Packaging device

Abstract

Provided is a packaging device capable of conveying packaging paper while maintaining the tension thereof but without applying an excessive load thereto. A packaging device according to the present invention is a packaging device configured to package a medical drug loaded from a loading hopper. The packaging device is configured to supply the medical drug into a packaging strip through an opening provided by folding the packaging strip in half and to close the packaging strip by sealing the opening. The packaging device includes a packaging-strip holder around which the packaging strip is wrapped and held; a plurality of rollers around which a portion of the packaging strip that is drawn from the packaging-strip holder is wrapped; a feed roller configured to repeatedly pull out the packaging strip in units of a length for a single package; and a tension adjustment mechanism provided on a downstream side relative to the packaging-strip holder and on an upstream side relative to the feed roller, the tension adjustment mechanism being configured to keep a tension of the packaging strip that is pulled out by a feed roller constant. The tension adjustment mechanism includes a mobile roller and an urging member, the mobile roller being supported such that a rotation axis of the mobile roller is allowed to move in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis, the urging member pulling the mobile roller toward a reference position with a predetermined force. The mobile roller moves upon detection of the packaging strip receiving a tensile force greater than or equal to the predetermined force.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging device configured to package a medical drug.BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Packaging devices configured to pack powder or solid matter in a long piece of packaging paper sectioned in units of a predetermined length and to seal the packaging paper with heat are widely known (see PTL 1 and others, for example).

[0003] Other configurations are also known in which the above packaging devices are each combined with a tablet discharge device and / or a powder dispensing device configured to discharge the medical drug in units of a predetermined amount, so that the packaging device is operated as a drug division and packaging machine (see PTL 2 to 4 and others, for example).

[0004] Such a packaging device typically employs a configuration in which while packaging paper wrapped around a plurality of rollers is conveyed under tension, a medical drug is loaded thereinto at a predetermined position through a hopper or the like and is sealed therein.

[0005] Nevertheless, in the above packaging device configured to perform the conveyance under tension, when, for example, the diameter of the roll of packaging paper changes with the consumption of the packaging paper, the length of the conveyance path increases, which changes the tensile force. Hence, for example, a configuration of adjusting the tension on the basis of the diameter of the roll is proposed (see PTL 5 and others).

[0006] Even in such a configuration in which the tension is adjusted on the basis of the amount consumed, the tension increases when the packaging paper is pulled in but decreases when the packaging paper is fed out. Therefore, the way of controlling the timings of feeding and pulling tends to be complicated.

[0007] If any error occurs in such a timing, a problem may occur in that the packaging paper receives an excessive load to cause damage, defective conveyance, and / or the like.CITATION LISTPatent LiteraturePTL 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2014-51305

[0009] PTL 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2014-188101

[0010] PTL 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-168427

[0011] PTL 4: Japanese Patent No. 3524680

[0012] PTL 5: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-343699SUMMARY OF INVENTIONTechnical Problem

[0013] The present invention is to solve the above technical problem and is to provide a packaging device capable of conveying packaging paper while maintaining the tension thereof but without applying an excessive load thereto.Solution to Problem

[0014] A packaging device according to the present invention is a packaging device configured to package a medical drug loaded from a loading hopper. The packaging device is configured to supply the medical drug into a packaging strip through an opening provided by folding the packaging strip in half and to close the packaging strip by sealing the opening. The packaging device includes a packaging-strip holder around which the packaging strip is wrapped and held; a plurality of rollers around which a portion of the packaging strip that is drawn from the packaging-strip holder is wrapped; a feed roller configured to repeatedly pull out the packaging strip in units of a length for a single package; and a tension adjustment mechanism provided on a downstream side relative to the packaging-strip holder and on an upstream side relative to the feed roller, the tension adjustment mechanism being configured to keep a tension of the packaging strip that is pulled out by the feed roller constant. The tension adjustment mechanism includes a mobile roller and an urging member, the mobile roller being supported such that a rotation axis of the mobile roller is allowed to move in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis, the urging member pulling the mobile roller toward a reference position with a predetermined force. The mobile roller moves upon detection of the packaging strip receiving a tensile force greater than or equal to the predetermined force.Advantageous Effects of Invention

[0015] In the above packaging device, the likeliness of a problem in which the packaging paper receives an excessive load to cause damage, defective conveyance, and / or the like is reduced.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates the appearance of a drug division and packaging apparatus taken as an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the drug division and packaging apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1, illustrating the appearance thereof.

[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates a configuration of a tablet handling section illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates an internal configuration of the tablet handling section illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0020] FIG. 5 illustrates relevant elements of a powder handling section illustrated in FIG. 1 that are configured to distribute a powdered drug.

[0021] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary drive source and configuration of a vibrating feeder illustrated in FIG. 5.

[0022] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a transfer member included in the vibrating feeder illustrated in FIG. 5.

[0023] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary behavior of the vibrating feeder illustrated in FIG. 5 and the transfer member.

[0024] FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary positional relationship between a distribution disc and the vibrating feeder.

[0025] FIG. 10 is an enlargement of a scraping unit configured to transfer a powdered drug downward.

[0026] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary internal configuration of the drug division and packaging apparatus.

[0027] FIG. 12 schematically illustrates an exemplary configuration of a packaging device illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0028] FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary medical drug divided and packaged according to the present embodiment.

[0029] FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary configuration of the packaging device.

[0030] FIG. 15 is a plan view of an example of the packaging device illustrated in FIG. 14.

