Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7726095?dq=5,987,610
Timestamp: 2014-12-25 17:53:12
Document Index: 167470833

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 2006', 'Application No. 2006', 'arts 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'arts 7', 'arts 7', 'arts 7', 'arts 7', 'art 7', 'arts 7', 'arts 15', 'art 15', 'art 15', 'art 15', 'arts 15', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 15', 'art 7', 'arts 15', 'art 36', 'arts 36', 'arts 36', 'arts 36', 'arts 36', 'arts 7', 'arts 7', 'art 7', 'arts 36', 'arts 36']

Patent US7726095 - Medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus is provided with a tablet feeder mechanism, a carrying mechanism, a supporting mechanism, and a dispensing/packaging mechanism. The tablet feeder mechanism further includes tablet accommodation parts, which contain tablets. The tablet accommodation parts are...http://www.google.com/patents/US7726095?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7726095 - Medicine dispensing/packaging apparatusAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7726095 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/916,038Publication dateJun 1, 2010Filing dateMay 29, 2006Priority dateMay 31, 2005Also published asUS7861491, US20080314002, US20100059141, WO2006129620A1Publication number11916038, 916038, US 7726095 B2, US 7726095B2, US-B2-7726095, US7726095 B2, US7726095B2InventorsShoji Yuyama, Hiroshi Hashimoto, Hiromichi Tsuda, Takashi UenoOriginal AssigneeYuyama Mfg. Co., Ltd.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (14), Referenced by (5), Classifications (12), Legal Events (2) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMedicine dispensing/packaging apparatusUS 7726095 B2Abstract A medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus is provided with a tablet feeder mechanism, a carrying mechanism, a supporting mechanism, and a dispensing/packaging mechanism. The tablet feeder mechanism further includes tablet accommodation parts, which contain tablets. The tablet accommodation parts are rotatably connected to each other. Each of the tablet accommodation parts further includes a rotatable bottom plate. The carrying mechanism carries the tablet feeder first in a horizontal direction and then in a vertical downward direction. The supporting mechanism provides support to the rotatable bottom plates for part of the time that the tablet feeder is carried in the horizontal direction, thus preventing the plates from opening. When the support to the bottom plate is removed, the bottom plates open, causing the tablets contained in the accommodation parts to be discharged. The discharged tablets are subsequently collected for packaging.
1. A medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus, comprising:
a tablet feed mechanism comprising a plurality of tablet accommodation parts rotatably connected to each other, each of the tablet accommodation parts having a bottom plate rotatable about an axis on one side of the tablet accommodation parts in a path along which the tablet accommodation parts move;
a carrying mechanism to carry the tablet feed mechanism in a direction that is generally horizontal, from a first point to a second point, and then, after reaching the second point, in a direction that is generally vertically downward;
a supporting mechanism which, when the tablet feed mechanism is carried by the carrying mechanism from the first point in the generally horizontal direction, supports the bottom plates of the tablet accommodation parts, and removes the support of the bottom plates before the tablet feed mechanism reaches the second point in the generally horizontal direction, and after the support of the bottom plates is removed, the respective bottom plates of the tablet accommodation parts open and tablets contained in the tablet accommodation parts are thereby discharged; and
a dispensing/packaging mechanism to recover the tablets discharged by the supporting mechanism for packaging.
2. A medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tablet feed mechanism includes a holding member carried by the carrying mechanism and a tablet accommodation member formed by continuously connecting together the tablet accommodation parts to allow rotation of the tablet accommodation parts about pivots, and the tablet accommodation member is detachable from the holding member.
3. A medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein the holding member comprises a plurality of holding parts connected together so as to be rotatable about pivots in correspondence with the tablet accommodation parts, and
wherein each of the plurality of holding parts comprises a rack gear continuous in a linear portion of a carrying route, and a driving mechanism to transmit a driving force to the rack gear via a pinion gear.
4. A medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein each of the tablet accommodation parts further comprises a lock portion formed thereon to detachably engage with a corresponding lock reception portion formed on each of the plurality of holding parts.
5. A medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the tablet accommodation member pivots, are coaxial with the holding member pivots.
