Patent Publication Number: US-9889957-B2

Title: Drug packaging device

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a drug packaging device that is loaded with a rolled sheet and configured to package the sheet while drugs are filled in the sheet. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     There is known a drug packaging device that is loaded with a rolled sheet and configured to package the sheet while drugs are filled in the sheet. When the loaded sheet is used up, this device needs a work of exchanging a new sheet. 
     The drug packaging device has a long and complicated feeding path because filling of drugs, packaging, etc. are performed in a limited space. Therefore, a work of removing all the loaded sheet remaining on the feeding path and perfectly setting a new sheet when the loaded sheet is exchanged by the new sheet is troublesome. In order to simplify this sheet exchange work, a method of connecting an end portion of the sheet remaining in the device and an end portion of the new sheet has been proposed, and a method of manually connecting both the end portions with a double-sided adhesive tape or a structure having a construction of positioning both the sheets, setting an adhesive tape on a center stage provided between the sheets and connecting both the sheets by this adhesive tape have been proposed (see Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example). 
     PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS 
     Patent Document 
     Patent Document 1: JP-A-2010-23999 
     Patent Document 2: JP-A-2001-72003 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     However, in the method of manually connecting the end portion of a sheet to the end portion of a new sheet by using a double-sided adhesive tape, it is difficult for an inexperienced person to properly connect both the end portions, and there has been a risk that the end portions are obliquely connected to each other or the connection state thereof is insufficient. 
     Furthermore, the construction for positioning both the sheets and setting the adhesive tape to the center stage provided between the sheets has a mechanism for operating respective parts containing the center stage. Therefore, the number of parts increases and the structure is complicated, so that this construction is disadvantageous to reduction of the cost. 
     The present invention has been implemented in view of the foregoing situation, and has an object to provide a drug packaging device that can easily connect both sheets with a simple construction. 
     This specification contains all the content of Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-146415 on Jun. 30, 2011. 
     In order to attain the above object, according to the present invention, drug packaging device having a roll type sheet mounted therein and a feeding mechanism for feeding the sheet to a drug filling unit while applying tension to the sheet, is characterized by comprising: a first portion for temporarily fixing an end portion of a sheet remaining at the drug filling unit side; and a second portion for temporarily fixing an end portion of a new sheet, wherein the ends of the sheets temporarily fixed to the first portion and the second portion are connectable to each other. 
     In the above construction, the first member and the second portion may be formed in one plate. 
     In the above construction, a housing in which the feeding mechanism is accommodated may have a front door covering the feeding mechanism, and the plate may be provided so as to be exposed to a front side when the front door is opened. 
     In the above construction, the plate may be provided so as to be freely swingable so that the obverse and reverse surfaces thereof are exposable to a front side. 
     In the above construction, the plate may be set along a flat plane extending in an orthogonal direction from at least any one of a shaft of a predetermined feeding roller of the feeding mechanism and a rotational shaft of a roll around which the sheet is wound. 
     In the above construction, the feeding roller may be located upstream of a movable roller that applies tension to the sheet. 
     In the above construction, the sheet is a doubled rolled sheet. 
     In the above construction, the end portions of the respective sheets may be connectable to each other under a state that a packaging unit containing the feeding mechanism is disposed in the drug packaging device. 
     According to the present invention, the first portion for temporarily fixing the end portion of the sheet remaining at the drug filling unit side and the second portion for temporarily fixing the end portion of the new sheet are provided, and the end portions of the sheets temporarily fixed to the first portion and the second portion are connectable to each other. Therefore, a worker can easily perform a sheet connection work with a simple construction. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a drug packaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram showing the internal structure of the drug packaging device; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing a packaging unit when the packaging unit is viewed obliquely from a front upper right side; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing the drug packaging device when the drug packaging device is viewed obliquely from a front upper left side; 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram showing the functional construction of the drug packaging device; 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram showing the peripheral construction of a working plate; 
         FIGS. 7A to 7D  are diagrams showing a connecting work of packaging sheets which accompanies exchange of a roll sheet; 
         FIGS. 8 to 8C  are side views of a temporarily fixing work of the packaging sheets; 
         FIG. 9  schematically shows the construction of a detection sensor; 
         FIG. 10  is a flowchart showing connection site skip processing; 
         FIG. 11  schematically shows a packaging sheet in a time series manner; and 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view showing a packaging unit according to a modification. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An embodiment of the present invention will be hereunder described with reference to the drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a drug packaging device  1  according to an embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 2  shows the internal construction of the drug packaging device. In  FIG. 1 , the front surface (front side) of the drug packaging device  1  is represented by reference character FR, the back surface thereof is represented by reference character BK, the right surface thereof is represented by reference character RP and the left surface is represented by reference character LP. 
