Tablet cutter

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a tablet cutter with a simple structure that is less likely to cause cracking and chipping.　The present invention is a tablet cutter having a tablet holding part that holds a tablet placed on a body part, a first body part that is the body part on the side where the tablet holding part is provided, and a second body part that is supported by a support shaft so as to be rotatable relative to the first body part, the tablet cutter being characterized in that: the first body part and the second body part are provided with two blades that are fixed so as to be able to hold the tablet placed on the tablet holding part from both sides and cut the tablet at a predetermined position when the second body part is closed onto the first body part; an elastic member having a thickness that is equal to or greater than the height from a floor surface of the first body part to the tip-end of one blade of the first body part in a state in which no external force is being applied is provided along an extension direction of the one blade; and a container part for storing the tablet that has been cut is integrally molded at the tip-end of the elastic member in the extension direction of the blade.

Description

Tablet cutter

[0001] The present invention relates to a tablet cutter for simple tabletop use.

[0002] When prescribing medications, it is possible to prescribe a single dose in small amounts, appropriately divided depending on the patient's condition, physical condition, body type, etc. When such medications are solid tablets, the tablets must be divided into predetermined sizes, for example, in half, and devices for cutting tablets are known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). Among these cutting tools, simple tabletop tablet cutters that allow pharmacists or other workers to manually cut tablets in half are inexpensive and easy to use. However, unlike machine-controlled tablet dividing devices, the force applied to the tablet is unstable due to the manual cutting, making it prone to cracking and chipping. Such inexpensive tablet cutters generally operate and are structured to cut and push through tablets placed on a flat surface with blades from above. However, in order to stabilize the force applied to the tablet during cutting and concentrate that force at the center, it is effective to cut the tablet by pinching it between blades arranged opposite both sides of the tablet (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 and 4).

[0003] However, this cutting method ideally cuts the tablet by narrowing the gap while supporting it only with the opposing blade edges, so simply arranging blades above and below a simple tablet cutter makes it difficult to fix the tablet position.Furthermore, reproducing this function by moving the blades up and down would complicate the mechanism of the tablet cutter itself, which would reduce the advantages of being simple and inexpensive.

[0004] JP 2004-291133 A Japanese Patent No. 4279933 A Japanese Patent No. 5557811 A Japanese Patent No. 5627508 A

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve such technical problems, and aims to provide a tablet cutter that has a simple structure yet is less likely to crack or chip.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the tablet cutter of the present invention is a tablet cutter having a tablet holding portion that holds a tablet placed on a main body portion, a first main body portion that is the main body portion on which the tablet holding portion is provided, and a second main body portion supported by a support shaft so that it can rotate relatively to the first main body portion, and the first main body portion and the second main body portion are provided with two blades that are fixed so that when the second main body portion is closed with the first main body portion, the tablet placed on the tablet holding portion can be clamped from both sides and cut at a predetermined position, and along the extension direction of one of the blades provided on the first main body portion, an elastic member is provided with a thickness that is greater than the height from the floor surface of the first main body portion to the tip of the one blade when no external force is applied, and a container portion that contains the tablet after it has been cut is integrally molded at the extension direction tip of the blade of the elastic member.

[0007] The tablet cutter of the present invention has a simple structure and is less likely to crack or chip.

[0008] 11 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a tablet cutter in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the external configuration with the elastic member removed from the tablet cutter shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the external configuration of the tablet cutter in a closed state shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of the tablet cutter in a closed state shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an elastic member attached to the tablet cutter. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of a first main body part of the tablet cutter. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of when an elastic member is attached to the first main body part. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a cutting operation using the tablet cutter. FIG. 19 is an enlarged view showing an example of the operation of the elastic member and blade during the cutting operation shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the state of a tablet during a conventional cutting operation as a comparative example. FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the state after the cutting operation shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing how the cut tablets are stored in the container part after FIG. 11.

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments 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 the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.

