Drug conveyance / dispensation apparatus and tablet cassette

Abstract

The purpose of the invention is to provide a new drug conveyance / dispensation apparatus that reduces the time and effort required for replenishment, by making a large-capacity tablet cassette mountable. The present invention pertains to a drug conveyance / dispensation apparatus having: a conveyance unit capable of holding and conveying cassettes in which drugs are accommodated; first accommodation shelves capable of storing a plurality of cassettes in a manner in which the cassettes are attached to a cassette base, and capable of dispensing the drugs from the stored cassettes; a second accommodation shelf capable of storing a plurality of the cassettes; a packaging device for packaging the drugs dispensed from the first accommodation shelves; and a drug conveyance path linking the first accommodation shelves and the packaging device. The drug conveyance / dispensation apparatus is characterized in that at least two of the first accommodation shelves are arranged so as to be back-to-back with each other and is characterized by having: a housing unit which is positioned on the front side of the drug conveyance / dispensation apparatus as compared with the first accommodation shelves, and which can be drawn out toward the front side of the drug conveyance / dispensation apparatus; a large capacity cassette which is attachable to the housing unit and has a shape different from said cassettes; and a chute unit constituting a tablet dropping path from the housing unit to the drug conveyance path. The present invention is characterized in that: the drug conveyance path has an upper tablet-collecting mechanism for guiding and dropping the drugs to a position below of the first accommodation shelves, two conveyance conveyors arranged in parallel to each other at a lower part of the upper tablet-collecting mechanism, and a plurality of drug containers attached to the conveyance conveyors; the chute unit is connected to each of the two conveyance conveyors so as to be capable of dispensing the drugs contained in the large capacity cassette from the housing unit, and is controlled so that the drugs dispensed from the first accommodation shelves and the drugs dispensed from the housing unit can be put in the same drug container; and the packaging device is provided with two or more hoppers for respectively accommodating the drugs transported from the two conveyance conveyors in sections formed of packaging paper.

Description

Medicine delivery and dispensing device and tablet cassette

[0001] The present invention relates to a medicine delivery and dispensing device equipped with a packaging device and a tablet cassette.

[0002] There is widely known a tablet packaging machine that includes a cassette that stores tablets in a container body, a rotor that rotates on its axis within the container, a rotor shaft that rotates when the rotor shaft rotates, thereby sequentially discharging tablets from the container, and a packaging device that packages the tablets dispensed from the cassette one by one according to prescription data (see, for example, Patent Document 1).Some such tablet packaging machines are also known that are separately provided with a manual dispensing mechanism so that tablets for which no cassette is provided or medicines that are difficult to discharge sequentially can be similarly packaged in the packaging device (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

[0003] In configurations using such tablet cassettes, it was known that for tablets that are consumed in large quantities, the frequency of refilling empty cassettes increases, and the operating time of the tablet packaging machine is reduced by the time taken for refilling.

[0004] JP 2023-022428 A

[0005] The present invention is intended to solve such technical problems, and aims to provide a new medicine delivery and dispensing device that can be equipped with large-capacity tablet cassettes, thereby reducing the effort required for replenishment.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the medicine delivering and dispensing device of the present invention is a medicine delivering and dispensing device having a transport section capable of grasping and transporting a cassette containing medicines, a first storage shelf capable of storing a plurality of the cassettes by attaching them to a cassette base and capable of dispensing the medicines from the stored cassettes, a second storage shelf capable of storing a plurality of the cassettes, a packaging device for packaging the medicines dispensed from the first storage shelf, and a medicine delivery path connecting the first storage shelf and the packaging device, wherein at least two of the first storage shelves are arranged back to back to each other, and are located closer to the front of the medicine delivering and dispensing device than the first storage shelf and can be pulled out towards the front side of the medicine delivering and dispensing device, and a large-capacity cassette that can be attached to the storage section and has a shape different from that of the cassette, and a medicine delivery path connecting the first storage shelf and the packaging device. and a chute section that forms a tablet drop path toward the drug transport path, the drug transport path having an upper tablet collection mechanism that guides the drugs below the first storage shelf and drops them, two transport conveyors arranged parallel to each other below the upper tablet collection mechanism, and a plurality of drug containers attached to each of the transport conveyors, the chute section being connected so as to be able to dispense drugs held in the large-capacity cassette from the storage section toward each of the two transport conveyors, and being controlled so that the drugs dispensed from the first storage shelf and the drugs dispensed from the storage section are placed into the same drug container, and the packaging device is characterized in that it has two or more hoppers for storing each of the drugs carried from the two transport conveyors into compartments formed in the packaging paper.

[0007] According to the present invention, by making it possible to mount a large-capacity tablet cassette, the effort required for refilling can be reduced.

[0008] 15A and 15B are diagrams illustrating an example of the configuration of a medicine delivering and dispensing device. FIG. 16A is a side view illustrating an example of the configuration of the medicine delivering and dispensing device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 16B is a front view illustrating an example of the configuration of a medicine delivering and dispensing device. FIG. 16C is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a cassette mounted on the medicine delivering and dispensing device. FIG. 16D is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an incoming transport unit and an outgoing transport unit that store and retrieve cassettes. FIG. 16E is a diagram illustrating an example of the cassette receiving operation in the incoming transport unit. FIG. 16F is a diagram illustrating another example of the cassette receiving operation in the incoming transport unit. FIG. 16F is a diagram illustrating a failure example in the receiving operation shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 16F is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a spacing adjustment unit for adjusting the spacing between cassettes to be received. FIG. 16G is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the spacing adjustment unit shown in FIG. 16H. FIG. 16I is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a transport unit for transporting cassettes. FIG. 16I is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration for gripping a cassette in the transport unit. FIG. 16I is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a second storage shelf in the present invention. FIG. 16I is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a first storage shelf in the present invention. FIG. 16I is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a first storage shelf and a storage unit. FIG. 16I is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a storage unit and a shooter unit shown in FIG. 15H. FIG. 16I is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a packaging device of the present invention. FIG. 16I is a diagram illustrating an example of packaged medicines. FIG. 16I is a front view illustrating an example of the configuration of a packaging device of the present invention. 29 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of an example of the correspondence between the position of the medicine to be packaged and the position of the wrapping paper at that time. FIG. 29 is a diagram similar to FIG. 20, viewed from the conveyor device on the left side of the medicine delivering and dispensing device. FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the conveyor device of the present invention. FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the storage unit of the present invention. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing the operation when the storage unit is pulled out from FIG. 23. FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a large-capacity cassette of the present invention. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a dedicated base corresponding to the large-capacity cassette shown in FIG. 25. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the dedicated base shown in FIG. 27. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a cross section A of the large-capacity cassette. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a cross section C of the large-capacity cassette of FIG. 29. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a power transmission unit. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of a perspective view when FIG. 31 is viewed from below. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the large-capacity cassette when viewed from the bottom side. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of a locking mechanism 470. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an inner cup installed inside the large-capacity cassette.Fig. 34 is a perspective view showing an example of the internal configuration of the large-capacity cassette shown in Fig. 25. Fig. 35 is a view showing an example of the cross-sectional configuration in the direction E shown in Fig. 33. Fig. 36 is a view showing an example of the positional relationship of tablets when the large-capacity cassette is fully loaded with tablets.

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings described below, each direction will be described along a three-axis Cartesian coordinate system of X, Y, and Z as shown in FIG. 1, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.

[0010] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a drug delivery and dispensing device 500 as an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the upper right. The drug delivery and dispensing device 500 is a series of units connected and arranged in a row, in order from the +Z direction (the front side where the operator stands) to the -Z direction (the rear side). These units include a front unit 100 with a packaging device 130 at the bottom, a collector shelf 200 (a first storage shelf capable of storing multiple tablet cassettes 20 and dispensing tablets from the tablet cassettes 20), a storage shelf 300 (a second storage shelf capable of placing the tablet cassettes 20), and a power unit 400 (power source for the electrical system). The drug delivery and dispensing device 500 also includes a control unit 550 as a central computing unit for controlling each of its components. While the control unit 550 may be located anywhere within the drug delivery and dispensing device 500, the present embodiment will be described assuming that the control unit 550 is located at the top of the main body of the drug delivery and dispensing device 500. In this embodiment, the most basic form of the drug delivery and dispensing device 500 is described as having both a collector shelf 200 and a storage shelf 300, one pair on each side, but it is also possible to have multiple collector shelves 200 and multiple storage shelves 300.

[0011] As shown in Fig. 2, the medicine delivering and dispensing device 500 stores a plurality of tablet cassettes 20 for dispensing medicines therein, and has a transport arm unit 110, which is a transport section capable of grasping and transporting the tablet cassettes 20. The collector shelves 200, which are arranged on the left and right sides, are arranged back-to-back with their shelves facing outward so that the tablet cassettes 20 can be removed by the transport arm unit 110. This is also true for the storage shelf 300. The transport arm units 110 are arranged in pairs, one on each side of the medicine delivering and dispensing device 500, and each of them moves independently in the ±Z direction and ±Y direction outside the collector shelf 200 and the storage shelf 300, thereby functioning as transport means that allows the tablet cassettes 20 to be delivered between the collector shelf 200, the storage shelf 300, and the front unit 100. In the transport arm unit 110, the catcher unit 112 moves along the rail unit 111, which is an endless belt stretched in a pair above and below in the Z direction, and the catcher unit 112 moves the grip unit 113 up and down in the Y direction, thereby allowing the transport arm unit 110 to move freely in the YZ plane. As shown in Figure 2, an intermediate gear 114 is provided in the middle of the rail unit 111 and fixed to the housing, and by pressing the rail unit 111 in the X direction opposite to the side where the catcher unit 112 abuts, tension is maintained so that the rail unit 111 extends linearly along the Z direction.

[0012] 3, front unit 100 has a manual distribution section 120 provided for an operator to distribute medicines manually, a packaging device 130 arranged at the bottom, and a storage section 140 for storing large-capacity cassettes 40. Front unit 100 has an incoming transport section 150 for storing tablet cassettes 20 inside front unit 100, and an outgoing transport section 160 for discharging tablet cassettes 20 from the front of front unit 100. Here, incoming transport sections 150 and outgoing transport sections 160 are provided symmetrically, one pair each, at positions line-symmetrical with respect to the center line of front unit 100, and a partition wall 101 is provided at the end of incoming transport section 150 on the +Z direction side to prevent placed tablet cassettes 20 from falling forward.

[0013] The front unit 100 is provided with a touch panel monitor 102, which can be used to check the operating status of and operate the medicine delivering and dispensing device 500. In this way, the monitor 102 can be used as both an operating means and a display means for the medicine delivering and dispensing device 500.

[0014] Next, the basic structure and operation of tablet cassette 20, which is a cassette for storing medicines in this embodiment, will be described. As shown in Figure 4, tablet cassette 20 is a medicine storage container equipped with rotor 21, a container body 22 for storing tablets, handle portion 29, lid portion 23, and tablet discharge port 24. Tablet cassette 20 has a base portion 25 that fits into a plurality of cassette bases 30 provided on collector shelf 200, thereby enabling rotor 21 to rotate and tablets stored therein to be discharged one tablet at a time from tablet discharge port 24. Handle portion 29 is a curved, thin plate-like handle, and an operator can easily carry tablet cassette 20 by gripping handle portion 29.

[0015] The cassette base 30 has a transmission drive unit 31 that transmits driving force by engaging with the lower part of the rotor 21 of the tablet cassette 20 from below, and when this transmission drive unit 31 is rotated by a pulse motor, the rotor 21 also rotates in sync. At this time, a large number of blade-shaped partitions 26 are formed at equal intervals on the outer circumferential surface of the rotor 21, and the tablets enter each compartment separated by these partitions 26 in an aligned manner, so that the tablets are discharged one by one from the tablet discharge port 24 as the rotor 21 rotates. In this way, in the tablet cassette 20, the space separated by the rotor 21 and the partitions 26 functions as an alignment board, and when the rotor 21 is rotated about its axis, the partitions 26 rotate accordingly, allowing the tablets to be sequentially discharged from the main body 22 of the tablet cassette 20.