     The drug packaging device  1  is disposed in a hospital or a dispensing pharmacy. All the steps from extraction of tablets till packaging, in which drugs (tablets, capsules or the like) of kinds and numbers described on a prescription are discharged from tablet cases  6  one by one, passed through a chute  15  (see  FIG. 2 ) serving as a passage for naturally dropping the drugs by using the weight of the drugs, collected at one place by a hopper  17  (see  FIG. 2 ) and then packaged in a packaging sheet (sheet) S, are automated and performed in a series of mechanisms. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the drug packaging device  1  has a vertically long rectangular main body (housing)  2 , and a personal computer  101  described later for controlling the drug packaging device  1 . The main body  2  has an upper structure  3  and a lower structure  4  which are mutually separable from each other, and configured so that the upper structure  3  is joined onto the lower structure  4 . The upper structure  3  functions as a drug accommodating unit for accommodating plural tablet cases in which drugs are put, and the upper surface thereof is covered by a detachable top plate  3 A. 
     The upper structure  3  is provided with plural shelves  5  constituting multi-column and multi-stage drawers of four columns in the right-and-left direction and five stages in the up-and-down direction (totally twenty drawers), and each shelf  5  is configured to be drawable to the front side of the drug packaging device  1 . A door panel  11  is secured to the front end (front surface) of each shelf  5 , and the respective door panels  11  block the opening of the front surface of the upper structure  3  under the state that all the shelves  5  are accommodated in the upper structure  3 . 
     Driving bases  12  in which plural tablet cases  6  can be arranged on two rows in the right-and-left direction, and a passage  13  which is vertically opened between the tablet cases  6  on the two rows in the right-and-left direction are provided in each shelf  5  so as to extend in the depth direction. The passages  13  constitute chutes  15  for downwardly dropping drugs discharged from the tablet cases  6  of the shelves  5  arranged in the up-and-down direction. In this embodiment, the chutes  15  of four columns in the right-and-left direction are formed. 
     The front surface and the upper surface of the lower structure  4  are opened. The lower structure  4  intercommunicates with the upper structure  3  at the upper surface thereof. As shown in  FIG. 2 , a pair of right and left shutters  16 ,  16  provided below the chutes  15 , a single hopper  17  provided below the shutters  16 ,  16 , a packaging unit  18  provided below the hopper  17 , etc. are accommodated and mounted in the lower structure  4 . The opening of the front surface of the lower structure  4  is configured to be freely openable and closable by double door type front doors  8 ,  8  (see  FIG. 1 ). 
     A take-out port  21  is formed in the front door  8  at the left side of the front surface. The take-out port  21  is provided to take out a package filled with predetermined kinds and numbers of drugs, and packages filled with drugs are discharged to the take-out port  31 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the right and left shutters  16 ,  16  have a rectangular funnel shape which has a broadly opened upper surface and is tapered to the lower end thereof. They are opened and closed by shutter solenoids  123  described later, and temporarily receive drugs dropping from the respective chutes  15  to the hopper  17 . An additional drug feeder (UTC)  23  is provided between the shutters  16 ,  16  so as to be freely drawn to the front side. The additional drug feeder  23  is a feeder for arbitrarily supplying drugs to be added, and it intercommunicates with the inside of the hopper  17 . 
     The hopper  17  has a rectangular funnel shape which has a broadly opened upper surface and is tapered to the lower end thereof. The hopper  17  receives drugs dropping from the respective chutes  15  and the additional drug feeder  23 , and supplies the drugs to a nozzle  44  below the hopper  17 . 
