Abstract:
The present invention relates to a tablet feeding device for supplying tablets accommodated in a tablet feeder to vials by supplying a power source from a surface side of the tablet feeder to a rotor of the tablet feeder and further allowing many tablet feeders to be mounted with high density. 
     The tablet feeder  21  has a stationary guide member  119  having a stationary tilt plate  119   c  and a movable guide member  121  having a movable tilt plate  121   c . The stationary tilt plate  119   c  is disposed adjacent to a tablet outlet  112  of the tablet feeder  21  and guides the tablets discharged from the tablet outlet  112  to the vials  4 . The movable tilt plate  121   c  is movable between a receiving position and an operating position in association with an attachment and detachment of a driving means  202  with the tablet feeder  21 . The movable tilt plate  121   c  overlaps with the stationary tilt plate  119   c  at the receiving position and continues to the stationary tilt plate  119   c  at the operating position. The tablet feeder  21  positioned below is formed with a cutout  118  into which the movable member guide member  121  enters when the movable guide member  121  of the tablet feeder  21  positioned above is moved to the operating position.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a 35 U.S.C. §371 National Stage filing of International Application No. PCT/JP2007/060119, filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty on May 17, 2007, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-144242, filed May 24, 2006, both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a tablet feeding device of a tablet filling device for filling tablets in vials as prescribed. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. (Hei) 11-070901 discloses a tablet filling device adapted to perform the following functions: mounting a tablet cassette filled with tablets on a motor base; holding the tablets in a groove formed in a rotor through rotating the rotor within the tablet cassette by receiving a driving force from a built-in motor of the motor base; and discharging the tablets from an outlet of the tablet cassette via a tablet path within the motor base to a rear surface of a plate provided with the motor base. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     However, for a large-sized tablet filling device required for many tablet cassettes, motors that are built in each motor base are necessary (as many as the number of tablet cassettes). Thus, this inevitably increases the associated costs while complicating motor control. Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-052008, which was filed by the present applicant, discloses that a power source is provided to a rotor of a tablet cassette by: preparing a simple mounting base wherein a built-in motor is removed from each motor; and causing an outer single driving means such as a robot arm to be closer from a rear surface of an installation plate of the mounting base. 
     However, if the robot arm is provided at the rear side of the installation plate of the mounting base, since it is disadvantageous in terms of maintaining the robot arm, it is desirable to discharge the robot arm to a surface side of the tablet cassette. In such a case, since forming the tablet path in an outlet of the tablet cassette interferes with the tablet cassette mounted right under the tablet path, the tablet cassettes must inevitably be disposed. Accordingly, numerous tablet cassettes cannot be mounted with high density. 
     Thus, the present invention is directed to providing a tablet feeding device capable of supplying the tablets accommodated in the tablet feeder to the vials by supplying a power source from the surface side of the tablet feeder to a rotor of the tablet feeder and further mounting numerous tablet feeders with high density. 
     In order to solve such a problem, the present invention provides a tablet feeding device for supplying tablets to vials by removably disposing a tablet feeder in a plurality of mounting bases, supplying a power source to a rotor of the tablet feeder from an outer driving means and discharging the tablets accommodated in each tablet feeder from a tablet outlet. The tablet feeder includes a stationary guide member having a stationary tilt plate and a movable guide member having a movable tilt plate. The stationary tilt plate is disposed adjacent to the tablet outlet of the tablet feeder and guides the tablets discharged from the tablet outlet to the vials. The movable tilt plate is movable between a receiving position and an operating position in association with an attachment and detachment of the driving means with the tablet feeder. The movable tilt plate overlaps with the stationary tilt plate at the receiving position and continues to the stationary tilt plate at the operating position. The tablet feeder positioned below is formed with a cutout into which the movable guide member enters when the moveable guide member of the tablet feeder positioned above is moved to the operating position. 
