JP6894157B1 - Drug storage and release device and drug packaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To store a predetermined number of drugs in advance before the packaging process so that the drugs can be processed accurately and in a short time, and promptly at the time of packaging. To provide a drug storage / release device capable of releasing and a drug packaging device. SOLUTION: A cylindrical outer wall, a cylindrical inner wall provided concentrically with the cylindrical outer wall, and a plurality of radial partition walls provided between the cylindrical inner wall and the cylindrical outer wall have upper and lower surfaces. A plurality of open sections are formed, and a plurality of layers of water wheel-shaped mass bodies in which a predetermined number of chemicals are stored are stacked in each section, and a group of water wheel-shaped mass bodies rotatably provided and each water wheel-shaped mass are formed. An opening is formed between the bodies and corresponds to one of the compartments, the other compartment is closed, and the openings of adjacent layers are staggered by one compartment. It has a plurality of closed discs provided and a rotating shaft that rotates a plurality of water wheel-shaped mass bodies in common without rotating the closed discs, and the opening of the closed discs closes the layer directly above. The discs are arranged so as to be offset by one section in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the water wheel-shaped mass body with respect to the position of the opening. [Selection diagram] FIG. 7

Description

The present invention relates to a drug storage / release device for storing and releasing a predetermined quantity of a drug such as a tablet in each compartment, and a drug packaging device.

In the dispensing business, hundreds of drugs of various shapes and sizes, such as tablets and capsules, are administered according to the prescription, for example, 42 doses for 2 weeks in the morning, day and night, one dose each, and a plurality of predetermined types of tablets. A drug packaging device (Patent Document 1) that can count a predetermined number of capsules and capsules and then enclose them in a single packet has been put into practical use, which greatly contributes to the efficiency of dispensing operations and the prevention of mistaking. I've been doing it.

In these devices, a dedicated tablet release device corresponding to the shape and size of each drug is used, so a new dedicated tablet release device will be created each time a new drug is released due to an increase in generic drugs, etc. There was a problem that it was necessary and it was not possible to package at the required timing.

In addition, even in the case of bringing in a tablet prescribed by another pharmacy and requesting only the packaging, if the pharmacy does not have a dedicated tablet release device that can handle the tablet, the packaging cannot be performed. ..

Here, by using a general-purpose tablet release device that can handle tablets of different dimensions and shapes with one device instead of the dedicated tablet release device, it is possible to cope with an increase in tablet types to some extent.

However, since the general-purpose tablet release device usually handles tablets having a wide range of dimensions, it is undeniable that the processing speed is lower than that of the dedicated tablet release device, and it can be combined with the release timing of other dedicated tablet release devices. It cannot be done, and the operation time for one package becomes long.

A countermeasure against this is a hand-rolled conveyor device having a plurality of squares. FIG. 19 is an explanatory view of a conventional hand-rolling conveyor device.

According to this, if the dispenser manually fills each mass of the hand-spreading conveyor device with a predetermined number of tablets by hand in the free time when the prescription operation is not performed, the prescription operation can be performed quickly. Since it can be released to, the operation time for one packet can be expected to be shortened.

However, there is a problem with this hand-rolling conveyor device. FIG. 19A is a conceptual diagram of a conventional hand-spreading conveyor composed of 7 columns and 6 rows, and each is in the order of prescription (for example, 3 times a day, morning, day and night x 14 days) based on the upper right cell. The corresponding tablets are hand-spread on the trout.

In this prescription, Ta medicine (morning, day and night, 2 tablets each), Tb medicine (morning and evening, 1 tablet each), and Tc medicine (day and night, 5 tablets each) are sprinkled by hand, but the same number of Ta medicines are sprinkled on all cells. On the other hand, the Tb medicine is hand-sprayed only in the morning and evening masses, and the Tc medicine is hand-spreaded only in the masses other than the morning, so be careful not to make any mistakes.

If this is 3 times a day, morning, day and night, in 6 rows per column, the relationship between the left and right squares in each column is good because the morning minutes are evenly arranged side by side in the morning, but morning, day and night + before bedtime. When it reaches four times, the relationship between the left and right squares in each row becomes unequal, which makes it easy to get confused.

The cause of the error is an error in the mass to be sprinkled and an error in the number of tablets to be sprinkled. To prevent such an error, one tablet of each drug is used as shown in FIGS. 19 (b) to 19 (d). By sprinkling it on the squares without any gaps, the quantity can be checked visually and intuitively.

However, although this intuitive method is easy to understand, as the number of tablets increases, the number of cells increases, and these multiple hand-rolling conveyors are loaded into the packaging device and selectively selected from each cell as needed. Not only is it difficult to incorporate the tablet into the packaging device because the mechanism for releasing the tablet is complicated, but there is also a problem that it takes time to load one tablet into each mass.