[0031] FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a tension adjustment mechanism included in the packaging device.

[0032] FIG. 17 illustrates how the tension adjustment mechanism behaves.

[0033] FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a known art.DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0034] A specific embodiment as an example of the powder division and packaging apparatus according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0035] For simplicity, the drawings mainly illustrate elements that are necessary in describing the invention and elements relevant thereto, with the omission of detailed illustration of fastening members such as bolts, drive sources such as electric motors, transmission members such as gears, electric circuits such as motor drivers, electronic circuits such as controllers, and so forth.

[0036] As illustrated in FIG. 1, in the illustration of a drug division and packaging apparatus 100 viewed from the front side on which an operator P stands, a direction from the left to the right is denoted as X direction, a direction from the near side to the far side is denoted as Y direction, and a direction from the bottom to the top is denoted as Z direction, as a matter of convenience.

[0037] First, the drug division and packaging apparatus 100 according to the present invention is illustrated in an external view and an internal configuration diagram in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0038] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the drug division and packaging apparatus 100 is a division and packaging apparatus that includes a tablet handling section 110, a powder handling section 120, and a packaging device 130. The tablet handling section 110 includes a tablet handling section 110 and a conveying unit 12. The tablet handling section 110 is located in an upper part of a housing 101 and serves as a manual loading unit into which the operator P manually loads a medical drug, such as tablets, for individual packaging. The conveying unit 12 is configured to guide the medical drug received by the manual loading unit 10 toward the below-described packaging device 130 located in a lower part. The powder handling section 120 is configured to receive a medical drug, such as a powdered drug, weighed for a single prescription by the operator P, and includes a distribution disc 20 configured to distribute the medical drug in units of a predetermined amount as instructed by the prescription. The packaging device 130 is configured to make, with packaging paper, individual packages of the medical drug, including tablets and / or a powdered drug, received from the tablet handling section 110 and / or the powder handling section 120. The drug division and packaging apparatus 100 also serves as a powder division and packaging apparatus or a tablet division and packaging apparatus.

[0039] While the present embodiment relates to a configuration in which the tablet handling section 110, the powder handling section 120, and the packaging device 130 are integrated altogether, the drug division and packaging apparatus 100 may further include a tablet cassette configured to store tablets and to feed the tablets one by one to a tablet dropping path 11. Moreover, the drug division and packaging apparatus 100 may further include a drug cassette and / or a storage shelf configured to store a powdered drug.

[0040] In the present embodiment, the drug division and packaging apparatus 100 includes a control unit 140, on which applications and / or the like for controlling functions of a control unit to be described below are installed.

[0041] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the tablet handling section 110 is located at a topmost part of the drug division and packaging apparatus 100 and includes a drawable tray 111, a conveyor 112, and a tablet loading port 114. The conveyor 112 is located below the tray 111 and is configured to convey tablets loaded into the tray 111 to a lower part of the drug division and packaging apparatus 100. The tablet loading port 114 allows tablets to be loaded without the use of the tray 111.

[0042] The tray 111 is drawable from a housing 101 toward the near side with reference to the operator P. Tablets are manually loaded into a plurality of divided cells 111a, and the tray 111 is inserted again, whereby the bottom faces of the cells 111a are opened to the conveying unit 12 located therebelow.

[0043] The conveying unit 12 may have any configuration. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the conveying unit 12 is known as a conveying unit including a plurality of drug cases 113 and a conveyor 112. The conveyor 112 includes rollers and belts configured to move the drug cases 113.

[0044] The tablets conveyed by the conveying unit 12 as above are merged with the powdered drug at a below-described tablet merging unit 60 and moves to a loading hopper 70, included in the packaging device 130 but not illustrated, so as to undergo a division and packaging process.

[0045] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the powder handling section 120 includes the distribution disc 20, two hoppers 21, troughs 22, and feeder driving units 40. The distribution disc 20 has an annular shape. The hoppers 21 are attached to the distribution disc 20 on an operator side and each serve as an accommodation unit. The troughs 22 are located below the respective hoppers 21 and each serve as a transfer member for the powdered drug loaded into the corresponding hopper 21. The feeder driving units 40 are located adjoining the respective pairs of the hoppers 21 and the troughs 22 and are oriented parallel to the direction of transfer by the troughs 22.

[0046] The powder handling section 120 further includes a scraping unit 50, which is located on the distribution disc 20 at a position on the downstream side relative to the troughs 22 in the direction of rotation. Herein, the direction of rotation is the counterclockwise direction when the distribution disc 20 is viewed from above, but is not limited thereto.

[0047] In the present embodiment, the hoppers 21 and the troughs 22 are provided in a plurality of pairs that are arranged parallel to each other. The scraping unit 50 is located on the downstreammost side relative to the hoppers 21 and the troughs 22. The scraping unit 50 is configured to scrape toward the tablet merging unit 60 the powdered drug that is placed on the distribution disc 20 as to be described below.

[0048] The powder handling section 120 is held inside the housing 101 while being allowed to be slid and drawn out.

[0049] In such a configuration, drawing the powder handling section 120 from the housing 101 of the drug division and packaging apparatus 100 contributes to increasing the ease of cleaning.

[0050] Each pair of the hopper 21 and the trough 22 is vibrated by the corresponding feeder driving unit 40 as to be described below, thereby serving as a vibrating feeder configured to transfer the powdered drug loaded into the hopper 21 to the distribution disc 20 through the trough 22.

