Patent Publication Number: US-2023157929-A1

Title: Tablet cassette

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a tablet cassette that forms a driven portion in a tablet feeder for automating dispensing of medicines performed in hospitals, pharmacies, etc., and in particular to a tablet cassette including a tablet container for containing tablets and a rotor provided in the tablet container to allow the tablets to successively fall down through a discharge port of the tablet container while aligning the tablets around the rotor when the rotor is rotationally driven. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     A tablet feeder according to the related art (see FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1, FIG. 1 of Patent Document 2, and FIG. 5 of Patent Document 3, for example) includes a drive portion fixed and arranged on a drawing shelf of a tablet dispensing apparatus, a body portion of a tablet splitting apparatus, etc. for power supply and control, and a tablet cassette removably mounted to the drive portion to facilitate tablet replenishment work etc. In the tablet feeder, a large number of tablets are contained in a random manner in a tablet containing space of the tablet container of the tablet cassette, and the drive portion is caused to operate intermittently or continuously, as necessary, to feed the tablets one by one from the tablet cassette. The tablet feeder successively discharges the plurality of tablets by moving the tablets from top to bottom to the discharge port, which allows the tablets to fall down one by one. 
     In the tablet cassette according to the related art, a large number of blade-shaped partition walls are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface of the rotor to project into an annular gap in which the tablets are to be aligned, in order to divide the annular gap into spaces each corresponding to one tablet. The spaces between adjacent partition walls serve as tablet receiving portions each for containing one tablet having fallen from above the rotor. 
     RELATED-ART DOCUMENT 
     Patent Document 
     
         
         Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-192702 
         Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-039237 
         Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-141330 
       
    
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     In such a tablet cassette, the dimensions of the tablet receiving portions cannot be changed. Thus, the inventor of the present application has proposed a tablet cassette configured to enable the dimensions of tablet receiving portions for containing tablets one by one to be increased and reduced. 
     Specifically, Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-241162, which is a prior application of the present application, proposes a tablet cassette including a rotor including a circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism externally mounted on a rotary shaft to expand and contract a plurality of tablet receiving portions in the circumferential direction in conjunction with each other, and a radial expansion-contraction mechanism operable to expand and contract the tablet receiving portions in the radial direction. 
     In the tablet cassette, however, a link structure of the rotor is complicated, since not only the circumferential dimensions of the plurality of tablet receiving portions are increased and reduced but also the radial dimensions of the plurality of tablet receiving portions are increased and reduced together in an interlocking manner. Therefore, a problem with increased manufacturing costs has been caused by an increase in the number of components and miniaturization of members. Thus, it is a technical issue to implement a tablet cassette that can be manufactured at a reduced cost even if the functional usability of the tablet cassette is degraded because of the reduction in the manufacturing cost. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a tablet cassette that includes a reduced number of components, that does not require miniaturization of components, and that can be manufactured inexpensively compared to the related art. 
     An additional object is to provide a tablet cassette capable of resolving stagnation of tablets in the tablet cassette. 
     Solution to Problem 
     In order to facilitate understanding, the components of the present invention will be described below using numerals used in the drawings. However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings. 
     The present invention provides a tablet cassette including: a tablet container  20  having a tablet containing space  22  therein for containing a plurality of tablets in a random manner, the tablet container  20  including a bottom wall portion  25  formed with a discharge port  28  to allow the plurality of tablets in the tablet containing space  22  to fall down one by one; a rotary shaft  41  having an axial line extending in a direction orthogonal to the bottom wall portion  25  of the tablet container  20 ; and a rotor  40  operable to rotate about the axial line in the tablet containing space  22  of the tablet container  20  along with rotation of the rotary shaft  41 . The rotor  40  includes a plurality of tablet receiving portions  67  configured to receive the tablets one by one and allow the tablets to pass therethrough to the discharge port  28 . The plurality of tablet receiving portions  67  each include a radially opening portion  67 A that opens in a radial direction of the rotary shaft, a pair of axially opening portions  67 B,  67 C that open on both sides in an axial direction in which the axial line extends, a facing wall portion  94 A that faces the radially opening portion, and a pair of side wall portions  61 ,  71  that face each other in a circumferential direction of the rotary shaft  41 . The rotor  40  that is used in the present invention includes a circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  externally mounted on the rotary shaft  41  to expand and contract the plurality of tablet receiving portions  67  in the circumferential direction in conjunction with each other, and a radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90 . The radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  is externally mounted on the rotary shaft, and includes a plurality of sliding members  94  respectively provided for the plurality of tablet receiving portions and a slide allowing holding member ( 91 ,  97 ). The plurality of sliding members  94  each include the facing wall portion  94 A at one end thereof and are slidable in the radial direction of the rotary shaft  41  to individually move the facing wall portion  94 A in the radial direction. The slide allowing holding member ( 91 ,  97 ) is configured to hold the plurality of sliding members  94  to be slidable in the radial direction. In the present invention, a constraining mechanism ( 47 ,  48 ,  50 ) is provided, and is configured to disable the plurality of sliding members  94  to slide with respect to the slide allowing holding member ( 91 ,  97 ) with the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  and the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  being externally mounted on the rotary shaft  41 . 
     In the present invention, to embody the function to expand and contract the tablet receiving portions, and the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism maintains the function to adjust the plurality of tablet receiving portions in conjunction with each other. But the radial expansion-contraction mechanism individually adjusts the tablet receiving portions, rather than maintaining the function to adjust the tablet receiving portions in conjunction with each other. As a result, the configuration of the link mechanism is simplified with no need for a complicated link mechanism which tends to be complicated and miniaturized. On the other hand, radial expansion and contraction of the tablet receiving portions is individually adjusted by sliding the plurality of sliding members  94 , and thus can be conveniently adjusted even with a small force. In the present invention, the constraining mechanism ( 47 ,  48 ,  50 ) is provided to be configured to disable the plurality of sliding members  94  to slide with respect to the slide allowing holding member ( 91 ,  94 ) after individual adjustment is all finished, which can easily prevent a change in the state of adjustment. 
     Preferably, the constraining mechanism ( 47 ,  48 ,  50 ) includes a pressing member  47  to be pressed against the plurality of sliding members  94  to hinder sliding of the plurality of sliding members  94 . The state of expansion and contraction of the tablet receiving portions is fixed by simply pressing the pressing member  47  against the radial expansion-contraction mechanism. Therefore, the plurality of sliding members  94  can be collectively fixed, even if the plurality of sliding members  94  are individually adjusted. 
     The radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  is disposed on the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  such that the plurality of facing wall portions  94 A are inserted into the plurality of tablet receiving portions  67 . The constraining mechanism ( 47 ,  48 ,  50 ) further includes a cap member  50  mounted to the rotary shaft to press the pressing member  47  disposed on the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  toward the plurality of sliding members  94 . With this configuration, the pressing member  47  can be pressed against the plurality of sliding members  97  by mounting the cap member  50 , and thus the constraining mechanism can be easily mounted through assembling the rotor. 
     Preferably, the slide allowing holding member ( 91 ,  97 ) includes a pair of sandwiching members ( 91 ,  97 ) configured to hold the plurality of sliding members  94  by sandwiching sliding portions of the sliding members  94  at both sides in the axial direction. Preferably, one of the pair of sandwiching members ( 91 ,  97 ) located on the pressing member  47  side includes a plurality of through grooves  92  formed to expose a part  95  of the plurality of sliding members  94  to be able to contact the pressing member  47 . With this configuration, the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  which includes the plurality of sliding members  94  can be handled as a single unit, even when the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  is separated from the rotary shaft and the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59 . As a result, radial expansion and contraction can be easily individually adjusted by sliding the plurality of sliding members  94 . 
     A protrusion  95  may be provided at the other end of each of the plurality of sliding members  94 , the protrusion  95  being configured to be located in a corresponding one of the through grooves  92  to be pressed by the pressing member  47 . The through grooves  92  and the protrusions  95  may be shaped such that the sliding members  94  are slidable only in the radial direction when the protrusions  95  are not pressed by the pressing member  47 . The protrusions  95  function as operation portions to be operated to slide the sliding members  94 , and additionally function as pressure receiving portions to intensively receive a pressing force from the pressing member  47 . As a result, the use of the protrusions  95  facilitates individually adjusting the positions of the sliding members  94  and collectively fixing the sliding members  94 . 