This application is a 371 national stage entry of an International Application No. PCT/JP2006/310697, filed May 29, 2006, which claims priority to Japan Application No. 2006-147026, filed May 26, 2006, and to Japan Application No. 2006-159847, filed May 31, 2005.
Technical Field The present invention relates to a medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus.
Background Art Hitherto, there has been proposed a medicine packaging machine in which a plurality of lateral partition walls are formed at predetermined intervals on an endless belt, with longitudinal partition walls being arranged on both sides thereof to form a medicine accommodation portion. The endless belt is moved by a drive device to successively pay out the medicine accommodated in the medicine accommodation portion (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Further, there has been proposed a bucket conveyor which is composed of a plurality of buckets connected together via a rotation shaft and in which the bucket angle can be freely changed according to the conveying direction (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Patent Document 1: JP 10-16917 A
Patent Document 2: JP 3400940 B
Although not directly pertinent to the present invention, the following patent applications are available as those related to a medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus.
JP 2686430 B discloses a construction in which a powder medicine dispenser box is divided into a front half portion situated on one side of its moving direction and a rear half portion situated on the other side thereof and in which there is provided at the one side of a powder medicine dispenser box movement path a lift mechanism by means of which the powder medicine dispenser box front half portion is upwardly retracted from the power medicine dispenser box movement path after passing a medicine discharge position to secure a movement space for the powder medicine dispenser box rear half portion, the power medicine dispenser box front half portion being restored to the space after the use of the space.
Further, JP 2711087 B discloses a construction in which powder medicine dispenser box movement paths are provided in upper and lower stages and in which power medicine dispenser boxes are respectively provided in the upper and lower powder medicine dispenser box movement paths so as to be movable, with the upper and lower powder medicine dispenser box movement paths sharing the same medicine discharge position, and the medicine charging positions of the upper and lower powder medicine dispenser box movement paths being horizontally deviated from each other.
Further, JP 3409023 B discloses a construction in which the construction as disclosed in Patent Document 3 is applied as a powder medicine divisional conveyance portion.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems To Be Solved By the Invention However, in the construction as disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is only possible to provide a space for accommodating tablets in a part of an endless belt. Supply of the accommodated medicine is only possible at one end portion of the endless belt (arcuate portion) where change of direction is effected.
In the construction as disclosed in Patent Document 2, the discharge position can be arbitrarily set. However, it is necessary to separately provide a mechanism for opening and closing the bottom plate, so a complicated structure and an increase in cost are inevitable.
In the construction as disclosed in Patent Document 3, the bottom plates of the tablet accommodation part connection body rotate about pivots arranged in the conveying direction. Thus, unless the bottom plates are forcibly opened and closed by some drive means, the tablet accommodation part connection body cannot be conveyed smoothly.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus which is capable of smoothly dispensing and packaging tablets package by package although its construction is simple and inexpensive.
Means For Solving the Problems According to the present invention, as means for solving the above-mentioned problems, there is provided a medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus including: a tablet feed means including a plurality of tablet accommodation parts having openable bottom plates and connected together through continuous connection so as to be rotatable, each bottom plate rotating about an axis on one side in a direction of the continuous connection; a carrying means which carries the tablet feed means horizontally toward another side in the direction of the continuous connection, and then causes the tablet feed means to undergo a change in a direction at least vertically downwards; a supporting means which, when carrying the tablet feed means by the carrying means, supports the bottom plates of the tablet accommodation parts, and cancels the support of the bottom plates halfway through the horizontal carrying to open the bottoms of the tablet accommodation parts to thereby discharge tablets in the tablet accommodation parts; and a dispensing/packaging means which recovers the tablets discharged by the supporting means and packs them package by package.
Due to the above construction, when tablets for one package are previously accommodated in each tablet accommodation part, and the tablet feed means is horizontally carried by the carrying means, the support of the bottom plates by the supporting means is canceled, and the tablets fall from each tablet accommodation part, making it possible to dispense and package them for package by package by the dispensing/packaging means. Each bottom plate rotates about a pivot at one end in the direction in which the tablet accommodation parts are continuously connected, so the bottoms of the tablet accommodation parts are opened by themselves due to their own weight solely by canceling the support by the supporting means. Thus, it is possible to smoothly dispense and package the tablets without having to separately provide a driving means or the like. Further, the tablet feed means is converted from the horizontal direction to at least a vertical direction by the carrying means, so an increase in the sidewise movement dimension is suppressed, thus making it possible to effectively utilize the dead space below to thereby realize a compact construction. Further, when, upon completion of the dispensing/packaging of tablets, the tablet feed means is moved in the reverse direction by the carrying means, it is possible to forcibly close the bottoms of the tablet accommodation parts by the bottom plate due to the supporting means. That is, no special driving means is required when closing each tablet accommodation part either, thus allowing production at low cost.