[0051] As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the hopper 21 is supported by a hopper holding frame 41 from the feeder driving unit 40. The lateral faces of the hopper 21 are tapered to be narrowed downward. The loaded powdered drug is discharged from an opening 23, provided at the bottommost position, to the trough 22. Outer ones of the lateral faces of the hopper 21 are provided with triangular projections 21a, which project outward. The hopper 21 is supported at the projections 21a that are caught by the hopper holding frame 41.

[0052] As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the trough 22 is supported by a vibrator 42 from the feeder driving unit 40 and is gently inclined from the operator side, which is the rear-end side, toward a side near the distribution disc 20, which is the front-end side. The trough 22 includes at a distal portion thereof a powder dispensing part 24 and an inclined part 25. The powder dispensing part 24 is designed to drop the powdered drug onto a central part of the distribution disc 20. The inclined part 25 is tapered toward the powder dispensing part 24 with the angle of inclination thereof increasing toward the powder dispensing part 24.

[0053] The vibrator 42 is a vibrating plate that is vibratable by the feeder driving unit 40. A signal from the feeder driving unit 40 causes the vibrator 42 to vibrate finely and thus causes the trough 22 mounted on the vibrator 42 to vibrate, whereby the powdered drug is transferred in the direction in which the trough 22 extends, that is, in the Y direction in the present embodiment.

[0054] The hopper holding frame 41 is a rectangular frame structure that is made of a cylindrical pipe and is open on the front-end side of the hopper 21, that is, in the Y direction. The hopper holding frame 41 supports the projections 21a of the hopper 21 from below. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the hopper holding frame 41 is turnable in the top-bottom direction about the rear end thereof. Thus, the hopper holding frame 41 is capable of moving the hopper 21 up and down along an arc locus centered at a rotation axis O1.

[0055] As illustrated in FIG. 8, when the hopper holding frame 41 is moved in such a manner as to lift up the hopper 21, the gap between the opening 23 and the trough 22 increases, whereby the powdered drug in the hopper 21 is efficiently discharged down to the trough 22.

[0056] Meanwhile, since the trough 22 is vibrated by the vibrator 42, the powdered drug discharged onto the trough 22 slides along the wall surfaces while passing the inclined part 25 and the powder dispensing part 24 and drops down onto the distribution disc 20.

[0057] The powder dispensing part 24 is a recess provided in a widthwise central part of the trough 22. The powder dispensing part 24 is a narrowed part that has two side faces coming closer to each other while extending in the direction of transfer so that the powdered drug is collected toward the terminal end in the direction of transfer. The powder dispensing part 24 is located immediately above a recess provided at the center annulus of the distribution disc 20, most preferably at a lowest part 20a of the recess. The lowest part 20a is illustrated by a broken line in FIG. 5. In such a configuration, the powdered drug transferred along the trough 22 drops onto the center annulus of the distribution disc 20. In this process, the amount of the powdered drug dropping from the powder dispensing part 24 is adjustable by controlling the vibration generated by the vibrator 42. Normally, as illustrated in Fig, 9, the powdered drug is dropped from the powder dispensing part 24 in units of a predetermined amount.

[0058] Therefore, while the distribution disc 20 is rotated at a predetermined speed by one or more turns, the powdered drug is sprinkled in such a manner as to form an even pile on the distribution disc 20.

[0059] Thus, with the rotation of the distribution disc 20 and the vibration of the vibrator 42, the powdered drug dropping onto the lowest part 20a at the center annulus of the distribution disc 20 is evenly sprinkled on the annulus of the distribution disc 20.

[0060] After the powdered drug is evenly sprinkled onto the distribution disc 20, the control unit 140 turns the distribution disc 20 in units of a predetermined angle. Specifically, setting 360° for a single prescription, division into ten packages is achieved with the rotation in units of 36°. Thus, the powdered drug is gathered near the scraping unit 50 in units of an amount appropriate for a single package, and the gathered powdered drug is loaded into the loading hopper 70 by the scraping unit 50.

[0061] As illustrated in FIG. 10, the scraping unit 50 includes a disc 51 and a scraper 52. The disc 51 is a circular plate and is positioned in contact at the peripheral edge thereof with the distribution disc 20. The scraper 52 is attached to the disc 51 and is to be turned to scoop and rake out the powdered drug of an amount for a single package that is stopped by the disc 51 on the distribution disc 20.

[0062] The scraping unit 50 is supported by a lever 53 while being allowed to move up and down in the Z direction. The position of the scraping unit 50 is changeable between a position where the disc 51 is in contact with the distribution disc 20 and a position where the disc 51 is spaced apart and detached upward from the distribution disc 20. Such a configuration allowing the up-and-down movement makes it easy for the operator P to clean the distribution disc 20 after the division and packaging for a single prescription.

[0063] As illustrated in a sectional overview in FIG. 11, the tablet merging unit 60 is a merging unit where the tablets dropped from the tablet handling section 110 through the conveying unit 12 and the powdered drug dispensed from the powder handling section 120 in units of an amount for a single package are guided from the respective paths to the loading hopper 70, which serves as a shared dropping path.

[0064] The tablet merging unit 60 includes a tablet dropping path 61 and a closing member 62. The tablet dropping path 61 extends inside the housing 101 and is inclined obliquely toward the operator side, that is, the near side. The closing member 62 serves as a lid provided in such a manner as to close a dropping port of the tablet dropping path 61. The closing member 62 is turnable about a rotation axis O2 for opening and closing the dropping port of the tablet dropping path 61.