     According to this constitution, if the outer driving means approaches from the surface side of the tablet feeder, the movable guide member is moved to the operating position in association therewith and enters into the cutout of the tablet feeder positioned below, thereby forming a long tilt plate from the stationary tilt plate of the stationary guide member to the movable tilt plate of the movable guide member. Thus, the tablets accommodated in the tablet feeder can be supplied to the vials by supplying the power source from the surface side of the tablet feeder to the rotor of the tablet feeder. Further, if the outer driving means is separated from the surface side of the tablet feeder, then the movable guide member is moved to the receiving position in association therewith and departs from the cutout of the tablet feeder positioned below. Thus, since the movable tilt plate of the movable guide member overlaps with the stationary tilt plate of the stationary guide member, the tablet feeder positioned below can be withdrawn without interfering with the guide member of the tablet feeder positioned above. As such, many tablet feeders can be mounted with high density. 
     It is preferable to further comprise an opening/closing member for opening and closing the tablet outlet in association with the attachment and detachment of the driving means with the tablet feeder. By doing so, the tablets hung on the tablet outlet of the tablet feeder can be prevented from dropping when the tablet feeder is attached or detached. 
     Preferably, the movable guide member is moved to the operating position in association with an opening operation of the opening/closing member and the movable guide member is moved to the receiving position in association with a closing operation of the opening/closing member. By doing so, the opening/closing member and the movable guide member can be operated by a single attaching and detaching operation of the outer driving means. Thus, a structure is simple and the operation is accurate. 
     According to the present invention, when the outer driving means approaches from the surface side of the tablet feeder, the long tilt plate is extended from the stationary tilt plate of the stationary guide member to the movable tilt plate of the movable guide member. Thus, the tablets accommodated in the tablet feeder can be supplied to the vials by supplying the power source from the surface side of the tablet feeder to the rotor of the tablet feeder. Further, if the outer driving means is separated from the surface side of the tablet feeder, the movable guide member is moved to the receiving position and departs from the cutout of the tablet feeder positioned below. The movable tilt plate of the movable guide member overlaps with the stationary tilt plate of the stationary guide member. Thus, the tablet feeder positioned below can be withdrawn without interfering with the guide member of the tablet feeder positioned above. Accordingly, many tablet feeders can be mounted with high density. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a tablet filling device according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view illustrating the removal of a door of the tablet filling device. 
         FIG. 3  is a rear view illustrating the removal of an exterior plate of the tablet filling device. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of a tablet supply unit. 
         FIG. 7  is a plan view of the tablet supply unit. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a tablet feeder and its mounting base. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view (a) and a bottom view (b) of the tablet feeder. 
         FIG. 10  is a side view and a front view of a closing/opening member, a stationary guide member and a movable guide member of a guide unit of the tablet feeder. 
         FIG. 11  is a side view during a non-operating state (a) and an operating state (b) of the guide unit of the tablet feeder. 
         FIG. 12  is a side view when the tablets are filled in a tablet feeder vial. 
         FIG. 13  is a front view (a) and a side view (b) of a first vial delivery arm unit. 
         FIG. 14  is a plan view (a) and a side view (b) of an arm of the first vial delivery arm unit. 
         FIG. 15  is a plan view of a driving range of the first and second vial delivery arm units. 
         FIG. 16  is a front view (a) and a side view (b) of the second vial delivery arm unit. 
         FIG. 17  is a bottom view of the second vial delivery arm unit. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 
     
         
           4  . . . vial, 
           16  . . . tablet supply unit, 
           21  . . . tablet feeder, 
           110  . . . rotor, 
           112  . . . tablet outlet, 
           118  . . . cutout, 
           119  . . . stationary guide member, 
           119   c  . . . tilt plate, 
           120  . . . opening/closing member, 
           121  . . . movable guide member, 
           121   b  . . . tilt plate, 
           202  . . . arm (driving means). 