The tablet feed means preferably includes a holding member carried by the carrying means and a tablet accommodation member which is formed by continuously connecting together the tablet accommodation parts so as to allow the tablet accommodation parts to rotate about pivots and which is detachable with respect to the holding member.
Due to the above construction, it is possible to remove exclusively the tablet accommodation member without causing the holding member to be detached from the carrying route. Thus, there is no need to re-set the positional relationship in the carrying route from the beginning, making it possible to clean exclusively the means directly accommodating the tablets, that is, the tablet accommodation member, by immersion cleaning or the like.
The holding member is preferably composed of a plurality of holding parts connected together so as to be rotatable about pivots in correspondence with the tablet accommodation parts, and each of the plurality of holding parts is preferably equipped with a rack gear continuous in a linear portion of a carrying route, with a driving force of a driving means being transmitted to the rack gear via a pinion gear.
Due to the above construction, that is, the simple construction in which each holding part is simply provided with a rack, it is possible to smoothly carry the entire tablet accommodation means.
A lock portion formed on each of the tablet accommodation parts is engaged/disengaged with/from a lock reception portion formed on each of the plurality of holding parts, thereby making the tablet accommodation member detachable with respect to the holding member.
In the tablet accommodation member, the pivots serving as continuous connection centers of the tablet accommodation parts are preferably provided coaxially with the pivots of the holding member.
Due to the above construction, if the tablet feed means is composed of two members of the tablet accommodation member and the holding member, since their rotation centers coincide with each other, it is possible to realize a smooth operation upon a change in the direction in which carrying is performed by the carrying means.
Further, there is provided a powder medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus including: a divisional container composed of a first divisional container and a second divisional container connectable to each other and each including a plurality of powder medicine accommodation parts accommodating powder medicine in equal amounts corresponding to one package, each powder medicine accommodation part being equipped with a bottom plate that can be opened and closed; a carrying means for horizontally carrying the divisional container between an initial position and a first movement terminal position; a dispensing/packaging means for recovering powder medicine dropped from the divisional container carried by the carrying means by successively opening the bottom plates and dispensing/packaging the powder medicine package by package; and a swinging means for canceling the connection between the first divisional container and the second divisional container at the first movement terminal position to enable the first divisional container to move to a second movement terminal position and swinging the second divisional container to a retracted position.
Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, the tablet accommodation means is carried through conversion from the horizontal direction to the vertically downward direction while taking into account the opening/closing direction of the bottom plates, so it is possible to produce a compact apparatus at low cost without having to provide any surplus power source.
As shown in FIG. 7, a tablet accommodation member 5 includes a plurality of tablet accommodation parts 7 rotatably and continuously connected together. Each tablet accommodation part 7 is substantially rectangular in plan view, and has three tablet dispenser boxes 8 arranged longitudinally side by side. Further, a flange portion 9 extends from three sides of the upper peripheral edge portion of each tablet accommodation part 7. From both longitudinal ends of the flange portion 9, there extend support walls 10 downwardly from the front halves of the end edge portions. A through-hole 10 a is formed at the lower end of each support wall 10, and a cutout 10 b is formed in the vicinity thereof. As described below, a connection plate 17 is situated at the cutout 10 b, stabilizing the mounting of the tablet accommodation member 5 to the holding member 6. Further, at both longitudinal ends of the flange portion 9, there protrude lock portions 11 extending downwardly from the centers of the edge portions at the rear of the support walls 10. The distal ends of the lock portions 11 each have an arcuately swollen sectional configuration. Below the lock portions 11, there are formed base portions 12. A protrusion 12 a is formed on the outer surface of each base portion 12. Further, in the inner surface of each base portion 12, there is formed an engagement hole (not shown) at a position corresponding to the protrusion 12 a. Further, the tablet accommodation parts 7 are arranged side by side in the lateral direction, and the protrusions 12 a of one of two adjacent tablet accommodation parts 7 are rotatably engaged with the through-holes 10 a of the other thereof, whereby the tablet accommodation parts 7 are continuously connected together so as to be rotatable.
