting mechanism 20 and the lower end of the forward portion 21 of the middle portion, and the lower end of the forward portion 22 of the lower end of the upper drug collecting mechanism 20 is recessed to just above the front end of the box frame 61 of the lower temporary storage mechanism 60.As a result, the forward portion 22 of the lower end of the upper drug collecting mechanism 20 is inclined, so that when the drug discharged from the upper drug feeder 13 is guided by the drug guide path slide plate 24 into the internal space of the upper drug collecting mechanism 20 and falls to the drug feeder mounting avoidance section 12a, the falling direction is changed diagonally backward by the upper surface of the inclined plate of the forward portion 22 of the lower end of the upper drug collecting mechanism 20 and enters the temporary storage mechanism 60.

[0038] The link mechanism 70 (see Figures 2 and 4) is a transmission mechanism for transmitting the axial rotational motion at a limited angle of the transmission shaft 64a driven by the mechanism 52 that converts the one-rotational motion of the output shaft of the electric motor 51 into an oscillation to the support shafts 64 of the other two sets of temporary storage mechanisms 60 via the rear cam mechanism 64b, and is provided deep inside the housing and located behind the multiple (three in this example) temporary storage mechanisms 60. This link mechanism 70 (see Figure 4) comprises a long, rod-shaped connecting member 71, an equal number of short oscillating members 72 arranged one-to-one with the multiple temporary storage mechanisms 60, and an equal number of biasing springs 74 arranged one-to-one with the multiple oscillating members 72, with the oscillating end portion 72a of the oscillating member 72 connected to the connecting member 71 in a state in which it can freely rotate about its axis, and the oscillating fulcrum portion 72b of the oscillating member 72 connected to a support member (not shown) at the back of the housing in a state in which it can freely rotate about its axis (see Figure 4(a)).

[0039] When the transmission shaft 64a, i.e., the leftmost support shaft 64, is rotated within a limited range against the reaction force of the biasing spring 74, the other support shafts 64, 64 are also rotated accordingly (see FIG. 4(c)). When the rotational drive of the transmission shaft 64a is stopped, all the support shafts 64, 64, 64 including the transmission shaft 64a are returned to their original state by the biasing force of the biasing spring 74 (see FIG. 4(b)). Therefore, each time the output shaft of the electric motor 51 rotates once, the cam mechanism 52, the transmission shaft 64a, and the link mechanism 70 are actuated to swing all the opening / closing members 63, thereby performing opening and closing operations in all the temporary storage mechanisms 60, 60, 60.

[0040] The use and operation of the medicine packing machine 10 of the embodiment 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 5 is an external perspective view of the medicine feeder housing 12(B), which is the leftmost one of the three medicine feeder housings 12 and located above the temporary storage mechanism 60, pulled out from the medicine housing 11 toward the viewer and with the left side panel 11a of the medicine housing 11 removed.

[0041] The usage and dispensing operations of this medicine packaging machine 10 are basically the same as those of conventional medicine packaging machines; medicine feeder storage unit 12 is pulled out from medicine storage unit 11, the exposed multiple medicine feeders 13 are filled with the specified medicine, and then medicine feeder storage unit 12 is pushed back into medicine storage unit 11. After that, a dispensing instruction is given by operating touch panel 14, etc., and the specified medicine is discharged from the medicine feeder 13 where it is stored and guided by upper medicine collection mechanism 20 to temporary storage mechanism 60 below, where it is temporarily stored.

[0042] Then, after a suitable time has elapsed, the electric motor 51 rotates the output shaft once, and accordingly, all the temporary storage mechanisms 60 swing the opening / closing members 63 via the cam mechanism 52, the transmission shaft 64a, and the link mechanism 70, so that all the medicines stored by the temporary storage mechanisms 60 fall simultaneously from the temporary storage mechanism multi-row storage section 50 and are guided to the packaging device 40 by the lower medicine collecting mechanism 30. In this way, the medicines are packaged one after another into packets. Moreover, at this time, the medicine drop path from the medicine feeder 13 to the temporary storage mechanism 60 and the medicine drop path from the temporary storage mechanism 60 to the packaging device 40 are separated by the opening / closing operation of the temporary storage mechanism 60 for most of the time, so that the medicine drop on the upper medicine collecting mechanism 20 side and the medicine drop on the lower medicine collecting mechanism 30 side can operate in parallel for the most part, thereby shortening the packaging time.