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  shows an exterior of a tablet filling device  1  according to an embodiment of the present invention. Nine extracting shelves  5  are placed at a center door  2 , which is provided at a front center of the tablet filling device  1 . Vials  4  filled with tablets and closed by a cap  3  are stacked from an inner side in the extracting shelves  5 . The extracting shelves  5  are protruded forward and bent so as to easily extract the vials  4 . An operation display screen  6  for displaying the required information by operating the tablet filling device  1  is provided at an upper direction of the extracting shelves  5 . Cap inlets  7   a  and  7   b  for inputting big and small caps  3   a  and  3   b  are formed at a left side of the extracting shelf  5 . Left and right doors  8   a  and  8   b , which are opened and closed when attaching and detaching a tablet feeder  21 , are provided at both sides of the center door  2 . A door  9   a  for checking an inner device is provided at a lower direction of the left side door  8   a . A closet  9   b  for checking the inner device is provided at a lower direction of the center door  2 . Two doors  10   a  and  10   b  for inputting the big and small vials  4   a  and  4   b  are provided at a lower direction of the right side door  8   b.    
       FIG. 2  is a front view illustrating the removal of the door of the tablet filling device.  FIG. 3  is a rear view illustrating the removal of an exterior plate of the tablet filling device.  FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V of  FIG. 2 . As shown in the above figures, the tablet filling device  1  comprises two vial supply units  11 , a vial conveyance belt  12 , a vial conveyance arm unit  13 , a labeling unit  14 , a vial lift unit  15 , two tablet supply units  16 , a first vial delivery arm unit  17 , a second vial delivery arm unit  18 , a cap supply unit  19  and a capping unit  20 . 
     Two vial supply units  11  are provided at a right lower portion (when viewed from the front). The vial supply units  11  store the big and small vials  4 , and extract and supply the vials  4  required for receiving the tablets as prescribed. 
     The vial conveyance belt  12  is provided at a rear of the vial supply unit  11  and horizontally extended toward the center, thereby conveying the vials  4  supplied from the vial supply unit  11  to the vial conveyance arm unit  13 . 
     The vial conveyance arm unit  13  is positioned at an end section of the vial conveyance belt  12  and changes a direction of the vials  4  conveyed from the vial conveyance belt  12  so as to be opened upward. Thereafter, it conveys the vials  4  to the labeling unit  14  and the vial lift unit  15 . 
     The labeling unit  14  is positioned at a left lower portion (when viewed from the front) and attaches a label to the vials  4  conveyed from the vial conveyance arm unit  13 . 
     The vial lift unit  15  is positioned between the labeling unit  14  and the vial conveyance arm unit  13 . The vial lift unit  15  lifts the vials  4  labeled by the labeling unit  14  to thereby deliver them to the first vial delivery arm unit  17 . 
     The tablet supply unit  16  is positioned at right and left sides (when viewed from the front). The tablet supply unit  16  has numerous tablet feeders  21  provided around a rotatable drum  101  and discharges the tablets as prescribed from the tablet feeder  21 , thereby supplying the tablets to the vials  4  held in the first vial delivery arm unit. 
     The first vial delivery arm unit  17  is positioned at a rear side and between two tablet supply units  16 . The first vial delivery arm unit  17  receives the vials  4  from the vial lift unit  15  and moves to any tablet feeder  21  of the tablet supply unit  16 . It then delivers the vials  4  to the second vial delivery arm unit  18  when the tablets according to the prescriptions are filled. 
     The second vial delivery arm unit  18  is positioned at a front side and between two tablet supply units  16 . The second vial delivery arm unit  18  delivers the vials  4  received from the first vial delivery arm unit  17  to the capping unit  20 , thereby capping the vials  4  and stacking the capped vials  4  in the extracting shelf  5 . 
     The cap supply unit  19  is positioned at a left side (when viewed from the front) of the second vial delivery arm unit  18 . The cap supply unit  19  receives two types of caps  3  (i.e., big and small caps  3 ) used for closing the vials  4  and supplies any one of the caps  3  one by one. 
     The capping unit  20  is positioned at a lower direction of the cap supply unit  19  provided with the caps  3  supplied from the cap supply unit  19  to the vials  4  received from the second vial delivery arm unit  18 . 
     Hereinafter, the tablet supply unit  16 , the first vial delivery arm unit  17  and the second vial delivery arm unit  18  (i.e., the tablet feeding device of the present invention) will be explained in detail. 