As shown in FIG. 8, each of the tablet dispenser boxes 8 is formed as a rectangular tube inclined toward the lower end. The reason for inclining the tablet dispenser boxes 8 is to take into account their positional relationship with a hopper into which the accommodated tablets are to be dropped and to facilitate the extraction of erroneously accommodated tablets. As shown in FIG. 9, the opening at the lower end of each tablet dispenser box 8 is opened and closed by a bottom plate 13. Each bottom plate 13 has protrusions 13 a at both ends of one side thereof. The protrusions 13 a are rotatably engaged with engagement holes (not shown). As a result, the bottom plates 13 can rotate about axes coinciding with the axes of the continuous connection of the tablet accommodation parts 7. Thus, when each tablet accommodation part 7 moves through an arcuate passage 61 described below, the bottom plates 13 easily follow the bottom surfaces of the tablet accommodation parts 7, so it is not necessary for the space of the arcuate passage 61 to be rather large. Further, weights 14 are mounted to the bottom surfaces of the bottom plates 13. The weights 14 allow the bottom plates 13 to rotate vertically due to their own weight, allowing the bottoms of the tablet dispenser boxes 8 to be reliably opened.
As shown in FIG. 9, the holding member 6 continuously connects together holding parts 15 arranged in parallel so as to allow them to rotate. In each holding part 15, side plates 16 arranged opposite to each other at predetermined intervals are connected by a connection plate 17. The connection plate 17 is formed as a plate whose both end portions are bent in the same direction perpendicular thereto, with the both end portions being integrated with the side plates 16. The holding part 15 situated at one end of the holding member 6 has a release recess 15 a, making it possible to provide the requisite space for allowing insertion of a finger when detaching the tablet accommodation member 5 mounted to the holding member 6. The holding part 15 situated at the other end of the holding member 6 has a dimension in the side-by-side arrangement direction set larger than that of the other holding parts 15. As a result, when supplying tablets from the last tablet accommodation part 7 by increasing the feed amount of the tablet accommodation member 5, it is possible to move the bottom plates 13 to positions where their opening is possible when supplying tablets from the last tablet accommodation part 7. Further, a gap is formed between the tablet accommodation part 7 and the holding part 15 to provide a space for inserting a finger as in the case of the above-mentioned release recess 15 a. Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, the holding member 6 has a cylindrical shaft member 18 arranged on the outer surface of the side plate 16 and three detection members 19 protruding therefrom. A support roller 20 is mounted to the shaft member 18. The detection members 19 are detected by a position detecting sensor 67 (Here, a photo sensor is used as the position detecting sensor 67), whereby the position of each tablet dispenser box 8 is identified. Since the detection members 19 directly provided on the holding member 6 are directly detected, it is possible to correctly identify the position of each tablet dispenser box 8 solely by appropriately mounting the tablet accommodation member 5 to the holding member 6. Further, a rectangular hole 21 is formed at one end of the side plate 16, and a lock reception portion 22 is formed in the vicinity thereof. The lock reception portion 22 is composed of a pair of elastic members 22 a opposed to each other at a predetermined interval. Further, the lock portion 11 formed on each tablet accommodation part 7 can be engaged/disengaged with/from the lock reception portion 22. Further, first rack gears 23 are integrated with the outer surfaces of the side plates. Each first rack gear 23 has a gear portion at the lower edge thereof, and the gear portion continuously extends with the holding parts 15 arranged side by side in a straight line. The gear portion is in mesh with a pinion gear 24. The pinion gear 24 is engaged with a drive gear 26 through the intermediation of an intermediate gear 25. The drive gear 26 is formed on a rotation shaft 28 to which the drive force is transmitted from a feed motor 27 mounted to a frame member 56 described below.