[0043] Then, when such medicine packaging operations are repeated and periodic inspection or repair of electric motor 51 becomes necessary, medicine feeder cabinet 12(B) on the side where electric motor 51 is located is pulled forward from medicine cabinet 11, and left side plate 11a is removed from medicine cabinet 11 (see FIG. 5). This exposes electric motor 51, which is installed immediately inside and near the left side of medicine packaging machine 10, so that maintenance work on electric motor 51 can be performed from the near part of the side of medicine packaging machine 10. In this way, in the medicine packaging machine 10 of the present embodiment, manual operations related to the electric motor 51 can be performed without going to the rear side of the housing, so that maintenance operations related to the electric motor 51 can be easily performed.

[0044] [others] In the above embodiment, the electric motor 51 is only provided below the leftmost drug feeder storage cabinet 12, but the suitable installation location of the electric motor 51 is not limited thereto, and it may also be below the rightmost drug feeder storage cabinet 12, or it may be installed at both locations to share the responsibility of driving the target. [Industrial Applicability]

[0045] In the above example, the medicine packaging machine does not incorporate a manual medicine dispensing device (manual tablet dispensing device), but the medicine packaging machine of the present invention may incorporate a manual medicine dispensing device (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In that case, although not essential, by arranging the manual medicine dispensing device next to the temporary storage mechanism multi-row storage section 50, it is possible to implement it compactly even under the condition of forward withdrawal. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 10...Drug packaging machine, 11...Drug cabinet, 11a...Side panel, 12...medicinal feeder storage, 12a...medicinal feeder mounting avoidance unit, 12(B)…Medicine feeder storage unit on the electric motor arrangement side, 12(C)…Medicine feeder storage unit on the side where the electric motor is not installed, 13 ... drug feeder, 14 ... touch panel (operation input unit, display unit), 20...Upper drug collection mechanism, 21...The upper end and the front part of the middle part, 22: Lower end portion near the front; 23: Lower end portion near the center or rear; 24 ... drug guide path slide plate, 25 ... drug guide path slide port, 26 ... drug feeder non-attachment portion, 30...lower drug collecting mechanism, 40...packaging device, 50...Temporary storage mechanism double row storage section, 51...electric motor, 52...cam mechanism, 53...driver (driving side), 54...follower (driven side), 60...Temporary storage mechanism (single row), 61... box frame, 62... swash plate, 63... opening and closing member, 63a...opening, 64...support shaft, 64a...transmission shaft (support shaft), 64b...rear cam mechanism, 70...Link mechanism (transmission mechanism), 71 ... connecting member, 72 ... swinging member, 72a...swing end portion, 72b...swing fulcrum portion, 74...urging spring

Claims

1. a medicine packing machine comprising: a medicine feeder which stores and sequentially discharges medicines; a plurality of medicine feeder housings each equipped with a plurality of the medicine feeders and which can be pulled out from a housing; an upper medicine collecting mechanism which is equipped in the medicine feeder housing and guides the medicines discharged from the medicine feeders downward so that they fall; a lower medicine collecting mechanism which is provided below the medicine feeder housing and collects the medicines which have fallen from the upper medicine collecting mechanism and deposits them downward; a temporary storage mechanism which is provided between the upper medicine collecting mechanism and the lower medicine collecting mechanism and which temporarily retains and collects the medicines which fall from the upper medicine collecting mechanism to the lower medicine collecting mechanism and deposits them in a bundle; and a packaging device which is provided below the lower medicine collecting mechanism and which classifies and packages the medicines deposited from the lower medicine collecting mechanism into packaging strips; a front portion of a lower end of the upper medicine collecting mechanism is located rearward of a front portion of an upper end of the upper medicine collecting mechanism, a front end of the temporary storage mechanism is located rearward of a front surface of the housing, and an electric motor for driving the temporary storage mechanism is located in front of the temporary storage mechanism; a plurality of sets of the upper medicine collecting mechanism and the temporary storage mechanism are provided, a transmission shaft is provided in any one of the plurality of sets so as to extend from front to back along the temporary storage mechanism, and a transmission mechanism for transmitting the motion of the transmission shaft to the plurality of sets of the temporary storage mechanisms is provided at the innermost part of the housing; A medicine packaging machine characterized in that the electric motor drives the transmission mechanism via the transmission shaft, and the electric motor located at the front coordinates all of the multiple sets of temporary storage mechanisms to perform opening and closing operations.

2. A drug packaging machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that the electric motor is located in front of the temporary storage mechanism that is located most laterally within the housing among the multiple sets of the temporary storage mechanisms.

3. A drug packaging machine as described in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the transmission shaft serves as a support shaft for an opening and closing member for switching the storage state in the temporary storage mechanism.

4. A drug packaging machine described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a cam mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the output shaft of the electric motor into partial rotational reciprocating motion of the transmission shaft is interposed between the electric motor and the transmission shaft, and the transmission mechanism is constituted by a link mechanism.

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