     &lt;Tablet Supply Unit&gt; 
       FIG. 6  shows the tablet supply unit  16 . The tablet supply unit  16  has a drum  101  having a generally cylindrical shape. A lower side plate  102  provided at a lower end of the drum  101  is stacked on a flange  104   a  of a driving barrel  104  of a motor  103  fixed at a device body  1   a . An outer periphery of an upper side plate  105  provided at an upper end of the drum  101  is supported at a plurality of rollers  106  provided in the device body  1   a . The driving can  104  of the motor  103  is covered on an outer side of the motor  103  and provided at a driving plate  107  adhered to a driving shaft  103   a  of the motor  103 . As such, since the motor  103  is positioned inside the drum  101  and there is neither motor  103  nor driving gear at an outer side of the drum  101 , the structure is simple to thereby prevent the invention from increasing in size. 
     Many mounting bases  108  for mounting the tablet feeders  21  are provided at an outer surface of the drum  101  in a circumferential direction and a vertical direction. As shown in  FIG. 7 , a plurality of clips  109  are provided at a part of the outer surface of the drum  101  along a vertical direction so as to temporarily store the vials  4 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , the tablet feeder  21  has a container shape, which allows a significant number of the tablets to be received. The tablet feeder  21  is configured to hold the tablets T in a groove  111  shown in  FIG. 11  formed at an outer periphery of a rotor  110  by a rotation of the rotor  110  provided at a bottom of the tablet feeder  21  and discharged from a tablet outlet  112 . As shown in  FIG. 9(   b ), a driving gear  113  is provided at a rotary shaft  110   a  of the rotor  110  protruded from the bottom of the tablet feeder  21  and connected to a worm gear  115  via an intermediate gear  114 . The worm gear  115  is configured to be rotated by receiving a power source from the outside. As such, a coupling portion  115   a  is provided at a leading end of the worm gear  115 . A driving shaft  214  of an arm  202  of the first vial delivery arm unit  17  (see  FIG. 14)  is coupled to the coupling portion  115   a . The tablet outlet  112  of the tablet feeder  21  is formed at a bottom of a surface side of the tablet feeder  21 , which becomes a surface at the time of mounting. A guide unit  116  is provided around the tablet outlet  112  at the surface side of the tablet feeder  21 . A handle  117  is provided at a side direction of the guide unit  116  and a cutout  118  is formed at an upper direction thereof. 
     The guide unit  116  of the tablet feeder  21  includes a stationary guide member  119 , an opening/closing member  120  and a movable guide member  121 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10(   b ), the stationary guide member  119  includes a base  119   a , side portions  119   b  and a tilt plate  119   c . The base  119   a  is provided about an outer surface at the surface side of the tablet feeder  21 . The side portions  119   b  are extended from both ends of the base  119   a  downwardly and horizontally to the sides of the tablet outlet  112 . The tilt plate  119   c  connects leading ends of both side portions  119   b . The side portions  119   b  are connected by a horizontal plate  122 . A shaft hole  123  cutout having a U-shape and a groove  124  cutout having an arc shape around the shaft hole  123  are provided at an upper end of both side portions  119   b . Further, a protrusion  125  is formed on an outer surface of both side portions  119   b . Also, a slit  126  is formed at both side portions  119   b . Light for detecting the tablets discharged from the tablet outlet  112  passes through the slit  126 . The tilt plate  119   c  is inclined downward from the tablet outlet  112  toward the surface side of the tablet feeder  21 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10(   a ), the opening/closing member  120  includes a driving piece  128 , a stopper  129  and a cover  130  around a horizontal support shaft  127 . Further, there is provided a pin  131  protruded at both ends from a leading end of the stopper  129 . The support shaft  127  is fitted into the shaft hole  123  of the stationary guide member  119  and the pin  131  is inserted into the groove  124  of the stationary guide member  119 . Further, one end of a coil spring  132  (see  FIG. 11)  is mounted on the pin  131  while the other end of each coil spring  132  is hung on a main body of the tablet feeder  21 . As such, the opening/closing member  120  is pressed in a counterclockwise direction in  FIG. 11 . Thus, the driving piece  