In addition, many of these tasks are nerve-wracking manual tasks, which is a burden on the pharmacist who is responsible as a specialist for dispensing errors.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-166202

In view of these problems, the problem to be solved by the present invention is that when the drug is packaged, the drug is processed in advance before the packaging so that the drug can be processed accurately and in a short time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a drug storage / release device and a drug packaging device that can store a predetermined number of the drugs and release them promptly at the time of packaging.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the drug storage / release device of the present invention has a cylindrical outer wall, a cylindrical inner wall provided concentrically with the cylindrical outer wall, and a cylindrical inner wall and a cylinder. A plurality of radial partitions provided between the outer wall and the outer wall form a plurality of sections with open upper and lower surfaces, and a plurality of layers of water wheel-shaped mass bodies in which a predetermined number of chemicals are stored are laminated in each section. At the same time, an opening is formed in a portion corresponding to one of the compartments, which is provided between the water wheel-shaped mass body group rotatably provided and each water wheel-shaped mass body, and the portion of the other compartment is closed. A plurality of closed discs formed so as to be formed and the openings of adjacent layers are staggered by one section, and a plurality of water wheel-shaped mass bodies can be rotated in common without rotating the closed discs. The opening of the closed disk is shifted by one section in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the water wheel-shaped mass with respect to the position of the opening of the closed disk immediately above. It is characterized by being arranged.

Here, the water wheel-shaped mass body is composed of a cylindrical inner wall and a partition wall, and it is preferable that the partition wall formed on the cylindrical inner wall and the cylindrical inner wall rotates, but the cylindrical outer wall is divided into each layer. The cylindrical outer wall and the cylindrical inner wall, and the partition wall formed between the cylindrical outer wall and the cylindrical inner wall may be integrally rotated, or each water wheel-shaped mass may be rotated. The cylindrical outer wall of the body may be composed of a single cylindrical outer wall common to each water wheel mass body.

Further, the compartment may be formed in a box shape by the cylindrical inner wall, the cylindrical outer wall and the partition wall, and in any case, it is sufficient that a compartment capable of accommodating a predetermined number of medicines is formed.

In this way, a predetermined number of drugs can be stored in each section of the water turbine-shaped mass body composed of a plurality of layers having a large number of sections formed in a circumferential shape, and the stored drugs can be reliably and at high speed. In addition, it has a large capacity and can store and release the drug, which enables speedy processing even during the packaging process.

It is desirable to change the size of the mass and the volume of each section according to the size of the drug to be stored, or to prepare multiple types for efficient operation. ..

Further, the drug packaging device according to the second aspect of the present invention is provided on a shelf portion in which a plurality of drug storage / release devices according to the first aspect of the present invention are stored and below the shelf portion, and is provided from the drug storage / release device. It has a packaging device for packaging the released drug.

In this way, since the drug packaging device is equipped with a plurality of drug storage / release devices capable of releasing a large number of drugs at high speed, the efficiency of the packaging process is extremely improved.

In this case, the drug is basically supplied to the drug storage / release device before the drug storage / release device is mounted on the drug packaging device.

As the supply method, a predetermined number may be manually sprinkled and supplied, or a dedicated drug supply mechanism may be used. Even in the case of hand-spraying, since it is sufficient to fill each section of the water turbine-shaped mass body with a predetermined number of chemicals, there are few elements of error and reliable supply is possible.

In this way, after the drug is stored in the drug storage / release device in advance, the drug storage / release device can be mounted on the drug packaging device to automatically perform the packaging process.

In this way, regardless of the configuration of the mechanism (including manual operation) for supplying a predetermined number of drugs in the front stage of the drug storage / release device and the drug packaging device in the subsequent stage of the drug storage / release device, the packaging process is performed. It is possible to realize a state in which a predetermined number of drugs are stored in each section.

According to the present invention, in a drug storage / release device and a drug packaging device incorporating the drug storage / release device, when the drug is packaged, it can be processed accurately and in a short time. A predetermined number of chemicals can be supplied in advance before the packaging process, and a predetermined number of the drugs can be stored in advance, and the drug can be quickly released during the packaging process, so that an efficient packaging process can be realized.