     The packaging unit  18  is detachably screwed to a pair of right and left drawing rails  31 ,  31  which are secured to the right and left side of the bottom surface of the lower structure  4 . Accordingly, the packaging unit  13  is allowed to be freely drawn from the inside of the lower structure  4  to the front side thereof under the state that the front doors  8 ,  8  are opened. Furthermore, the packaging unit  13  is attachable and detachable to and from the drawing rails  31 ,  31  under the drawn state. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the packaging unit  18  when the packaging unit  18  is viewed obliquely from the front upper right side, and  FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing the drug packaging device  1  when the drug packaging device  1  is viewed obliquely from the front upper left side. In  FIG. 3 , an arrow represented by reference character F represents the drawing direction of the packaging unit  18  when the packaging unit  18  is drawn to the front surface side of the drug packaging device  1 , and reference numeral  19  represents a grip used to draw the packaging unit  18 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the packaging unit  18  has a sheet supply board  42  on which a roll  41  having a thermally-sealable rolled packaging sheet S is detachably mounted, a printer unit  43  functioning as a print unit for printing characters and figures such as barcodes, etc. on the packaging sheet S, a nozzle  44  functioning as a drug filling unit for filling drugs in the packaging sheet S, a thermal seal head  45  functioning as a packaging unit for closing the packaging sheet S filled with drugs by thermal sealing, a feeding roller  46  constituting a feeding mechanism for feeding the packaging sheet S drawn out from the roll  41 , a cutter  47  for cutting the packaging sheet S, and a conveyor unit  48  for feeding the packaging sheet S having drugs packaged therein (package) to the take-out port  21 . The sheet supply board  42 , the printer unit  43 , the nozzle  44 , the thermal seal head  45 , the feeding roller  46 , the cutter  47  and the conveyor unit  48  are successively arranged from the upstream side in this order along the feeding passage of the packaging sheet S.  FIG. 4  shows a state that the roll  41  is removed from the sheet supply board  42 . 
     The packaging unit  18  has a box body  51  standing upwards from the center of the bottom surface in the right-and-left direction in the lower structure  4 . Parts (a driving motor for the thermal seal head  45 , a driving mechanism for a movable roller  54  described later, etc.) which are not visually exposed to the outside of the packaging unit  18  are arranged in the box body  51 , and members which are visually exposed to the outside of the packaging unit  13  are arranged by using spaces at the right, left, upper and back sides. 
     More specifically, at the left side of the box body  51  are arranged the sheet supply board  42 , a first feeding roller  53  for first guiding the packaging sheet S drawn obliquely from the roll  41  of the sheet supply board  42  to the upper right side and folding the packaging sheet S downwards, a movable roller  54  for applying tension to the packaging sheet S downstream of the first feeding roller  53 , and a second feeding roller  55  for guiding the packaging sheet S downstream of the movable roller  54  and folding the packaging sheet S so that the packaging sheet S directs to the entrance of the printer unit  43  as shown in  FIG. 4 . A feeding passage for feeding the packaging sheet S to the printer unit  43  while applying tension to the packaging sheet S is constructed by the above members. 
     The first feeding roller  53  is fixed at a higher position than the roll  41  mounted on the sheet supply board  42 . Therefore, when the roll  41  is exchanged, the packaging sheet S drawn out from the roll  41  can be easily wound by a worker (user). Furthermore, the rotational shafts of the first feeding roller  53 , the movable roller  54  and the roll  41  mounted on the sheet supply board  42  are parallel to one another, and extend obliquely to the upper left side in an oblique direction which is near to a substantially horizontal direction. On the other hand, the rotational shaft of the second feeding roller  55  is not parallel to the above rotational shafts. The rotational shafts of the first feeding roller  53 , the movable roller  54  and the roll  41  mounted on the sheet supply board  42  may be properly changed insofar as they are parallel to one another and can be arranged in the space at the left side of the box body  51 , and the second feeding roller  55  may be also positionally properly changed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the upper surface of the box body  51  is formed as a sloped surface which is sloped to the lower right side. The printer unit  43  is disposed on the upper surface of the box body  51 , and the packaging sheet S is passed through the printer unit  43 , and fed to the lower right side. The lower end of the nozzle  44 , the thermal seal head  45 , the feeding roller  46  and the cutter  47  are successively arranged in this order at the lower right side of the printer unit  43 , and the upstream end  48 A of the conveyor unit  48  is located at the right side of the cutter  47 . The conveyor unit  48  extends obliquely to the upper left side behind the box body  51 , and then it bends and extends forwards at the rear left side of the box body  51 . The conveyor unit  48  is provided with a rear end  48 B at a position where the conveyor unit  48  intercommunicates with the take-out port  21  of the front door  8  (see  FIG. 1 ). 
     Next, the basic operation of the drug packaging device  1  will be described. 
     The roll  41  is obtained by rolling an elongated packaging sheet S while the packaging sheet S is beforehand doubled (folded in half), and the roll  41  is mounted on the sheet supply board  42  while the axis of the roll  41  is tilted to the lower right side with respect to the horizontal plane (see  FIG. 2 ). The packaging sheet S is fed by the feeding roller  46 , whereby the packaging sheet S is successively passed through the first feeding roller  53 , the movable roller  54  and the second feeding roller  55  in this order and then fed to the printer unit  43 . The surface of the packaging sheet S is printed by the printer unit  43 , and numerals are printed in ascending order like 0, 1, 2, 3, etc. in this embodiment. 