[0065] The tablet merging unit 60 includes an arm 63, a pushing part 64, and an urging member 69. The arm 63 is formed integrally with the closing member 62 and extends at the back side of the tablet dropping path 61. The arm 63 when pushed moves the closing member 62 in such a direction as to open the closing member 62. When the pushing part 64 comes into contact with the arm 63 and pushes the arm 63 forward, the closing member 62 is turned to open the dropping port of the tablet dropping path 61. The urging member 69 is located above the closing member 62 and urges the closing member 62 in such a direction as to close the dropping port.

[0066] The pushing part 64 is provided with a drive source 65 at the far side in the housing 101. The drive source 65 is a drive source for the pushing part 64 serving as a drive unit. When the pushing part 64 is driven to move forward by the drive source 65, the distal end of the pushing part 64 comes into contact with the arm 63 and pushes the closing member 62 forward.

[0067] In this operation, when the force exerted by the pushing part 64 exceeds the urging force exerted by the urging member 69, the closing member 62 is opened to open the dropping port of the tablet dropping path 61. Accordingly, the tablets enclosed at the lower end of the tablet dropping path 61 drop into the loading hopper 70.

[0068] On the other hand, the pushing part 64 is constantly urged in such a manner as to be pulled backward. Therefore, when the signal to the drive source 65 is stopped, the urging member 69 returns the closing member 62 to the position for closing the dropping port of the tablet dropping path 61.

[0069] Around the closing member 62 and a powder dropping port that are at the lower end of the tablet dropping path 61 is provided an enclosing member 80, which serves as a scattering prevention member. The enclosing member 80 extends upward in such a manner as to enclose the powder dropping port. The enclosing member 80 is located above the loading hopper 70 and has a function of suppressing the scattering of the powdered drug scraped by the scraper 52 and dropping into the loading hopper 70.

[0070] The shape of the enclosing member 80 is not limited to the one illustrated in the drawings and may be any of various shapes. The enclosing member 80 may be operable while being tilted in, for example, the left-right direction or a direction toward the near side.

[0071] When the tablet merging unit 60 is in a standby state, which is the initial state, the closing member 62 is kept closed. When tablets are discharged from the tablet handling section 110, the discharged tablets are stopped by the closing member 62 at the terminal end of the tablet dropping path 61.

[0072] To discharge the tablets from the tablet merging unit 60, as described above, the drive source 65 is activated to turn the closing member 62. Thus, the tablets are dropped into the loading hopper 70.

[0073] The discharge of the tablets and the scraping of the powdered drug by the scraper 52 described above are basically not performed simultaneously. When the closing member 62 is closed, the powdered drug is discharged. When the closing member 62 is open, the tablets are discharged.

[0074] To implement such a way of control, for example, the control unit 140 activates the drive source 65 after the completion of scraping of the powdered drug by the scraper 52 and the completion of predetermined packaging by the packaging device 130. Instead, the scraping by the scraper 52 and the discharge of the tablets may be performed alternately. Nevertheless, if powdered drug is scraped while the closing member 62 is open, some powdered drug may adhere between the tablet dropping path 61 and the closing member 62, for example, increasing the risk of so-called contamination and the like. Such a situation is not desirable.

[0075] The tablets or powdered drug dropped into the loading hopper 70 as described above is packaged with drug packaging paper 131 by the packaging device 130, illustrated in FIG. 12.

[0076] The packaging device 130 includes, in order along a feed path for the drug packaging paper 131, a packaging-strip feeder 132, a printer 133, a vertical sealer 134, the loading hopper 70, a horizontal sealer 135, a roller unit 136, and a cutter 137. The packaging-strip feeder 132 holds a roll of the drug packaging paper 131 and is configured to feed the drug packaging paper 131 sequentially from the distal end while giving an appropriate tension to the drug packaging paper 131. The printer 133 is configured to perform printing on the drug packaging paper 131. The vertical sealer 134 includes a heating element extending in the widthwise direction of the drug packaging paper 131, which is the top-bottom direction in the present embodiment, and is configured to heat and fuse the drug packaging paper 131 at a sealing part 131a. The loading hopper 70 is configured to move up and down such that the distal end thereof is inserted into and retracted from the drug packaging paper 131, which is folded in half. The horizontal sealer 135 includes a heating element extending in the horizontal direction and is configured to heat and fuse the drug packaging paper 131. The roller unit 136 is configured to pull the drug packaging paper 131. The cutter 137 is configured to make perforations in the drug packaging paper 131 or to cut the drug packaging paper 131.

[0077] In the above configuration, as illustrated in FIG. 13, a medical drug such as tablets or a powdered drug is packed in sections of a predetermined length that are made in the drug packaging paper 131. Furthermore, in a state where the sealing part 131a, illustrated with hatching, is fused with heat, the drug packaging paper 131 is kept in a continuous form for a certain length and is discharged toward the downstream side to a discharge port 139.

[0078] The drug packaging paper 131 folded in half with the upper end thereof open is drawn from the packaging-strip feeder 132. The packaging-strip feeder 132 is, for example, a packaging-strip holder from which the drug packaging paper 131 that is in a rolled form is reeled out.

[0079] The drug packaging paper 131 thus fed from the packaging-strip feeder 132 undergoes printing performed by the printer 133 and is moved to a position below the loading hopper 70. Then, after a front part and a rear part of the drug packaging paper 131 in the conveyance direction are sealed by the vertical sealer 134, the medical drug is loaded from the loading hopper 70. Subsequently, an upper part of the drug packaging paper 131 is sealed. Furthermore, the drug packaging paper 131 undergoes a process such as cutting or perforation performed by the cutter 137 and is discharged.