[0016] An identification member 27 is affixed to the base 25 of the tablet cassette 20 to identify the type of tablets stored therein. A commercially available, thin, flexible RFID tag (Radio Frequency Identifier) ​​is used as the identification member 27, and identification information assigned to each tablet cassette 20 is written in advance and stored as data. An identification member sensor 28 is provided on the cassette base 30 side to recognize the identification member 27 on its upper surface 33, and this configuration makes it possible to identify the tablet cassette 20 fitted in the cassette base 30. The combination of the identification member 27 of the tablet cassette 20 and the drugs stored in the tablet cassette 20 is stored in the control unit 550, and this information can be confirmed via the monitor 102, for example.

[0017] Fig. 5 shows a partial configuration of the incoming transport section 150 and the outgoing transport section 160 of the front unit 100 shown in Fig. 3. The incoming transport section 150 and the outgoing transport section 160 are provided symmetrically in the front unit 100, but since their structures are similar, the incoming transport section 150 and the outgoing transport section 160 arranged on the +X direction side will be described in particular.

[0018] Outgoing conveying section 160 is attached above front unit 100, and functions as a belt-type conveying means made up of outgoing conveying belts 161, which are two endless belts wound along the -Z direction, and drive rollers 162 for driving outgoing conveying belts 161. Outgoing conveying section 160 can move tablet cassettes 20 placed on outgoing conveying belts 161 in the +Z direction by rotating outgoing conveying belts 161.

[0019] In this embodiment, the outgoing conveying section 160 has an outgoing storage section 164, which is a placement location provided at the end of the outgoing conveying belt 161 on the -Z direction upstream side in the conveying direction, an outgoing management sensor 165, and an end position detection sensor 166 attached to the rear end of the outgoing conveying belt 161. When a tablet cassette 20 is placed on the outgoing storage section 164 from the catcher unit 112, the outgoing management sensor 165 detects the presence of the tablet cassette 20, and the outgoing conveying belt 161 is rotated in the +Z direction to convey the tablet cassette 20. In this way, the outgoing storage section 164 is provided within the movable range of the catcher unit 112.

[0020] The delivery management sensor 165 is an optical detection sensor in which the optical axis of the irradiated light is adjusted so as to diagonally cross the delivery storage section 164. When no tablet cassette 20 is placed in the delivery storage section 164, the irradiated light is reflected by a reflector 167 provided opposite the delivery management sensor 165 and returns to the delivery management sensor 165. On the other hand, when a tablet cassette 20 is placed in the delivery storage section 164, the tablet cassette 20 blocks the irradiated light somewhere on the optical path, making it impossible to detect the irradiated light, and it is therefore possible to detect that the tablet cassette 20 is located in the delivery storage section 164. In this embodiment, the delivery management sensor 165 uses an optical detection sensor that operates in pairs with the reflector 167, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration and other existing detection means may be used.

[0021] When the tablet cassette 20 is conveyed in the +Z direction by the outgoing conveyor belt 161 and approaches the terminal position, the terminal position detection sensor 166 detects the tablet cassette 20 directly above and stops the operation of the outgoing conveyor belt 161. Here, since the terminal portion of the outgoing conveyor section 160 protrudes in the +Z direction forward of the front unit 100 as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the operator can remove the tablet cassette 20 placed at this terminal position. In this way, the terminal position is the outgoing position when the tablet cassette 20 is discharged from the outgoing conveyor section 160, and the terminal position detection sensor 166 operates as an outgoing detector that detects that the tablet cassette 20 has reached the outgoing position.

[0022] The in-stock conveying section 150 functions as a belt-type conveying means consisting of two endless belts, in-stock conveying belts 151, wound around the back side of the partition wall 101 in the -Z direction, and a drive roller 152 for driving the in-stock conveying belts 151.

[0023] A tablet cassette 20 can be placed at the upstream end of the incoming conveyor belt 151 in the rotation direction, and an incoming detection sensor 157, which is an optical sensor, is provided as detection means for detecting whether or not a tablet cassette 20 is placed at this upstream end position. In this embodiment, the incoming detection sensor 157 is provided in a manner that directs emitted light diagonally upward, so that the light is reflected by a reflector (not shown) located near the drive roller 162. With this configuration, when the emitted light from the incoming detection sensor 157 is blocked by the tablet cassette 20 or the like, the incoming detection sensor 157 detects that a tablet cassette 20 has been placed at the upstream end position.

[0024] When the receiving detection sensor 157 detects the tablet cassette 20, the receiving conveying unit 150 rotates the receiving conveying belt 151, thereby moving the tablet cassette 20 placed on the receiving conveying belt 151 in the -Z direction. The operator places the tablet cassette 20 to be stored on the receiving conveying belt 151 on the back side of the partition wall 101, and moves the tablet cassette 20 into the medicine delivering and dispensing device 500.

[0025] In this embodiment, three interval adjustment means 153 are provided downstream in the movement direction of the incoming conveyance section 150, i.e., on the -Z direction side, and when a tablet cassette 20 moving in the -Z direction passes above the interval adjustment means 153, the movement is restricted by the interval adjustment means 153, thereby appropriately adjusting the interval between two adjacent tablet cassettes 20. The specific operation and configuration of such interval adjustment means 153 will be described later. Furthermore, the number of interval adjustment means 153 provided is arbitrary, but it is desirable to provide more than one.

[0026] An incoming storage section 154 for arranging and aligning the tablet cassettes 20 is provided on the -Z direction side of the interval adjustment means 153. Since the incoming storage section 154 is within the movable range of the transport arm unit 110, tablet cassettes 20 that reach the incoming storage section 154 are grasped by the transport arm unit 110 and held in a state in which they can be transported to the collector shelf 200, the storage shelf 300, or any other location in the medicine transporting and dispensing device 500. An identification member sensor 28 for recognizing the identification member 27 of the tablet cassette 20 is provided below the incoming storage section 154, and the identification information of the tablet cassette 20 that has been moved to the incoming storage section 154 is stored in the control unit 550. Note that the incoming storage section 154 may be provided with a plurality of identification member sensors 28, for example, four identification member sensors 28.

[0027] In the receiving storage section 154, a first direction detection sensor 155 is disposed along the Z direction along the receiving conveyor belt 151. This first direction detection sensor 155 is a laser-type detection means that is passed in the +Z direction as shown in Fig. 6, and the light emitted from this first direction detection sensor 155 passes through the gaps between the tablet cassettes 20, in this case the space between the handle portion 29 and the main body of the tablet cassette 20, making it possible to detect that each tablet cassette 20 placed in the receiving conveyor section 150 is placed in the correct orientation. Also disposed above the receiving conveyor section 150 is a second direction detection sensor 156 for detecting whether both ends of the tablet cassette 20 are positioned directly above the receiving conveyor belt 151. These second direction detection sensors 156 are laser-type detection means that are disposed at both ends of the conveyance path of incoming conveyance section 150 and directed directly downward, and when tablet cassette 20 passes directly below them, if they simultaneously detect its passage (both ON), it can detect that tablet cassette 20 is moving perpendicular to the conveyance direction as shown in Fig. 6. Conversely, as shown in Fig. 7, if tablet cassette 20 is placed incorrectly, the light beam emitted by first direction detection sensor 155 is blocked by tablet cassette 20 and turns OFF, making it possible to detect an incorrect placement direction.

[0028] Alternatively, if the tablet cassette 20 is tilted with respect to the conveying direction for some reason as shown in Figure 8, the first direction detection sensor 155 is likely to be blocked by the tablet cassette 20 and turn OFF. On the other hand, even if the first direction detection sensor 155 happens to be tilted only enough to allow tablets to pass, by arranging a pair of second direction detection sensors 156 on both sides of the receiving conveyor belt 151, it is possible to determine whether the belt is moving parallel to the conveying direction by checking whether each second direction detection sensor 156 turns ON within a predetermined time interval. Note that Figure 8 is a schematic example of a case where the tilt with respect to the conveying direction is large, but in reality, the difference in the timing at which the two second direction detection sensors 156 are blocked may not be large enough to be illustrated.

[0029] As described above, if tablet cassette 20 is placed on incoming conveyor belt 151 in a manner that handle portion 29 is not facing outward, either first direction detection sensor 155 or second direction detection sensor 156 will be OFF, and it will be detected that tablet cassette 20 is not being conveyed in the correct orientation. Conversely, if both first direction detection sensor 155 and second direction detection sensor 156 are ON, control unit 550 will determine that tablet cassette 20 placed on incoming conveyor belt 151 is placed in the correct position.

[0030] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the transport arm units 110 are arranged on both sides of the medicine transport and dispensing device 500 with their respective grip units 113 facing inward, so that when the tablet cassette 20 is transported to the receiving and storage section 154 in the correct position with the handle portion 29 facing outward in the receiving and transport section 150, the grip unit 113 can grasp the handle portion 29 of the tablet cassette 20 and move it.

[0031] At this time, in order for grip unit 113 to accurately grip handle portion 29, a gap is required that allows grip unit 113 of transport arm unit 110 to enter tablet cassettes 20 placed side by side in receiving / storing section 154. For this reason, this embodiment has gap adjustment means 153 for adjusting this gap while receiving / transporting belt 151 transports tablet cassettes 20.

[0032] 9, the gap adjustment means 153 has an L-shaped plate-like member 1531 which is a restricting means for restricting movement of the tablet cassette 20 in the -Z direction by abutting against the base portion 25 of the tablet cassette 20, and a gap adjustment sensor 1532 which is a gap adjustment detection unit for detecting that the tablet cassette 20 has reached a predetermined position. A plurality of gap adjustment means 153 (three in this embodiment) are arranged side by side in the Z direction between the two incoming conveyor belts 151, and when the tablet cassette 20 passes above each of them, each gap adjustment means 153 operates to adjust the gap between the tablet cassettes 20 before they reach the incoming storage unit 154 located downstream.

[0033] 9, the plate-like member 1531 is an L-shaped plate-like member supported so as to rotate about a rotation axis 1533 that extends in the X direction. When the gap adjustment sensor 1532 detects the passage of a tablet cassette 20, the drive source 1534 rotates the plate-like member 1531 about the rotation axis 1533, and the tip end 1531a of the plate-like member 1531 enters so as to abut against the base portion 25, which is the bottom surface of the tablet cassette 20. At this time, since the input conveyor belt 151 continues to rotate, the tablet cassette 20 attempts to be conveyed in the -Z direction, but the tip end 1531a abuts against and gets caught on the bottom surface, restricting the conveyance of the tablet cassette 20.

[0034] Figure 10 schematically shows the operation of such gap adjustment means 153. As shown in Figure 10(a), the multiple tablet cassettes being transported side by side are respectively referred to as tablet cassettes 20a, 20b, and 20c. First, it is assumed that in the initial state, tablet cassettes 20a, 20b, and 20c are closely packed together on input conveyor belt 151 without any gap adjustment. When gap adjustment sensor 1532 detects the passage of tablet cassette 20a, which is passing first, plate-like member 1531 rotates a predetermined time after tablet cassette 20a has passed and abuts against the bottom surface of tablet cassette 20b. 10(b), tablet cassette 20a moves forward for the time that tip 1531a abuts against and is caught on the bottom surface of tablet cassette 20b, and thus, the distance La between tablet cassette 20a and tablet cassette 20b can be adjusted by the contact time of plate-like member 1531. Note that, in this embodiment, plate-like member 1531 is L-shaped and has a shape that abuts by fitting into a recess in the bottom surface of tablet cassette 20, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration and may have any structure as long as it abuts against tablet cassette 20 to restrict and temporarily stop conveyance by input conveyor belt 151.

[0035] When the gap La between tablet cassettes 20a and 20b is thus opened, the plate-like member 1531 is again rotated to release the contact state, as shown in Figure 10(c), and tablet cassette 20b moves with gap La maintained. Next, when the gap adjustment sensor 1532 detects that tablet cassette 20b has reached a predetermined position, the plate-like member 1531 similarly rotates a predetermined time after tablet cassette 20c has passed and comes into contact with the bottom surface of tablet cassette 20b.