     Subsequently, the doubled packaging sheet S is spread at the open side thereof so that the cross-sectional shape thereof is V-shaped, filled with drugs discharged from the nozzle  44  through the open side, pinched from both the sides thereof and thermally sealed by the thermal seal head  45 , and then packaged at a predetermined package size while the packaging sheet S is compartmented every package. Thereafter, the packaging sheet S is cut into proper lengths with the cutter  47 , and fed and discharged to the take-out port  21  by the conveyor unit  48  (see  FIG. 1 ) whereby packages filled with desired kinds and numbers of drugs are created one by one. 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram showing the functional construction of the drug packaging device  1 . 
     A controller  120  centrally controls the respective parts of the drug packaging device  1 , and has CPU (Central Processing Unit) as operation executing means, ROM (Read Only Memory) in which a basic control program executed by CPU, data associated with the basic control program, etc. are stored in a non-volatile fashion, RAM (Random Access Memory) in which programs executed by CPU, data associated with the programs, etc. are temporarily stored, other peripheral circuits, etc. The controller  120  executes various kinds of time counting operations and time counting of the present time on the basis of reference clocks generated by an oscillator (not shown). 
     The controller  120  is connected to the packaging unit  18 , an interface unit  121 , a drug detection sensor  122 , the shutter solenoid  123 , a motor driver  124 , a display unit  125 , an input unit  126  and a storage unit  127 . 
     Under the control of the controller  120 , the packaging unit  18  creates packages filled with predetermined drugs, and feeds the created packages to the take-out port  21  by the conveyor unit  48 . 
     The interface unit  121  is connected to a personal computer  101  through a signal communication cable or the like, and receives/transmits various kinds of signals from/to the personal computer  101  under the control of the controller  120 . This construction enables the personal computer  101  and the drug packaging device  1  to receive and transmit various kinds of data therebetween, and also enables a worker (user) to execute various instructions to the drug packaging device  1  through the personal computer  101 . 
     The drug detection sensor  122  detects drugs discharged from the tablet cases  6 , and outputs a detection value to the controller  120 . The controller  120  counts the number of drugs discharged from the tablet cases  6  on the basis of the detection value input from the drug detection sensor  122 . The shutter solenoid  123  operates the shutters  16 ,  16  under the control of the controller  120 . The motor drive  124  is connected to various kinds of motors equipped to the packaging unit  18 , and supplies driving current to these motors to control the operation of the motors under the control of the controller  120 . 
     The display unit  125  displays various kinds of information under the control of the controller  120 . The input unit  126  accepts a worker&#39;s input operation, and outputs it to the controller  120 . The storage unit  127  is constructed by EEPROM or a flash memory, and stores various kinds of data in a rewritable fashion under the control of the controller  120 . In the storage unit  127  are stored a control program  127 A executed by the controller  120 , etc. 
     In this embodiment, when the roll  41  is exchanged there is performed a work of drawing the packaging unit  10  to the front side through the drawing rails  31 ,  31  and connecting a packaging sheet S remaining at the packaging unit  18  side and a packaging sheet S of a new roll  41  through a tape. The method of performing this connection work does not need to completely remove a used packaging sheet S and set a new packaging sheet S on the complicated feeding passage, and also has an advantage that the used packaging sheet S can be used at the maximum level to avoid waste of resources. However, the connection work itself is liable to be cumbersome. 
     Therefore, this embodiment is provided with a working plate  151  serving as a working table on which the connection work is performed. 
     &lt;Concerning the Working Plate&gt; 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the working plate  151  is located to be exposed to the front side when the front doors  8 ,  8  of the lower structure  4  are opened. More specifically, the packaging unit  18  is provided with a partitioning plate  57  through which the upper side of the box body  51  is partitioned into the right and left parts, and the working plate  151  is secured at the upper and front side of the partition plate  57 . The roller group  53  to  55  located on the upstream side of the printer unit  43  and the printer unit  43  are separated from each other through the partition plate  57 . 
       FIG. 6  shows the working plate  151  together with the peripheral construction thereof. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the working plate  151  has one rectangular flat plate type metal plate, and one end corner portion thereof is secured to the partition plate  57  through a stay  152  by a fastening member (a bolt and a nut in this embodiment)  35 . The working plate  151  is freely pivotally swingable around the fastening member  35  in an X direction of  FIG. 6 , and it can be tilted to the front side (the front surface side of the drug packaging device  1 ) and the back side (the back surface side of the drug packaging device  1 ). 