     Preferably, the through grooves  92  extend in the radial direction to a position on an inner side with respect to an outer peripheral edge of the one of the sandwiching members ( 91 ,  97 ). With this configuration, the range of movement of the protrusions  95  of the plurality of sliding members  94  is limited, which can prevent the sliding members  94  from excessively sliding to slip off from the sandwiching members ( 91 ,  97 ). 
     Preferably, a scale  96  is provided on respective surfaces of the sliding members  94  that face the sandwiching member  91  to indicate an amount of projection from the outer peripheral edge of the sandwiching member  91 . The plurality of sliding members  94  can be individually adjusted easily and immediately by setting a value on the scale of the plurality of sliding members to be adjusted to a measured dimension value or a scale value after radial expansion-contraction adjustment, after the dimension of the relevant portion of the tablet to be handled is measured or after radial expansion and contraction of any one of the plurality of sliding members  94  has been adjusted. 
     The circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  may include a first turning member  70  including one side wall portion  61  of the pairs of side wall portions disposed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, and operable to relatively turn about the axial line within a predetermined angular range, a second turning member  60  including the other side wall portion  71  of the pairs of side wall portions disposed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, and operable to relatively turn about the axial line within the predetermined angular range, and a link mechanism  80  configured to couple the first turning member  70  and the second turning member  60  in an interlocking manner. Preferably, the link mechanism  80  is configured such that, when one of the second turning member  60  and the first turning member  70  is turned toward one side in the circumferential direction by a predetermined angle through a manual operation, the other of the second turning member  60  and the first turning member  70  is turned toward the other side in the circumferential direction by an angle equal to the predetermined angle. 
     The link mechanism  80  includes a stationary link member  81  provided to be non-rotatable in the circumferential direction with respect to the rotary shaft  41 , a first link member  86 , one end of which is coupled to the first turning member  70  by a first turning pair ( 76 ,  88 ), a second link member  83 , one end of which is coupled to the second turning member  60  by a second turning pair ( 66 ,  84 ), a third turning pair ( 85 ,  87 ) configured to couple the other end of the first link member  86  and the other end of the second link member  83 , a first sliding pair ( 81 A,  85 ) provided between the stationary link member  81  and the third turning pair ( 85 ,  87 ) to allow the third turning pair to slide over a predetermined range in the radial direction of the rotary shaft, a second sliding pair ( 68 ,  76 ) provided between the first turning pair ( 76 ,  88 ) and the second turning member  60 , and a third sliding pair ( 66 ,  77 ) provided between the second turning pair ( 66 ,  84 ) and the first turning member  70 . Preferably, the stationary link member  81 , the first link member  70 , the second link member  60 , and the first sliding pair ( 76 ,  88 ) to the third sliding pair ( 66 ,  77 ) are configured such that, when one of the first turning member  70  and the second turning member  60  is turned over a predetermined angle in one direction about the axial line of the rotary shaft  41 , the other of the first turning member and the second turning member is turned over the predetermined angle in the other direction opposite to the one direction. When the link mechanism is configured in this manner, it is possible to inexpensively implement the link mechanism  80  and the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  with a small number of components. 
     In a tablet cassette of a type in which the tablet receiving portions are expanded and contracted in the circumferential direction, unnecessary spaces that are similar to but are not the tablet receiving portions are formed in the outer peripheral surface of the rotor between adjacent tablet receiving portions. Therefore, overhanging portions that overhang from the cap member are provided over the unnecessary spaces, in order to prevent the tablets from undesirably falling into the unnecessary spaces. However, the presence of the overhanging portions tends to extend the time for the tablets having come onto the overhanging portions to fall into the tablet receiving portions, which may incur a reduction in the efficiency of processing the tablets. It is conceivable to provide a tossing mechanism in which the rotor intermittently slightly tosses the tablets remaining on the overhanging portions along with rotation of the rotor, as illustrated in  FIGS.  1 ,  4   ( a ), and  4 ( c ) of Patent Document 3. With measures in which a tossing mechanism is used, members that constitute the tossing mechanism are added to not only the tablet container but also the rotor, complicating the structure of the rotor. Moreover, modifying the rotor requires a relatively large burden, and is not easily achieved by just additionally processing the rotor, unlike the tablet container. Thus, it is desired to implement a tablet cassette capable of resolving stagnation of the tablets in the tablet container even without modifying the rotor. 
     Thus, in another aspect of the present invention, a lid portion  29  of the tablet container  20  is provided with a suspended member  104  suspended from the lid portion to contact the tablets on the rotor  40  to move the tablets. By providing such a suspended member  104 , the suspended member  104  can act on the tablets on the rotor  40  to cause the tablets to fall down without providing a tossing mechanism. 
     A tablet moving mechanism  100  may be constituted from the suspended member  104 , a support structure  101  provided on a lower surface of the lid portion  29  to swingably support the suspended member  104 , and a weight portion  107  provided at a free end portion of the suspended member  104 . When such a structure is adopted, it is enough to mount the tablet moving mechanism only to the lid portion  29  of the tablet container, and it is not necessary to mount the tablet moving mechanism to the body portion of the tablet container or the rotor mounted therein. Moreover, the tablet moving mechanism may be mounted to the tablet cassette at times other than during manufacture of a new cassette. An aspect in which the support structure  101  is attached to the existing lid portion through additional processing etc. can be conveniently implemented by just replacing the existing lid portion with a lid portion to which the tablet moving mechanism has been mounted. 
     When the weight portion  107  suspended from the support structure on the lower surface of the lid portion via the suspended member  104  abuts against the tablets that have been moved along with rotation of the rotor  40 , the weight portion  107  is pushed by the tablets to be swung together with the suspended member  104 . In addition, the weight portion  107  is swung through deformation of the suspended member  104 . As a result, the weight portion  107  interferes with the tablets directly and gently, and thus rocks the tablets in the cassette by naturally acting on the tablets intensively at a necessary location. Thus, it is possible to implement a tablet cassette capable of resolving stagnation of the tablets in the cassette even without modifying the rotor. 
     The cap member  50  is shaped to stir tablets in the tablet containing space  22 ; and in the case where the cap member  50  is provided with a plurality of overhanging portions  52  extending in the radial direction except for areas above the plurality of tablet receiving portions  67 , the support structure  101  is structured such that the suspended member  104  is suspended to a position (preferably immediately above the overhanging portions  52 ) at which the suspended member  104  contacts the tablets remaining on the overhanging portions  52  to cause the tablets to fall into the tablet receiving portions  67 . With this configuration, the tablets residing on the overhanging portions are efficiently guided to the tablet receiving portions through interference with the weight portion. 
     The suspended member  104  may be structured to be elastically deformed according to displacement of the weight portion  107 . For example, the suspended member  10  may include a flexible tubular member  106  and an elongated elastic member  105  housed in a cavity of the tubular member  106 . With this configuration, a suspended member with both suitable deformability and a suitable restoring force can be conveniently implemented. 
     The elastic member  106  may be a coil spring, and the weight portion  107  may be coupled to the coil spring but not be coupled to the tubular member  106 . With this configuration, when the weight portion  107  is subjected to an external force applied in a direction different from the swinging direction, e.g. an external force applied to expand the suspended member  104  in the longitudinal direction, the coil spring is expanded to mitigate a shock due to abrupt application of the external force and enhance the free mobility of the weight portion to allow the weight portion to smoothly escape. As a result, a shock is mitigated even when the weight portion directly hits the tablets. 
     A retaining portion  108  on which at least one of the suspended member  104  and the weight portion  107  is retained may be provided on the lower surface of the lid portion  29 . In this case, the support structure  101  is configured such that the suspended member  104  which has been released from the retaining portion  108  is gradually brought into a suspended state as the tablets in the tablet containing space  22  are decreased. By providing the retaining portion to allow the suspended member or the weight portion to be mounted to and removed from the retaining portion, it is possible to retain the suspended member or the weight portion on the retaining portion when the tablet moving mechanism is not used, and to disengage the suspended member or the weight portion from the retaining portion to be suspended when the tablet moving mechanism is used. 