128  is upright. The stopper  129  contacts the base  119   a  of the stationary guide member  119  from a lower direction. Further, the cover  130  is close to a lower end of the tilt plate  119   c  of the stationary guide member  119 . Moreover, a torsion spring may be mounted on the support shaft  127  instead of the coil spring  132 . In such a case, one end of the torsion spring is hung on the protrusion  125  of the stationary guide member  119  while the other end is hung on the pin  131 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10(   c ), the movable guide member  121  includes a pair of side portions  121   a  and a tilt plate  121   b . The side portions  121   a  are extended in the vertical direction and then in the horizontal direction to both sides of the tablet outlet  112 . The tilt plate  121   b  connects leading ends of both side portions  121   a . The movable guide plate  121  is larger than the stationary guide member  119  and positioned at an outer side of the stationary guide member  119 . Further, the tilt plate  121   b  is inclined downward from the tablet outlet  112  toward the surface side of the tablet feeder  21 . A shaft hole  133  and a long hole having an arc shape around the shaft hole  133  are formed at both side portions  121   a . The support shaft  127  of the opening/closing member  120  is fitted into the shaft hole  133  and the pin  131  of the opening/closing member  120  is inserted into the long hole  134 . As such, the movable guide member  121  is configured to be rotatable between a receiving position of the drawing and an operating position of the drawing. 
     Operations of the guide unit  116  will be explained below. In a general state, as shown in  FIG. 11  ( a ), since the movable guide member  121  is located at the receiving position and the tilt plate  121   b  of the movable guide member  121  is received while being overlapped with the tilt plate  119   c  of the stationary guide member  119 , the movable guide member  121  is not interfered with the tablet feeder  21  positioned at a lower direction. This allows the tablet feeder  21  positioned at a lower direction to be attached and detached. Further, since the cover  130  of the opening/closing member  120  is close to the lower end of the tilt plate  119   c  of the stationary guide member  119 , a discharge path of the tablets T from the tablet outlet  112  is closed. The tablets T hung on the tablet outlet  112  when attaching and detaching the tablet feeder  21  does not fall. 
     If the arm  202  of the first vial delivery arm unit  17  holding the vials  4  reaches the tablet feeder  21  and a pressing piece  217  provided in the arm  202  thus pushes the driving piece  128  of the guide unit  116  to fall, then the opening/closing member  120  of the guide unit  119  rotates in a counterclockwise direction as shown in  FIG. 11  ( b ) against a pressing force of the coil spring  132 , thereby being greatly separated from the tilt plate  119   c  of the stationary guide member  119 . Then, after a slight delay, the pin  131  presses an end of the long hole  134  of the movable guide member  121 . As a result, the movable guide member  121  also rotates in a counterclockwise direction to move to the operating position as shown in  FIG. 11  ( b ). In such a state, the tilt plate  121   b  of the movable guide member  121  and the tilt plate  119   c  of the stationary guide member  119  are continued to form a long tilt surface. Further, since the tilt plate  121   b  of the movable guide member  121  enters the cutout  118  of the tablet feeder  12  at a lower direction, the tilt plate  121   b  does not touch the tablet feeder  21  at a lower direction. Also, as shown in  FIG. 12 , since the vials also enter the cutout  118  of the tablet feeder  12  at a lower direction, the vials do not touch the tablet feeder  21  at a lower direction. 
     If the rotor  110  of the tablet feeder  21  is supplied with a power source from the driving shaft  214  of the first vial delivery arm unit  17 , then the tablets are discharged from the tablet outlet  112  and guided via the tablet path, which is surrounded by both side portions  119   b  and the tilt plate  119   c  of the stationary guide member  119  and both side portions  121   a  and the tilt plate  121   b  of the movable guide member  121 , to the vials  4 . 
     &lt;First Vial Delivery Arm Unit&gt; 
       FIG. 13  shows a front view (a) and a side view (b) of the first vial delivery arm unit  17 .  FIG. 14  shows a plan view (a) and a side view (b) of the arm  202  of the first vial delivery arm unit. The first vial delivery arm unit  17  includes a swing frame  201  and the arm  202 . 