[0080] As described above for the tablet merging unit 60, either tablets or a powdered drug of an amount for a single package is to be dropped into the loading hopper 70. Therefore, a medical drug of an amount for a single package is to be packed in each section of the drug packaging paper 131. FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary case where tablets are packed. Likewise, any powder such as a powdered drug is to be packed in each of the sections that are made by thermal fusing.

[0081] Upon detection of loading of a medical drug from the loading hopper 70 into the drug packaging paper 131, the horizontal sealer 135 seals the upper part of the drug packaging paper 131 and the roller unit 136 pulls in the drug packaging paper 131 by a predetermined length, whereby the drug packaging paper 131 is conveyed by a length for a single package.

[0082] With the repetition of such an operation, the drug packaging paper 131 is conveyed to the discharge port 139 in a continuous form of medicine bags in each of which a medical drug of an amount for a single package is packed.

[0083] The drug division and packaging apparatus 100 including the sections configured as above is a division and packaging apparatus capable of packaging a medical drug, such as tablets or a powdered drug, in units of an amount for a single package with the use of the drug packaging paper 131.

[0084] The configuration of the packaging device 130 that is described in the present embodiment only relates to a scheme in which the drug packaging paper 131 is conveyed in the horizontal direction. Alternatively, the packaging device 130 may have any configuration as long as the packaging device 130 is a packaging machine capable of packing a medical drug in compartments provided by sectioning drug packaging paper in units of a predetermined width. The packaging device 130 is not limited to these configurations.

[0085] A configuration of such a packaging device will now be described with reference to FIG. 14.

[0086] In the present embodiment, the drug packaging paper 131 is folded in half and is held in a rolled form on the packaging-strip feeder 132.

[0087] The drug packaging paper 131 drawn from the packaging-strip feeder 132 is wrapped around a plurality of rollers 159. In this state, as described above, the drug packaging paper 131 advances through the printer 133, the vertical sealer 134, the loading hopper 70, the horizontal sealer 135, and the roller unit 136 and is discharged to the discharge port 139.

[0088] When the drug packaging paper 131 is stationary, the tension applied thereto is kept constant. When the roller unit 136, provided with a drive source, is rotated by a predetermined distance of, for example, 80 mm for a single package to pull out the drug packaging paper 131, a portion of the drug packaging paper 131 that is in a rolled form is rotated. Thus, the drug packaging paper 131 is drawn out by the same length as above from the packaging-strip feeder 132.

[0089] As illustrated in FIG. 15, near the exit of the packaging-strip feeder 132 are provided a mobile roller 151, a tension spring 153, and a sensor 152. The mobile roller 151 is supported such that the rotation axis thereof is allowed to move in the X direction or the Y direction. The tension spring 153 serves as an urging member that connects the mobile roller 151 and the housing 101 to each other. The sensor 152 is configured to detect the position of the mobile roller 151.

[0090] The packaging-strip feeder 132 includes a rotary mechanism 1321, which is for driving and is located at a central part of the rolled drug packaging paper 131. When a signal from the sensor 152 is turned off, the rotary mechanism 1321 drives the motor to rotate.

[0091] With such an operation of the rotary mechanism 1321, the drug packaging paper 131 held by the packaging-strip feeder 132 turns counterclockwise in the drawing and is fed out.

[0092] The sensor 152 is a sensor for detecting the position of the mobile roller 151. When the mobile roller 151 moves in an XY plane as illustrated in FIG. 16, the sensor 152 turns off the signal. While the mobile roller 151 is at a reference position, the sensor 152 keeps the signal on.

[0093] In the present embodiment, the on / off switching of the sensor 152 is as follows. While a microswitch 1521 is in contact with a bent portion 1541 formed around a rotation axis O5 of a mobile-roller support 154, the sensor 152 is on. When the mobile-roller support 154 rotates over the bent portion 1541, the microswitch 1521 is spaced apart from the side face of the bent portion 1541, whereby the sensor 152 is turned off. That is, the present embodiment employs a contact sensor configured to switch between the on and off states on the basis of spacing and contact between the side face of the bent portion 1541 and the microswitch 1521. The range over which the sensor 152 is kept on is controllable by, for example, changing the degree of curvature and / or the position of the bent portion 1541.

[0094] In other words, defining the range over which the bent portion 1541 and the microswitch 1521 are kept in contact with each other as the reference position for the mobile roller 151, when the mobile roller 151 moving in the XY plane reaches such a position that the bent portion 1541 and the microswitch 1521 go away from each other, the control unit 140 determines that the mobile roller 151 has moved, as to be described below.

[0095] Instead of such a contact sensor, the sensor 152 may be, for example, an optical sensor that is provided at a position facing the mobile roller 151 and is configured to be turned off when the mobile roller 151 moves by a predetermined distance or more.

[0096] The determination of the on / off state may be performed the other way round, as long as it is possible to detect whether the mobile roller 151 is at the reference position. Nevertheless, in case of a failure of the sensor 152 for some reason, a rotary mechanism 1321 configured to be on when the sensor 152 is on continues to rotate if the failure does not interrupt the supply of power. In contrast, the rotary mechanism 1321 described above is configured to rotate when the sensor 152 is off. Hence, in case of a power failure, the rotary mechanism 1321 is not activated and therefore does not continue to rotate. Even in case of a failure of the sensor 152 that does not interrupt the supply of power, the rotary mechanism 1321 stops and is therefore prevented from continuing to rotate. Such a configuration is preferable.