     The fastening member  35  is parallel to the shaft of the first feeding roller  53  which first guides the packaging sheet S drawn out from the roll  41 . When the working plate  151  is tilted to the front side, the working plate  151  can be set along a flat plane M 1  (see  FIG. 4 ) which extends from the shaft of the first feeding roller  53  orthogonally to the front side (front surface side). 
     Furthermore, by tilting the working plate  151  to the back side (the back surface side of the drug packaging device  1 ), the back surface of the working plate  151  can be exposed to the front side or upper side. 
     A center line LC (see  FIG. 6 ) representing the center between the front side and the back side is provided to both the surfaces of the working plate  151 . A pair of upper and lower clips CL 1  are provided at the back side of the center line LC, and a pair of upper and lower clips CL 2  are provided at the front side of the center line LC. These clips CL 1  and CL 2  are pivotally swingable in a Y-direction along the surface of the working plate  151  around the respective fastening members (bolts and nuts in this embodiment)  36  for fastening the respective clips to the working plate  151 . The center line LC is provided by attaching a plastic tape having a conspicuous color such as a fluorescent color or the like or printing it. 
       FIGS. 7A to 7D  show the connection work of packaging sheets S which exchange of rolls involves. 
     When the worker connects the packaging sheets S, the rear end portion SA of a residual packaging sheet S (represented by a two-dotted chain line in  FIGS. 7A to 7D ) of a used roll  41  is disposed in a first portion AR 1  as a back side area of the center line LC of the working plate  151  while the clips CL 1  are evacuated ( FIG. 7A ), and then the clips CL 1  are returned, whereby the rear end portion SA of the packaging sheet S can be temporarily fixed ( FIG. 7B ). 
     Here,  FIGS. 8A to 8C  are side views showing the temporarily fixing work of the packaging sheet S. As shown in  FIGS. 8A to 8C , when the packaging sheet S is temporarily fixed, the rear end portion SA of the doubled packaging sheet S is spread to be V-shaped in section ( FIG. 8A ), and the folded portion SK as the apex is brought into contact with one side portion  151 K of the working plate  151  ( FIG. 8B ). Under the above state, the rear end portion SA is clipped from the upper and lower sides by the pair of upper and lower clips CL 1  ( FIG. 8C ). Since the packaging sheet S is temporarily fixed while the folded portion SK of the packaging sheet S is brought into contact with the one side portion  151 K of the working plate  151  as described above the packaging sheet S can be accurately positioned at the same position every time. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8C , the respective tips of the clips CL 1  swell to the working plate  151 , so that the packaging sheet S can be pressed by these tips. 
     When the temporarily fixing work of the residual packaging sheet S of the used roll  41  is finished, the front end portion SB (represented by a two-dotted chain line in  FIGS. 7A to 7D ) of a packaging sheet S of a new roll  41  is disposed in a second portion AR 2  as a front side area of the center line LC of the working plate  151  while the clips CL 2  are evacuated as shown in  FIG. 7C , and then the clips CL 2  are returned, whereby the front end portion SB of the packaging sheet S can be temporarily fixed ( FIG. 7D ). In this case, as shown in  FIGS. 8A to 8C , the packaging sheet S is temporarily fixed while the folded portion SK of the packaging sheet S is brought into contact with one side portion  151 K of the working plate  151 , whereby the packaging sheet S can be accurately positioned at the same position every time. Accordingly, the rear end portion SA of the packaging sheet S before the exchange and the front end portion SB of the packaging sheet S after the exchange can be easily aligned with each other on a straight line. 
     Subsequently, the end portion SB (or SA) of one of the packaging sheets S is covered on the end portion SA (or SB) of the other packaging sheet S on the center line LC while the center line LC is set as a mark, and both the packaging sheets are connected to each other by using a double-sided adhesive type connection tape (double-sided adhesive tape) or a one-sided adhesive type connection tape (one-sided adhesive tape). When this connection work or the temporarily fixing work is performed, the working plate  151  is properly swung to check the back surface of the packaging sheet S, whereby it can be easily checked whether both the doubled packaging sheets S are set under a proper state. 
