Medicine Chute Geometry for Smooth Tablet Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drug supply apparatuses face issues with increased hopper size and delayed drug delivery due to non-smooth conveyance in chutes, especially when the number of tablet cases increases, leading to delayed packaging and patient administration.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus incorporates a chute design with inclined walls and a connecting part to maintain a consistent width change rate, ensuring smooth drug conveyance by minimizing drug speed reduction and bounce deviation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the number of tablet cases arranged in the front-rear direction increases, then the drug supply capacity is improved, but the length of the hopper in the front-rear direction increases, making the hopper difficult to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a chute that conveys drugs in the left-right direction (another dimension) instead of directly conveying them in the front-rear direction through a long hopper. This dimensional change allows multiple tablet cases to be arranged in the front-rear direction without proportionally increasing the hopper length, as drugs are conveyed laterally through the chute to a common discharge point.
2Ease of operation
If the conveyance speed of drug is lowered in the hopper, then the drug can be conveyed smoothly, but the timing at which the drug is led out from the hopper is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The chute is designed with a curved bottom surface that is convex in the left-right direction. This curvature allows drugs to be conveyed smoothly along the curved path without abrupt changes in direction, maintaining conveyance smoothness while enabling faster drug flow compared to a straight or angled configuration. The curved geometry optimizes the balance between smooth conveyance and delivery speed.
3Productivity
If the width of the chute in the front-rear direction becomes smaller toward the downstream side, then the drug can be directed toward the discharge, but the change rate in width increases, causing drugs to slow down or bounce off the side wall
Solution Approach 1:
The chute width in the front-rear direction is designed to become smaller toward the downstream side, but the rate of width reduction is carefully controlled to be within a specific range. This local quality adjustment ensures that the chute narrows sufficiently to direct drugs toward the discharge while maintaining a gradual transition that prevents excessive speed reduction or bounce-off. The controlled width variation optimizes both discharge efficiency and conveyance speed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables efficient and timely drug supply by maintaining consistent drug conveyance speed and reducing bounce-related delays, ensuring precise packaging and patient administration.
Implementation Method 1
a chute 50 configured to convey the drug discharged from the tablet case C into the hopper 15; the chute 50 has inclined walls that define a conveyance path from the upstream side to the downstream side
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
This medicine delivery device comprises: a plurality of tablet cases that are lined up in a front-rear direction and that discharge medicine; and a chute that is disposed at a lower position than the plurality of tablet cases and that has a pathway for transporting the medicine, the chute transporting the medicine while preventing the medicine from spilling from the front side and the rear side. The width of the chute in the front-rear direction gradually decreases towards the downstream side. The pathway has a bending part that has a bending shape when viewed from the front side.