It is a front view of the drug packaging device which concerns on embodiment. It is a partial cross-sectional view of the drug packaging device which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view of the tablet storage and release device which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view which looked at the tablet storage and release apparatus which concerns on embodiment from below. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the tablet storage and release apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the tablet storage and release apparatus which concerns on embodiment (one layer). It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the tablet storage and release apparatus which concerns on embodiment (multilayer). It is a perspective view which shows a part of the structure of the tablet storage and release apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the tablet storage and release apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a part of the tablet storage and release apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the part of the tablet storage and release device which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view of the upper surface of the tablet storage and release device which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view which looked at a part of the tablet storage and release apparatus which concerns on embodiment from below. It is sectional drawing of the part of the tablet storage and release device which concerns on embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which showed the example of attachment to the drug packaging device of the tablet storage and release device which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view of the conventional exclusive tablet release device. It is a perspective view which looked at the exclusive tablet release apparatus of the conventional example from the bottom. It is explanatory drawing which showed the attachment example to the exclusive tablet release device and the drug packaging device of the conventional example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the hand-handling conveyor of the conventional example.

Hereinafter, the drug storage / release device and the drug packaging device incorporating the drug storage / release device according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, the description is given as a tablet, but the present invention is not limited to tablets, and can be applied to drugs such as capsules.

<Structure of drug packaging device>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the drug packaging device 1 according to the embodiment, and shows a state in which the internal device is partially removed. Further, FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the drug packaging device 1 according to the embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view showing a portion of a shelf 2 in which the dedicated tablet release device 3 and the tablet storage / release device 40 are arranged and a tablet drop path. ..

For example, shelves 2 arranged in the horizontal direction when viewed from the front are mounted in 6 stages in the housing of the drug packaging device 1, and 10 tablet storage / release devices 40 or a dedicated tablet release device 3 are provided in each stage. It can be installed. The tablet release device installation table 4 on the shelf 2 has a common structure so that it can be mounted on either the dedicated tablet release device 3 or the tablet storage / release device 40.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which the tablet storage / release device 40 is mounted on the lowermost stage, and the dedicated tablet release device 3 is mounted on the upper two stages. The dedicated tablet release device 3 has been used conventionally, and a large number of tablets of one type are stored, and one tablet P housed inside by rotating the rotary blade 7 is one tablet from the tablet discharge port 15. It is designed to be released to the outside one by one.

Details of the dedicated tablet release device 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 to 18. FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an example of the dedicated tablet release device 3, FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the dedicated tablet release device 3 as viewed from below, and FIG. 18 shows the dedicated tablet release device 3 as a tablet release device installation table of the drug packaging device 1. It is a figure which showed the state of attaching to 4.

The dedicated tablet release device 3 has a structure in which the tablets housed inside are discharged to the outside from the tablet discharge port 15 as the rotary blade 7 rotates. The lower portion of the rotary blade 7 is integrated with the lower coupling 8 shown in FIG. 17, and as shown in FIG. 18, the dedicated tablet release device 3 fits the lower base 16 and the tablet release device installation base 4. When mounted, the lower coupling 8 of the rotary vane 7 and the coupling 6 at the shaft end of the driving motor 5 are engaged with each other.

Then, when the motor 5 is rotated by the tablet payout command, the rotary blade 7 rotates and the built-in tablet P passes through the discharge port 15 of the dedicated tablet release device 3 and the tablet release device installation table 4 and is discharged one tablet at a time downward. Will be done. At this time, after detecting the passage of the tablet by a sensor (not shown), the tablet packaging device 12 is known to drop inside the vertical chute 9 shown in FIG. 2, fall from the lower opening 10, and pass through the chute 11. It is introduced into the tablet packaging device 12, and is individually packaged for one dose and discharged as a continuous packaging paper 14 from the outlet 13 of the tablet packaging device 12.

In FIG. 17, information for identifying the dedicated tablet release device 3 is recorded in the barcode 19, and a reading device (not shown) on the packaging device main body side when mounted on the tablet release device installation table 4 is recorded. By reading the barcode 19, it is possible to recognize the arrangement position of the dedicated tablet release device 3 and what kind of tablet is contained therein.

Returning to FIG. 2, the tablet P released from the dedicated tablet release device 3 and the tablet storage / release device 40 mounted on the tablet release device installation table 4 of each shelf 2 falls inside the common vertical chute 9. Then, it is introduced into the tablet packaging device 12 via the chute 11 and packaged.

<Structure of tablet storage and release device>
Next, the details of the tablet storage / release device 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 15. As the tablet storage / release device 40, a tablet storage / release device 40 for storing and releasing tablets using a water wheel-shaped mass body will be described.