[0036] 10(d), it is possible to adjust the distance Lb between tablet cassettes 20b and 20c by rotating the plate-like member 1531 located most upstream in the conveying direction and adjusting the time for which it contacts tablet cassette 20c. However, there is a concern that differences in the distance may occur due to differences in the conveying speed of receiving conveyor belt 151 and the time required for plate-like member 1531 to rotate.

[0037] Therefore, in this embodiment, the multiple lined-up plate-like members 1531 may be rotated and inserted into the bottom surfaces of the tablet cassettes 20a, 20b, and 20c, as shown in Fig. 10(e). When the receiving conveyor belt 151 rotates with the plate-like members 1531 inserted into each of the tablet cassettes 20a, 20b, and 20c in this manner, the conveyance of the tablet cassettes 20 is restricted as shown in Fig. 10(f) when the leading ends 1531a of the plate-like members 1531 abut against the side walls of the bottom surfaces of the tablet cassettes 20a, 20b, and 20c on the upstream side in the conveying direction. Therefore, as the receiving conveyor belt 151 continues to rotate, the intervals La and Lb between the tablet cassettes 20a, 20b, and 20c are automatically adjusted to a predetermined interval L1 based on the interval L2 between the leading ends 1531a when the plate-like members 1531 rotate and the width of the tablet cassettes 20. In this way, by using multiple spacing adjustment means 153 to regulate the movement of multiple lined-up tablet cassettes 20 in the conveying direction, it is possible to automatically adjust the spacing between each tablet cassette 20 without being affected by the drive timing or control of the plate-shaped member 1531.

[0038] As described above, the aligned tablet cassettes 20 are transported to the receiving / storage section 154 located downstream in the transport direction from the spacing adjustment section 153 while maintaining the spacing L1 at a constant value by the spacing adjustment section 153. In the receiving / storage section 154, the tablet cassettes 20 are placed with the handle portions 29 facing outward and spaced apart by the spacing L1, so that the grip unit 113 of the transport arm unit 110 can securely grip the tablet cassettes 20 by entering into the spacing L1.

[0039] The configuration of the transport arm unit 110 will be described. As already mentioned, in the transport arm unit 110, the catcher unit 112 moves along the rail unit 111, which is an endless belt stretched in the Z direction, and in the Y direction, which is the up-and-down direction, the catcher unit 112 moves the grip unit 113 up and down via a support rod stretched between the upper and lower rail units 111, thereby allowing the transport arm unit 110 to move freely in the YZ plane. Figure 11 shows the operation of the catcher unit 112 and the grip unit 113.

[0040] 12, the grip unit 113 has a mounting table 1131 wide enough to hold six tablet cassettes 20, three on each side, a forward and backward movement mechanism 1133 that moves back and forth in the ±X directions, and a fitting claw 1132 attached to the front of the forward and backward movement mechanism 1133. The mounting table 1131 has a shelf position detection sensor 1134 that emits light in the forward and backward directions shown by the dashed lines in Fig. 12 to confirm and fine-tune the position of the shelf of the collector shelf 200 or the storage shelf 300 in addition to the position coordinates of the catcher unit 112 and the grip unit 113, and a cassette detection sensor 1135 that emits light obliquely upward from the mounting table 1131 to detect the presence or absence of tablet cassettes 20 in front of the forward and backward movement mechanism 1133.

[0041] The engaging claws 1132 are arranged in a pair on the left and right, and are held by the advancing / retreating mechanism 1133 so that they can rotate around a connecting portion 1136. The engaging claws 1132 move forward and backward together with the advancing / retreating mechanism 1133, and rotate around the connecting portion 1136 with the advancing / retreating mechanism 1133 at a position where they can grip the handle portion 29 of the tablet cassette 20, and operate to retract the handle portion 29. The space required for the engaging claws 1132 to fit between the tablet cassettes 20 is the distance L1 described in Figure 10 .

[0042] When the engaging claws 1132 grip the tablet cassette 20 in this manner, a plate-like member, the cassette presser 1137, is present in front of the advancing / retracting mechanism 1133, and when the engaging claws 1132 act to surround and retract the handle portion 29, the main body 22 of the tablet cassette 20 comes into contact with the cassette presser 1137, thereby fixing the position. In this gripping state, a force that retracts the engaging claws 1132 acts on the main body 22 via the handle portion 29, and a counterforce that pushes out acts from the cassette presser 1137, thereby stabilizing the posture. Such cassette pressers 1137 may be located, for example, in two positions, vertically centered around the handle portion 29, or may be located on only one side, for example, the upper side.

[0043] In this state, the advancing / retracting mechanism 1133 retracts the tablet cassette 20 together with the fitting claws 1132, and places the tablet cassette 20 on the placing table 1131. As described above, the placing table 1131 can similarly hold up to six tablet cassettes 20, so by moving the catcher unit 112 with the tablet cassette 20 placed on the placing table 1131, the catcher unit 112 can transport the tablet cassette 20 from the front unit 100 to the collector shelf 200 or the storage shelf 300. At this time, an identification member sensor 28 for reading the identification member 27 of the tablet cassette 20 is placed on the placing table 1131, and can read the identification member 27 of the tablet cassette 20 transported to the storage shelf 300. Therefore, the control unit 550 associates and stores the YZ coordinates of the tablet cassette 20 in the storage shelf 300 placed by the transport arm unit 110 with the identification information of the medicine stored in the identification member 27. In this way, by linking and storing the identification information of the medicine by the identification member 27 with the YZ coordinates, the control unit 550 can instruct the transport arm unit 110 on the necessary YZ coordinates when extracting the necessary medicine according to the prescription data.

[0044] As shown in Fig. 13, the storage shelf 300 is a shelf having a shelf main body 302 and a base plate 301. In this embodiment, in order to uniquely determine the position at which the tablet cassettes 20 are arranged, the storage shelf 300 is provided with 12 flat base plates 301 that fit into the base portions 25, arranged in 10 vertical rows, although only a portion of the base plates 301 is shown in the figure for simplicity. The tablet cassettes 20 placed on the storage shelf 300 are held in a state where they fit into the base plates 301, but this configuration is not limited to this. Furthermore, the base plate 301 is simply a plate-like member and need not have any particular mechanism that operates in conjunction with the operation of the tablet cassettes 20.

[0045] As already shown and described in Figure 4, a cassette base 30 for fitting the tablet cassette 20 is arranged on the collector shelf 200, and the tablet cassette 20 arranged on the collector shelf 200 can eject the medicine stored inside the tablet cassette 20 one tablet at a time via the cassette base 30.

[0046] As shown in Fig. 14 , the collector shelf 200 has a shelf main body 202 on which cassette bases 30 are arranged side by side, and a tablet drop path 201, which is a space formed between the shelf main body 202 and an opening / closing plate 203 on the back side of the shelf main body 202. Note that Fig. 14(b) is a cross-sectional view of the portion indicated by line A-A' in Fig. 14(a). Here, as shown in Fig. 14(b), the collector shelf 200 is formed so that the tablet drop path 201 and the tablet discharge port 24 communicate with each other when the tablet cassettes 20 and the cassette bases 30 are fitted together. In this embodiment, the collector shelf 200 is configured so that eight cassette bases 30 are provided in each row in the horizontal direction and two shelves in the vertical direction, but the number of cassette bases 30 and the like can be changed as appropriate.

[0047] Tablet drop path 201 is formed between shelf body 202 and opening / closing plate 203, and is provided at its lower end with a shutter mechanism 204. Shutter mechanism 204 is normally in a closed state and functions as a shutter that blocks the drop path so that tablets discharged from tablet cassette 20 fall at the correct timing.

[0048] As shown in Figure 15, below the shutter mechanism 204 are provided a funnel-shaped hopper section 205 and a conveyor device 210 that rotates in the direction of arrow A in the figure. The conveyor device 210 is known as a drug transport section having a structure including a plurality of tablet containers 211 and a conveyor 212 composed of rollers and belts that move the tablet containers 211. Tablets that fall from the tablet drop path 201 into the tablet containers 211 via the hopper section 205 are transported in the +Z direction by the conveyor device 210 and are ultimately transported from the input hopper 70 located at the bottom of the front unit 100 to the packaging device 130. In this way, the collector shelf 200 is composed of the tablet drop path 201, the shutter mechanism 204, the hopper section 205, and the conveyor device 210, and is provided with a drug transport path connecting the collector shelf 200 and the packaging device 130.

[0049] In this embodiment, a manual distribution unit 120 is provided in front of the hopper 70. The manual distribution unit 120 includes a manual distribution tray 121, a slide tray 122 arranged below the manual distribution tray 121, a six-row first conveyor 123 that moves tablets toward the +X direction in FIG. 15 , and a second conveyor 124 that moves tablets that have fallen from the +X direction end of the first conveyor 123 in the −Z direction and guides them to the hopper 70. In this way, the first conveyor 123 and the second conveyor 124 function as a front double-row conveyor for transporting tablets toward one of the hoppers 70. With this configuration and the operation described below, the manual distribution unit 120 can sequentially feed tablets manually distributed onto the manual distribution tray 121 into the hopper 70 in a predetermined order.

[0050] In this embodiment, a storage section 140 for storing large-capacity cassettes 40 is provided above the hopper 70 and toward the front of the conveyor 212. The storage section 140 can accommodate two large-capacity cassettes 40 arranged side by side, one above the other, and a pair of storage sections 140 is provided on each side of the front unit 100, similar to the collector shelf 200, etc. Therefore, a total of four large-capacity cassettes 40 can be arranged in the front unit 200.

[0051] 16, the storage section 140 is provided with a dedicated base B for the large-capacity cassette 40, and the large-capacity cassette 40 is attached to the dedicated base B and holds the tablets stored therein so that they can be discharged. The tablets discharged from the discharge port 141 of the large-capacity cassette 40 fall through a tablet drop path 142 similar to the tablet drop path 201 of the collector shelf 200, are stopped by a shutter mechanism 143, and then are fed from the large-capacity shooter section 144 into the drug container 211 of the conveyor device 210, and then fall sequentially from the conveyor device 210 into the hopper 70.

[0052] The tablets that have fallen into the hopper 70 are packaged in packaging paper 131 by a packaging device 130 as shown in FIG. The packaging device 130 is provided with a wrapping strip feeding section 132 that holds a roll of packaging paper 131 and applies appropriate tension to it to feed it out sequentially from the tip along the feed path of the packaging paper 131; a printer 133 that prints on the packaging paper 131; a vertical sealing section 134 that has a heating element that extends in the width direction of the packaging paper 131, i.e., in the front and depth directions in this embodiment as shown in Figure 20, and heats and fuses the seal section 131a of the packaging paper 131; two hoppers 70 on the left and right that move up and down to insert and remove the tip of the packaging paper 131 that has been folded in half; a horizontal sealing section 135 that has a heating element that extends horizontally and heats and fuses the packaging paper 131; a roller section 136 that pulls the packaging paper 131; and a cutter 137 that perforates and cuts the packaging paper 131.

[0053] With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 18 , the packing paper 131 is filled with medicines such as tablets or powder medicine in compartments of a predetermined length, and is discharged downstream to a discharge port 139 in a continuous length with the shaded seals 131a heat-fused. The packing paper 131 is folded in half and drawn out from the packing strip feeder 132 with its top end open. The packing strip feeder 132 is a packing strip holder that feeds the packing paper 131, which has been wound up in a roll, in a reel-like fashion. The packing paper 131 fed from the packing strip feeder 132 is printed by the printer 133, moves to the bottom of the hopper 70, and is sealed at the front and rear in the conveyance direction by the vertical sealer 134. After the medicines are introduced by the hopper 70, the top is sealed and cut or perforated by the cutter 137 before being discharged.

[0054] Since the amount of tablets that falls into the hopper 70 is equivalent to one packet, each of the packaging papers 131 contains one packet of medicine.

[0055] When hopper 70 detects that tablets have been placed in packing paper 131, horizontal seal unit 135 seals the top of packing paper 131, and roller unit 136 pulls packing paper 131 in by a predetermined amount, thereby transporting packing paper 131 the length of one packet. By repeating this operation, packing paper 131 forms a series of medicine bags, each compartment of which contains one packet of medicine, and is transported to discharge port 139.