     Thus, preferably, the weight portion  107  is suspended over a movement path of the plurality of tablet receiving portions  67  when the suspended member  104  is suspended by only a weight of the weight portion  107 . With this configuration, the weight portion  107  is suspended over (preferably directly over) the movement path of the tablet receiving portions  22  when the amount of tablets contained has become small during use of the tablet moving mechanism. Then, the tablets staying on portions of the rotor  40  that define the tablet receiving portions  22  etc. collide against the weight portion  107  to be moved mainly in a direction along the movement path of the tablet receiving portions  22 , and thus to be efficiently guided to the tablet receiving portions  22 . 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a vertical sectional view of a tablet cassette with a lid portion being removed. 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of a rotor. 
         FIG.  3    is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the rotor. 
         FIG.  4    is an exploded perspective view of the rotor during assembling. 
         FIG.  5    is a developed perspective view of a rotary shaft and a circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism. 
         FIG.  6    is a developed perspective view in which the rotary shaft and a stationary link member of a link mechanism are separated from each other. 
         FIG.  7    is a developed perspective view of a first link member and a second link member of the link mechanism. 
         FIG.  8    is a developed perspective view of a first turning member of the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism and the link members of the link mechanism. 
         FIG.  9    is a developed perspective view of the link members, the first turning member, and a second turning member of the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism. 
         FIG.  10    is a developed perspective view of the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism including the stationary link member. 
         FIG.  11    is a developed perspective view of the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism and a spacer. 
         FIG.  12    is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the appearance of an assembly of the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism with the rotary shaft and the spacer. 
         FIG.  13    is a developed perspective view of a radial expansion-contraction mechanism. 
         FIG.  14    is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of the radial expansion-contraction mechanism in an unadjusted state in which four sliding members of the radial expansion-contraction mechanism are not aligned in radial position. 
         FIG.  15    is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of the radial expansion-contraction mechanism in an adjusted state in which the four sliding members are aligned in radial position. 
         FIG.  16    is a vertical sectional view of a tablet cassette according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  17    is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of a rotor and a tablet moving mechanism. 
         FIG.  18    is a developed perspective view of the tablet moving mechanism. 
         FIG.  19    illustrates a state in which a suspended portion of the tablet moving mechanism is suspended to be swingable. 
         FIG.  20    illustrates a state in which the suspended portion is raised to be held on a placement portion. 
         FIG.  21    illustrates the structure of a tablet moving mechanism according to a modification example of the second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Tablet cassettes according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. 
     First Embodiment 
       FIG.  1    is a vertical sectional view of a tablet cassette  10  with a lid portion being removed. 
       FIG.  2    is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of a rotor  40 .  FIG.  3    is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the rotor  40 .  FIG.  4    is an exploded perspective view of the rotor  40  during assembly. Some units in  FIG.  4    are not exploded. 
       FIG.  5    is a developed perspective view of a rotation transmission shaft, that is, a rotary shaft  41 , and a circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59 .  FIG.  6    is a developed perspective view in which the rotary shaft  41  and a stationary link member  81  of a link mechanism  80  are separated from each other.  FIG.  7    is a developed perspective view of a first link member  86  and a second link member  83  of the link mechanism  80 .  FIG.  8    is a developed perspective view of a first turning member  70  of the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  and the link members  83 ,  86  of the link mechanism  80 .  FIG.  9    is a developed perspective view of the link members  83 ,  86 , the first turning member  70 , and a second turning member  60  of the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59 .  FIG.  10    is a developed perspective view of the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  including the stationary link member  81 .  FIG.  11    is a developed perspective view of the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  with the rotary shaft  41  and a spacer  46 .  FIGS.  10  and  11    are each a two-dimensional representation of a 3D CAD drawing, unlike the other drawings.  FIG.  12    is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the appearance of an assembly of the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  with the rotary shaft  41  and the spacer  46 .  FIG.  13    is a developed perspective view of a radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90 .  FIG.  14    is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  in an unadjusted state in which four sliding members  94  of the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  are not aligned in radial position.  FIG.  15    is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  in an adjusted state in which the four sliding members  94  are aligned in radial position. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  1   , the tablet cassette  10  includes a tablet container  20  obtained by partially modifying the tablet container according to the related art (see Patent Documents 1 to 3, for example), and a rotor  40  modified in configuration to add a function to expand and contract tablet receiving portions  67  while maintaining compatibility for integration into the tablet container  20 . The tablet container  20  mainly includes a box-shaped container body  21  manufactured through injection molding etc. of plastic. The internal space of the container body  21  serves as a tablet containing space  22  for containing a large number of tablets in a random manner. The tablet containing space  22  may be opened and closed by a lid portion (not illustrated) to be replenished with tablets etc. A grip  23  for carriage is provided on the outer side of the container body  21 . The lower portion of the container body  21  serves as a mount-unmount portion  24  for a drive portion (base) (not illustrated). 
     The tablet container  20  includes a discharge port  28  formed to penetrate one location (left side in  FIG.  1 ( a ) ) of a bottom wall portion  25  of the container body  21 . When a tablet is carried to a location above the discharge port  28  through rotation of the rotor  40 , the tablet falls downward through the discharge port  28 . When a partition holding portion  31  configured to allow a partition unit  30  to be removably mounted to the container body  21  of the tablet container  20  is mounted to the container body  21  from the outer side so that a partitioning portion  32  is inserted into the tablet containing space  22  through a slit in the container body  21 , the partitioning portion  32  is positioned above the discharge port  28 . In this state, tablets located below the partitioning portion  32  fall down through the discharge port  28 , but tablets above the partitioning portion  32  are hindered from falling down. This structure allows the tablets to successively fall down. 
     The tablet container  20  is configured such that a belt holding portion  33  can be mounted or removably mounted to the container body  21  from the outside. The belt holding portion  33  holds an elastic endless belt  34 , which is made of rubber in a round string shape, for example, in a tense state. When the partition unit  30  is mounted to the container body  21  and the endless belt  34  is inserted into the tablet containing space  22  through the slit in the container body  21 , the endless belt  34  is positioned above the discharge port  28  and the partitioning portion  32 . 
     The rotor  40  (see  FIGS.  1  to  3   ) is housed in the tablet container  20  in the state of being rotatable about the axial line of the rotary shaft  41 , as with the rotor according to the related art (see Patent Documents 1 to 3, for example). The rotor  40  defines a plurality of tablet receiving portions  67  (four tablet receiving portions  67  in the present example) on the bottom wall portion  25  of the tablet containing space  22 . The rotor  40  transfers the tablets, which have fallen into the tablet receiving portions  67 , to the discharge port  28  together with the tablet receiving portions  67  as the rotor  40  is rotated. In order to allow the plurality of tablet receiving portions  67  to be readily expanded and contracted, the rotor  40  includes a circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  operable to increase and reduce the width dimension of the tablet receiving portions  67 , a radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  operable to increase and reduce the radial dimension of the tablet receiving portions  67 , a pressing member  47 , and a cap member  50  provided at a head portion of the rotor, all of which are not provided in the related art. The components  59 ,  90 ,  47 ,  50  are externally mounted on the rotary shaft  41  as a leg portion of the rotor (also see  FIG.  4   ) to be axially rotated along with axial rotation of the rotary shaft  41 . 
     The rotary shaft  41  (see  FIGS.  1 ( a )  and  6 ) is inserted into a through hole  26  in the bottom wall portion  25  of the tablet container  20 , and rotatably penetrates the bottom wall portion  25 . A lower end portion  42  of the rotary shaft  41  is configured to project downward from the bottom wall portion  25  to be fitted and meshed with a rotary drive shaft of a drive portion (not illustrated). The rotary shaft  41  is configured such that an intermediate portion  43  is smaller in diameter than the lower end portion  42 , an upper end portion  44  is smaller in diameter than the intermediate portion  43 , and the intermediate portion  43  and the upper end portion  44  constitute an insertion portion to be positioned in the tablet containing space  22  inside the container body  21 . The circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59 , the pressing member  47 , the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90 , and the cap member  50  are externally mounted on the insertion portion of the rotary shaft  41 , sequentially in this order from the lower side. When the cap member  50  is screwed to the distal end of the rotary shaft  41  by a setscrew  48 , the cap member  50  exerts a pressing force to the lower members to fix such members to the rotary shaft  41  (see  FIGS.  1  to  4   ). By mounting the rotor  40  to the rotary shaft  41  in this manner, four tablet receiving portions  67  are defined between an inner peripheral surface  27  of the container body  21  and the rotor  40  (see  FIG.  3   ) in the present example. 