[0010] FIG. 1 shows a tablet cutter 100 as a first embodiment of the present invention, which is placed on a table and opened and closed by an operator's hand to cut tablets placed inside the main body.

[0011] The tablet cutter 100 is a handheld tablet cutter having a first body 10, which is the body on which the tablet T is placed, a second body 20 which acts as an upper cover rotatably supported on the first body 10, and an elastic member 30 which is detachably attached to the first body 10. The first body 10 has recesses 12 on both ends thereof, into which the protrusions 22 of the second body 20 fit, and these fitting portions function as support axes O1 when the first body 10 and the second body 20 rotate relative to each other.

[0012] 2, the first body portion 10 has a lower blade 11 extending linearly so as to bisect the position where the tablet T is placed, a pair of recesses 12 provided at the end on the -X direction side, a tablet case portion 13 formed on the +X direction side opposite the recesses 12 so that the elastic member 30 fits into it and configured along the shape of a tablet cup portion 31 which is a container portion of the elastic member 30 described below, and a tablet holding portion 14 which is a wall surface formed to rise from an upper surface 10a which is a surface where the tablet T is placed. The lower blade 11 is a metal blade fixedly bonded to the first body portion 10, and is formed on the center line of the first body portion 10 toward the X direction.

[0013] The tablet case portion 13 is formed as a recess large enough to fit multiple tablets T at the end on the +X direction side of the first main body portion 10, and a depression 17 is provided at the upper part of the end on the +X direction side of the tablet case portion 13 so as to fit with the elastic member 30 described below. The depression 17 fits with a peripheral portion 31a provided at the end on the +X direction side of the tablet cup portion 31, and a protruding end 36 provided at the end on the -X direction side opposite the peripheral portion 31a is positioned so as to be sandwiched between the tablet holding portion 14, thereby attaching the elastic member 30 to the first main body portion 10. Note that, to assist in positioning during this attachment, the bottom surface of the tablet case portion 13 has multiple small holes 15 provided for positioning, and in this embodiment, a total of four holes 15 are formed at the four corners. Small holes 15 are also formed on the upper surface 10a, but these configurations are not essential and any mechanism that can easily determine the positional relationship between the first main body portion 10 and the elastic member 30 will suffice.

[0014] The tablet holding portion 14 is two protruding ridges arranged symmetrically about the lower blade 11 and with the distance between them narrowing as they move in the -X direction. The upper surface 10a of the first main body portion 10 is a gently sloping surface that slopes downward toward the -X direction in FIG. 2 when the first main body portion 10 is placed on a horizontal table, and when a tablet T is placed on the upper surface 10a, the tablet T is pulled toward the -X direction by gravity and comes to rest in a manner that it is caught by the tablet holding portion 14. In this way, the tablet holding portion 14 functions as a guide member for regulating the position of the tablet T, and as the distance between them narrows, the tablet T comes to rest at a predetermined position on the tablet holding portion 14 according to its size and shape, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0015] The second body 20 has an upper blade 21 fixed to its center, extending linearly, and functions as an upper cover that rotates around a support axis O1 to cover the first body 10, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. As shown in Figure 4 as a cross section taken along line A-A, when the tablet cutter 100 is closed, the upper blade 21 and the lower blade 11 are arranged to face each other parallel to one another with a gap of approximately 1 mm between them. Therefore, when a tablet T is placed between the upper blade 21 and the lower blade 11 as shown in Figure 1, and the second body 20 is rotated to close the first body 10 and the second body 20 together as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the tablet T will be cut by the upper blade 21 and the lower blade 11.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 5, the elastic member 30 is an elastic styrene-based elastomer member having a tablet cup portion 31, which is a container portion capable of containing the cut tablets T, and a flat plate-shaped base portion 32 extending from the upper end of one of the sides of the tablet cup portion 31. Other materials that can be used for the elastic member 30 include silicone rubber, fluororubber, polyurethane, etc., but the material is not limited to the materials listed here, and other elastomers, rubbers, etc. may also be used. The material constituting the elastic member 30 is preferably softer than the rigidity of the first main body portion 10 and elastic, and any material that meets these conditions may be used as appropriate. The elastic member 30 is an integrally molded member and is used in a form that can be detachably attached to the first main body portion 10 as shown in FIG. 2.