[0097] The mobile roller 151 is a movable roller that has a rotation axis O4 on the Z axis and is supported by the mobile-roller support 154, extending in an XY plane, such that the mobile roller 151 is allowed to turn around the packaging-strip feeder 132.

[0098] In the present embodiment, the mobile roller 151 is urged by the tension spring 153 in a direction represented by arrow B in such a manner as to keep being at the reference position, illustrated in FIG. 15, where the sensor 152 is kept on.

[0099] The mobile roller 151 is wrapped with the drug packaging paper 131. When the drug packaging paper 131 is pulled by the roller unit 136, the drug packaging paper 131 receives a force with an increase in the tension thereof acting in a pulling direction represented by arrow A in FIG. 15.

[0100] In such a situation, if the force, FA, acting in the pulling direction reaches a predetermined value or greater, the mobile roller 151 rotates together with the mobile-roller support 154 about the rotation axis O5 in a C direction as illustrated in FIG. 17.

[0101] The threshold of the pulling force FA acting as described above may be set to an appropriate value on the basis of, for example, the way of fastening the mobile-roller support 154 and / or the urging force of the tension spring 153 and may be changed arbitrarily. Preferably, in view of preventing the application of an excessive tension to the drug packaging paper 131, the threshold may be set to a value smaller than the tension that the drug packaging paper 131 can bear without being broken.

[0102] In the above-described case where the mobile roller 151 provided near the exit of the packaging-strip feeder 132 is movable in an XY plane, when the mobile roller 151 rotates in the C direction as illustrated in FIG. 17B, the conveyance path for the drug packaging paper 131 is shortened.

[0103] The tension applied to the drug packaging paper 131 increases when the drug packaging paper 131 is not long enough relative to the length of the conveyance path, whereas the tension decreases when the drug packaging paper 131 is longer than the conveyance path. That is, when the conveyance path is shortened, the tension decreases and temporarily becomes low.

[0104] The reduction in the distance of conveyance has an upper limit that is set in correspondence with the movable range of the mobile-roller support 154, with the extremity illustrated in FIG. 17C. Actually, in the present embodiment, the length by which the drug packaging paper 131 is pulled out by the roller unit 136 is set as 80 mm. Therefore, the mobile roller 151 is supposed to move by a length corresponding to the tension decrease to be achieved on the basis of the length of pulling.

[0105] The distance of such a movement of the mobile roller 151 is not limited to 80 mm because of the following reasons: the mobile roller 151 moves along an arc, the distance varies with the way of wrapping of the drug packaging paper 131, the distance varies with the torque of fastening the mobile-roller support 154 and the degree of tension applied to the drug packaging paper 131, and so forth. Whatever the reason is, since the conveyance path for the drug packaging paper 131 is shortened with the change in the position of the mobile roller 151 that is made by the rotation and movement of the mobile-roller support 154, the tension applied to the drug packaging paper 131 is reduced. Accordingly, the mobile roller 151 stops at a position where the tension becomes smaller than the force that moves the mobile roller 151.

[0106] In a known configuration where the mobile roller 151 is not employed and the positions of the rollers 159 are fixed, as illustrated in FIG. 18, the diameter of the roll of the drug packaging paper 131 varies with the remaining volume of the roll of the drug packaging paper 131. When the drug packaging paper 131 immediately after being exchanged is in a full roll, the drug packaging paper 131 runs along a conveyance path illustrated by a broken line. As the drug packaging paper 131 is consumed to some extent, the length of the conveyance path increases with the consumption as illustrated by a solid line. In short, it is known that since the conveyance path varies with the size of the diameter of the roll, that is, the remaining volume of the roll, the tension varies even if the length of pulling by the roller unit 136 is constant.

[0107] To reduce the variation in the tension due to consumption, according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-343699 and others for example, means for detecting the volume of the sheet roll is provided to the core of the sheet roll, so that the tension is adjustable by changing the amount of rotation on the basis of the volume of the roll.

[0108] Nevertheless, in such a configuration in which the tension is changed on the basis of the remaining volume of the roll, it is necessary to first identify the correspondence between the volume of the roll and the tension applied to the drug packaging paper. Furthermore, the amount of change per turn varies with the thickness of the drug packaging paper 131. Therefore, if a plurality of kinds of drug packaging paper 131 are to be handled, the control operation becomes complicated because, for example, the amount of rotation to be adjusted needs to be changed for individual cases.

[0109] Another concern is that since the tension is increased or decreased by controlling the amount of rotation of the packaging-strip feeder 132, the configurations of the motor and the control unit necessary for controlling the rotation may also become complicated.

[0110] In view of the above, the present embodiment employs the mobile roller 151 that is movable in the X and Y directions. The mobile roller 151 is configured to reduce the load by making the tension applied to the drug packaging paper 131 constant, with no need to identify the volume of the roll.

[0111] The mobile roller 151 moves in an XY plane with the rotation of the mobile-roller support 154 and the tension application to the drug packaging paper 131 that is wrapped therearound.

[0112] Specifically, when the drug packaging paper 131 is pulled by the roller unit 136 and the tension of a portion of the drug packaging paper 131 that is wrapped around the mobile roller 151 reaches a predetermined value or greater, the mobile roller 151 itself moves in the XY plane in a direction in which the tension pulls the drug packaging paper 131, whereby the tension is reduced and the conveyance path is shortened.