     The rotor  40  is mounted to and removed from the tablet container  20  in an integrated state in which the rotor  40  is totally assembled (see  FIGS.  1  to  3   ). The rotor  40  that is used in the present embodiment may be developed into units (groups) to be easily handled, before the rotor  40  is integrated or when the rotor  4  is removed from the tablet container  20  to adjust expansion and contraction of the tablet receiving portions  67 . Specifically, the rotor  40  is divided into units such as the rotary shaft  41  and the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59 , the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  provided thereabove, the pressing member  47 , the cap member  50 , and the setscrew  48 . The radial expansion-contraction mechanism, the pressing member  47 , the cap member  50 , and the setscrew  48  are mounted in this order to the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  and the rotary shaft  41  from above the upper end portion  44 . Next, when the distal end of the setscrew  48  is screwed into the upper end of the rotary shaft  41 , the members are securely coupled and integrated. When the setscrew  48  is rotated in the opposite direction, the members are loosened to allow the rotor  40  to be removed from the rotary shaft  41 . In the present embodiment, the pressing member  47 , the setscrew  48 , and the cap member  50  constitute a constraining mechanism ( 47 ,  48 ,  50 ) configured to disable a plurality of sliding members  94 , to be discussed later, to slide with respect to a slide allowing holding member ( 91 ,  97 ). 
     The circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  (see  FIGS.  1  to  4   ) is constituted from a second turning member  60  provided on the upper side, a first turning member  70 , and a link mechanism  80  provided therebetween in the present embodiment, in order to enable the four tablet receiving portions  67  to expand and contract in the circumferential direction in conjunction with each other. The second turning member  60 , the first turning member  70 , and the link mechanism  80  therebetween are integrated and unitized (grouped) when all such members are mounted to the rotary shaft  41  (see the lowermost portion of  FIG.  4    and  FIG.  12   ). To be discussed in detail, the stationary link member  81  of the link mechanism  80  is first mounted (see the lower half of  FIG.  5   ) to the intermediate portion  43  of the rotary shaft  41  (see  FIG.  6   ). 
     Next, the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  with the remaining members  83  to  88  of the link mechanism  80  being attached thereto is mounted to the rotary shaft  41  (see the lower half of  FIG.  11   ). In that event, the first turning member  70 , the link members  86 ,  85  of the link mechanism  80 , and the second turning member  60  may be mounted to the rotary shaft  41 , either one by one in this order (see  FIGS.  7  to  10   ) or after these members are assembled (see  FIG.  5   ). Further, a spacer  46  is mounted from above to the rotary shaft  41  with the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  being attached thereto (see  FIG.  11   ). Thus, the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  is assembled with the rotary shaft  41  and the spacer  46  being attached thereto (see  FIG.  12   ). 
     In contrast, the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  (see  FIG.  13   ) is configured to be integrated and unitized by sandwiching sliding portions  94 B of the four sliding members  94  between a pair of sandwiching members, namely, an upper sandwiching member  91  and a lower sandwiching member  97  respectively located at the upper and lower sides and then engaging portions  93  of the upper sandwiching member  91  and engaged portions  99  of the lower sandwiching member  97  with each other (see  FIG.  12   ). The radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  can be integrated and unitized (grouped) without being mounted to the rotary shaft  41 , and handled as an integrated object (see  FIGS.  4 ,  14 , and  15   ). 
     [Circumferential Expansion-Contraction Mechanism] 
     The second turning member  60  (see the upper half of  FIG.  9   ) of the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  includes a base portion  64  shaped in a circular plate and having a through hole  65  formed at the center thereof to allow insertion of the intermediate portion  43  of the rotary shaft  41  therethrough, four side wall portions  61  configured to radially project in the radial direction at equal angles from the base portion  64 , and a pin  66  provided to project from the lower surface of the base portion  64 . One surface  62  of each of the side wall portions  61  forms one of circumferential facing surfaces of each of the tablet receiving portions  67 . A plurality of grooves  63  (four are illustrated in the drawing) are formed at the outer end portion of the side wall portions  61 , in order to avoid interference with the partitioning portion  32 . An arcuate through hole  68  is formed to penetrate the base portion  64  of the second turning member  60 , in order to avoid interference with a pin  76  of the first turning member  70  as discussed in detail next (also see the lower half of  FIG.  9   ). 
     The first turning member  70  (see  FIG.  8   ) includes a base portion  74  in a circular plate shape in which a through hole  75  that allows insertion of the intermediate portion  43  of the rotary shaft  41  therethrough is formed at the center, four side wall portions  71  configured to radially project in the radial direction at equal angles from the base portion  74 , and a pin  76  provided to project from the upper surface of the base portion  74 . One surface  72  of each of the side wall portions  71  forms the other of the circumferential facing surfaces of each of the tablet receiving portions  67 . A plurality of grooves  73  (four are illustrated in the drawing, the same number as that of the corresponding grooves  63  discussed above) are also formed at the outer end portion of the side wall portions  71 , in order to avoid interference with the partitioning portion  32 . An arcuate through hole  77  is also formed to penetrate the base portion  74  of the first turning member  70 , in order to avoid interference with the pin  66  of the second turning member  60  (also see the lower half of  FIG.  8    and  FIG.  10   ). Both the second turning member  60  and the first turning member  70  are loosely engaged with the rotary shaft  41  with the through holes  65 ,  75  being slightly larger than the intermediate portion  43  of the rotary shaft  41 , and thus are rotatable about the rotary shaft  41  inserted therein. 
     The link mechanism  80  (see  FIGS.  2  and  5  to  10   ) is configured such that, when one of the second turning member  60  and the first turning member  70  is turned toward one side in the circumferential direction by a predetermined angle through a manual operation, the other of the second turning member  60  and the first turning member  70  is turned toward the other side in the circumferential direction by an angle equal to the predetermined angle. The link mechanism  80  includes a first link member  86  (lower link member) and a second link member  83  (upper link member). At one end portion of the second link member  83 , a circular through hole  84  is formed and at the other end portion of the second link member  83 , a coupling pin  85  is formed to project. At one end portion of the first link member  86 , a circular through hole  87  is formed and at the other end of the first link member  86 , a circular through hole  88  is formed to penetrate (see  FIGS.  7  and  8   ). 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  6   , the stationary link member  81  has a pair of elongated through holes  81 A,  81 A formed at positions facing each other in the radial direction of an annular body to extend in the radial direction. The stationary link member  81  includes a pair of hook members  82 ,  82  provided at the inner peripheral portion of a through hole  81 C formed at the center of an annular body  81 B to face each other in the radial direction of the annular body  81 B and extend along the axial line of the rotary shaft  41 . The pair of hook members  82 ,  82  each integrally include a hook body  82 A, and a hook member  82 B. The side sectional surface of the hook body  82 A is in a rectangular shape to contact a pair of flat surface portions  43 A,  43 A provided on the intermediate portion  43  of the rotary shaft  41  to face each other in the radial direction. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  11   , the stationary link member  81  is non-rotatable in the circumferential direction with respect to the rotary shaft  41  with the hook bodies  82 A of the pair of hook members  82 ,  82  contacting the flat surface portions  43 A,  43 A of the intermediate portion  43  of the rotary shaft. The hook portions  82 B,  82 B of the pair of hook members  82 ,  82  are engaged with a tapered surface  65 A formed at the inner edge portion of the through hole  65  formed in the second turning member  60 . This prevents the second turning member  60  from slipping off. The second turning member  60  and the first turning member  70  are rotatable about the rotary shaft  41  when the setscrew  48  illustrated in  FIGS.  1  to  4    is loosened. 