[0017] The tablet cup 31 is attached to the first body 10 in a manner that it fits into the tablet case 13. At this time, a protrusion 33 formed on the lower part of the tablet cup 31 fits into a small hole 15 as shown in Figures 6 and 7, thereby positioning the tablet cup 31 and the tablet case 13. The diameter of the small hole 15 is larger than the size of the protrusion 33, and the positioning between the tablet cup 31 and the tablet case 13 can be gradually adjusted by the difference in the diameter. As already described in Figure 2, the tablet cup 31 has a peripheral edge 31a on the side opposite the base plate 32 so as to match with the recess 17 of the first body 10. The provision of the peripheral edge 31a and the recess 17 allows the operator to hook their finger on the peripheral edge 31a when attempting to remove the elastic member 30 from the first body 10, which is preferable as it facilitates attachment and detachment. The base plate 32 is formed with a slit 34 wide enough to allow the lower blade 11 to pass through. It is a flooring material spread along the upper surface 10a that constitutes the area from the tablet case 13 to the tablet holding portion 14. As shown in FIG. 7, when attached to the first body 10, it is configured to surround the periphery of the lower blade 11 and to a thickness sufficient to cover the upper end of the lower blade 11. That is, the base plate 32 has a thickness d2 along the extension direction of the lower blade 11 provided on the first body 10, which is equal to or greater than the height d1 from the upper surface 10a of the first body 10 to the tip of the lower blade 11 when no external force is applied. With this configuration, the elastic member 30 supports the tablet T as a flooring material when the tablet T is placed on it and also protects the tablet T like a sheath to prevent direct contact between the tablet T and the lower blade 11. The -X direction side of the base plate 32 abuts against the tablet holding portion 14, and the elastic member 30 is spread over the area of ​​the upper surface 10a where the tablet T may be placed. Needless to say, the height of the tablet holding portion 14 is greater than the thickness d2 of the base plate portion 32, and even when the base plate portion 32 is placed on the upper surface 10a, the tablet holding portion 14 can abut against the tablet T. Furthermore, a tip portion 36 is formed at the tip of the base plate portion 32 on the -X direction side, and the operator installs the tablet holding portion 14 so that the tip portion 36 is positioned between the tablet holding portions 14.With this configuration, when attaching the elastic member 30 to the first main body portion 10, it can be used in conjunction with the edge portion 31a for positioning, allowing for easy attachment without misalignment between the lower blade 11 and the slit 34.

[0018] The back side of the base plate 32, i.e., the surface that abuts against the top surface 10a, is provided with a convex rib 35 that rises downward for positioning, and a protrusion 33 similar to that located below the tablet cup 31. Like the protrusion 33 provided on the tablet cup 31, the protrusion 33 functions as a positioning portion that performs positioning by fitting into a small hole 15 provided on the first body 10. The first body 10 also has a groove 16 formed therein that corresponds to and fits into the convex rib 35. The small hole 15, groove 16, protrusion 33, and convex rib 35 position the elastic member 30 when attached to the first body 10, and the slit 34 is formed to protect the periphery of the lower blade 11. Thus, the elastic member 30 has a slit 34 through which the lower blade 11 can pass, and the convex rib 35 and protrusion 33 that serve as positioning portions that fit into the first body 10.

[0019] The following describes the operation of cutting tablets T using such a tablet cutter 100. Figure 8 is an operational diagram for explaining the cutting operation in which an operator places a tablet T at a predetermined position on the elastic member 30 and cuts the tablet T. In this embodiment, the operation will be described in particular when the operator manually closes the first body portion 10 and the second body portion 20 to cut the tablet T at a predetermined position, but these operations may be performed manually or may be performed using an external drive source.