[0056] Packaging device 130 is a packaging device that, with the configuration of each part as described above, can individually package various medications, including tablets, into single packets in packaging paper 131. Note that, although the configuration of packaging device 130 in this embodiment describes only a type in which packaging paper 131 is conveyed laterally, any other configuration may be used as long as the packaging machine can divide the packaging paper into sections of a predetermined width and seal medications in the divided chambers, and is not limited to this configuration.

[0057] The drug transport path in this embodiment will now be described in detail. In this embodiment, as described in FIG. 15 , at least two collector shelves 200 are arranged back-to-back, and two conveyor devices 210 serving as drug transport paths are arranged parallel to each other below each collector shelf 200. When it is necessary to distinguish between them, the one located on the left side of the front unit 100 will be referred to as conveyor device 210a, and the one located on the right side will be referred to as conveyor device 210b. Furthermore, each conveyor device 210 is equipped with a plurality of tablet containers 211. The packaging device 130 is equipped with two hoppers 70 for placing each drug transported from the two conveyor devices 210 into compartments formed in the packaging paper 131.

[0058] Here, when it is necessary to distinguish between the two hoppers 70, the hopper 70 on the upstream side, i.e., the hopper 70 on the left side in Figures 17 and 19, will be described as the first hopper 70a, and the hopper 70 on the right side will be described as the second hopper 70b.

[0059] In the medicine transport and dispensing device 500, the collector shelves 200 are arranged back-to-back across the center, and each has an independent transport arm unit 110 that transports the tablet cassettes 20. Due to this configuration, it is difficult to transfer tablet cassettes 20 between the left and right collector shelves 200 or between the storage shelves 300. However, if tablet cassettes 20 of the same drug were arranged on both the left and right sides, the number of drug types that can be loaded into the device as a whole would be reduced, which is undesirable. Therefore, by providing the first hopper 70a and the second hopper 70b, tablets can be independently fed from the left and right collector shelves 200 into the same packaging paper 131. This ensures the number of drugs that can be handled by the entire device, while allowing each to supplement any missing drugs and package them in the packaging device 130.

[0060] As shown in Figure 19, the first hopper 70a and the second hopper 70b are spaced apart by a distance d that is the distance of one packet of the packaging paper 131, which is 80 mm in this embodiment. The packaging paper 131 is pulled a predetermined distance by the roller unit 136, which is the distance of one packet and is set to 80 mm in this embodiment. With this configuration, if the position where the first hopper 70a is inserted is defined as the first insertion position 71 and the position where the second hopper 70b is inserted is defined as the second insertion position 72, the packaging paper 131 moves in sections to the first insertion position 71, tablets are inserted from the first hopper 70a, and then the next roller unit 136 pulls the packaging paper 131 into the space of the distance d between the first hopper 70a and the second hopper 70b, and the next roller unit 136 pulls the paper to insert tablets into the second hopper 70b, and so on, moving the predetermined distance at a time.

[0061] Furthermore, the first hopper 70a and the second hopper 70b can be independently moved up and down by independent drive sources 73a and 73b, respectively. When tablets are added, they are inserted between the compartments of the packaging paper 131, allowing the tablets to be safely placed within the compartments. It is possible that after a tablet is added at the upstream first insertion position 71, a different tablet may be added again at the second insertion position 72. That is, when the second hopper 70b is inserted while tablets are already inside, it is preferable for the tip of the second hopper 70b to move up and down so as not to collide with the tablets. Therefore, in this embodiment, the second hopper 70b, which is downstream in the direction of movement of the packaging paper 131, is controlled by the drive source 73b so that the amount of descent during up and down movement is smaller than the amount of descent of the first hopper 70a. This configuration allows the second hopper 70b to be safely inserted into a compartment where tablets have already been added.

[0062] By keeping the retraction amount of roller unit 136 constant and synchronizing the timing of this retraction with the timing of the movement of tablet containers 211 of conveyor device 210, it is possible to make the tablets contained in tablet containers 211 of conveyor device 210 correspond to the tablets contained in a certain section of packaging paper 131 as shown in the schematic diagram of Fig. 20. Note that in Fig. 20, the positions of tablet containers 211 or shutter mechanisms 204 corresponding to sections B, C, D, E, F, and G into which packaging paper 131 is divided at a certain moment are indicated by respective symbols. Also, Fig. 20(a) is a schematic side view of front unit 100 of medicine delivery and dispensing device 500, and Fig. 20(b) is a schematic diagram showing the sections divided by the distance of one packet of packaging paper 131 in packaging device 130 and their approximate positions.

[0063] Furthermore, since these correspondences differ, for example, between conveyor device 210a located on the left side and conveyor device 210b located on the right side, Figure 20 shows the relationship with tablet container 211 in conveyor device 210b located on the right side, and Figure 21 shows the relationship with tablet container 211 in conveyor device 210a located on the left side.

[0064] At this time, tablets also fall from the large-capacity cassette 40 installed in the storage unit 140 through the shutter mechanism 143 onto the conveyor devices 210a and 210b, as shown in section "B" in FIG. 20 . In this embodiment, the tablets held by the shutter mechanism 143 fall from the large-capacity chute 144, which extends downward at 45 degrees in accordance with the retraction of the packaging paper 131, so that the tablets are dropped into the predetermined tablet containers 211 in a timely manner. In this manner, the timing of dispensing tablets from the tablet cassette 20 installed in the collector shelf 200 via the hopper 205 and the timing of dispensing tablets from the large-capacity cassette 40 installed in the storage unit 140 via the large-capacity chute 144 are controlled by the operation of the control unit 550 so that they fall within the same section of the packaging paper 131 (for example, the section shown as section B). Furthermore, this timing is controlled to differ depending on whether the storage unit 140 is installed on the left or right side of the medicine delivering and dispensing device 500.

[0065] In this way, packaging device 130 has a pair of conveyor devices 210a, 210b, each of which has a corresponding first hopper 70a and second hopper 70b. Control unit 550 controls the opening and closing of shutter mechanism 204 and shutter mechanism 143 and the operation of drug container 211 so that tablets are fed into drug container 211 of this pair of conveyor devices 210a, 210b.

[0066] In this manner, if multiple types of tablets are placed into the same drug container 211 from two different cassettes, tablet cassette 20 and large-capacity cassette 40, drug container 211 is preferably cleaned to reduce tablet residue inside. Therefore, in this embodiment, ionizer 147 is provided downstream of large-capacity chute section 144 to eliminate static electricity so that tablet residue in drug container 211 can be easily removed. With this configuration, even in drug container 211, where a large number of tablets are placed and therefore residue due to static electricity is likely to remain, it is possible to prevent the accidental mixing of different drugs, known as contamination.

[0067] By providing two hoppers corresponding to the two drug transport paths in this manner, the single packaging device 130 in the drug transport and dispensing device 500 can process tablets flowing from the two drug transport paths at high speed. Furthermore, since the device has conveyor devices 210a and 210b and first and second hoppers 70a and 70b, each functions as a buffer for the other, providing high redundancy. This has the effect of minimizing downtime of the drug transport and dispensing device 500 itself by allowing the other transport arm unit 110 to continue operating even if, for example, one of the two transport arm units 110 stops, or if the tablet cassette 20 mounted on the collector shelf 200 becomes unable to dispense tablets due to a jam or shortage.

[0068] The structure of such conveyor devices 210a and 210b will now be described. As shown in FIG. 22, each of conveyor devices 210a and 210b includes belt conveyor units 212a and 212b, which are transport conveyors rotatable about central axes Oa and Ob on the front side of shelf body 202, and tablet containers 211 that are attached to belt conveyor units 212a and 212b and rotate endlessly to transport tablets therein in the +Z direction. Furthermore, a central unit 213, which is a central member fixed to the housing of medicine delivery and dispensing device 500, is disposed between belt conveyor units 212a and 212b. Detection sensors 214a and 214b are provided on both sides of central unit 213 to determine whether belt conveyor units 212a and 212b are in a rotated or closed state. The central portion 213 is located in the center of the belt conveyor portions 212a and 212b and is composed of a wall surface extending along the Z direction and a eave-shaped wall surface protruding from the wall surface, and is also a cover member formed to cover the top and sides of each of the belt conveyor portions 212a and 212b.

[0069] Belt conveyor units 212a, 212b rotate around central axes Oa, Ob, respectively, similar to the rotation axis of shelf main body unit 202, and regulating plates 215a, 215b are provided at positions that are line-symmetrical across central unit 213 so that the rotation does not exceed 45 degrees. These regulating plates 215a, 215b regulate belt conveyor units 212a, 212b to prevent excessive rotation beyond a certain degree, and when belt conveyor units 212a, 212b rotate beyond a predetermined angle, they come into contact with belt conveyor units 212a, 212b to regulate their movement.

[0070] The detection sensors 214a and 214b are both photointerrupter type sensors, and when the belt conveyor sections 212a and 212b are in a closed state parallel to the wall surface of the central section 213, the protrusions 216 provided on the belt conveyor sections 212a and 212b are inserted into the detection sensors 214a and 214b, thereby functioning as closed detection sensors that can detect the closed state.

[0071] In such conveyor devices 210a, 210b, when providing the storage section 140 in the front unit 100, an operator needs to install a large-capacity cassette 40 in the storage section 140. On the other hand, as shown in Figures 20 and 21, the conveyor devices 210a, 210b are located rearward of the first hopper 70a and the second hopper 70b, and therefore have a large-capacity chute section 144 for transporting tablets from the front of the front unit 100 to the rear of the first hopper 70a and the second hopper 70b. The large-capacity chute section 144 is an inclined tunnel with a 45-degree slope on the lower surface toward the rear of the front unit 100, and forms part of the tablet drop path. As shown in Figure 24, the left and right storage sections 140 can be pulled out independently forward together with the bottom plate 146 by means of slide rails 145, and the operator pulls out the storage section 140 forward and then installs the large-capacity cassette 40 by fitting it into the dedicated base B from above.

[0072] In this embodiment, the large-capacity cassette 40 is a larger drug container than the tablet cassette 20, and includes a tablet storage space 410 capable of storing a large number of tablets therein, as shown in FIGS. 25 and 26 . The large-capacity cassette 40 is detachably attached to a dedicated base B, which is the feeder base of a drug delivery and dispensing device 500 that functions as a tablet packaging machine. The dedicated base B includes an unlocking surface Bs, which is the bottom surface on which the large-capacity cassette 40 is placed, a drive shaft D protruding from the unlocking surface Bs, and two tablet drop ports E1 and E2. When the large-capacity cassette 40 is attached to the dedicated base B, the first tablet drop port E1 is positioned directly below the first discharge port 47, which will be described later, and the other tablet drop port E2 is positioned directly below the second discharge port 48, which will also be described later. Furthermore, both tablet drop ports E1 and E2 have larger opening cross-sectional areas than the first discharge port 421 and the second discharge port 422. Therefore, tablets that pass through the first discharge outlet 47 and the second discharge outlet 48 pass through the tablet drop ports E1 and E2 and are discharged below the dedicated base B. With this configuration, the large-capacity cassette 40 can discharge tablets stored therein from the first discharge outlet 421 and the second discharge outlet 422, which are tablet discharge outlets provided below the rotors 431 and 432, respectively.

[0073] The second discharge outlet 422 has the same shape as the first discharge outlet 421, and both discharge outlets are arranged symmetrically on the left and right sides of the large-capacity cassette 40. The second tablet drop outlet E2 has the same shape as the first tablet drop outlet E1, and both tablet drop outlets E1, E2 are arranged symmetrically on the dedicated base B.

[0074] The lower portions of the tablet drop ports E1 and E2 are connected to a shutter mechanism 143 when the large-capacity cassette 40 is positioned at the rear side as shown in FIG.