3 and 4 are perspective views of the tablet storage / release device 40 according to the present embodiment as viewed from the front and the bottom, respectively. In FIG. 3, the substantially vertical cylindrical outer wall 42 is made transparent to show the internal structure. It is visualized. Further, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a structure when the cylindrical outer wall 42 is attached to the lower base 66, and FIG. 6 is a set of a water wheel-shaped mass 48 and a closed disk 54, which is an internal structure of the tablet storage / release device 40. It is a representation figure.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the tablet storage / release device 40 is attached to a substantially vertical cylindrical outer wall 42 having an open upper surface and a lower surface, and a lower portion of the cylindrical outer wall 42, and is a tablet of the main body of the packaging device 1. It is composed of a lower base 66 for mounting on the discharge device installation base 4 and an upper lid 37 that covers the upper part of the cylindrical outer wall 42. The upper lid 37 is provided with a tablet supply port 38 for supplying tablets and a shutter 39 for sliding and closing the tablet supply port 38 when the tablets are not supplied. Between the lower base 66 and the upper lid 37 inside the cylindrical outer wall 42, a pair of a water wheel-shaped mass 48 and a closed disk 54, which will be described later, arranged on a substantially horizontal plane is laminated in six layers in a substantially vertical direction. It is provided. Since the lower base 66 that functions as the closing disk 54 is provided under the water wheel-shaped mass body 48 in the lowermost layer, the closing disk 54 is not provided. Further, reference numeral 52 denotes a rotation blocking block for blocking the rotation of the closed disk 54 by a method as described later.

In FIG. 4, the lower coupling 58 engages with the coupling 6 at the shaft end of the drive motor 5 shown in FIG. 2 when mounted on the tablet release device installation table 4, and the lower coupling 58 is laminated. It is connected to a rotating shaft 44 that is common to all of the water turbine-shaped mass bodies 48. Reference numeral 72 denotes a lock mechanism for preventing the water wheel-shaped mass 48 from freely rotating when the tablet storage / release device 40 is removed from the tablet release device installation table 4, and the details thereof will be described later.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, the two mounting protrusions 69 at the lower ends of the cylindrical outer wall 42 rotate the outer wall locking mechanism 60 when protruding from the lower surface of the lower base 66 through the through holes 68 provided in the lower base 66. It shows a state in which the cylindrical outer wall 42 is attached to the lower base 66 by moving.

As shown in FIG. 6, between the lower base 66 and the upper lid 37 inside the cylindrical outer wall 42, there is a cylindrical inner wall 43 that rises substantially vertically and is provided concentrically with the cylindrical outer wall 42, and the cylindrical shape. It is formed so as to project radially from the inner wall 43, and a plurality of radial partition walls 46 are provided between the inner wall 43 and the cylindrical outer wall 42 so as to evenly divide the circumference. The cylindrical inner wall 43 and the radial partition wall 46 form a water turbine-shaped mass body 48 whose upper and lower surfaces are open. Further, a plurality of compartments are formed by the cylindrical inner wall 43 and the radial partition wall 46, and a predetermined number of tablets are stored in each compartment.

Further, a closed disk 54 is provided at the lower part of the water wheel-shaped mass body 48. The cylindrical inner wall 43, the cylindrical outer wall 42, the radial partition wall 46, and the closed disk 54 form a plurality of compartments 47 capable of accommodating a predetermined quantity of tablets. Hereinafter, it will be described that one tablet can be stored in each compartment, but if the number of tablets to be released at one time is always a predetermined number, a predetermined quantity may be stored and stored.

As shown in FIG. 3, six layers of the water turbine-shaped mass 48 and the closing disk 54 provided so as to close the bottom thereof are provided inside the cylindrical outer wall 42 in the vertical direction. In other words, a plurality of layers of the turbine-shaped masses 48 are laminated, and a closed disk 54 is provided between the turbine-shaped masses.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, each closed disk 54 has a notch hole 53 (opening) corresponding to the size of one square (one section) of the water turbine-shaped mass body 48 at one place on the outer circumference thereof. A convex portion 56 having a hole 57 is provided for fixing the closing disk 54 so as not to rotate by a method described later.

It should be noted that each section 47 surrounded by each partition wall 46 is configured so that its shape is substantially a rectangular parallelepiped shape, but the shape is not limited thereto. However, by forming the shape into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, the width (thickness) of each partition wall 46 becomes wide, and the distance in the circumferential direction of the adjacent sections can be secured. Therefore, as will be described later, when the water turbine-shaped mass 48 is rotated on the closing disk 54 to align one section 47 with the notch hole 53 (opening), the accuracy of the stop position is not strict. However, the adjacent section 47 does not hang on the notch hole 53.

In FIG. 6, the water turbine-shaped mass 48 is formed with 11 compartments 47 by a cylindrical inner wall 43 and a partition wall 46. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the water turbine-shaped mass bodies 48 are stacked in six layers so as to sandwich the closed discs 54 at the top and bottom to form a water turbine-shaped mass body group, and a total of 66 compartments 47 are formed.