     The swing frame  201  has a thin and long plate shape with bent upper and lower ends. A shaft  203   a  at the lower end is rotatably provided in the device body  1   a  and a shaft  203   b  at the upper end is fixed at a driving shaft of the motor  204  fixed in the device body  1   a . Thus, the swing frame  201  is configured to swing around the shafts  203   a  and  203   b  by a rotation of the motor  204 . The swing frame  201  has a belt  206  extended between rollers  205  provided at the upper and lower ends. The belt  206  is configured to travel upwardly and downwardly since the roller  205  at the upper end is rotated by a motor  207 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 14 , the arm  202  includes an arm base  208 , a stretchable arm  209 , a tilt arm  210  and a grabbing member  211 . 
     The arm base  208  has an approximately U-shape when seen from an upper direction. The arm base  208  is provided at the belt  206  of the swing frame  201  and configured to be lifted along the swing frame  201  by the traveling of the belt  206 . 
     The stretchable arm  209  has an approximately U-shape when seen from an upper direction. The stretchable arm  209  is located at an inner side of the arm base  208  and provided at the arm base  208 . The stretchable arm is movably mounted (e.g., adapted to swing, advance, retreat, etc.) in the horizontal direction by a motor  212  and a rack end pinion mechanism  213 . A driving shaft  214  is provided about a leading end at one side of the stretchable arm  209 . The driving shaft  214  is coupled to the coupling portion  115   a  of the worm gear  115  of the tablet feeder  21  (see  FIG. 9 ) and rotated by a motor (not shown) to thereby rotate the worm gear  115  of the tablet feeder  21 . A sensor installing deck  215 , which has a U-shape when seen from an upper direction, is provided at an inner side of the stretchable arm  209 . Also, a pair of counting sensors  216  for counting the number of the tablets discharged from the tablet feeder  21  is provided at the sensor installing deck  215 . Further, a pressing piece  217  for pressing the driving piece  128  of the guide unit  116  of the tablet feeder  21  is provided at the sensor installing deck  215 . 
     The tilt arm  210  is positioned at an inner side of the stretchable arm  209  and provided at the stretchable arm  209  to oscillate around a shaft  218 . Thus, the tilt arm  210  is configured to oscillate between a horizontal position and a tilt position by a motor  219 . 
     A pair of grabbing members  211  is provided at the oscillating arm  210  and configured to move in a direction of attaching to and detaching from each other by a motor  220 , thereby being capable of grabbing the vials  4 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 15 , the first vial delivery arm unit  17  is configured to swing by a rotation of the swing frame  201  to a vial receiving position (first position P 1 ), a first tablet filling position (second position P 2 ), a second tablet filling position (third position P 3 ) and a vial guiding position (fourth position P 4 ). At the first position P 1 , the first vial delivery arm unit  17  is opposite to the vials  4  lifted while being stacked on the vial lift unit  15 . At the second position P 2 , the first vial delivery arm unit  17  is opposite to the tablet feeder  21  of the tablet supply unit  16  at one side. At the third position P 3 , the first vial delivery arm unit  17  is opposite to the tablet feeder  21  of the tablet supply unit  16  at the other side. At the fourth position P 4 , the first vial delivery arm unit  17  is opposite to an arm  302  of the second vial delivery arm  18  unit, as will be explained below. 
     Operations of the first vial delivery arm unit  17  will be explained below. When the vials  4  supplied from the vial supply unit  11  are delivered to the vial conveyance arm unit  13  by the vial conveyance belt  12 , labeled by the labeling unit  14  and then lifted by the vial lift unit  15 , the first vial delivery arm unit  17  swings the swing frame  201  to the first position P 1  and lowers the arm  202 , thereby receiving the vials  4  from the vial lift unit  15  by the grabbing member  211 . 