[0075] As already mentioned, in the medicine delivering and dispensing device 500, the tablet cassettes 20 stored therein are transported from the incoming transport unit 150, and tablet cassettes 20 that have been emptied are removed from the outgoing transport unit 160. The capacity of the tablet cassettes 20 is limited, and particularly for tablets dispensed in large quantities, frequent transport of the tablet cassettes 20 via the incoming transport unit 150 and outgoing transport unit 160 may result in a burden on the continuous operating time of the medicine delivering and dispensing device 500. Furthermore, frequent movement of tablet cassettes 20 between the incoming transport unit 150 and outgoing transport unit 160 in this manner is undesirable because it also affects the operating time of the transport arm unit 110. Ultimately, there is concern that the increased operating time of these units may result in increased downtime for the medicine delivering and dispensing device 500.

[0076] Therefore, as in this embodiment, for tablets that are consumed in larger quantities than the tablet cassette 20, a large-capacity cassette 40 is installed in the storage section 140 of the front unit 100, and further, tablets can be dispensed from this storage section 140 toward the conveyor devices 210a, 210b by a large-capacity shooter section 144, which also contributes to reducing downtime of the drug transport and dispensing device 500.

[0077] Furthermore, two hoppers 70a, 70b are provided corresponding to the conveyor devices 210a, 210b arranged on the left and right sides of the front unit 100, so that a storage section 140 and a large-capacity shooter section 144 can also be provided on each side of the front unit 100, thereby further reducing the downtime of the drug transport and dispensing device 500.

[0078] It should be noted that with regard to the large-capacity cassette 40 described above, a description of well-known configurations similar to those of a general tablet cassette may be omitted.

[0079] 29 and 30, the large-capacity cassette 40 has a tablet container 410, discharge ports 421 and 422 for tablets T arranged below the tablet container 410, and rotors 431 and 432 arranged between the tablet container 410 and the discharge ports 421 and 422. The large-capacity cassette 40 also has a power transmission unit 440 that transmits rotational power to rotation shafts 431y and 432y of the rotors 431 and 432 rotatably installed on the bottom side as shown in FIG. 31 and described later, and a locking mechanism 470.

[0080] As shown in Fig. 29, the tablet container 410 has a tablet storage space 410s capable of storing a large number of tablets T therein, and has a through-hole 411 formed on the lower side of the tablet storage space 410s. The tablet storage space 410s communicates with a space (rotor space) 430s above upper surfaces 431s, 432s of the rotors 431, 432 via the through-hole 411. The tablets T stored in the tablet container 410 flow downward due to gravity, and are able to flow into the space 430s on the rotor side via the through-hole 411.

[0081] The two rotors 431, 432 arranged below the tablet container 410 have the same shape and are rotatably installed on the bottom 450, which is the lower end of the large-capacity cassette 40. The directions of the rotation axes 431y, 432y of both rotors 431, 432 are oriented in the vertical direction Y when the large-capacity cassette 40 is attached to the dedicated base B (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as the cassette attached state), and the rotation axes 431y, 432y of both rotors 431, 432 are installed on the bottom 450 in a state where they vertically penetrate the bottom 450 of the large-capacity cassette 40. Note that, unless otherwise specified, the descriptions regarding directions in the following explanation refer to the directions in the cassette attached state.

[0082] 29 and 30, one of the first rotors 431 includes a conical central portion 431c having a downwardly inclined surface (upper surface) 431s from the rotation center where the rotation shaft 431y is located toward the outer periphery, and an outer periphery 431d disposed on the periphery of the central portion 431c. The outer periphery 431d has a plurality of concave first tablet conveying recesses 431a and a plurality of convex first vane portions 431b formed alternately along the outer periphery. The lower surface of the first rotor 431 is disposed adjacent to, but not in contact with, the upper surface of the bottom 450 of the large-capacity cassette 40.

[0083] The first tablet transport recess 431a, which is a partition of the large-capacity cassette 40, is a U-shaped section with an opening at the outer periphery of the rotor, and is a space for accommodating one tablet T. The first tablet transport recess 431a penetrates in the vertical direction Y and has a horizontal cross-sectional shape and horizontal cross-sectional area that allows one tablet T accommodated in the tablet container 410 to pass through in the vertical direction. The large-capacity cassette 40 is provided with an arc-shaped outer guide surface 412 that is adjacent to the outer periphery of the first rotor 431 and is arranged to surround the outside of the outer periphery. Therefore, the single tablet T in the first tablet transport recess 431a is surrounded by the first tablet transport recess 431a and the outer guide surface 412. When the first rotor 431 rotates, the tablet T in the first tablet transport recess 431a moves (is transported) along the outer periphery (or outer guide surface 412) of the first rotor 431 in the rotational direction of the first rotor 431.

[0084] The first vane plate portions 431b, which are convex portions protruding toward the outer periphery of the first rotor 431, are arranged at positions that separate adjacent first tablet conveying recesses 431a. The multiple first tablet conveying recesses 431a are arranged at equal intervals along the outer periphery of the rotor, and the multiple first vane plate portions 431b are arranged at equal intervals along the outer periphery of the rotor.

[0085] The other, second rotor 432, has the same shape as the first rotor 431 and includes a second tablet conveying recess 432a and a second vane plate 432b. Since the structure of the large-capacity cassette 40 is basically symmetrical, the installation configuration of the rotors 431, 432 and the tablet cassette structure around the rotors are also symmetrical. Therefore, detailed description of the second rotor 432 and related configurations will be omitted here.

[0086] The left-right direction X refers to the left-right direction when the large-capacity cassette 40 is viewed from the front as shown in Figure 29 and when viewed from the top as shown in Figure 30. The front-rear direction Z refers to the front-rear direction when the large-capacity cassette 40 is viewed from the front.

[0087] As shown in Fig. 29, the first rotor 431 and the second rotor 432 are arranged to be positioned at the same height when the cassette is installed. Furthermore, as will be described later, both rotors 431, 432 are rotated by rotational power transmitted via a common power transmission mechanism 442, and are configured to rotate simultaneously in conjunction with each other. As shown in Fig. 30, both rotors 431, 432 are interlocked with each other via the power transmission mechanism 442 so that when any of the first tablet conveying recesses 431a of the first rotor 431 is positioned above the first discharge outlet 421, any of the vane portions 432b of the second rotor 432 is positioned above the second discharge outlet 422. In other words, when the first tablet conveying recess 431a of the first rotor 431 is located directly above the first discharge outlet 421 and a tablet is being discharged from the first tablet conveying recess 431a, the second vane portion 432b of the second rotor 432 is located directly above the second discharge outlet 422, and the second rotor 432 is not discharging tablets. Furthermore, the first rotor 431 and the second rotor 432 can be said to be interlocked at different phases via the power transmission mechanism 442. This interlocking allows the tablet discharge operation to be alternated between the first rotor 431 side and the second rotor 432 side. With this configuration, tablets T are not discharged from the first rotor 431 side and the second rotor 432 side at the same time, making it easier to control the timing of tablet drop.

[0088] 30 , two discharge ports 421, 422 are formed in a bottom portion 450 that is disposed below the rotors 431, 432. Of the discharge ports 421, 422, a first discharge port 421 is disposed so as to be located below the annular outer peripheral portion 431 d of the first rotor 431, and the other, a second discharge port 422, is disposed so as to be located below the annular outer peripheral portion 432 d of the second rotor 432.

[0089] More specifically, the first discharge outlet 421 is located at a rear position in the front-rear direction Z of the large-capacity cassette 40, and is located directly below the rearmost position of the annular outer periphery 431d of the first rotor 431. One of the first discharge outlets 421 has a horizontal cross-sectional shape and a horizontal cross-sectional area large enough to allow tablets T contained in the storage container 410 to pass through in the vertical direction, and in this embodiment, has a larger opening cross-sectional area than the first tablet conveying recess 431a. When the first rotor 431 rotates, the first tablet conveying recesses 431a, which are arranged at equal intervals on the outer periphery 31d of the first rotor 431, pass one after another directly above the first discharge outlet 421 located at the rear. When the first tablet conveying recess 431a passes directly above the first discharge outlet 421, a single tablet T captured and dispensed in the first tablet conveying recess 431a is discharged below it through the first discharge outlet 421.

[0090] 27, the dedicated base B is equipped with two tablet drop ports E1, E2. When the tablet cassette is installed, the first tablet drop port E1 is positioned directly below the first discharge port 421, and the other, the second tablet drop port E2, is positioned directly below the second discharge port 422, and both tablet drop ports E1, E2 have a larger opening cross-sectional area than the discharge ports 421, 422. Therefore, tablets T that pass through the discharge ports 421, 422 pass through the tablet drop ports E1, E2 and are discharged to the bottom of the dedicated base B.

[0091] The second discharge outlet 422 has the same shape as the first discharge outlet 421, and both discharge outlets 421, 422 are arranged symmetrically on the left and right sides of the large-capacity cassette 40. The second tablet drop outlet E2 has the same shape as the first tablet drop outlet E1, and both tablet drop outlets E1, E2 are arranged symmetrically on the left and right sides of the dedicated base B. Therefore, detailed explanations of the second discharge outlet 422, the second tablet drop outlet E2, and the configurations related thereto will be omitted here.

[0092] 31 and 32 is configured to transmit rotational power to the rotation shafts 431y, 432y of the two rotors 431, 432 described above, and includes a connecting shaft 441 that is detachably connected to a drive shaft D for driving the rotors provided on a dedicated base B, and a power transmission mechanism 442 that transmits the rotational power of the connecting shaft 441 to the two rotors 431, 432. Here, in this embodiment, the power transmission mechanism 442 is a mechanism that includes a drive pulley 442e, a first driven pulley 442a, a second driven pulley 442b, a belt 442v, and a tension pulley 442t, and the operation of each part will be described later, but is not limited to these configurations.

[0093] The power transmission unit 440 is configured to be assembled to the main body of the large-capacity cassette 40 using a bracket 60 that is detachably attached to the main body of the large-capacity cassette 40. Here, the power transmission unit 440 attached to the main body of the large-capacity cassette 40 via the bracket 60 will be described. Also, Figure 33 is a bottom view of the large-capacity cassette 40 showing the power transmission unit 440 assembled to the main body of the large-capacity cassette 40 with the bracket 60 removed.

[0094] 32 and 33, the connecting shaft 441 is rotatably installed on the bottom 450 of the large-capacity cassette 40 with its axial direction facing the vertical direction Y. More specifically, as is clear from FIG. 33, the connecting shaft 441 is disposed in the center of the bottom 450 of the large-capacity cassette 40, and is disposed at a position equidistant from the rotation axes 431y and 432y of both rotors 431 and 432.

[0095] In addition, the connecting shaft 441 protrudes below the bottom 450 of the large-capacity cassette 40 and has a lower end on which the connecting socket portion 441a is formed, and an upper end protrudes above the bottom 450 of the large-capacity cassette 40 and on which the drive pulley 442e is attached.

[0096] The concave coupling socket 441a at the lower end of the coupling shaft 441 is coupled to the head portion Dh of the drive shaft D by a so-called spline connection, and an internal spline is formed inside the concave shape of the coupling socket 441a. The coupling socket 441a, which has the internal spline, is detachably coupleable to an external spline on the outer periphery of the head portion Dh of the drive shaft D of the dedicated base B. That is, when the large-capacity cassette 40 is mounted on the dedicated base B in a cassette-mounted state, the coupling shaft 441 is coupled to the drive shaft D, and the rotational power of the drive shaft D is transmitted to the coupling shaft 441, resulting in a coupled state. When the large-capacity cassette 40 is removed from the dedicated base B in a cassette-removed state, the coupling shaft 441 and the drive shaft D are no longer coupled. The outer periphery of the coupling socket 441a of the coupling shaft 441 is formed with an engaging recess / projection 441b that is engageable with a locking member 471 (described later). The shape of this engagement uneven portion 441b is the same as that of the external spline.

[0097] A drive pulley 442e for driving a drive belt 442v is attached to the upper end of the connecting shaft 441, and by winding the belt 442v around it, the belt 442v rotates along with the rotation of the drive pulley 442e.