     One end of the first link member  86  is coupled to the first turning member  70  by a first turning pair (pin  76  and through hole  88 ). One end of the second link member  83  is coupled to the second turning member  60  by a second turning pair (pin  66  and through hole  84  in  FIGS.  9  and  10   ). The other end of the first link member  86  and the other end of the second link member  83  are coupled to each other by a third turning pair ( 85  and through hole  87 ). A first sliding pair (elongated through hole  81 A and pin  85 ) is formed between the stationary link member  81  and the third turning pair (pin  85  and through hole  87 ) to allow the third turning pair (pin  85  and through hole  87 ) to slide over a predetermined range in the radial direction of the rotary shaft  41 . A second sliding pair (arcuate through hole  68  and pin  76 ) is formed between the first turning pair (pin  76  and through hole  88 ) and the second turning member  60 . A third sliding pair (pin  66  and arcuate elongated through hole  77 ) is formed between the second turning pair (pin  66  provided on second turning member  60  and through hole  84  in  FIGS.  9  and  10   ) and the first turning member  70 . 
     The stationary link member  81 , the first link member  86 , the second link member  83 , and the first sliding pair (elongated through hole  81 A and pin  85 ) to the third sliding pair (pin  66  and arcuate elongated through hole  77 ) are configured such that, when one of the first turning member  70  and the second turning member  60  is turned by a predetermined angle in one direction about the axial line of the rotary shaft  41 , the other of the first turning member  70  and the second turning member  60  is turned by the predetermined angle in the other direction opposite to the one direction. When the link mechanism  80  is configured in this manner, it is possible to inexpensively implement the link mechanism  80  and the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  with a small number of components. 
     In the link mechanism  80 , the elongated through hole  81 A formed in the stationary link member  81  and extending in the radial direction regulates motion of the pin  85  of the first sliding pair to the radial direction, and the arcuate through hole  77  formed in the first turning member  70  and the arcuate through hole  68  formed in the second turning member  60  regulate motion of the pin  76  of the second sliding pair and the pin  66  of the third sliding pair to the circumferential direction. As a result, when one of the first turning member  70  and the second turning member  60  is moved in the circumferential direction, the other can be moved in the opposite circumferential direction in an interlocking manner. 
     Consequently, the circumferential dimensions of the plurality of tablet receiving portions  67  can be adjusted in an interlocking manner without changing the center positions of the tablet receiving portions  67 . 
     [Radial Expansion-Contraction Mechanism] 
     As illustrated in  FIGS.  4  and  13  to  15   , the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  individually expands and contracts the plurality of tablet receiving portions  67  in the radial direction through a manual operation. The radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  is externally mounted on the rotary shaft  41 , and includes a plurality of sliding members  94  respectively provided for the plurality of tablet receiving portions  67 , and a slide allowing holding member ( 91 ,  97 ). The plurality of sliding members  94  each include the facing wall portion  94 A at one end thereof and are slidable in the radial direction of the rotary shaft  41  to individually move the facing wall portion  94 A in the radial direction. The slide allowing holding member ( 91 ,  97 ) is configured to hold the plurality of sliding members  94  to be slidable in the radial direction. In the present embodiment, a constraining mechanism ( 47 ,  48 ,  50 ) is provided to be configured to disable the plurality of sliding members  94  to slide with respect to the slide allowing holding member ( 91 ,  97 ) with the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  and the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  externally mounted on the rotary shaft  41 . Radial expansion and contraction of the plurality of tablet receiving portions  67  is individually adjusted by sliding the plurality of sliding members  94 . Thus, such adjustment can be readily made even with a small force. The constraining mechanism ( 47 ,  48 ,  50 ) is provided to be configured to disable the plurality of sliding members  94  to slide with respect to the slide allowing holding member ( 91 ,  94 ) after individual adjustment is all finished. The constraining mechanism can easily prevent a change in the state of adjustment. 
     The constraining mechanism ( 47 ,  48 ,  50 ) includes the pressing member  47  to be pressed against the plurality of sliding members  94  to hinder sliding of the plurality of sliding members  94 . The state of expansion and contraction of the tablet receiving portions is fixed by simply pressing the pressing member  47  against the radial expansion-contraction mechanism. Therefore, the plurality of sliding members  94  can be collectively fixed, even if the plurality of sliding members  94  are individually adjusted. 
     The radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  is disposed on the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  such that the plurality of facing wall portions  94 A are inserted into the plurality of tablet receiving portions  67 . The constraining mechanism ( 47 ,  48 ,  50 ) further includes a cap member  50  mounted to the rotary shaft to press the pressing member  47  disposed on the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  toward the plurality of sliding members  94 . With this configuration, the pressing member  47  can be pressed against the plurality of sliding members  94  by mounting the cap member  50 , and thus the constraining mechanism can be easily mounted through the rotor assembly work. 
     The slide allowing holding member ( 91 ,  97 ) includes the upper sandwiching member  91  and the lower sandwiching member  97  (a pair of sandwiching members) that hold the plurality of sliding members  94  by sandwiching the sliding portions  94 B of the sliding members  94  at both sides in the axial direction. In the present embodiment, the upper sandwiching member  91  and the lower sandwiching member  97  are unitized by engaging the engaging portions  93  of the upper sandwiching member  91  and the engaged portions  99  of the lower sandwiching member  97  with each other (see  FIG.  12   ). The upper sandwiching member  91 , which is one of the upper sandwiching member  91  and the lower sandwiching member  97  positioned on the pressing member  47  side, has a plurality of through grooves  92  formed to expose a part (protrusion  95 ) of the plurality of sliding members  94  to be able to contact the pressing member  47 . Linear guide paths  98  are formed in the upper surface of the lower sandwiching member  97  (see  FIG.  13   ) to extend straight from the center to the outer edge. When the upper sandwiching member  91  and the lower sandwiching member  97  are vertically stacked on each other, each pair of the through groove  92  and the guide path  98  arranged vertically extend in the radial direction in parallel with each other. 
     The sliding members  94  (see  FIG.  13   ) each include the facing wall portion  94 A that is vertically elongated to face the tablet receiving portion  67 , the sliding portion  94 B bent at the upper end portion of the facing wall portion  94 A to extend horizontally, and the protrusion  95  that protrudes upward from the distal end of the sliding portion  94 B. That is, the protrusion  95  is provided at the other end of each of the plurality of sliding members  94 , and is configured to be located in a corresponding one of the through grooves  92  to be pressed by the pressing member  47 . The through groove  92  and the protrusion  95  are shaped such that the sliding member  94  is slid in only the radial direction when the protrusion  95  is not pressed by the pressing member  47 . The protrusions  95  function as operation portions to be operated to slide the sliding members  94 , and additionally function as pressure receiving portions to intensively receive a pressing force from the pressing member  47 . The pressing member  47  plays the role of naturally pressing the protrusions  95  by abutting against the protrusions  95  of the plurality of sliding members  94  which are inevitably subjected to a certain degree of manufacturing error. Therefore, the pressing member  47  is preferably formed from a material with better deformation performance and cushioning performance than those of the cap member  50 . Specifically, the pressing member  47  is formed from an elastic material such as silicon rubber. The pressing member  47  is not formed from the same material as the material of the cap member  50  since it is not integrated with the cap member  50 . 
     The radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  is completed by placing the sliding portions  94 B of the sliding members  94  in the guide paths  98  of the lower sandwiching member  97  with the facing wall portions  94 A of the sliding members  94  projecting from the outer edge of the lower sandwiching member  97 , and then placing the upper sandwiching member  91  on top of the lower sandwiching member  97  to engage the members  91  and  97  with each other (see  FIGS.  14  and  15   ). 