     When the vials  4  are received, the first vial delivery arm unit  17  swings the swing frame  201  to the second position P 2  or third position P 3  while lifting the arm  202 , thereby being opposite to the tablet feeder  21  filled with the tablets corresponding to the prescription. Next, the stretchable arm  209  is advanced forward while the tilt arm  210  of the arm  202  is tilted at the tilt position, thereby causing the vials  4  to be inclined. At this time, the pressing piece  217  of the stretchable arm  209  presses the driving piece  128  of the guide unit  116  of the tablet feeder  21 . This forms the tablet path by the operation of the guide unit  116  as discussed above. Further, the driving shaft  214  of the stretchable arm  209  is coupled to the coupling portion  115   a  of the worm gear  115  of the tablet feeder  21 . Here, when the driving shaft  214  is driven, since the tablet feeder  21  is operated, the tablets are discharged from the tablet outlet  112  and thus delivered to the vials  4  via the tablet path. 
     When the vials  4  are filled with the tablets, since the first vial delivery arm unit  17  swings the swing frame  201  to the fourth position P 4  while lifting the arm  202 , the vials  4  filled with the tablets are delivered to the second vial delivery arm unit  18 . 
     &lt;The Second Vial Delivery Arm Unit&gt; 
       FIG. 16  shows a front view (a) and a side view (b) of the second vial delivery arm unit  18 .  FIG. 17  shows an expanded bottom view of  FIG. 16(   b ). The second vial delivery arm unit  18  includes a swing frame  301  and an arm  302 . 
     The swing frame  301  has a generally thin and long plate shape with bent upper and lower ends. A shaft  303   a  at the lower end is rotatably provided in the device body  1   a  and a shaft  303   b  at the upper end is fixed at a driving shaft of a motor  304  fixed within the device body  1   a . Thus, the swing frame  301  is configured to swing around the shafts  303   a  and  303   b  by a rotation of the motor  304 . The swing frame  301  has a belt  306  extended between rollers  305  provided at the upper and lower ends. The belt  306  is configured to travel upwardly and downwardly since the roller  305  at the upper end is rotated by a motor  307 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 17 , the arm  302  includes an arm base  308 , a stretchable arm  309  and a grabbing member  310 . The arm base  308  is provided at the belt  306  of the swing frame  301  and may be lifted along the swing frame  301  by the traveling of the belt  306 . The stretchable arm  309  is provided at a lower surface of the arm base  308 . The stretchable arm  309  is movably mounted (e.g., configured to advance, retreat, etc.) in the horizontal direction by a motor  311  and a rack end pinion mechanism  312 . A pair of the grabbing members  310  is provided at the stretchable arm  309  and may move in a direction of attaching to and detaching from each other by a motor  313 , thereby being capable of grabbing the vials  4 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 15 , the second vial delivery arm unit  18  is configured to swing by a rotation of the swing frame  301  to a vial receiving position (first position P 1 ), a capping position (second position P 2 ) and a plurality of discharging positions (third position P 3 ). At the first position P 1 , the second vial delivery arm unit  18  is opposite to the arm  202  of the first vial delivery arm unit  17 . At the second position P 2 , the second vial delivery arm unit  18  is opposite to the capping unit  20 . At the third position P 3 , the second vial delivery arm unit  18  is opposite to the extracting shelf  5 . 
     Operations of the second vial delivery arm unit  18  will now be explained below. When the vials  4  filled with the tablets are conveyed by the arm  202  of the first vial delivery arm unit  17 , the second vial delivery arm unit  18  swings the swing arm  301  to the first position P 1  while lifting the arm  301  to thereby receive the vials from the first vial delivery arm unit  17  by the grabbing member  310 . 
     When the vials  4  are received, the second vial delivery arm unit  18  swings the swing arm  301  to the second position P 2  while lifting the arm  302  to thereby deliver the vials  4  filled with the tablets to the capping unit  20 . When the caps  3  are provided on the vials  4  by the capping unit  20 , the second vial delivery arm unit  18  swings the swing arm  301  to the third position P 3  while lifting the arm  302 . This stacks the vials  4  closed by the caps  3  on any one of the extracting shelves  5 . 
     As such, an operator can extract the vials  4  stacked on the extracting shelf  5  from an outer side of the device. 
     Although various embodiments of the present invention are described above, it will be evident to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention. It is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.