The V-shaped dispenser box is formed by fixing end plates 33 to the end portions of a vertical plate 32 and providing an opening/closing plate 34 such that its lower edge can move toward and away from the vertical plate 32. Between the opening/closing plate 34 and the vertical plate 32, there is provided a partition triangular plate 35, which is moved toward the endplates 33, whereby it is possible to adjust the number into which the medicine is to be divided. At one end of the V-shaped dispenser box 30, there is provided a suction duct 66, making it possible to effect suction from a lower opening by a cleaner (not shown). Further, any residual powder medicine is sucked and removed from each powder medicine accommodation part 36 of the divisional container 31.
Further, an LED 80 is provided at one end of the V-shaped dispenser box 30. The display state of the LED 80 varies according to the driving condition of the divisional container 31. Here, the display state is one of three states of �blue lighting,� �red lighting,� and �red blinking.� The �blue lighting� indicates that the divisional container is situated below the V-shaped dispenser box, and that dropping of the powder medicine in the V-shaped dispenser box is possible. The �red lighting� indicates that the divisional container is not ready but is performing some other operation. That is, it indicates that dispensing/packaging is going on, with powder medicine being successively fed from each divisional container to the dispensing/packaging unit, or that cleaning operation after dispensing/packaging is going on, with residual medicine being sucked and removed, or that there has been caused an error in which the stop position of the divisional container below the V-shaped dispenser box is not proper. The �red blinking� indicates that the display state is to be turned into �blue lighting� in a short period of time. It indicates that dispensing/packaging and cleaning have been completed, and that the divisional container is being moved according to the partitioning position of the partition plate. From the lighting state of the LED 80, the operator can ascertain at a glance what state the medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus is in.
As shown in FIGS. 10 through 13, the divisional container 31 is formed by arranging powder medicine accommodation parts 36 side by side and integrating them together, and is composed of a first divisional container 31 a including twelve powder medicine accommodation parts 36, and a second divisional container 31 b including nine powder medicine accommodation parts 36. In the divisional containers 31 a, 31 b, the width dimension (the opening width in the side-by-side arrangement direction) of the powder medicine accommodation parts 36 situated at the ends is larger than that of the other powder medicine accommodation parts. As a result, the powder medicine is prevented from being scattered outwardly sideways from the end surfaces of the V-shaped dispenser box 30 when causing the powder medicine to fall from the V-shaped dispenser box 30. A first support bracket 37 a is integrated with the first divisional container 31 a, and a second support bracket 37 b is integrated with the second divisional container 31 b. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, respectively formed on the brackets 37 a, 37 b are second rack gears 38 a, 38 b extending continuously with the divisional containers 31 a, 31 b aligned in a row. The second rack gears 38 a, 38 b are in mesh with a pinion gear 101 provided on the rotation shaft of a feed motor 100 fixed to the apparatus main body 1. As a result, when the feed motor 100 is driven to make normal and reverse rotation, the divisional containers 31 a, 31 b reciprocate horizontally via the gears. As the feed motor 100, a pulse motor or the like is used.
In the dispensing/packaging unit 4, tablets or powder medicine supplied from the tablet feed unit 2 or the powder medicine feed unit 3 through the hopper 54 is packed in a packing paper sheet P for each package. The packing paper sheet P is wound around a roll 4 a, and a feeding direction thereof is eventually converted to an obliquely downward one via a plurality of rollers 4 b. The lower end portion of the hopper 54 is situated in a space formed by being bent into a V-shape by the triangular plate. The opening portion of the packing paper sheet P to which medicine has been supplied through the hopper 54 is sealed by a sealing portion 55 on the further downstream side to pack the medicine into one package. It is also possible to rewind the packing paper sheet P wound around the roll 4 a in a state in which the packing paper sheet P is folded into two in the longitudinal direction.