The number of the compartments 47 is not limited to 11 in each layer, and may be appropriately selected depending on the dimensions of the entire device, the dimensions of the tablets, and the like. Further, the number of layers is not limited to six.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a structure in the vertical direction by separating each layer of the tablet storage / release device 40. In this embodiment, six layers of the turbine-shaped mass bodies 48a to 48f are provided, and the closed disks 54a to 54e are divided into upper and lower layers in contact with the turbine-shaped mass bodies 48a to 48f between the layers. It has a sandwiched structure. These stacked water turbine-shaped mass bodies 48a to 48f are rotated by a common rotating shaft 44 provided at the center. On the other hand, even if the turbine-shaped masses 48a to 48f are rotated, the closed disks 54a to 54e are not rotated.

That is, since the central portions of the water turbine-shaped mass bodies 48a to 48f are fitted to the rotating shaft 44, they rotate at the same time as the rotating shaft 44 rotates. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the closed disks 54a to 54e sandwiched between the water wheel-shaped mass bodies 48a to 48f have a large circular hole 55 in the center of the disk, and the rotation shaft. Even if the 44 rotates, the rotational force is not transmitted to the closed disks 54a to 54e.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, convex portions 56a to 56e having holes 57 are provided on a part of the outer periphery of the closed disks 54a to 54e, respectively. The convex portions 56a to 56e are laminated so as to sandwich the rotation blocking blocks 52a to 52e, and the convex portions 56e are connected to the blocking block mounting position 67 of the lower base 66 via the rotation blocking block 52e. Finally, the holes 57a to 57e of the convex portions of the closed disks 54a to 54e and the holes 59a to 59e of the rotation blocking blocks 52a to 52e are fixed to the lower base 66 by the set screw 51.

As described above, it is possible to rotate the water turbine-shaped masses 48a to 48f while the closed disks 54a to 54e are kept fixed. The arrow 103 in FIG. 7 indicates the rotation direction of the turbine-shaped masses 48a to 48f, and the turbine-shaped masses 48a to 48f rotate clockwise when viewed from above. Further, 72 is a part of a locking mechanism for preventing the water wheel-shaped mass 48 from freely rotating when the tablet storage / release device 40 is removed from the tablet release device installation table 4, and the details thereof will be described later.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the lower base 66, and the bottom of the water wheel-shaped mass body 48f in the lowermost layer has a structure corresponding to a sliding surface 64 which is a part of the lower base 66 instead of the closed disk 54. The rotating shaft 44 penetrates through the central hole 43 of the lower base 66 in a rotatable manner, and the central holes 49a to 49f of the turbine-shaped mass bodies 48a to 48f of each layer have a structure of fitting to the rotating shaft 44. The structure is such that the water wheel-shaped masses 48a to 48f rotate at the same time as the rotation shaft 44 rotates. Reference numeral 65 denotes a discharge port at which tablets are discharged to the outside of the tablet storage / release device 40 from the compartment 47 of the water wheel-shaped mass body 48f. Further, reference numeral 68 denotes a through hole through which the mounting convex portion 68 formed in the lower part of the cylindrical outer wall 42 passes.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the tablet storage / release device 40, and as shown in the figure, the rotating shaft 44 and the lower coupling 58 are connected to each other. Therefore, when the tablet storage / release device 40 is mounted on the tablet release device installation table 4, the rotational force of the external motor 5 is applied to the water wheel-shaped mass body 48a via the coupling 6, the lower coupling 58, and the rotation shaft 44. ~ 48f can be rotationally driven in the direction of arrow 103 (clockwise) shown in FIG.

Next, the notch hole 53 of the closing disk 54 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the closed discs 54a to 54e extracted by omitting the water turbine-shaped masses 48a to 48e. Each closed disk 54 has notch holes (openings) 53a to 53e corresponding to the dimensions of one square (one section) of the water turbine-shaped masses 48a to 48e at one place on the outer circumference thereof. The position of the notch hole 53 of each closing disk 54 is shifted by one square (one section) in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from above each time the closing disk 54 of the upper layer is lowered. It is provided.