[0113] Such a shortening of the conveyance path causes the mobile roller 151 to give some “slack” to the drug packaging paper 131 in such a manner as to cancel out the increase in the tension.

[0114] The slack given with the above movement of the mobile roller 151 is only temporary. When the mobile roller 151 returns to the reference position, the tension increases again and remains at that level.

[0115] Such a situation is the consequence of the increase in the tension that is caused by the roller unit 136 pulling out the drug packaging paper 131 by a predetermined length.

[0116] Hence, in the present embodiment, as described above, when the mobile roller 151 moves from the reference position, the packaging-strip feeder 132 rotates in a D direction to feed out the drug packaging paper 131. Thus, the increase in the tension is cancelled out with the feed-out of the drug packaging paper 131.

[0117] Specifically, the present embodiment employs the sensor 152 serving as movement-detecting means for detecting the movement of the mobile roller 151 from the reference position. While the sensor 152 is detecting the movement of the mobile roller 151 from the reference position, the rotary mechanism 1321 of the packaging-strip feeder 132 keeps rotating in the D direction, illustrated in FIG. 17, in which the drug packaging paper 131 is fed out.

[0118] On the other hand, when the mobile roller 151 is at the reference position, such feeding is withheld.

[0119] In this state, since the drug packaging paper 131 is temporarily slack with the movement of the mobile roller 151, there is no problem in that the speed of rotation of the packaging-strip feeder 132 is constant. In such a configuration, the control unit 140 only needs to rotate the rotary mechanism 1321 on the basis of the result of detection by the sensor 152, with no complicated operation of controlling the rotation. Such a configuration contributes to cost reduction. Furthermore, the simplicity of the drive unit reduces the causes of possible failures.

[0120] After the drug packaging paper 131 pulled by the roller unit 136 moves the mobile roller 151 from the reference position, the mobile roller 151 is subjected to the tension of the drug packaging paper 131 and the urging force of the tension spring 153. Therefore, depending on the balance between these forces, the position of the mobile roller 151 and the mobile-roller support 154 may change.

[0121] As described above, while the drug packaging paper 131 is being fed out with the rotation of the rotary mechanism 1321 of the packaging-strip feeder 132, the tension of the drug packaging paper 131 decreases.

[0122] Specifically, if the roller unit 136 first pulls the drug packaging paper 131 by a length of 80 mm and the drug packaging paper 131 is then fed out by substantially the same length of 80 mm, the tension applied to the mobile roller 151 is the same as the initial tension applied when the mobile roller 151 is at the reference position as illustrated in FIG. 17A.

[0123] After the pulling by the predetermined length, the rotation of the roller unit 136 is temporarily stopped until the medical drug is loaded from the loading hopper 70 into the next section. Therefore, as the packaging-strip feeder 132 rotates to feed out the drug packaging paper 131 at a predetermined speed, the position of the mobile roller 151 where the tension is cancelled out gradually changes. Accordingly, the mobile roller 151 that is under the urging force of the tension spring 153 moves from the position illustrated in FIG. 17B to the reference position and is retained there.

[0124] That is, during a period after the next portion of the medical drug is loaded and before the roller unit 136 pulls the drug packaging paper 131, the mobile roller 151 that is under the urging force of the tension spring 153 is returned to the reference position.

[0125] The above series of operations including the pulling by the roller unit 136, the movement of the mobile roller 151 from the reference position, and the return of the mobile roller 151 to the reference position with the rotation of the rotary mechanism 1321 of the packaging-strip feeder 132 and the urging force of the tension spring 153 is performed per package repeatedly. Thus, the packaging device 130 packs the medical drug into the drug packaging paper 131 for individual packages and feeds out the packages.

[0126] In this process, the length of pulling by the roller unit 136 and the corresponding amount of increase in the tension applied to the drug packaging paper 131 automatically determine the position to which the mobile roller 151 is to be moved. Furthermore, the urging force of the tension spring 153 assuredly returns the mobile roller 151 to the reference position. Hence, there is no need to control the tension during the process. Accordingly, the configuration for the control operation is simplified such that the rotary mechanism 1321 is rotated when the mobile roller 151 is moved from the reference position, whereas the rotation is stopped when the mobile roller 151 is returned to the reference position.

[0127] To summarize, the mobile roller 151, the mobile-roller support 154 that supports the mobile roller 151, and the tension spring 153 constitute a tension adjustment mechanism configured to prevent the application of an excessive tension to the drug packaging paper 131 that may occur when the drug packaging paper 131 is pulled by the roller unit 136.

[0128] Since the mobile roller 151, the mobile-roller support 154, and the tension spring 153 operate as above, the drug packaging paper 131 is prevented from being subjected to an excessive load. Consequently, the likeliness of a problem that may cause damage, defective conveyance, and / or the like is reduced.1

[0129] According to the present embodiment, the packaging device 130 is a packaging device configured to package a medical drug loaded from a loading hopper 70 and includes a packaging-strip feeder 132 around which drug packaging paper 131 is wrapped in a rolled form and is held; a plurality of rollers 159 around which a portion of the drug packaging paper 131 that is drawn from the packaging-strip feeder 132 is wrapped; a roller unit 136 configured to repeatedly pull out the drug packaging paper 131 in units of a length for a single package; and a tension adjustment mechanism provided on a downstream side relative to the packaging-strip feeder 132 and on an upstream side relative to the roller unit 136, the tension adjustment mechanism being configured to keep a tension of the packaging strip that is pulled out by the roller unit 136 constant.