4 Apparatus Main Body
As shown in FIG. 3, a rectangular opening is formed in the upper surface of the frame member 56, making it possible to accommodate tablets in the tablet accommodation parts 7 of the tablet accommodation member 5 through manual dispensing. Further, a guide groove 57 is formed in an inner side surface of the frame member 56. The guide groove 57 continuously extends from a linear portion 57 a formed in the upper portion of the inner side surface of the frame member 56 to an arcuate portion 57 b formed in the inner surface at one end thereof. Under the linear portion 57 a of the guide groove 57, there is mounted a support panel 58. The support panel 58 is positioned so as to extend along the bottom surface of the tablet accommodation member 5 sliding on the upper surface thereof, and an edge portion at one end thereof is formed in a step-like configuration to open each bottom plate 13. Further, in the interior of one end portion of the frame member 56, there are formed an arcuate outer peripheral wall 59 and a cylindrical inner peripheral wall 60 corresponding to the arcuate portion 57 b. The outer peripheral wall 59 and the inner peripheral wall 60 form an arcuate passage 61 for guiding the region where the tablet accommodation member 5 undergoes a change in direction. Further, a support roller 20 provided on the holding member 6 rolls in the guide groove 57 of the frame member 56, whereby the tablet accommodation member 5 moves horizontally on the support panel 58, and is then changed indirection vertically downwards before being changed in direction back to the horizontal direction (the direction opposite to the above-mentioned horizontal direction). A hopper 54 is arranged between the support panel 58 and the arcuate passage 61 to recover the tablets supplied from the tablet accommodation member 5 and to transfer them to the dispensing/packaging unit 4. The support panel 58 is supported by the frame member 56, and is longitudinally slidable. Thus, it is possible to remove the support panel 58 at the time of maintenance, cleaning, or the like of the hopper 54.
Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the apparatus main body 1 is provided with a first cover 62 covering the tablet feed unit 2. The first cover 62 has a pocket portion 62 a in which prescription slips are to be put in the open state. Further, the first cover 62 can be detached from the opening/closing position and attached to a lower portion of the front surface of the apparatus main body 1. The lower side of the V-shaped dispenser box 30 is covered with a second cover 63. By opening the second cover 63, the handling of the divisional container etc. arranged below the V-shaped dispenser box 30 is facilitated at the time of maintenance or the like. Further, an operation panel 64 is provided by the side of the V-shaped dispenser box 30. Information as set forth on a prescription slip is input at the operation panel 64, making it possible to start the dispensing/packaging processing described below. Reference numeral 65 indicates a hose extending from a built-in cleaner for cleaning, which can be put in and out of the apparatus main body 1.
That is, in the tablet feed unit 2, the table accommodation member 5 starts to move in the horizontal direction by driving a feed motor 27. Then, the bottom plates 13, having ceased to be supported on the bottom side by the support panel 58, are successively opened, and the accommodated (manually dispensed) tablets fall into the hopper 54. The feed amount of the tablet accommodation member 5 is set to a value allowing conveyance one pitch at a time through detection by a sensor of the detection holes 29 a formed in the detection disc 29. Further, the edge portion of the opening formed in the support panel 58 is shaped in the form of three steps in conformity with the three tablet dispenser boxes 8 provided side by side. As a result, it is possible to move the tablet accommodation parts 7 one by one to a position above the hopper 54 and to open the bottom plates 13 thereof. The tablet accommodation member 5 is carried in the horizontal direction, and is then changed in direction vertically downwards by moving through the arcuate passage 61. Then, at the point in time when the tablet accommodation member 5 has attained the arcuate state as shown in FIG. 6, the tablets are paid out from the last tablet accommodation part 7.
In the powder medicine feed unit 3, the divisional container 31 (the first divisional container 31 a and the second divisional container 31 b) in which powder medicine is uniformly divided is moved (to the left in FIG. 12) via the pinion gear 101 and the rack gears 38 a, 38 b by driving the feed motor 100. The first detection portion 40 a is detected by the first detection sensor 41 a, whereby the divisional container 31 is set at the initial position (see FIG. 17( a)). Inside the V-shaped dispenser box 30, the partition triangular plate 35 is slid to a position corresponding to a predetermined number of (here, thirteen) packages, and powder medicine is accommodated and made even. The divisional container 31 is moved to the opposite side (to the right from the position of FIG. 17( a)). At this time, the LED 80 is set to �red blinking,� and, after a while, the user is informed to the effect that it is possible to drop powder medicine from the V-shaped dispenser box 30 into the divisional container 31. Then, one end portion of the divisional container 31 is positioned below the partition triangular plate 35 (see FIG. 17( b)). When the positioning of the divisional container 31 is completed, the LED 80 is set to �blue lighting� to inform to the effect that powder medicine can be dropped from the V-shaped dispenser box 30. Subsequently, the opening/closing plate 34 is opened, and the powder medicine in the V-shaped dispenser box 30 is dropped, equally dividing the medicine into the powder medicine accommodation parts 36 of the divisional container 31. When the powder medicine has been divided in the divisional container 31, the LED 80 is set to �red lighting,� and a warning is issued to the effect that no powder medicine can be dropped from the V-shaped dispenser box 30 into the divisional container 31. After that, the divisional container 31 is moved pitch by pitch, positioning is successively effected on the powder medicine accommodation parts 36 over the hopper 54, and their bottom plates 13 are successively opened, whereby the powder medicine accommodated is dropped.