[0098] 31 and 32, the power transmission mechanism 442 includes, in addition to the drive pulley 442e of the connecting shaft 441, a first driven pulley 442a attached to the rotation shaft 431y of the first rotor 431, a second driven pulley 442b attached to the rotation shaft 432y of the second rotor 432, a drive belt 442v wound around these pulleys, and a tension pulley 442t that abuts on the belt 442v to apply tension to it. Therefore, when the connecting shaft 441 is rotated by the rotational power from the drive shaft D, the rotational power is transmitted to both driven pulleys 442a and 442b via the belt 442v, and both rotors 431 and 432 rotate simultaneously in conjunction with each other. The external spline-shaped portions arranged on the driven pulleys 442a and 442b are connecting portions 442c and 442d that are connected to the central portions 431c and 432c of the rotors 431 and 432 when the tablet cassette is fully assembled.

[0099] 33 and 34, the locking mechanism 470 is a mechanism that locks the connecting shaft 441, which is in a disconnected state when the large-capacity cassette 40 is in the cassette removal state, to prevent rotation. As shown in Fig. 34, the locking mechanism 470 includes a locking member 471 used to lock the connecting shaft 441, and a coil spring 473 (biasing means) used to operate the locking member 471.

[0100] The locking member 471 includes a main body 472 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the locking main body) of the locking member 471 that is rotatably supported on the bottom 450 of the large-capacity cassette 40. The locking main body 472 is disposed adjacent to the connecting socket portion 441a of the connecting shaft 441, and includes a shaft portion 471b that is rotatably supported on the bottom 450 of the large-capacity cassette 40, an engaging portion 471c that is shaped to be engageable with the connecting shaft 441 (the engaging uneven portion 441b on the outer peripheral surface thereof), a spring holding portion 471d that holds one end of the coil spring 473, and a trigger portion 471e that is used to apply a force in a direction that opposes the biasing force (resilient force) received from the coil spring 473. The rotational axis of the shaft portion 471b is horizontal and extends in the lateral direction (left-right direction) X of the tablet cassette.

[0101] Coil spring 473 is a biasing means that biases engaging portion 471c of locking member 471 in a direction to move it to lock position (engagement position) P1, and has its lower end held by spring holding portion 471d and its upper end fixed to a spring fixing portion on the tablet cassette side. Coil spring 473 is mounted in a compressed state between spring holding portion 471d and the spring fixing portion on the large-capacity cassette 40 side so as to generate a spring force in a direction to rotate locking member 471 in lock direction R1 (the direction in which the engaging member approaches the connecting shaft).

[0102] More specifically, the lock body 472 is attached to the large-capacity cassette 40 with the shaft 471b positioned above the position of the engagement irregularities 441b on the outer periphery of the connecting socket 441a of the connecting shaft 441. The lock body 472 has an arm 472a extending downward from the shaft 471b, and an engagement portion 471c is formed near the tip of a swing front portion 472b extending from the lower end of the arm 472a toward the connecting shaft so as to be able to engage with the engagement irregularities 441b. The lock body 472 has a spring holding portion 471d and a trigger portion 471e formed as a swing rear portion 472c extending from the lower end of the arm 472a toward the opposite side from the connecting shaft.

[0103] The engaging portion 471c is formed at a position where it moves toward or away from the engaging uneven portion 441b on the outer periphery of the connecting socket portion 441a of the connecting shaft 441 when the locking member 471 rotates (swings). The engaging portion 471c has a rack shape that can engage with the engaging uneven portion 441b on the outer periphery of the connecting socket portion 441a, and is arranged so that the teeth (uneven portions) of the rack extend in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 34 , when the engaging portion 471c rotates in a direction R1 approaching the connecting shaft 441 (moving toward the locking direction), the engaging portion 471c moves toward the engaging uneven portion 441b of the connecting shaft 441 and ultimately moves to an engaging position P1 (the position shown in FIG. 34(a); the locking position) where it engages with the engaging uneven portion 441b. The state in which the engaging portion 471c of the locking member 471 and the engaging uneven portion 441b of the connecting shaft 441 are engaged is a locked state in which the rotation of the connecting shaft 441 is restricted by the locking member 471 of the locking mechanism 470, and rotation of the connecting shaft 441 is prevented. On the other hand, when the engaging portion 471c rotates in a direction R2 away from the connecting shaft 441 (see FIG. 34(b) ; moving away in the unlocking direction), the engaging portion 471c moves away from the engaging uneven portion 441b of the connecting shaft 441 and moves to a separated position P2 (position shown in FIG. 34(b) ; unlocked position) in which the engagement between the engaging portion 471c and the engaging uneven portion 441b is released. The state in which the engaging portion 471c of the locking member 471 and the engaging uneven portion 441b of the connecting shaft 441 are separated is an unlocked state in which the connecting shaft 441 is rotatable.

[0104] The spring holding portion 471d is positioned so that the locking member 471 rotates in the locking direction R1 (the direction in which the engaging portion 471c moves toward the connecting shaft 441) when it receives a downward elastic force (biasing force) from the coil spring 473 in the expanding direction. The spring holding portion 471d is positioned above the swinging rear portion 472c of the lock main body 472, and the lower end of the coil spring 473 positioned above the spring holding portion 471d is fixed thereto. Therefore, when the compressed coil spring 473 expands and the locking member 471 rotates in the locking direction R1, the engaging portion 471c eventually engages with the engaging uneven portion 441b of the connecting shaft 441, and the connecting shaft 441 enters a locked state in which rotation is prevented.

[0105] 34(a), the trigger portion 471e is a downwardly convex protrusion (protrusion) disposed in a downwardly protruding state on the swing rear portion 472c of the lock main body 472, and is a portion used when rotating the lock member 471 in the opposite unlocking direction R2 (a separating movement direction in which the engaging portion 471b is separated from the engaging uneven portion 441b) against the downward resilient force of the coil spring 473 when it is expanded. When the large-capacity cassette 40 is not attached to the dedicated base B, the trigger portion 471e is in a downwardly protruding position, and the engaging portion is in a locked position (P1 state). When the large-capacity cassette 40 is mounted on the dedicated base B, during the mounting operation (before the mounting is completed), the trigger 471e comes into contact with an unlocking surface Bs (see FIGS. 27 and 34(b)), which is part of the upper surface of the dedicated base B, and is pushed relatively upward, rotating to the upper retracted position (the position shown in FIG. 34(b)). Because the trigger 471e is formed integrally with the engaging portion 471c below the lock main body 472, the engaging portion 471c rotates and faces the unlocking direction R2. As a result, when the mounting operation is completed, the engaging portion 471c reaches the unlocking position (separated position) P2, as shown in FIG. 34(b).

[0106] On the other hand, the operation when the large-capacity cassette 40 is removed from the dedicated base B will also be described. Before the large-capacity cassette 40 is removed, the engaging portion 471c is in the unlocked position P2, and the trigger portion 471e is in the upper retracted position, as shown in Figure 34(b). When the large-capacity cassette 40 is separated from the dedicated base B, the unlocking surface Bs disengages from the trigger portion 471e, and the elastic force of the coil spring 473 when expanded causes the swing rear portion 472c to rotate in the locking direction R1, and the engaging portion 471c engages with the connecting shaft 441.

[0107] Therefore, when the large-capacity cassette 40 is in a cassette removal state where it is not attached to the dedicated base B, the engaging portion 471c is in a locked state where it engages with the connecting shaft 441. On the other hand, when the large-capacity cassette 40 is in a cassette attachment state, the trigger portion 471e of the locking member 471 is pushed relatively upward by the unlocking surface Bs of the dedicated base B, so that the engaging portion 471c is in an unlocked state where it is separated from the connecting shaft 441.

[0108] The large-capacity cassette 40 is provided with an inner cup 80, which is an inner attachment that can be detachably attached to the inside of the tablet container 410 as needed (see Figure 35). Note that although the inner cup 80 is shown in Figure 35 as being cup-shaped, it is not limited to this configuration.

[0109] As shown in Figure 35, the inner cup 80 is mounted in the tablet container 410 and includes an outer peripheral plate portion 81 inserted into the tablet container 410. The inner cup 80 of this embodiment includes four outer peripheral plate portions 81 corresponding to the four outer surfaces of the tablet container 410. The inner cup 80 is a so-called nested type mounted in the tablet container 410 as shown in Figure 36, and the outer peripheral plate portions 81 are formed in a shape that matches the inner wall of the tablet container 410 and are arranged along the inner wall of the tablet container 410. The inner cup 80 is mounted in the tablet container 410 with the outer peripheral edges of guide plate portions 82a, 82b, and 82c (described below) and / or the through-hole 83 abutting against the tablet container 410, thereby positioning the inner cup 80 vertically. Therefore, the inner cup 80 mounted in the tablet container 410 is positioned relative to the tablet container 410 and mounted without any play.

[0110] 37, the inner cup 80, when attached to the tablet container 410, is provided with guide plate portions 82a, 82b, and 82c as guide portions arranged between a lower space (rotor space) 430s facing the rotors 431 and 432 below the inner cup 80 and an upper space 80s which is also the space inside the tablet container 410 above the inner cup 80, and a through portion 83 as a communicating portion used for the flow of tablets T from the upper space 80s to the lower space 430s. The specific shape of the through portion 83 is also shown in FIG.

[0111] Furthermore, when viewed from above while attached to the tablet container 410, the inner cup 80 includes a first guide plate portion (one of the eave portions) 82a that covers at least a part of the first rotor 431, and a second guide plate portion (the other of the eave portions) 82b that covers at least a part of the second rotor 432. The upper surfaces (tablet guide surfaces) 82f, 82g of the guide plate portions 82a, 82b, 82c are all surfaces that slope downwardly toward the through portion 83 formed in the center of the inner cup 80.

[0112] The lower edge 82d of the first guide plate 82a is the edge facing the through-hole 83 and is located closer to the center 410c of the large-capacity cassette 40 than the position of the rotation shaft 431y of the first rotor 431. In plan view, the first guide plate 82a is disposed so as to cover more than half of the area of ​​the first rotor 431. In other words, the first guide plate 82a is disposed so that the area it covers of the upper surface 431s of the first rotor 431 is larger than the area it does not cover. The first guide plate 82a is disposed so as to cover the first rotation shaft 431y. Similarly, the second guide plate 82b is disposed so as to cover more than half of the area (an area larger than half) of the upper surface 432s of the second rotor 432 and also to cover the second rotation shaft 432y. In the following description, the area of ​​the upper surfaces 431s, 432s of the rotors 431, 432 and the space extending above the rotor upper surfaces that is covered by the guide plate portions 82a, 82b may be referred to as the shielded area A1 (see Figure 38), and the area that is not covered by the guide plate portions 82a, 82b, 82c may be referred to as the normal area A2 (see Figure 38).

[0113] The through-hole 83 is formed at the lower end of the inner cup 80. The opening area (lower opening) of the through-hole 83 corresponds to the normal area A2. The through-hole 83 is disposed so as to overlap the upper surfaces 431s, 432s of both rotors 431, 432 in plan view.

[0114] In this embodiment, the through portion 83 of the inner cup 80 is formed by the edge of the plate-shaped guide plate portions 82a, 82b, and 82c, and the upper and lower openings of the through portion 83 differ in position only by the thickness of the plate material of the guide plate portions 82a, 82b, and 82c, so in this embodiment, it is also possible to say that the upper and lower openings of the through portion 83 are in the same position.

[0115] Therefore, when a large number of tablets T are contained in the tablet container 410 with the inner cup 80 attached (so-called fully filled state, see FIG. 38 ), only the normal area A2 of the first rotor 431 and the second rotor 432 bears the weight load of all layers of tablets T from the upper to the lower layers of the contained tablets T. The weight load due to the tablet weight that most areas other than the normal area A2, i.e., the shielded area A1 of the upper surfaces 431s, 432s of the rotors 431, 432, bear is very small even in the fully filled state. In this way, the use of the inner cup 80 can reduce the load applied to the rotors 431, 432 due to the tablet weight. If the tablet weight load applied to the rotors can be reduced in this way, the stability of the rotor rotation can be more reliably maintained, and the stability of the tablet dispensing operation can be more reliably ensured.