     In this case, if the front end portion SB of the packaging sheet S of the new roll  41  to be subsequently temporarily fixed is covered, from outside, on the rear end portion SA of the packaging sheet S of the used roll  41  to be previously temporarily fixed, the superposing work can be smoothly performed. In addition, the front end portion SB of the packaging sheet S of the new roll  41  is not exposed to the inside of the doubted packaging sheet. Therefore, there is an advantage that the connection site does not obstruct the spreading work of the doubled packaging sheet S in the neighborhood of the nozzle  44 , etc. 
     The present invention is not limited to the above style, and conversely, the front end portion SB of the packaging sheet S of the new roll  41  may be put in the rear end portion SA of the packaging sheet S of the used roll  41 . In this case, the front end portion SB of the packaging sheet S of the new roll  41  is not exposed to the outside of the doubled packaging sheet. Therefore, the connection site does not obstruct the feeding work of the feeding roller  46 , etc. 
     In the construction that the roll  41  is exchangeably mounted, the packaging sheet S wound around the roll  41  is fed under tension and filled with drugs, etc. as in the case of this embodiment, the feeding passage of the packaging sheet S is liable to be long and complicated. However, under this construction, this embodiment is provided with the working plate  151  having the first portion AR 1  for temporarily fixing the end portion SA of the packaging sheet remaining at the nozzle (drug filling portion)  44  side and the second portion AR 2  for temporarily fixing the end portion SB of the new packaging sheet S, and the end portions SA and SB of the respective packaging sheets S which are temporarily fixed to the first portion AR 1  and the second portion AR 2  are connectable to each other. Therefore, a worker can easily perform the connection work of both the packaging sheets S. 
     Furthermore, the first portion AR 1  and the second portion AR 2  are formed in one plate. Therefore, the work can be easily performed, and the construction is simple. Furthermore, the working plate  151  is located so as to be exposed to the front side when the front doors  8 ,  8  of the lower structure  4  are opened, which also facilitates the connection work of the packaging sheets. 
     In addition, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the working plate  151  of this embodiment is along the flat plane M 1  extending in an orthogonal direction from the shaft of the first feeding roller  53  for feeding the packaging sheet S. Therefore, the rear end portion SA of the pre-exchange packaging sheet S can be easily directly moved to the first portion AR 1  of the working plate  151  without removing the rear end portion SA from the first feeding roller  53 , and the temporarily fixing work of an existing packaging sheet S can be easily performed. 
     Furthermore, the first feeding roller  53  is a feeding roller provided on the most upstream side of the feeding passage. Therefore, it is located on the upstream side of the movable roller  54  for applying tension to the packaging sheet S, etc. Therefore, the connection work of the packaging sheet S can be performed without removing the packaging sheet S from the feeding rollers  53  to  54  containing the movable roller  54 , and a work of re-hanging the packaging sheet S is unnecessary. 
     Furthermore, since the working plate  151  is provided at a position where it is exposed to the front side when the front doors  8 ,  8  of the lower structure  4  are opened, the connection work of the packaging sheet S can be easily performed. The working plate  151  is provided to be freely swingable so that the obverse and reverse surfaces thereof can be exposed to the front side. Therefore, the posture of the working plate  151  can be adjusted so that the packaging sheet S can be easily temporarily fixed and the connection work can be more easily performed. Accordingly, the connection work of the doubled rolled packaging sheet S can be easily performed. 
     In addition, in this embodiment, the end portions SA, SB of the respective packaging sheets S can be connected to each other under the state that the packaging unit  18  is disposed in the lower structure  4 . That is, as shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 4 , the sheet supply board  42  is disposed at the front lower side of the working plate  151  which is disposed at the front upper side. Therefore, the work can remove a pre-exchange roll  41  from the sheet supply board  42  attach a new roll  41 , temporarily fix the end portion SA of the packaging sheet S at the pre-exchange roll  41  side to the working plate  151 , temporarily fix the end portion SB of the packaging sheet S of the new roll  41  to the working plate  151 , and connect both the packaging sheets S without drawing the packaging unit  18  from the inside of the lower structure  4  to the front side thereof. Accordingly, even when the working space at the front side of the drug packaging device  1  is narrow, the above work can be performed. 
     It is needless to say that the above work can be performed under the state that the packaging unit  18  is drawn from the lower structure  4  to the front side thereof. 
     In general, it is required to avoid a situation that drugs are filled to the connection site after the packaging sheets S are connected to each other as described above. In this case, if a FEED button or the like for feeding a packaging sheet is provided and the worker is required to operate the FEED button until the connection site has passed over the drug filling position, this work would be cumbersome, and this is not preferable. 