As a result, when paying attention to the specific water wheel-shaped mass 48 and the closed disk 54, the tablet dropped from the notch hole 53 of the upper closed disk 54 is 1 more than the notch hole 53 of the layer. It will fall into the section 47 that is offset clockwise by the amount of the section. After that, the water wheel-shaped mass 48 that received the tablet is rotated in the circumferential direction, and the received tablet is transferred from the notch hole 53 of the layer at a position one section before one rotation to the lower layer. It will fall into the section 47 of the water wheel-shaped mass body 48. By continuously performing such an operation in all compartments of all layers, it is possible to receive tablets from the upper layer, transfer the tablets in the circumferential direction in the layer, and drop the tablets into the lower layer. It repeats itself.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the relationship between the position of the tablet inlet 38 of the tablet storage / release device 40 and the closed disk 54 and the notch hole 53. When the position where one tablet is inserted from the tablet inlet 38 provided in the upper lid 37 and is housed in the compartment 47a of the water wheel-shaped mass body 48a is set to D, the notch hole 53a is a water wheel-shaped mass body rather than D. It is arranged at a position shifted by one section in the counterclockwise direction of 48a. Then, the tablet inserted from the tablet insertion port 38 is received at the D point due to the clockwise rotation of the received water wheel-shaped mass body 48a, and then the notch hole is made immediately before returning to the D point (one section before). It falls from 53a and is housed in one section 47b of the water turbine-shaped mass body 48b one step lower.

Similarly, the notch hole 53b is offset from the notch hole 53a by one section counterclockwise when viewed from above, and the notch hole 53c is located counterclockwise when viewed from above from the notch hole 53b. It has a structure in which it falls to the next layer at a position shifted by one section and is accommodated in one section of the lower water turbine-shaped mass body 48. By repeating this over 6 layers, the tablet finally dropped onto the water wheel-shaped mass 48f is a tablet that drops the tablet downward from the discharge port 65 of the tablet storage / release device 40 as the water wheel-shaped mass 48f rotates. Is.

FIG. 12 is a top view of the upper lid 37 of the tablet storage / release device 40 of the present invention in which the uppermost water wheel-shaped mass body 48a is visualized. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the notch 53 of the closed disk of each layer is, in order from the bottom layer, each time the clock is raised from the position corresponding to the discharge port 65 provided on the lower base 66. It shifts by one square of the tablet storage square. Therefore, the tablet supply port 38 formed on the upper lid 37 of the uppermost water wheel-shaped mass body 48a is located at a position shifted clockwise by 6 squares corresponding to the number of layers 6 of the water wheel-shaped mass body when viewed from the discharge port 65. Will be positioned in.

The notch holes 53 are provided according to the size of the horizontal plane of the compartment 47 of the water wheel-shaped mass body 48 of each layer, and are positioned clockwise by the same number as the number of layers from the bottom, so that the tablet supply port 38 rotates. The position and size in the direction are provided at positions deviated from the size of the section 47 in the rotation direction by the number of layers from the bottom.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the lower surface of the tablet storage / release device 40. Eleven magnets 70a to 70k are embedded in a circumferential shape at the base of the partition wall 46 on the back surface side of the water wheel-shaped mass body 48f in the lowermost layer.

The position of these magnets in the rotation direction of the water turbine-shaped mass 48f is detected by a magnetic sensor (not shown) provided on the tablet release device installation base 4, and the compartment 47 of the water turbine-shaped mass 48f is discharged from the discharge port 65 during rotational driving. It is determined whether or not the position is opposite to. As a result, it is used to control the water turbine-shaped mass 48f to repeat rotation and stop by one mass for each drop of one tablet by continuously detecting the turbine-shaped mass 48f as it rotates.

In the figure, information for identifying the tablet storage / release device 40 is written in the bar code 59, and by reading the bar code 59 on the main body side when the tablet is mounted on the tablet release device installation table 4, the bar code 59 is read. It is possible to recognize the placement and what kind of drug is contained.

Further, as shown in FIG. 13, a circular recess is formed in the central portion on the lower surface of the water wheel-shaped mass body 48f in the lowermost layer, and the tablet storage / release device 40 is tableted in the inner peripheral direction of the recess. When removed from the release device installation table 4, a gear-shaped uneven portion 71 is provided for fixing the water wheel-shaped mass body group 48 so as not to be carelessly rotated and the tablets inside are released.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the lower right half of the tablet storage / release device 40. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the lock mechanism 72 in which the tablet is not inadvertently released as described above, and FIG. 14A is a diagram when the tablet is not attached to the tablet release device installation table 4, and FIG. 14B is a diagram. ) Is a diagram when mounted on the tablet release device installation table 4.

In the figure, the lock mechanism 72 has an A end and a B end at both ends thereof, and its cross section is an approximately L-shaped part, and the A end moves substantially up and down with the L-shaped corner as a fulcrum, and the other. It is installed so that the B end can move to the left and right. Further, a spring 73 is provided between the A end and the lower base 66 so that a force acts in the extension direction for urging the A end downward.