     In the thus configured radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90 , the sliding portions of the sliding members  94  are sandwiched from the upper and lower sides by the upper sandwiching member  91  and the lower sandwiching member  97  to be held in the guide paths  98 , and the protrusions  95  of the sliding members  94  are inserted into the through grooves  92  from below to slightly project upward. Therefore, the sliding members  94  can be individually drawn outward in the radial direction (see  FIG.  14   ) and pushed inward in the radial direction (see  FIG.  15   ). Moreover, movement of the protrusions  95  in the radially outward direction is blocked at the outer end of the through grooves  92  by the protrusions  95  and the outer edge portion of the upper sandwiching member  91  abutting against each other. Thus, an undesired occurrence of the sliding members  94  slipping off from the slide allowing holding member ( 91 ,  97 ) is not caused. 
     In this manner, the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  allows the tablet receiving portions  67  to be individually expanded and contracted in the radial direction by individually moving the sliding members  94  into and out of the slide allowing holding member ( 91 ,  97 ) using a finger etc. A scale  96  is provided on respective surfaces of the sliding members  94  that face the upper sandwiching member  91  to indicate an amount of projection from the outer peripheral edge of the upper sandwiching member  91 . The plurality of sliding members  94  can be individually adjusted easily and immediately by setting a value on the scale of the plurality of sliding members to be adjusted to a measured dimension value or a scale value after radial expansion-contraction adjustment, after the dimension of the relevant portion of the tablet to be handled is measured or after radial expansion and contraction of any one of the plurality of sliding members  94  has been adjusted. The plurality of sliding members  94  can be aligned in radial position easily and adequately by comparing the scale  96  and the outer peripheral surface of the upper sandwiching member  91  (see  FIG.  14   ). 
     When the pressing member  47  and the cap member  50  are placed on the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  fitted at the upper end portion  44  of the rotary shaft  41  and fastened using the setscrew  48  as illustrated in  FIG.  4   , the pressing member  47  is pressed against the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  to press the protrusions  95  (see  FIG.  3   ), which adequately hinders radial movement of the sliding members  94 . 
     In the present embodiment, the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  which includes the plurality of sliding members  94  can be handled as a single unit, even when the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  is separated from the rotary shaft and the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59 . As a result, radial expansion and contraction can be easily individually adjusted by sliding the plurality of sliding members  94 . 
     [Operation According to First Embodiment] 
     The use and operation of the tablet cassette  10  will be described below with reference to the drawings etc. discussed above. 
     It is necessary to adapt the size of the tablet receiving portions  67  of the tablet cassette  10  to the size of tablets prior to the use of the tablets. The size of the tablet receiving portions  67  is manually adjusted. The adjustment is basically performed on the rotor  40  in the state of being removed from the tablet container  20  (see  FIGS.  3  and  4   ). The radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  and the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  are separated from each other when the setscrew  48  is rotated and extracted (see  FIG.  4   ). An adjustment is made on each of the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  and the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59 . In that event, the adjustment may be made by causing the tablet receiving portions  67  to follow a tablet with the tablet contained in any of the tablet receiving portions  67 , or may be made by measuring the size etc. of a tablet and varying the circumferential width and the radial dimension of the tablet receiving portions  67  on the basis of the measured value. In the case of the tablet cassette  10 , the former method is suitably used to adjust the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59 , and the latter method is suitably used to adjust the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90 . 
     To adjust the circumferential width of the tablet receiving portions  67  using the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  (see  FIGS.  11  and  12   ), a side wall portion  61  and a side wall portion  71  that face each other across one of the four tablet receiving portions  67  are separated from each other; a tablet is put into the tablet receiving portion  67 ; the side wall portion  61  and the side wall portion  71  are moved closer to each other until the tablet is sandwiched; and then the clearance between the side wall portion  61  and the side wall portion  71  is slightly widened. When the circumferential width of the tablet receiving portion  67  to be operated is increased and reduced to a width that is necessary for successive passage of the tablets, the circumferential width of all the four tablet receiving portions  67  is adjusted to a width that is necessary for successive passage of the tablets at the same time in an interlocking manner. Therefore, adjustment of the circumferential expansion-contraction can be made collectively and adequately, even if there are a plurality or a large number of tablet receiving portions  67 , and thus can be finished conveniently and immediately. 
     To adjust the radial circumferential width of the tablet receiving portions  67  using the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90  (see  FIGS.  14  and  15   ), the thickness and the radial width of a tablet are first measured using a ruler etc. Then, each of the four sliding members  94  is drawn out (see  FIG.  14   ) and pushed in (see  FIG.  15   ) so that a scale line on the scale  96  that indicates a value corresponding to the measured width comes directly under the radially outer end of the upper sandwiching member  91 . This adjustment can be performed conveniently and immediately by referencing the scale  96 , and thus the burden of adjustment is not increased even if the adjustment is repeatedly performed a number of times corresponding to the number of the sliding members  94 . 
     Next, the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90 , the pressing member  47 , and the cap member  50  (see  FIG.  4   ) that have been separated from the rotary shaft  41  are returned to the rotary shaft  41  with which the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59  has been fitted, and then the setscrew  48  is tightened (see  FIG.  3   ), thereby finishing the adjustment for the rotor  40 . When the rotor  40  is mounted back to the tablet container  20 , the tablet cassette  10  can be used to contain desired tablets in a random manner and successively discharge the tablets. The tablet cassette  10  is replenished with an appropriate amount of tablets. One of tablet cassettes that is mounted to a tablet dispensing apparatus etc. and that can be dispensed with for the moment is selected and removed from a drive portion, and the tablet cassette  10  is attached to the drive portion. 
     In the case where the tablets are of a small type among tablets that can be handled by the tablet cassette  10 , the side wall portions  61 ,  71  approach the sliding members  94  with the facing clearance between the side wall portions  61 ,  71  being reduced, and appear under slits  53  of the cap member  50  (see  FIGS.  3  and  4   ). The sliding members  94  also approach the inner peripheral surface  27  of the container body  21  to reduce the facing clearance (see  FIG.  1   ), and appear under the slits  53  of the cap member  50 . A large portion of the facing wall portion  94 A of the sliding members  94  that appear under the slits  53  is a smooth curved surface, and thus tablets having fallen onto the curved surface from a center portion  51  etc. of the cap member  50  quickly fall into the tablet receiving portions  67  without staying on the curved surface. 
     In the case where the width of the tablets is slightly larger, the side wall portions  61 ,  71  are accordingly moved away through adjustment, and thus the side wall portions  61 ,  71  are slightly moved away from the sliding members  94 , and partially hidden under overhanging portions  52  of the cap member  50 . However, the side wall portions  61 ,  71  are moved in opposite directions over the same distance, and thus the circumferential position of the tablet receiving portions  67  is maintained at the center position with respect to the slits  53  between the overhanging portions  52  of the cap member  50 , and the circumferential position of the sliding members  94  in the tablet receiving portions  67  is also maintained at the center position. As a result, an undesired occurrence of the tablets falling into a gap between the side wall portions  61 ,  71  and the sliding member  94  is avoided, even if such a gap is widened, and the tablets fall into the tablet receiving portions  67 . 
     In the case where the width of the tablets is still larger, the side wall portions  61 ,  71  are accordingly significantly moved away through adjustment, and thus the side wall portions  61 ,  71  are mostly or entirely hidden under the overhanging portions  52  of the cap member  50 . In this case, the circumferential width of the upper end portion of the tablet receiving portions  67  is regulated to the upper limit or less of an appropriate range by the slits  53  of the cap member  50 , both the positional relationship between the circumferential centers of the tablet receiving portions  67  and the slits  53  and the positional relationship between the circumferential centers of the tablet receiving portions  67  and the sliding members  94  are maintained, and thus the tablets fall into the tablet receiving portions  67 . 
     In the case where the tablets are slightly larger also in the thickness direction, further, the sliding members  94  are retracted toward the rotary shaft  41  through adjustment made according to the thickness of the tablets. The sliding members  94  are moved away from the inner peripheral surface  27  of the container body  21 , and a part of a bent portion of the sliding members  94  is hidden under the center portion  51  of the cap member  50 . In the case where the thickness of the tablets is much larger, most of the sliding members  94  is hidden under the center portion  51  of the cap member  50  through adjustment made according to the thickness. In any case, the tablets fall into only the tablet receiving portions  67 . 