[0020] The operator first lifts the second body 20 in the Z direction, confirms that the first body 10 and the second body 20 are open, and places the tablet T so that its center is aligned with the lower blade 11 or the slit 34. At this time, as already mentioned, the upper surface 10a is inclined downward relative to the horizontal plane, so the tablet T is basically restricted from moving downward along the tablet holding portion 14. As can be seen from FIG. 1 , the tablet T comes to rest by being caught at a position where the distance between the two wall surfaces of the tablet holding portion 14 is narrower than the width of the tablet T. Note that the tablet holding portion 14 is arranged symmetrically about the lower blade 11. Therefore, if the tablet T is, for example, a typical circular tablet, its center will be aligned with the lower blade 11 regardless of its size. In this way, the tablet holding portion 14 restricts the movement of the tablet T while holding it so that its center is aligned with the lower blade 11. Furthermore, when cutting, force is applied to the tablet T by the upper blade 21 and the lower blade 11, but even then the tablet holding part 14 restricts downward movement, so the force applied to the tablet T is used for cutting without escaping.

[0021] Whether the tablet T actually moves downward is likely to depend on factors such as the frictional force on the surface of the elastic member 30 and the shape of the tablet T. However, if the operator initially places the tablet T so that the position of the lower blade 11 and the center position of the tablet T are aligned to some extent, the center position of the tablet T will likely remain aligned due to the tablet holder 14, which is arranged line-symmetrically with the lower blade 11. Thus, the inclination of the upper surface 10a may be gentle and does not necessarily need to be limited to the extent that the tablet rolls downward due to gravity. Furthermore, since the tablet cutter 100 is basically used manually on a tabletop, there may be cases where the tablet T is intentionally cut at a different position, for example, when the tablet T has a special shape such as a pentagon, or when it is desired to divide the tablet into n equal parts. In such cases, in addition to aligning the position of the lower blade 11 with the center position of the tablet T, the operator may place the tablet T at any desired position.

[0022] After the tablet T has come to rest at the desired position in this manner, the operator rotates the second body portion 20 to operate the tablet cutter 100 so that it is in the same closed state as shown in Figure 4. Because the upper blade 21 is fixed to the second body portion 20, this operation brings the upper blade 21 into contact with the tablet T. At this time, the tablet T is pressed downward by the upper blade 21, and acts to sink together with the elastic member 30. When the tablet T is pressed downward by the upper blade 21, the elastic member 30 elastically deforms as shown in the enlarged view of Figure 9, so that the lower blade 11 is exposed from the slit 34, and the tablet T is cut in a manner that it is sandwiched between the upper blade 21 and the lower blade 11.

[0023] To explain this point in more detail, the process of cutting tablets T when using a tablet cutter 200 will be described. In a conventional simple tablet cutter 200, as shown in Figure 10, for example, the cutting blade 202, which is the upper blade, cuts tablets by descending perpendicularly or at a slight angle to a generally horizontal mounting surface 201. In this configuration, when the cutting blade 202 cuts tablets T, the mounting surface 201 is stationary and the force applied by the cutting blade 202 is dispersed, so that a surface pressure is generated between the mounting surface 201 and tablets T in the normal direction of the mounting surface 201. It has been found that this force crushes tablets T, causing so-called "cracks" or "chipping."