In the figure (a), since it is not mounted on the tablet release device installation base 4, the spring 73 expands, the lock mechanism 72 rotates in the clockwise direction, and the A end rotates downward, resulting in this. The B end rotates to the right, and the B end is in a state of biting into the uneven portion 71 of the water turbine-shaped mass body 48f. As a result, the rotation of the turbine-shaped mass bodies 48f and the other turbine-shaped mass bodies 48a to 48e fitted to the rotating shaft 44 is also restricted and does not rotate, so that the tablets inside are released from the discharge port 65. It prevents it from being released to the outside.

On the other hand, in FIG. 3B, when mounted on the tablet release device installation table 4, the A end of the lock mechanism 72 rotates upward in the form of compressing the spring 73, and as a result, the B end rotates to the left. To do. As a result, the B end is separated from the uneven portion 71 of the water turbine-shaped mass body 48f, the lock of the water turbine-shaped mass body group 48 is released, and rotation is allowed. At this time, since the lower coupling 58 is fitted with the coupling 6 of the tablet release device installation base 4, the water turbine-shaped mass 48 can be rotated in accordance with the rotation of the motor 5.

FIG. 15 shows a form in which the tablet storage / release device 40 is mounted on the tablet release device installation table 4, and similarly to the conventional dedicated tablet release device 3, the lower table 66 of the tablet storage / release device 40 and the tablet release device installation table 4 It is designed to be fitted in. When the lower base 66 of the tablet storage / release device 40 is fitted into the tablet release device installation base 4, the lower coupling 58 and the coupling 6 at the shaft end of the driving motor 5 are engaged with each other. Along with the rotation of the motor 5, the water wheel-shaped mass 48 rotates, and the tablets are discharged to the outside via the discharge port 65 and the tablet discharge device installation table 4.

<Operation of tablet storage and release device>
As described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, the positions of the notch holes (openings) 53a to 53e of the closed disks 54a to 54e are fixed, and the notch holes 53b are viewed from above from the notch holes 53a. The upper layer tablet can be dropped to the lower layer at a position offset by one square in the counterclockwise direction, and by repeating this in sequence, the tablet is finally dropped downward from the discharge port 65 of the tablet storage / release device 40. You can do it.

A method of supplying tablets to the tablet storage / release device 40 is, for example, that the first tablet supplied from the supply port 38 is filled in the head compartment 47 of the water wheel-shaped mass body 48a, so that the rotation axis 44 is clockwise. By rotating one section, supplying the next tablet from the tablet supply port 38, and repeating this 10 times, the ten sections 47 of the first layer water wheel-shaped mass body 48a are filled with tablets. It becomes. Further, by rotating the rotating shaft 44 by one section, the tablet initially supplied falls from the notch hole 53a of the closed disk 54a and becomes the first section 47 of the second-layer water wheel-shaped rotating disk 48b. enter.

After that, while supplying tablets from the tablet supply port 38, the water wheel-shaped mass body 48 is rotated clockwise for each section, and this series of operations is repeated for five layers to complete all the sections of the water wheel-shaped mass bodies 48a to 48e. Since the tablets are supplied to the first compartment 47 of the water wheel-shaped mass body 48f in the lowermost layer, each layer 10 compartments × 10 compartments capable of accommodating the tablets of the tablet storage / release device 40 by rotating for another 9 compartments. All compartments of 6 layers = 60 are in the form of tablets.

It is not always necessary to store the tablets in all the compartments. For example, when the number of tablets to be prescribed is only 50 tablets (50 compartments), the rotation for the last 10 compartments is the tablet supply port 38. The desired supply is possible by rotating the tablets without supplying them from.

In the above supply operation, the rotation shaft can be rotated by one section 47 minutes by stopping the rotation every time the position of the magnet 70 is detected by the magnetic sensor as described with reference to FIG. Further, the method of supplying one tablet at a time from the tablet supply port 38 may be hand-spraying or may be automatically supplied by some method.

Next, an operation of incorporating the tablet storage / release device 40 into the drug packaging machine 1 to prepare a packaging will be described. First, the tablet storage / release device 40 containing the tablets in each compartment is attached to the tablet release device installation table 4. A state in which the lower coupling 58 of the rotating shaft 44 and the shaft end coupling 6 of the motor 5 of the installation base 4 are engaged by mounting, and the rotational force of the motor 5 is transmitted to the turbine-shaped mass bodies 48a to 48f via the rotating shaft 44. It becomes. Further, the lock mechanism 72 shown in FIG. 14 and the gear-shaped uneven portion 71 of the water wheel-shaped mass body 48f in the lowermost layer are separated from each other, and the water wheel-shaped mass body 48 can be rotated. Further, the barcode 59 is read by a sensor of the tablet storage / release device installation table 4 (not shown), and the drug packaging device 1 determines what kind of tablet the tablet storage / release device 40 is mounted on which installation table 4. recognize.

