Patent ID: 7040505

Claim:
A medicine feeder comprising: a medicine containing case having a rotor defining a plurality of pocket portions; a case supporting base for supporting the medicine containing case, said case supporting base including a motor for rotatably driving the rotor via a plurality of gears, wherein each pocket portion of the rotor is capable of receiving medicine from the medicine containing case, and moving the medicine to a discharge portion of the case supporting base to discharge the medicine from the discharge portion, wherein said plurality of gears comprise a driving gear connected to a rotation shaft of the motor and a driven gear engaging the driving gear; and a power cut-off portion provided in a power transmission passage reaching the rotor from the motor through the driving and driven gears so that power from the motor will be cut off from the rotor when a braking force of more than a predetermined value acts on the rotor, wherein the power cut-off portion comprises a friction generating member provided between the rotor and the driven gear, and wherein the friction generating member comprises: a shaft portion fixed to the rotor and rotatably supporting the driven gear; a ring member having an annular shape and being made of synthetic resin material; and a flange portion for supporting the ring member between the flange portion and the driven gear.