[0024] On the other hand, to solve this problem, it is important to insert the cutting blades 202 so as to sandwich the tablet T from both sides and cut the tablet T without dispersing the force applied from the cutting blades 202. To concentrate the force from the cutting blades 202 in this way, it is effective to insert the cutting blades 202 so as to sandwich the tablet T from both sides, thereby creating a linear contact surface with the tablet T. However, experiments by the inventors have shown that it is difficult to adjust the pressure when pushing the tablet T manually, and that if the upper and lower cutting blades 202 are pushed in a fixed state, a sudden cutting load from the cutting blades 202 is applied to the tablet T, which also causes cracking or chipping. To solve this problem, for example, Patent Document 3, which has already been mentioned, proposes a configuration in which one or both of the opposing blades are retracted within their movable range, thereby dissipating such sudden pressure changes in the cutting direction. However, providing such a blade advance / retract mechanism in a simple tablet cutter 100 for use on a tabletop is not suitable due to significant cost constraints. Furthermore, although similar effects can be achieved by controlling pressure using an electronic control system such as a sequencer, this complicates the control mechanism and eliminates the advantages of easy manual operation, so a new method was needed.

[0025] In this embodiment, as already explained using Figure 9, the elastic member 30 elastically deforms due to the pressure acting on the tablet T as the upper blade 21 is pressed in, exposing the lower blade 11, so that the tablet T comes into contact with the upper blade 21 and the lower blade 11, and the sudden change in pressure that occurs at this time is used to deform the elastic member 30, so that the pressure of the upper blade 21 and the lower blade 11 sandwiching the tablet T is properly applied to the tablet T. Furthermore, even if surface pressure occurs between the supporting elastic member 30 and the tablet T, the elastic member 30 is easily deformed, so the tablet T is not crushed by the surface pressure applied, and it is possible to suppress causes of "cracks" and "chipping." This configuration makes it possible to make cracks and chips less likely to occur despite the simple structure. Furthermore, because the elastic member 30 itself, which is the floor surface, is easily deformed, even if a force is applied obliquely so as to cleave the tablet T by pressing in the upper blade 21, the shape of the elastic member 30 changes and the direction of the pressure changes, which results in the force in the left-right direction being easily canceled out and only the force in the vertical direction being easily transmitted to the tablet T. This configuration makes it possible to make the structure simple yet less susceptible to cracking or chipping.

[0026] When tablet T is cut by the upper blade 21 and lower blade 11, both half tablets T1 and T2 of tablet T are positioned in the gap between the base plate 32 and the second body 20, as shown in Fig. 11. If the operator tilts the tablet cutter 100 at this time so that the tablet case 13 side is facing downwards, as shown in the bottom diagram of Fig. 8, the half tablets T1 and T2 pass through the gap and roll forward, i.e., in the +X direction, on the base plate 32 of the elastic member 30, and move to the tablet cup 31, as shown in Fig. 12. In this way, it is desirable that the second body 20 has a recessed interior so that, when the tablet cutter 100 is closed, a space is formed between the ceiling of the second body 20 and the elastic member 30 that is large enough to allow the half tablets T1 and T2 to pass through. 11 shows a cross section taken along line BB of the tablet cutter 100 shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 12 shows a cross section taken along line CC of the tablet cutter 100 shown in FIG.

[0027] With this configuration, the cut tablets T move toward the tablet cup portion 31 by tilting the tablet cutter 100, facilitating the processing of the cut half tablets T1, T2. Furthermore, as already mentioned, the elastic member 30 is an elastomer member in which the tablet cup portion 31 and base portion 32 are integrally molded, making it easy to attach and detach from the first body portion 10. This allows the cut half tablets T1, T2 to be removed and transported, and the elastic member 30 itself is easy to clean, reducing the risk of powder contamination when handling multiple types of tablets. In this way, the integrated elastic member 30 covers the area from the cutting position of the tablet T to the tablet cup portion 31, which serves as the container, making all paths that the tablet T comes into contact with removable, ensuring sufficient cleanability.

[0028] Furthermore, in a structure in which a lower blade 11 is provided, in order to cut the tablet T with the lower blade 11, the operator is inevitably required to manually place the tablet T around the lower blade 11, which raises concerns that the operator may come into direct contact with the lower blade 11. However, by spreading the elastic member 30 having the base plate portion 32 with a thickness d2 so as to surround the periphery of the lower blade 11 as in this embodiment, the operator can work without coming into direct contact with the lower blade 11, which also contributes to safety.