[0116] Furthermore, the guide plate portions 82a, 82b, and 82c of the inner cup 80 of this embodiment cover the rotation shafts 431y, 432y of both rotors 431, 432, and the positions of the rotation shafts 431y, 432y are within the shielded area A1. When the rotation shafts 431y, 432y are arranged in the shielded area A1 in this manner, the rotation direction of the upper surfaces 431s, 432s of the rotors 431, 432 in the normal area A2 is limited to either the upward or downward direction in the front-to-back direction Z in Figures 37 and 38, and the flow direction of the tablets T is the same. This configuration can be said to contribute to the smooth flow of the tablets T. Furthermore, the guide plate portions 82a, 82b cover the discharge ports 421, 422 arranged below the rotors 431, 432, and the positions of the discharge ports 421, 422 are within the shielded area A1. With this configuration, the effect of tablet weight load on the tablets T to be discharged sent to the discharge outlets 421, 422 by the rotation of the rotors 431, 432 can be minimized, and the stability of the tablet behavior when the tablets are discharged can be more reliably ensured.

[0117] Next, the operation of the tablet cassette according to this embodiment will be described. Here, the explanation will be made starting from the state in which the large-capacity cassette 40 is in a detached state before being attached to the dedicated base B, in which the inner cup 80 is attached to the tablet container 410 and the tablet container 410 is fully filled with tablets T (see FIG. 38).

[0118] When the large-capacity cassette 40 is in the cassette removal state, it is in a locked state in which the rotation of the connecting shaft 441 is prevented by the locking member 471. In the locked state, the engaging portion 471c of the locking member 471 is rotated in the locking direction R1 by the resilient force (biasing force) of the coil spring 473 and engages with the engaging uneven portion 441b of the connecting shaft 441, thereby preventing the rotation of the connecting shaft 441. In addition, in the locked state, the trigger portion 471e of the locking member 471 is positioned in a downwardly protruding position.

[0119] From this state, the large-capacity cassette 40 is mounted on the dedicated base B of the tablet packaging machine (mounting operation). In the mounting operation, the connecting socket portion 441a of the connecting shaft 441 of the large-capacity cassette 40 is mounted so as to be connected to the head portion Dh of the drive shaft D of the dedicated base B. To connect the connecting socket portion 441a to the head portion Dh, the bottom portion 450 of the large-capacity cassette 40 is brought close to the upper surface of the dedicated base B, the connecting socket portion 441a is positioned above the head portion Dh, and the socket portion 441a of the connecting shaft 441 is moved downward Y2 in the vertical direction Y (axial direction of the connecting shaft) to connect to the head portion Dh of the drive shaft D. Note that here, the relative movement direction (vertical direction Y or connecting shaft 441 direction) of the large-capacity cassette 40 (connecting shaft 441) when the tablet cassette is attached or detached (when the connecting shaft 441 is connected or detached) is sometimes referred to as the attachment / detachment direction. Furthermore, among the attachment / detachment directions, the downward movement direction of one of the large-capacity cassettes 40 (connecting shaft 441) when installed may be referred to as one attachment / detachment direction Y1, and the upward movement direction of the large-capacity cassette 40 (connecting shaft 441) when removed may be referred to as the other attachment / detachment direction Y2.

[0120] When the bottom 450 of the large-capacity cassette 40 is brought close to the upper surface of the dedicated base B to perform the loading operation, during this operation, the trigger portion 471e of the locking member 471, which is positioned in a downwardly protruding position, abuts against the unlocking surface Bs on the upper surface of the dedicated base B. Thereafter, until the connection between the connecting shaft 441 and the drive shaft D is completed, the bottom 450 of the large-capacity cassette 40 moves even closer to the upper surface of the dedicated base B, and the trigger portion 471e is pushed relatively upward by the unlocking surface Bs against the elastic force of the coil spring 473, causing it to rotate to the upper retracted position (see FIG. 34(b)).

[0121] The state in which the trigger portion 471e has rotated to the upward retracted position is an unlocked state in which the engaging portion 471c has rotated to the unlocked position P2. This unlocked position can also be considered a spaced position in which the engaging portion 471c is spaced apart from the connecting shaft 441. In other words, with the large-capacity cassette 40 of this embodiment, simply by mounting the large-capacity cassette 40 on the dedicated base B (simply performing the mounting operation), the connecting shaft 441, which was in a locked state before mounting, can be set to an unlocked state.

[0122] Thereafter, when the dedicated base B is operated to rotate the drive shaft D, both rotors 431 and 432 of the large-capacity cassette 40 rotate, and tablets T are intermittently discharged one tablet at a time from the discharge ports 421 and 422.

[0123] The first rotor 431 and the second rotor 432 are interlocked with each other in a phase different from the other, so that when the first tablet conveying recess 431a of the first rotor 431 is located directly above the first discharge outlet 421, the second vane portion 432b of the second rotor 432 is located directly above the second discharge outlet 422 (see FIG. 30 ). Therefore, when the large-capacity cassette 40 of this embodiment is used, the tablets T in the tablet container 410 are discharged one tablet at a time alternately from the first discharge outlet 421 and the second discharge outlet 422. Furthermore, since two rotors 431, 432 are provided and the tablets T are discharged from the two discharge outlets 421, 422, high-speed discharge of the tablets T can be realized, and ultimately, a higher packaging speed can be realized.

[0124] Furthermore, because the inner cup 80 is attached to the tablet container 410, even when the tablet container 410 is fully loaded with tablets T, only the normal area A2 of the first rotor 431 and the second rotor 432 bears the weight load of all layers of tablets T from the upper to the lower layers (see FIG. 38). In the large-capacity cassette 40 of this embodiment, even when the container is fully loaded with tablets T, most of the area on the upper surface of the rotors 431, 432 is the shielded area A1 covered by the guide plate portions 82a, 82b, and the weight load due to the tablet weight is extremely small. If the weight load of the tablets applied to the rotors 431, 432 is reduced, the rotation of the rotors 431, 432 is not hindered by the weight, and the stability of the discharging operation can be ensured and improved. Furthermore, in the large-capacity cassette 40 of this embodiment, the guide plate portions 82a, 82b are arranged so that the positions of the rotation axes 431y, 432y of the rotors 431, 432 and the positions of the discharge outlets 421, 422 are within the shielded area A1, which contributes to improving the stability of the rotor rotation and the stability of the tablet discharge operation.

[0125] When the discharging operation of the tablets T is finished, the operation of the dedicated base B is stopped to stop the rotation of the drive shaft D. Thereafter, the large-capacity cassette 40 is removed from the dedicated base B (removal operation).

[0126] Before the start of the removal operation, the large-capacity cassette 40 in the cassette-loaded state is in a connected state in which the connecting socket portion 441a of the connecting shaft 441 is connected to the head portion Dh of the drive shaft D, and the connecting shaft 441 is in an unlocked state. In the unlocked state, the trigger portion 471e of the locking member 471 is pushed relatively upward by the unlocking surface Bs and has moved to an upward retracted position against the elastic force (biasing force) of the coil spring 473, and the engaging portion 471c is in a state where it is located at the unlocked position (separated position) P2.

[0127] During the removal operation, when the large-capacity cassette 40 is moved upward in the removal direction Y and the bottom 450 is separated from the upper surface of the dedicated base B, the connecting socket portion 441a of the connecting shaft 441 is disengaged from the head portion Dh of the drive shaft D, and the two become decoupled.

[0128] Furthermore, when a removal operation is performed to separate the bottom 450 of the large-capacity cassette 40 from the upper surface of the dedicated base B, the trigger portion 471e, which is pressed downward by the elastic force of the coil spring 473, is pressed relatively downward by that elastic force while maintaining a state of abutment with the unlocking surface Bs of the dedicated base B, and rotates downward from the upper end retracted position, and finally the trigger portion moves to a downward protruding position, and the engaging portion 471c of the locking member 471 moves to a locking position P1 where it engages with the engaging uneven portion 441b of the connecting shaft 441. Then, the connecting shaft 441 is locked by the engaging portion 471c of the locking member 471.

[0129] That is, in the large-capacity cassette 40 of this embodiment, the state of the connecting shaft 441, which was unlocked before removal, can be locked simply by removing the large-capacity cassette 40 (by simply performing the removal operation) from the dedicated base B. When the large-capacity cassette 40 is locked, rotation of the connecting shaft 441 and rotation of both rotors 431, 432 are prevented, so that even if tablets T contained in the tablet container section 410 remain, unnecessary tablets T are prevented from being discharged from the discharge ports 421, 422, thereby improving the ease of handling of the large-capacity cassette 40.

[0130] <1> The present invention provides a medicine delivering and dispensing device having a transport unit capable of gripping and transporting a cassette containing medicines, a first storage shelf capable of storing a plurality of the cassettes by attaching them to a cassette base and capable of dispensing the medicines from the stored cassettes, a second storage shelf capable of storing a plurality of the cassettes, a packaging device for packaging the medicines dispensed from the first storage shelf, and a medicine delivery path connecting the first storage shelf and the packaging device, wherein at least two of the first storage shelves are arranged back to back to each other, a storage unit located closer to the front of the medicine delivering and dispensing device than the first storage shelf and capable of being pulled out towards the front side of the medicine delivering and dispensing device, a large-capacity cassette attachable to the storage unit and having a different shape from the cassette, and a lockable ... and a chute section that forms a drug drop path, the drug transport path having an upper tablet collection mechanism that guides the drugs below the first storage shelf and drops them, two transport conveyors arranged parallel to each other below the upper tablet collection mechanism, and a plurality of drug containers attached to each of the transport conveyors, the chute section being connected so as to be able to dispense drugs held in the large-capacity cassette from the storage section toward each of the two transport conveyors, and being controlled so that the drugs dispensed from the first storage shelf and the drugs dispensed from the storage section are placed into the same drug container, and the packaging device is characterized in that it has two or more hoppers for storing each of the drugs carried from the two transport conveyors into compartments formed in the packaging paper. With this configuration, for tablets that are consumed in larger quantities than tablet cassette 20, large-capacity cassette 40 can be installed in storage section 140 of front unit 100, and tablets can be dispensed from storage section 140 toward conveyor devices 210a, 210b by large-capacity shooter section 144, thereby contributing to reducing downtime of drug transport and dispensing device 500.

[0131] <2> In addition to the configuration described in <1>, the medicine delivery and dispensing device of the present invention is characterized in that the storage unit can be pulled out toward the front together with the bottom surface supporting the storage unit, and the bottom surface can be pulled out and used as a work table. With this configuration, an operator can easily replace the large-capacity cassette placed in the storage unit.

[0132] <3> Furthermore, in addition to the configuration described in <1> or <2>, the medicine delivering and dispensing device 500 of the present invention is characterized in that the storage unit can arrange the large-capacity cassettes in two tiers, one above the other. With this configuration, it is possible to increase the number of large-capacity cassettes and dispense tablets toward the conveyor devices 210a and 210b while maintaining the same structure, thereby contributing to reducing downtime of the medicine delivering and dispensing device 500.

[0133] <4> The tablet cassette of the present invention is a tablet cassette that can be detachably attached to the feeder base of a tablet packaging machine, and comprises: a tablet container that can store a large number of tablets; a tablet discharge outlet arranged below the tablet container; a rotor that is arranged between the tablet storage space of the tablet container and the discharge outlet; and a connecting shaft that can be detachably connected to a drive shaft for driving the rotor that is provided on the feeder base and is used for transmitting power between the drive shaft and the rotating shaft of the rotor, and the rotor is rotated by rotational power from the drive shaft, and guides tablets in the tablet storage space one by one to the discharge outlet and discharges them, the tablet cassette is characterized in that two rotors are provided, and a power transmission mechanism is provided that transmits the rotational power transmitted from the drive shaft to the connecting shaft to the rotating shafts of the two rotors, and the discharge outlets are formed below each of the two rotors.