[0130] The tension adjustment mechanism includes a mobile roller 151 and a tension spring 153, the mobile roller 151 being supported such that a rotation axis O4 thereof is allowed to move in X and Y directions orthogonal to the rotation axis, the tension spring 153 pulling the mobile roller 151 toward a reference position with a predetermined force. The mobile roller 151 moves upon detection of the drug packaging paper 131 receiving a tension greater than or equal to the predetermined force.

[0131] In this configuration, the drug packaging paper 131 is prevented from receiving an excessive load. Therefore, the likeliness of a problem that may cause damage, defective conveyance, and / or the like is reduced.2

[0132] According to the present embodiment, in addition to the configuration described in <1>, the mobile roller 151 is held while being allowed to move in such a direction as to shorten a distance of a movement path for the drug packaging paper 131 wrapped around the mobile roller 151.

[0133] In this configuration, the likeliness of a problem in which the packaging paper receives an excessive load to cause damage, defective conveyance, and / or the like is reduced.3

[0134] According to the present embodiment, in addition to the configuration described in <2>, a sensor 152 configured to detect a movement of the mobile roller 151 is provided. While the sensor 152 is detecting the movement of the mobile roller 151, the packaging-strip feeder 132 keeps rotating in such a direction as to feed out the drug packaging paper 131.

[0135] In this configuration, the drug packaging paper 131 is fed out only while the mobile roller 151 is moving. Therefore, when the drug packaging paper 131 is pulled with a strong force that moves the mobile roller 151, the mobile roller 151 moves in such a manner as to reduce the load applied to the drug packaging paper 131 and feeds out the drug packaging paper 131 in such a manner as to cancel out the increase in the tension that has caused the movement. Thus, the likeliness that the drug packaging paper 131 may receive an excessive load is reduced.4

[0136] According to the present embodiment, in addition to the configuration described in <3>, when the tension applied to the drug packaging paper 131 becomes smaller than or equal to the predetermined force, the tension spring 153 returns the mobile roller 151 to the reference position.

[0137] In this configuration, when the mobile roller 151 returns to the reference position under the urging force of the tension spring 153, feeding is stopped. Therefore, the drug packaging paper 131 is not excessively loosened.5

[0138] According to the present embodiment, in addition to the configuration described in <4>,

[0139] if the movement detector detects the mobile roller having returned to the reference position, the packaging-strip holder stops feeding out the packaging strip.

[0140] In this configuration, the operation of starting and stopping the feeding is controllable simply on the basis of the position of the mobile roller 151 that is detected by the sensor 152. Therefore, no complicated operations of controlling the speed of rotation and the like are necessary, which contributes to cost reduction.REFERENCE SIGNS LIST20 distribution disc

[0142] 60 tablet merging unit

[0143] 61 dropping path (tablet dropping path)

[0144] 62 closing member

[0145] 66 partition

[0146] 70 loading hopper

[0147] 100 drug division and packaging apparatus

[0148] 102 mounting surface

[0149] 110 tablet handling section

[0150] 120 powder handling section

[0151] 130 packaging device

[0152] 131 packaging strip (drug packaging paper)

[0153] 132 packaging-strip holder (packaging-strip feeder)

[0154] 159 roller

[0155] 151 mobile roller (tension adjustment mechanism)

[0156] 152 movement detector (sensor)

[0157] 153 tension spring (urging member)

[0158] 154 mobile-roller support (tension adjustment mechanism)

[0159] O4, O5 rotation axis

Claims

1. A packaging device configured to package a medical drug loaded from a loading hopper,the packaging device being configured to supply the medical drug into a packaging strip through an opening provided by folding the packaging strip in half and to close the packaging strip by sealing the opening, the packaging device comprising:a packaging-strip holder around which the packaging strip is wrapped and held;a plurality of rollers around which a portion of the packaging strip that is drawn from the packaging-strip holder is wrapped;a feed roller configured to repeatedly pull out the packaging strip in units of a length for a single package; anda tension adjustment mechanism provided on a downstream side relative to the packaging-strip holder and on an upstream side relative to the feed roller, the tension adjustment mechanism being configured to keep a tension of the packaging strip that is pulled out by a feed roller constant,wherein the tension adjustment mechanism includes a mobile roller and an urging member, the mobile roller being supported such that a rotation axis of the mobile roller is allowed to move in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis, the urging member pulling the mobile roller toward a reference position with a predetermined force, andwherein the mobile roller moves upon detection of the packaging strip receiving a tensile force greater than or equal to the predetermined force.

2. The packaging device according to claim 1,wherein the mobile roller is held while being allowed to move in such a direction as to shorten a distance of a movement path for the packaging strip wrapped around the mobile roller.

3. The packaging device according to claim 2,wherein the tension adjustment mechanism includes a movement detector configured to detect a movement of the mobile roller, andwherein while the movement detector is detecting the movement of the mobile roller, the packaging-strip holder keeps rotating in such a direction as to feed out the packaging strip.

4. The packaging device according to claim 3,wherein when the tension applied to the packaging strip becomes smaller than or equal to the predetermined force, the urging member returns the mobile roller to the reference position.

5. The packaging device according to claim 4,wherein if the movement detector detects the mobile roller having returned to the reference position, the packaging-strip holder stops feeding out the packaging strip.

Images