During the use of the above-described medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus, it can happen that the packing paper sheet is jammed in the packaging unit. In this case, the movable sealing member 111 is rotated to be situated at the operating position spaced apart from the stationary sealing member 110. As shown in FIG. 2C(c), at this time, the support by the abutment roller 120 is canceled, and the protective cover 119 is rotated by the urging force of the spring so as to be situated around the heater roller 113. As a result, when setting the packing paper sheet by inserting the hand into the gap formed between the stationary sealing member 110 and the movable sealing member 111, it is possible to reliably prevent the hand from coming into contact with the heater roller 113, thereby preventing an accident such as burning. When the operation has been completed, the cover 119 can be automatically moved away from the heater roller 113 by the abutment roller 120 as shown in FIGS. 2C(b) and 2C(a) solely by bringing the movable sealing portion close to the stationary sealing portion to restore it to the former position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [FIG. 1A] A perspective view of a medicine dispensing/packaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[FIG. 3] A perspective view of a tablet feed unit and a powder medicine feed unit of FIG. 1.
[FIG. 16] Partial sectional views of an apparatus main body for showing the first cover.
[FIG. 17] Schematic explanatory view showing an example of the divisional container movement.
[FIG. 18] Schematic explanatory view showing an example of the divisional container movement.
DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 . . . apparatus main body
40 a,40 b,40 c . . . portion to be detected
41 a,41 b . . . detection sensor
55 . . . sealing portion
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS4573606 *Sep 12, 1983Mar 4, 1986Kermit E. LewisAutomatic pill dispenser and method of administering medical pillsUS6170699 *Jul 29, 1999Jan 9, 2001Jin Soo KimTablet supplying apparatus for tablet sorting and counting machineUS6449921 *Apr 16, 2001Sep 17, 2002Jv Medi Co., Ltd.Tablet supplying and packaging apparatus having turntable and tablet cassettesUS6772907 *Feb 20, 2003Aug 10, 2004Jun Ho KimAutomatic tablet dispensing and packaging systemJP2939139B2 Title not availableJP3400940B2 Title not availableJP3527179B2 Title not availableJP2002017820A Title not availableJP2002019704A Title not availableJPH1016917A Title not availableJPH09118303A Title not availableJPH09118313A Title not availableJPS5890003A Title not availableJPS6127243A Title not available* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS8209942 *Jan 5, 2011Jul 3, 2012Yuyama Mfg. Co., Ltd.Medicine packing deviceUS8782999 *Sep 29, 2009Jul 22, 2014Panasonic Healthcare Co., Ltd.Tablet supply apparatusUS20100077707 *Sep 29, 2009Apr 1, 2010Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.Tablet supply apparatusUS20110154780 *Jan 5, 2011Jun 30, 2011Tsuyoshi KodamaMedicine Packing DeviceUS20120089248 *Dec 19, 2011Apr 12, 2012Automed Technologies, Inc.Medication cabinetry* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification53/247, 53/244, 221/85, 221/253International ClassificationB65B5/00, G07F11/00Cooperative ClassificationB65B5/103, G07F11/62, G07F17/0092European ClassificationG07F17/00P, B65B5/10B1, G07F11/62Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionJan 10, 2014REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedMar 20, 2008ASAssignmentOwner name: YUYAMA MFG. CO., LTD., JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:YUYAMA, SHOJI;HASHIMOTO, HIROSHI;TSUDA, HIROMICHI;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:020682/0239Effective date: 20071010Owner name: YUYAMA MFG. CO., LTD.,JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:YUYAMA, SHOJI;HASHIMOTO, HIROSHI;TSUDA, HIROMICHI AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:20682/239RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google