     In the cap member  50  of the tablet cassette  10  (see  FIG.  4   ), the circumferential width of the overhanging portions  52  is larger than the circumferential width of the slits  53 . Therefore, the tablets tend to stay on the overhanging portions  52  compared to the tablet cassette with the conventional structure. However, the endless belt  34  is provided above the overhanging portions  52  (see  FIG.  1 (A) ), and thus the tablets placed and carried on the overhanging portions  52  abut against the endless belt  34  to receive a reaction force from the endless belt  34  before being moved over the entire circumference. As a result, the tablets are blocked at the endless belt  34  to change their posture or be pushed up to the center portion  51  of the cap member  50 . Then, if the next tablet receiving portion  67  to come is empty, the tablets on the cap member  50  fall into the tablet receiving portion  67 . If the next tablet receiving portion  67  is not empty, the tablets stay above the partitioning portion  32 , even if the tablets fall halfway into the tablet receiving portion  67 , and pass above the discharge port  28 , and thereafter fall to the bottom of the tablet receiving portion  67  that has been emptied. Therefore, the tablets are successively discharged adequately without a significant delay. 
     In the present embodiment, the link member is not used for the radial expansion-contraction mechanism  90 . In the circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism  59 , the link mechanism  80  is constituted from three link members, namely the second link member  83 , the first link member  86 , and the stationary link member  81  (see  FIG.  7   ), which reduces the number of components. Therefore, looseness, backlash, etc. are not likely to be caused between the link members, and only a small space is required for the link members to move (see  FIGS.  2  and  3   ). In addition, an undesired occurrence of an event such as entry and accumulation of powder generated from the tablets in between the link members is also suppressed. 
     In the present embodiment, the members that constitute the rotor  40  are disposed with little gap therebetween (see  FIG.  2   , for example) when not only the link members but also the other members are assembled, and thus a similar effect is exhibited. The positional relationship among the members that constitute the rotor  40  is fixed by simply tightening the setscrew  48 . Therefore, the toughness and the durability of the rotor  40  are improved. 
     [Others] 
     In the embodiment described above, a row of lines are indicated as the scale  96  on the upper surface of the sliding portions  94 B of the sliding members  94  (see  FIGS.  13  to  15   ). However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, other auxiliary indications such as numerical values for guidance may also be indicated. The scale  96  may be indicated on a side surface of the sliding members  94 , or may be indicated on both the upper surface and a side surface thereof. The lines as the scale  96  may be formed to be recessed by engraving. In that manner, the sliding members  94  can be advanced and retracted with the tip of a nail being caught in the recess of a scale line during adjustment, which allows the sliding members  94  to be aligned easily and adequately. 
     In the embodiment described above, four tablet receiving portions  67  are provided. However, the number of the tablet receiving portions  67  is not limited to four, and may be more or less than four. In the embodiment described above, the pressing member  47  is provided as a single independent object. However, the pressing member  47  may be provided as bonded etc. to the lower surface of the cap member  50 . 
     In the embodiment described above, the partitioning portion  32  is described as a thin plate-like body. However, the partitioning portion  32  is not limited to a plate-like body, and an elastic endless belt similar to the endless belt  34  can be adopted as the partitioning portion  32 , although the partition holding portion  31  is complicated. That allows upper and lower tablets to be adequately partitioned, even if size adjustment of the tablet receiving portions  67  is more or less rough, thereby facilitating size adjustment of the tablet receiving portions  67 . The condition for forming the grooves  63 ,  73  for avoiding interference between the partitioning portion  32  and the side wall portions  61 ,  71  is also relaxed. 
     Second Embodiment 
     In a second embodiment illustrated in  FIGS.  16  to  18   , a tablet moving mechanism  100  has been added to the first embodiment described with reference to  FIGS.  1  to  15   . Thus, in the following description, members that are common to the members illustrated in  FIGS.  1  to  15    are given the same numerals as the numerals given in  FIGS.  1  to  15    to omit description. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  18   , the tablet moving mechanism  100  includes a support structure  101  attached and fixed to the lower surface of a lid portion  29  of the tablet container  20 , and a suspended member  104  and a weight portion  107  attached to the support structure  101  through a support shaft  103  to be suspended and swingable during use. The support structure  101  is generally elongated horizontally, and has end portions  109 A,  109 B for retention at both ends in the longitudinal direction. A shaft support portion  102  configured to hold the support shaft  103  to be axially rotatable is integrally formed near one end portion  109 B of the support structure  101 . A retaining portion  108  for placing the suspended member  104  thereon is integrally formed near the other end portion  109 A of the support structure  101 . 
     The suspended member  104  has a straight bar structure obtained by combining an elastic member  105  formed from a coil spring with a suitable resilient force and a tubular member  106  formed from a flexible member such as a plastic tube that is as long as or slightly shorter than the elastic member  105 . The elastic member  105  is received inside the tubular member  106 , with one end portion of the elastic member  105  being coupled to the support shaft  103  and with the other end portion of the elastic member  105  being coupled to the weight portion  107 . In contrast, the tubular member  106  is not coupled to the support shaft  103  or the weight portion  107 . The inside diameter of the tubular member  106  is smaller than the length of the support shaft  103  and the radial dimension of the weight portion  107 . Thus, the tubular member  106  continuously stays between the support shaft  103  and the weight portion  107  without slipping off from the elastic member  105 . 
     The weight portion  107  is a spherical body all made of rubber with soft touch, or a spherical body with its weight being increased by containing a weight member made of metal etc. as a core portion. Such a weight portion  107  and the suspended member  104  discussed above are coupled to the support structure  101  by inserting the support shaft  103  into the shaft support portion  102 , assembling the tablet moving mechanism  100  (see  FIG.  19   ). In the tablet moving mechanism  100 , as illustrated in  FIG.  19   , the weight portion  107  and the suspended member  104  are suspended with the weight portion  107  being located at the lowermost position in a free state in which neither the suspended member  104  nor the weight portion  107  is constrained. Meanwhile, as illustrated in  FIG.  20   , the suspended member  104  is directed horizontally along the lower surface of the lid portion  29  which is provided above the support structure  101  and the weight portion  107  is located close to the lower surface of the lid portion  29  in a state (placed state) in which the suspended member  104 , for example, of the suspended member  104  and the weight portion  107 , is placed on the retaining portion  108  to be constrained. 
     The support structure  101  of such a tablet moving mechanism  100  is attached to the lower surface of the lid portion  29  of the tablet container  20  with the shaft support portion  102  being positioned over a path through which the tablet receiving portions  67  are moved during rotation of the rotor  40 , or over a movement path of the overhanging portions  52  which is slightly higher. When the suspended member  104  and the weight portion  107  are brought into the free state, both the weight portion  107  and the suspended member  104  are suspended over the movement path of the tablet receiving portions  67  and, further, over the movement path of the overhanging portions  52 . The size of the weight portion  107  is preferably larger than the opening size of the tablet receiving portions  67  that have been expanded or the size of the overhanging portions  52 , in order to prevent the weight portion  107  from falling into the tablet receiving portions  67  even if the weight portion  107  is detached. 
     The use and operation of the tablet cassette  10  according to the second embodiment will be described next with reference to the drawings discussed above. It is assumed that the rotor  40  has already been inserted into the tablet container  20 , whereby adjustment has been finished to adapt the size of all the tablet receiving portions  67  to the tablets by manually operating the first turning member  70  and the second turning member  60 , and the partition unit  30  also has been adjusted to align the partitioning portion  32  etc. In this state, the tablet cassette  10  can be used to contain desired tablets in a random manner and successively discharge the tablets, and thus the tablet containing space  22  of the tablet cassette  10  is replenished with an appropriate amount of tablets by opening the lid portion  29  and inputting the tablets. 
     When the suspended member  104  is placed on the retaining portion  108  (see  FIG.  20   ), the suspended member  104  is disengaged from the retaining portion  108  so that the suspended member  104  and the weight portion  107  may be moved together with each other. That is, the weight portion  107  is brought into the free state in which the weight portion  107  may be suspended over the movement path of the tablet receiving portions  67  or the overhanging portions  52 . If there are no tablets there, the weight portion  107  hangs down. If there are tablets staying there, the weight portion  107  lands on the tablets to be stabilized. Then, the lid portion  29  of the tablet container  20  is closed (see  FIG.  16   ) so that the tablets do not spill out of the tablet containing space  22 , and the tablet cassette  10  is mounted to the drive portion (not illustrated). 