[0134] <5> Furthermore, in addition to the configuration described in <4>, the tablet cassette of the present invention is characterized in that the two rotors have the same shape and rotate in conjunction with each other by the power of the power transmission mechanism, each rotor has a plurality of concave-shaped partitions that penetrate vertically and are formed on its outer periphery, the plurality of partitions are arranged at equal intervals along the outer periphery of the rotor, each partition has a space for accommodating one tablet, the discharge outlet is formed in the bottom of the tablet cassette arranged below the rotor, and when the drive shaft is operated with the tablet cassette attached to the feeder base, the two rotors rotate in conjunction with each other simultaneously, and tablets can be discharged one tablet at a time from both of the discharge outlets arranged below the two rotors, respectively. With this configuration, the two rotors can be driven by a single drive source, thereby achieving both low cost and high discharge speed.

[0135] <6> Furthermore, in addition to the configuration described in <4> or <5>, the tablet cassette of the present invention is characterized in that the rotor has concave partitions and convex vane portions alternately arranged along its outer periphery, the two rotors are linked via the power transmission mechanism so that when one of the partitions of one rotor is positioned above one of the discharge outlets, one of the vane portions of the other rotor is positioned above the other of the discharge outlets, and when the power transmission mechanism operates to rotate the two rotors, tablets are discharged alternately from the two discharge outlets one at a time. With this configuration, tablets are not discharged from the two discharge outlets at the same time, making it easy to control the timing of their falling.

[0136] <7> Furthermore, in addition to the configurations described in <4> to <6>, the tablet cassette of the present invention further includes an inner attachment that can be attached to the tablet container, and the inner attachment, when attached to the tablet container, has a communication part (through-hole) that connects a lower space facing the rotor below the inner attachment with an upper space that is the space within the tablet container, and has a guide part on which a guide surface that slopes downward toward the upper open end of the communication part is formed, and the guide part is characterized in that, when viewed in plan with the inner attachment attached to the tablet container, it has one eaves part that covers at least a portion of the one rotor and another eaves part that covers at least a portion of the other rotor. With this configuration, the weight of only a portion of the tablets in the tablet container is applied to the rotor part, and the majority of the tablets are supported by the inner attachment and the guide surface, so that rotation of the rotors is not hindered even when the tablet cassette has a large capacity.

[0137] <8> Furthermore, the tablet cassette of the present invention further comprises, in addition to the configurations described in <4> to <7>, a locking member having an engaging portion movable between an engaging position where the engaging portion engages with the connecting shaft to lock rotation of the connecting shaft and a releasing position where the lock with the connecting shaft is released, and biasing means for biasing the engaging portion in a direction to move it to the engaging position, wherein the locking member further comprises an integrally formed trigger portion that moves in conjunction with movement of the engaging portion between the releasing position and the engaging position, and the trigger portion is positioned so that, when moving in conjunction with the engaging portion, a movement component in the attachment / detachment direction occurs when the tablet cassette is attached to or detached from the feeder base. the trigger portion abuts against the feeder base when the tablet cassette is attached to the feeder base, causing it to move to one side in the attachment / detachment direction, and when the tablet cassette is removed from the feeder base, it is released from contact with the feeder base, causing it to move to the other side in the attachment / detachment direction, and the engaging portion moves to the release position when the trigger portion moves to the one side when the tablet cassette is attached and unlocks the connecting shaft, and moves to the engaging position when the trigger portion moves to the other side when the tablet cassette is removed. With this configuration, the rotor is rotatable when attached to the feeder base, and rotation of the rotor is restricted when detached from the feeder base, thereby preventing tablets from unintentionally falling out.

[0138] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

[0139] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20...Tablet cassette (cassette) 30...Cassette base 40...Large-capacity cassette (an example of a tablet cassette) 70a, 70b...Hopper, 73a, 73b...Drive source 80...Inner cup (inner attachment), 80s...Upper space, 81...Outer peripheral plate portion, 82a...First guide plate portion (one of the eaves portion, guide portion), 82b...Second guide plate portion (the other of the eaves portion, guide portion), 82c...Third guide plate portion (guide portion), 82d...Lower edge of first guide plate portion, 82e...Lower edge of second guide plate portion, 82f, 82g...Tablet guide surface (upper surface of guide plate portion), 83...Penetration portion (communication portion), 110...Transport arm unit (transport portion), 121...Tray mechanism, 122...Slide tray 123...First conveyor (front double-row conveyor), 124...Second conveyor (front double-row conveyor) DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 130... Packaging device, 131... Packaging paper (packaging paper), 140... Storage section, 143... Shutter mechanism, 144... Shooter section (large-capacity shooter section), 200... Collector shelf (first storage shelf), 201... Tablet drop path (medicine transport path), 204... Shutter mechanism (upper tablet collection mechanism) (part of the medicine transport path), 210... Conveyor device, 211... Tablet container (medicine container), 212... Transport conveyor, 213... Center member (center section), 214... Closure detection sensor, 215... Restriction plate, 300... Storage shelf (second storage shelf), 410c... Center of tablet cassette, 410s... Tablet storage space, 411... Through-hole, 412... Outer circumferential guide surface, 421... First discharge outlet, 422... Second discharge outlet, 430s... Space (rotor space, lower space), 431...first rotor, 431a...first tablet conveying recess (compartment portion, recess), 431b...first blade portion (convex portion), 431c...center portion, 431d...periphery portion, 431s...inclined surface (upper surface), 431y...first rotating shaft, 432...second rotor, 432a...second tablet conveying recess (compartment portion, recess), 432b...second blade portion (convex portion), 432c...center portion, 432d...periphery portion, 432s...upper surface, 432y...second rotating shaft, 440...power transmission portion, 441...connecting shaft, 441a...connecting socket portion (connecting portion), 441b...engaging concave and convex portion, 442...power transmission mechanism, 442a...first driven pulley, 442b...second driven pulley, 442c, 442d...coupling portion, 442t...tension pulley, 442v...drive belt, 450...bottom (bottom plate), 460...bracket,470...locking mechanism, 471...locking member, 471b...shaft portion, 471c...engaging portion, 471d...spring holding portion, 471e...trigger portion, 472...main body of locking member (locking main body), 472a...arm portion, 472b...swinging front portion, 472c...swinging rear portion, 473...coil spring (urging means), A1...shielding area (protected area, protected area), A2...normal area (tablet load area), B...dedicated base, Bs...unlocking surface, D...drive shaft, Dh...head portion, E1, E2...tablet drop port, P1...locking position (engaging position), P2...unlocking position (unlocking position, separating position), R1...locking direction (approaching direction, approaching movement direction, one rotation direction), R2...unlocking direction (separating direction, separating movement direction, other rotation direction) T...tablet, X...left-right direction (horizontal direction), Y...up-down direction, Y1...downward mounting direction when mounting the tablet cassette (one mounting / removal direction), Y2...upward removal direction when removing the tablet cassette (the other mounting / removal direction), Z...front-rear direction, 500...medicine delivery / dispensing device

Claims

1. A drug transport and dispensing device having a transport section capable of grasping and transporting a cassette containing drugs, a first storage shelf capable of storing a plurality of said cassettes by attaching them to a cassette base and capable of dispensing the drugs from the stored cassettes, a second storage shelf capable of storing a plurality of said cassettes, a packaging device for packaging the drugs dispensed from the first storage shelf, and a drug transport path connecting said first storage shelf and said packaging device, wherein at least two of said first storage shelves are arranged back-to-back to each other, and said device has a storage section located closer to the front side of said drug transport and dispensing device than said first storage shelf and capable of being pulled out towards the front side of said drug transport and dispensing device, a large-capacity cassette that can be attached to said storage section and has a different shape from said cassette, and a shooter section that constitutes a tablet drop path from said storage section towards said drug transport path, the drug transport path includes an upper tablet collecting mechanism that guides the drugs downwardly to the first storage shelf and drops them therefrom, two transport conveyors arranged parallel to each other below the upper tablet collecting mechanism, and a plurality of drug containers attached to each of the transport conveyors; the shooter unit is connected so as to be able to dispense the drugs held in the large-capacity cassette from the storage unit toward each of the two transport conveyors, and is controlled so that the drugs dispensed from the first storage shelf and the drugs dispensed from the storage unit are placed into the same drug container; and the packaging device is a drug transport and dispensing device having two or more hoppers for storing each of the drugs carried from the two transport conveyors into compartments formed in packaging paper.

2. A drug delivery and dispensing device as described in claim 1, wherein the storage section can be pulled out toward the front together with a bottom surface supporting the storage section, and the bottom surface can be pulled out to be used as a workbench.

3. A drug delivery and dispensing device as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the storage section is capable of arranging the large-capacity cassettes in two levels, upper and lower.

4. A tablet cassette which can be detachably mounted on a feeder base provided in a storage section of the drug transport and dispensing device described in claim 3, comprising: a tablet container capable of storing a large number of tablets; a tablet discharge outlet arranged on the underside of said tablet container; a rotor arranged between the tablet storage space of said tablet container and said discharge outlet; and a connecting shaft which can be detachably connected to a drive shaft for driving the rotor provided on said feeder base and which is used for transmitting power between said drive shaft and a rotating shaft of said rotor, said rotor being rotated by the rotational power from said drive shaft, guiding tablets in said tablet storage space one by one to said discharge outlet and discharging them, said tablet cassette comprising two rotors, and comprising a power transmission mechanism which transmits the rotational power transmitted from said drive shaft to said connecting shaft to the rotating shafts of said two rotors, and said discharge outlets being formed on the undersides of each of said two rotors.

5. A tablet cassette as described in claim 4, wherein the two rotors are of the same shape and rotate in conjunction with each other by the power of the power transmission mechanism, each rotor has a plurality of concave-shaped partitions that penetrate vertically and are formed on its outer periphery, the plurality of partitions are arranged at equal intervals along the outer periphery of the rotor, each partition has a space for accommodating one tablet, the discharge outlet is formed in the bottom of the tablet cassette arranged below the rotor, and when the drive shaft is operated with the tablet cassette attached to the feeder base, the two rotors rotate in conjunction with each other at the same time, and tablets can be discharged one tablet at a time from both of the discharge outlets arranged below the two rotors, respectively.

6. A tablet cassette as described in claim 5, wherein the rotor has a configuration in which concave-shaped partitions and convex-shaped vane portions are alternately arranged along its outer periphery, and the two rotors are linked via the power transmission mechanism so that when any of the partitions of one rotor is positioned above one of the outlets, any of the vane portions of the other rotor is positioned above the other outlet, and when the power transmission mechanism operates to rotate the two rotors, tablets can be discharged one at a time alternately from the two outlets.

7. A tablet cassette as described in claim 6, further comprising an inner attachment which can be attached within the tablet container, the inner attachment having a communication portion (through portion) which, when attached within the tablet container, connects a lower space facing the rotor below the inner attachment with an upper space which is the space within the tablet container, and has a guide portion on which a guide surface is formed which slopes downwardly toward the upper opening end of the communication portion, the guide portion having one eaves portion covering at least a portion of one of the rotors and another eaves portion covering at least a portion of the other rotor when viewed in a plane with the inner attachment attached within the tablet container.

8. A locking member having an engaging portion movable between an engaging position where it engages with the connecting shaft to lock the rotation of the connecting shaft and a releasing position where the lock with the connecting shaft is released, and a biasing means for biasing the engaging portion in a direction to move it to the engaging position, wherein the locking member further has an integrally formed trigger portion which moves in conjunction with the movement of the engaging portion between the releasing position and the engaging position, wherein the trigger portion is arranged so that, when moving in conjunction with the engaging portion, a movement component in the attachment / detachment direction occurs when the tablet cassette is attached to or detached from the feeder base, wherein the trigger portion abuts against the feeder base when the tablet cassette is attached to the feeder base and moves to one side in the attachment / detachment direction, and wherein, when the tablet cassette is removed from the feeder base, the abutment with the feeder base is released and the trigger portion moves to the other side in the attachment / detachment direction, The tablet cassette as described in claim 7, wherein the engagement portion moves to the release position to unlock the connecting shaft when the trigger portion moves to the one side when the tablet cassette is installed, and moves to the engagement position to lock the connecting shaft when the trigger portion moves to the other side when the tablet cassette is removed.

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