     Therefore, this embodiment, a detection sensor (detector)  161  (see  FIG. 5 ) for detecting the connection site of the packaging sheets S is provided, and connection site skipping processing of skipping drug filling processing, etc. so that drugs are not filled to the connection site is executed on the basis of the detection result of the detection sensor  161 . 
     &lt;Detection Sensor&gt; 
       FIG. 9  is a diagram showing the construction of the detection sensor  161 . 
     The detection sensor  161  is constructed by a transmission type optical sensor, and has a light emitting unit  162  for emitting inspection light to a packaging sheet S as a detection target, and a light receiving unit  163  for receiving the inspection light transmitted through the packaging sheet S. The connection site of the packaging sheet S is detected by detecting the difference in transmission light amount which is different between the connection site of the packaging sheet S and the other place. 
     Furthermore, the detection sensor  161  detects the transmission light amount in the neighborhood of the folded portion SK of the packaging sheet S. The transmission light amount in the neighborhood of the folded portion SK is detected because the presence or absence of a connection tape can be surely detected by adhesively attaching the connection tape so that the connection tape straddles over the folded portion SK when the packaging sheets S are connected to each other by using the working plate  151 . Furthermore, a marking tape different from the connection tape (a tape represented by reference character TM in  FIG. 11  described later) may be attached to the folded portion SK and detected. Since the folded portion SF is located at the open side (one side portion  151 K side) of the working plate  151  the work of attaching the tape to the folded portion SK is easily performed. 
     The detection sensor  161  is located on the upstream side of the nozzle  44  for filling drugs, and more specifically, it is disposed between the printer unit  43  and the roller group  53  to  55  located upstream of the printer unit  43 . 
       FIG. 10  is a flowchart showing the connection site skip processing, and (A) to (F) of  FIG. 11  are time-series diagrams of the packaging sheet S. The connection site skip processing is performed by executing a control program  127 A through the controller  120 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , at a predetermined period (a period of 5 ms in this embodiment), the controller  120  detects on the basis of the detection sensor  161  whether there is a connection site of the packaging sheet S or not. When the connection site of the packaging sheet S is detected (step S 11 ), the controller  120  executes skip position count-down processing (step S 13 ) until the connection site reaches a skip position (step S 12 : NO). 
     The skip position count-down processing is the processing of counting the time from the detection of the connection site of the packaging sheet S until arrival of the connection site at the printer head as a skip start position. In this embodiment, the time concerned corresponds to the drug preparation time of one package, and it is determined whether drug preparation for one package is performed or not. When drug preparation for one package is performed, the controller  120  determines the skip position (step S 12 : YES), and starts skip processing of skipping predetermined processing containing drug filling processing (step S 14 ). 
     In this skip processing, the controller  120  interrupts the print processing based on the printer unit  43  and the drug filling processing based on the nozzle  44  and continues the packaging processing based on the thermal seal head  45  and the feeding processing based on the conveyor  48  out of the processing involved by the drug preparation. 
     As described above, when the packaging processing and the feeding processing are executed without executing the drug filling processing, an empty package, that is, a blank package is generated. The controller  120  executes the skip processing to generate a blank package. Furthermore, the controller  120  counts the frequency of the skip processing, finishes the skip processing when the count value reaches a preset frequency (2 in this embodiment) (step S 15 : YES), and shifts to the drug preparation start processing. In this drug preparation start processing, the print processing and the drug filling processing which are being interrupted are resumed, and all the processing involved by the drug preparation (the print processing, the drug filling processing, the packaging processing, the feeding processing, etc.) can be executed. 
     In  FIG. 11 , the connection site of the packaging sheet S is represented by reference character CN, packages which are filled with drugs without being skipped are represented by reference character IN, and packages which are skipped and thus filled with no drug are represented by reference character NOT. As shown in  FIG. 11 , in this embodiment, a blank package is formed at a connection site CN, another blank package is also formed so as to be continuous with the connection site CN on the downstream side of the connection site concerned. The area corresponding to these two blank packages is not printed. Therefore, the packaging sheet S is also thermally sealed at the connection site CN portion as in the case of the other portions, and thus the connection site CN can be fed under the same condition by the feeding roller  46  and the conveyor  48 . Furthermore, the area corresponding to a blank package is not printed, and thus “no print” enables the area to be externally visually recognized as being a blank package. 
     As described above, this embodiment is provided with the detection sensor (detector)  161  for detecting the connection site CN between the packaging sheet S remaining at the nozzle (drug filling unit)  44  side and the new packaging sheet S, and the controller  120  skips the processing of filling drugs to the connection site CN on the basis of the detection result of the detection sensor  161 . Therefore, as compared with the conventional construction that a worker must operate the FEED button for feeding the packaging sheet, this embodiment can eliminate this type of operation, and the number of steps to be executed by the worker can be reduced with reducing waste of the sheet which is caused by sheet exchange. 