     When the tablet cassette  10  is driven by the drive portion, the rotor  40  is rotated, the first turning member  70  and the second turning member  60  are rotated, and as a result the tablet receiving portions  67  are moved forward with respect to the discharge port  28 . The tablets received in the tablet receiving portions  67  and carried under the partitioning portion  32  fall downward one by one through the discharge port  28 . In that event, the tablets placed on the rotor  40  roll down from the top of the cap member  50  or the top of the overhanging portions  52  to be received in the tablet receiving portions  67 , and the tablets placed on the tablets falling down into the tablet receiving portions  67  are brought closer to the top of the cap member  50  or the top of the overhanging portions  52 . All the tablets tend to be moved along a circular or annular path through rotational motion of the rotor  40 , although the degree may vary. 
     With such a tendency, in the case where a large number of tablets are placed on the rotor  40 , the tablets may be collectively moved as if the tablets formed a cluster. In the present embodiment, however, the weight portion  107  is positioned over the movement path of the tablets. Therefore, even if a cluster of a plurality of tablets is formed, the cluster of tablets collides against the weight portion  107  to be disentangled quickly and smoothly. As a result, the plurality of tablets successively fall and are then moved onto the rotor  40 , rather than staying as a cluster in the space above the rotor  40 . The tablets placed on the cap member  50  are moved into the tablet receiving portions  67  or onto the overhanging portions  52  by the slope on the surface of the cap member  50 . 
     When the tablets are successively discharged and there are fewer tablets remaining on the rotor  40 , the tablets that have failed to be received in the tablet receiving portions  67  remain on the upper surface of the overhanging portions  52 , since the tablets cannot stay on the sloping surface on the cap member  50  or the sloping surface on the inner wall of the tablet container  20 . However, the tablets remaining on the overhanging portions  52  pass through the location at which the weight portion  107  of the suspended member  104  is positioned along with rotation of the rotor  40 , and thus collide against the weight portion  107  and quickly fall into the tablet receiving portions  67 , rather than remaining on the overhanging portions  52 . In this manner, the tablets on the overhanging portions  52  of the rotor  40  are tossed by the direct colliding action of the weight portion  107  of the tablet moving mechanism  100  to be reliably moved, thereby efficiently feeding the tablets into the tablet receiving portions  67 . 
     [Modification of Tablet Moving Mechanism  100 ] 
       FIG.  21    is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of another tablet moving mechanism  100 ′.  FIG.  21    illustrates a state in which end portions  109 A and  109 B of the tablet moving mechanism  100  are retained on a pair of engaging portions  29 A attached to the lower surface of the lid portion  29 . 
     The tablet moving mechanism  100 ′ is different from the tablet moving mechanism  100  according to the second embodiment discussed above in that the weight portion  107  which is a spherical body made of rubber is replaced with a weight portion  107 ′ which is a short circular column made of metal and with a circular truncated cone. In this case, the weight portion  107 ′ has an increased weight, and thus provides an increased force to move the tablets. 
     In the case where the lid portion  29  of the tablet cassette  10  includes the pair of engaging portions  29 A, the tablet moving mechanism  100 ′ can be mounted to and removed from the lid portion  29  by retaining and releasing the end portions  109 A and  109 B of the support structure  101  on and from the engaging portions  29 A, and thus the tablet moving mechanism  100 ′ can be readily replaced. Moreover, the lid portion  29  of the container body  21  can be easily replaced, and thus a tablet cassette not equipped with the tablet moving mechanism  100 ,  100 ′ can be conveniently upgraded to the tablet cassette  10  equipped with the tablet moving mechanism  100 ,  100 ′. 
     In the embodiment described above, the tablet moving mechanism  100  is disposed such that the weight portion  107  is suspended at a location closer to the grip  23  of the tablet container  20  from the position of the axial center of the rotor  40  (see  FIG.  1 (A) ). However, the tablet moving mechanism  100  may be disposed at any position as long as the range of swinging motion of the weight portion  107  is not limited. 
     While a location at which the endless belt  34  and the weight portion  107  would interfere with each other, such as a location over the discharge port  28 , must be avoided, a wide range of movement of the weight portion  107  can be easily secured on the side upstream of such a location (e.g. the front side of the drawing sheet of  FIG.  16   ) and the side downstream thereof (e.g. the back side of the drawing sheet of  FIG.  16   ). In particular, it is better to dispose the tablet moving mechanism  100  on the downstream side, since the retaining portion  108  can be placed on an overhanging portion in the tablet containing space  22  extending over the grip  23 . 
     In  FIG.  20   , the retaining portion  108  of the tablet moving mechanism  100  is configured to allow only the suspended member  104 , of the suspended member  104  and the weight portion  107 , to be placed thereon. However, the retaining portion  108  of the tablet moving mechanism  100  may be configured to allow only the weight portion  107 , of the suspended member  104  and the weight portion  107 , to be placed thereon, or may be configured to allow both the suspended member  104  and the weight portion  107  to be placed thereon. In any case, both the suspended member  104  and the weight portion  107 , which are coupled to each other, take a posture of being suspended or lying along the lid portion  29 . 
     The tablet moving mechanism  100 ,  100 ′ is considered as a direct tablet moving mechanism configured to directly abut against the tablets to be moved, and can be used in combination with the indirect tablet moving mechanism discussed earlier, since the direct and indirect tablet moving mechanisms are different from each other in the location at which the mechanisms are mounted, the position at which the mechanisms act on the tablets, and the swing motion thereof for the tablets. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     The tablet cassette according to the present invention may be used in a device in which a large number of drive portions are incorporated in a storage portion such as the medicine dispensing apparatus discussed earlier, and in a device on which only one drive portion is mounted such as a tablet splitting apparatus. A single tablet cassette may be used as attached to a number of drive portions in an interchangeable manner, or a number of tablet cassettes may be used as attached to a single drive portion in an interchangeable manner. A typical example of the tablets to be handled by the tablet cassette according to the present invention is relatively large, vertically long capsules in a round tube shape. However, the tablets that can be handled are not limited thereto, and a large variety of tablets can be handled, such as tablets in other shapes such as a fusiform shape or a disk shape and tablets of other sizes. 
     DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
           10  tablet cassette 
           20  tablet container 
           21  container body 
           22  tablet containing space 
           23  grip 
           24  mount-unmount portion 
           25  bottom wall portion 
           26  through hole 
           27  inner peripheral surface 
           28  discharge port 
           29  lid portion 
           30  partition unit 
           31  partition holding portion 
           32  partitioning portion 
           33  belt holding portion 
           34  endless belt 
           40  rotor 
           41  rotary shaft 
           42  lower end portion 
           43  intermediate portion 
           44  overhanging portion 
           46  spacer 
           47  pressing member 
           48  setscrew 
           50  cap member 
           51  center portion 
           52  overhanging portion 
           53  slit 
           59  circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism 
           60  second turning member 
           61  side wall portion 
           63  groove 
           64  base portion 
           65  through hole 
           66  pin 
           67  tablet receiving portion 
           68  through hole 
           70  first turning member 
           71  side wall portion 
           73  groove 
           74  base portion 
           75  through hole 
           76  pin 
           77  through hole 
           80  link mechanism 
           81  stationary link member 
           82  hook member 
           83  second link member 
           84  through hole 
           85  coupling pin 
           86  first link member 
           87  through hole 
           88  through hole 
           90  radial expansion-contraction mechanism 
           91  upper sandwiching member (slide allowing holding member) 
           92  through groove 
           93  engaging portion 
           94  sliding member 
           95  protrusion 
           96  scale 
           97  lower sandwiching member (slide allowing holding member) 
           98  guide path 
           99  engaging portion 
           100  tablet moving mechanism 
           101  support structure 
           102  shaft support portion 
           103  support shaft 
           104  suspended member 
           105  elastic member (coil spring) 
           106  tubular member 
           107 ,  107 ′ weight portion 
           108  retaining portion 
           109 A,  109 B end portion