[0029] In this embodiment, the positions of the first body 10 and the container of the elastic member 30 are determined by fitting the tablet cup 31 into the tablet case 13, but this configuration is not limited to this. For example, even if only the tablet cup 31 is provided, the tablet cutter 100 itself can have the same configuration. Furthermore, in this embodiment, only typical circular tablets are described as tablets T. However, tablets of other shapes, such as oval, spherical, or other shapes, can be cut without any problems as long as the operator properly positions the tablet on the slit 34 so that the center position of the tablet T and the position of the lower blade 11 are aligned. Therefore, the shape is not limited to this. Furthermore, in this embodiment, ABS resin is used for the first body 10 and the second body 20, and a styrene-based elastomer with a hardness of 60 is used for the elastic member 30, thereby providing a soft material that allows the elastic member 30 to deform easily. However, this is not limited to this material. The elastic member 30 may be made of any suitable elastic material as long as it is softer than the material constituting the first body 10. Furthermore, if the first main body portion 10 side is made of a soft material, the manual force applied by the operator will not be transmitted to the tablet T properly, so it is desirable that the Young's modulus of the material forming the first main body portion 10 be greater than the Young's modulus of the elastic member 30.

[0030] <1> Thus, in the present invention, the tablet cutter 100 has a tablet holding portion 14 that holds a tablet T placed on the first body portion 10, the first body portion 10 on the side where the tablet holding portion 14 is provided, and a second body portion 20 supported by a support axis O1 so as to be rotatable relative to the first body portion 10. The first body 10 and the second body 20 are each provided with two lower blades 11 and two upper blades 21 that are fixed so that when the second body 20 is closed with the first body 10, the tablet T held in the tablet holding portion 14 can be sandwiched from both sides and cut at a predetermined position, and an elastic member 30 is provided along the extension direction of the lower blade 11 provided on the first body 10, with a thickness d2 that is equal to or greater than the height d1 from the upper surface 10a, which is the floor surface of the first body 10, to the tip of the lower blade 11 when no external force is applied, and a tablet cup portion 31 that contains the tablet T after cutting is integrally molded at the tip of the elastic member 30 in the extension direction of the lower blade 11. This configuration is simple yet less prone to cracking or chipping.

[0031] <2> In addition to the configuration described in <1>, in the tablet cutter 100 of the present invention, the elastic member 30 is detachably attached to the first body 10. With this configuration, the tablet cutter 100 has a simple structure, is less likely to crack or chip, and is easy to clean.

[0032] <3> Furthermore, in the tablet cutter 100 of the present invention, in addition to the configuration described in <1> or <2>, the elastic member 30 is characterized by having a slit 34 through which the lower blade 11 can pass, and a protrusion 33 and a convex ridge 35 as positioning portions that fit into the first body part 10. With this configuration, there is no misalignment when attaching the elastic member 30 to the first body part 10, and the lower blade 11 is positioned in accordance with the position of the slit 34, so that when the first body part 10 and the second body part 20 are closed, the lower blade 11 is properly exposed and the tablet T can be cut.

[0033] <4> Furthermore, in the tablet cutter 100 of the present invention, in addition to the configuration described in any one of <1> to <3>, the elastic member 30 is composed of a tablet cup portion 31 and a base plate portion 32 connected to the tablet cup portion 31, and the upper surface 10a on which the lower blade 11 of the first body portion 10 is provided forms an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane toward the tablet holding portion 14, and the base plate portion 32 of the elastic member 30 is attached along the inclined surface, and the end of the base plate portion 32 opposite the tablet cup portion 31 abuts against the tablet holding portion 14. With this configuration, the integrated elastic member 30 covers from the cutting position of the tablet T to the tablet cup portion 31 which becomes the container portion, making all paths that the tablet T comes into contact with removable, and therefore, cleanability is also sufficiently ensured.