     Furthermore, the controller  120  skips the drug filling processing over plural times (twice in this embodiment) when the connection site CN passes over the nozzle  44 . Therefore, the situation that drugs are filled into an area containing a connection site CN can be surely prevented. 
     In this embodiment, the skip frequency is set to twice. However, it may be three or more times. Furthermore, from the viewpoint that the area containing the connection site CN is surely prevented from being filled with drugs, it is preferable to increase the skip frequency as the package bag size is smaller. In this case, the skip frequency may be automatically changed in accordance with the set package bag size. When the package bag size is large and the area containing the connection site CN can be surely avoided from being filled with drugs by only one skip, the skip frequency may be set to once. 
     Furthermore, in this embodiment, the controller  120  continues packaging based on the thermal seal head  45  to generate blank packages whereas the drug filling processing is skipped at the connection site CN. Therefore, the packaging sheet S can be closed at even the connection site CN, and the packaging sheet can be surely and easily fed. 
     Furthermore, the controller  120  can skips the print processing based on the printer unit  43  at the connection site CN so that the area corresponding to a blank package is not printed. Therefore, “no print” on a package makes it easy to externally recognize that the package is a blank package, and a situation that a blank package is misidentified as being filled with drugs can be avoided. Furthermore, the detection sensor  161  is provided upstream of the printer unit  43  which is provided upstream of the packaging sheet S. Therefore, the connection site CN can be surely detected before the print processing, the drug filling processing and the packaging processing are executed. 
     Furthermore, in this embodiment, the marking tape TM (see  FIG. 11 ) serving as a mark is provided to the connection site CN of the packaging sheet  3 , and the detection sensor  161  detects the presence or absence of the marking tape TM. Therefore, the connection site CN of the packaging sheet S can be surely detected. 
     The above-described embodiment is merely an embodiment of the present invention, and any modification and application can be made without departing from the subject matter of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the working plate  151  is provided to the partition plate  57 . However, the present invention is not limited to this style, and the position and installation method of the working plate  151  are properly alterable. For example, as shown in  FIG. 12 , the working plate  151  may be provided in the neighborhood of the first feeding roller  53 . Even in the construction shown in  FIG. 12 , the working plate  151  is provided at the position where it is exposed to the front side when the front doors  8 ,  8  of the lower structure  4  are opened, and it is provided freely swingably, whereby the working plate  151  can be oriented along the flat plane extending in the orthogonal direction from the shaft of the first feeding roller  53 , and the connection work of the packaging sheet S can be facilitated. 
     Still furthermore, in the above embodiment, the working plate  151  is set along the flat plane M 1  extending in the orthogonal direction from the shaft of the first feeding roller  53 , whereby the temporarily fixing work of the packaging sheet S can be facilitated (see  FIG. 4 ). However, the present invention is not limited to this style. For example, the temporarily fixing work of the packaging sheet S can be also facilitated by setting the working plate  151  along a flat plane extending in the orthogonal direction from the rotating shaft of the roll  41  mounted on the sheet supply board  42 . Furthermore, the temporarily fixing work of the packaging sheet S can be also facilitated by setting the working plate  151  along the flat plane M 1  as well as the above flat plane. That is, in the present invention, the working plate  151  may be set along the flat plane extending in the orthogonal direction from at least any one of the shaft of any feeding roller and the rotating shaft of the roll  41  within the range that the temporarily fixing work of the packaging sheet S can be facilitated. 
     Still furthermore, in the above embodiment, the controller  120  skips the print processing. However, the present invention is not limited to this style. It may be printed that the area corresponding to a blank package is a blank package (for example, characters of “blank package” may be printed) without skipping the print processing. Legibility of “blank package” is enhanced by this printing. 
     In the above embodiment, processing of measuring the feeding distance of the packaging sheet S or processing of measuring the packaging frequency of the packaging sheet S may be applied as the skip position count-down processing. That is, there may be applied the processing of measuring the feeding distance on the basis of the rotation amount of the feeding roller  46  or the like and determining whether this feeding distance reaches a distance by which the connection site of the packaging sheet S reaches the skip start position, or the processing of determining whether the packaging frequency of the packaging sheet S reaches a packaging frequency at which the connection site of the packaging sheet S reaches the skip start position.