[0034] <5> In addition to the configuration described in any one of <1> to <4>, in the tablet cutter 100 of the present invention, the tablet holding portion 14 is arranged symmetrically about the lower blade 11 and is made up of two V-shaped walls that narrow as they move downward on the upper surface 10a. With this configuration, when the tablet T moves downward along the slope of the upper surface 10a and comes to rest in contact with the tablet holding portion 14, the position is such that the center positions of the lower blade 11 and the tablet T coincide, so that the tablet T can be bisected without having to be aware of the cutting position.

[0035] <6> Furthermore, in the tablet cutter 100 of the present invention, in addition to the configuration described in any one of <1> to <4>, when the first body part 10 and the second body part 20 are closed together, the upper blade 21 fixed to the second body part 20 pushes in the tablet T, and the elastic member 30 bends, exposing the lower blade 11 from the elastic member 30, and the tablet T is cut while being supported so as to be sandwiched between the lower blade 11 and the upper blade 21. This configuration allows the operator to work without directly contacting the lower blade 11, which also contributes to safety.

[0036] While the above describes an embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims. For example, in the present invention, the first body 10 and the second body 20 are configured to sandwich and cut the tablet T between the upper blade 21 and the lower blade 11, with the second body 20 covering the tablet T from above. However, this configuration does not necessarily have to be closed vertically. For example, the tablet T may be appropriately held by the tablet holder 14 and closed horizontally or front-to-back to cut the tablet T. Even in this case, one blade is formed on the first body 10, and the other blade is formed on the second body 20, and the two blades form a pair to cut the tablet T. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the peripheral portion 31a, the protruding end 36, the ridge portion 35, the protrusion 33, etc. are used as positioning portions. However, only some of the positioning methods described herein may be used, or a combination of these may be used.

[0037] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10...First body portion 10a...Inclined surface 14...Tablet holding portion 20...Second body portion 30...Elastic member 31...Container portion 31a...Positioning portion (edge ​​portion) 32...Base plate portion 33...Positioning portion (protrusion portion) 34...Slit 35...Positioning portion (convex rib portion) 36...Positioning portion (pointing end portion) 100...Tablet cutter O1...Support axis X...Extension direction

Claims

1. A tablet cutter having a tablet holding section which holds a tablet placed on a main body section, a first main body section which is the main body section on which the tablet holding section is provided, and a second main body section which is supported by a support shaft so as to be rotatable relative to the first main body section, wherein the first main body section and the second main body section are provided with two fixed blades which are capable of pinching the tablet placed on the tablet holding section from both sides and cutting it at a predetermined position when the second main body section is closed with the first main body section, wherein the tablet cutter has an elastic member along the extension direction of one of the blades provided on the first main body section, the elastic member having a thickness equal to or greater than the height from the floor surface of the first main body section to the tip of the one blade when no external force is applied, and wherein a container section which contains the tablet after it has been cut is integrally molded at the tip of the elastic member in the extension direction of the blade.

2. A tablet cutter as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the elastic member is removably attached to the first body portion.

3. A tablet cutter as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the elastic member has a slit through which one of the blades can pass and a positioning portion which fits into the first body portion.

4. A tablet cutter as described in claim 1, characterized in that the elastic member is composed of the container portion and a base portion connected to the container portion, the surface of the first main body portion on which the one blade is provided forms an inclined surface inclined with respect to a horizontal plane toward the tablet holding portion, the base portion of the elastic member is attached along the inclined surface, and the end of the base portion opposite the container portion abuts against the tablet holding portion.

5. A tablet cutter as described in claim 4, characterized in that the tablet holding portion is arranged linearly symmetrically about one of the blades and is composed of two V-shaped walls that narrow as they proceed downward on the inclined surface.

6. A tablet cutter as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein in the process of closing the first body part and the second body part together, the other blade fixed to the second body part pushes in the tablet, and the elastic member flexes, causing the one blade to become exposed from the elastic member, and the tablet is cut while being supported so as to be clamped between the one blade and the other blade.

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