When all the squares are full, one tablet can be released from the discharge port 65 by rotating the rotating shaft 44 and rotating the water wheel-shaped squares 48a to 48f by one section. The rotation of one section can be detected by detecting the positions of the magnets 70a to 70k on the back surface of the water turbine-shaped mass body 48f with the magnetic sensor of the installation table 4.

If the water wheel-shaped masses 48a to 48f are not full, the cell containing the leading tablet may be rotated until it reaches the position of the discharge port 65. After that, the cell can be advanced by 1 mass to 1 The tablet can be released.

<Operation of drug packaging machine>
The control unit of the drug packaging device 1 drives the dedicated tablet releasing device 3 and the tablet storage / releasing device 40 according to the prescription data to release the tablets corresponding to the tablets to be contained in one package. In doing so, the tablets released from both can fall into the lower opening 10 of the vertical chute 9 of the drug packaging device 1 and merge with the other tablets.

After that, it is introduced into a known tablet wrapping device 12 via a chute 11, and tablets for one dose are individually wrapped from the outlet 13 and discharged as a continuous wrapping paper 14.

<Modification example>
The tablet storage / release device 40 described so far is provided with six layers of the water wheel-shaped mass 48, but the present invention is not limited to the six layers. Further, the number of compartments 47 of the one-layer water turbine-shaped mass is also described as 11, but the number is not limited to this. For example, if the tablets to be contained are small, the number of compartments of one layer may be increased by reducing the width, depth and height of the compartments of the turbine-shaped mass, and the total number of layers may be increased. It is also possible to increase the number of tablets contained in the tablet storage / release device 40. Further, by simply reducing the number of layers, the capacity is reduced, but there is an advantage that the height direction becomes compact.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that one tablet storage and supply device 40 can accommodate 60 tablets, but when it is necessary to prescribe more than 60 tablets at a time, the drug packaging device 1 A plurality of tablet storage and supply devices 40a, 40b, ... Containing the same tablet are mounted on the tablet, and after one tablet storage and supply device 40a is emptied, the tablet is released from the other tablet storage and supply device 40b. By letting it, a desired prescription becomes possible. Subsequent release from the tablet storage / release device 40 and the packaging operation can be automatically performed by an instruction from the control unit of the drug packaging device 1, and it is possible to prevent an error in the work.

In addition, due to this, even if it is a semicircular half tablet that is not circular, a tablet with a deformed shape, or a tablet or capsule that is newly released and the dedicated tablet storage container 3 has not been prepared yet, an error can be made. It enables automatic packaging that is unlikely to occur.

In all of the above explanations, one tablet per tablet was used to prevent errors and improve work efficiency. However, due to the operation of pharmacies, a predetermined number of two tablets (or three or more tablets) are always used for specific tablets. ) May be treated as one set, and for the specific tablet, it may be controlled to load a predetermined number of tablets to be contained in one packet, such as two tablets (or three or more tablets) per mass. As a result, the tablet storage capacity of the apparatus can be increased and the processing speed can be improved.

The apparatus according to the present invention is expected to be widely used in dispensing pharmacies and the like, and has great industrial applicability.

1 Drug packaging device 3 Dedicated tablet release device 4 Tablet release device installation stand 12 Tablet packaging device 38 Tablet supply port 40 Tablet release device (water wheel-shaped mass tablet storage and release device)
42 Cylindrical outer wall 43 Cylindrical inner wall 44 Rotating shaft 46 Partition 47 Section 48 Water wheel-shaped mass 53 Notch hole (opening)
54 Closed disk 56 Convex 57 Hole 65 Discharge port 66 Lower stand 72 Lock mechanism

Claims (7)

An upper surface and a lower surface are opened by a cylindrical outer wall, a cylindrical inner wall provided concentrically with the cylindrical outer wall, and a plurality of radial partition walls provided between the cylindrical inner wall and the cylindrical outer wall. A plurality of water wheel-shaped mass bodies are formed, and a plurality of layers of water wheel-shaped mass bodies in which a predetermined number of chemicals are stored are laminated in each section, and a group of water wheel-shaped mass bodies rotatably provided.
An opening is formed in a portion corresponding to one of the compartments, is formed so as to close a portion of the other compartment, and an opening of an adjacent layer is provided between the water turbine-shaped mass bodies. Multiple closed discs that are staggered by one section,
It has a rotating shaft that rotates the plurality of turbine-shaped mass bodies in common without rotating the closed disk.
The opening of the closed disk is arranged so as to be offset by one section in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the water turbine-shaped mass body with respect to the position of the opening of the closed disk immediately above.
A drug storage and release device characterized in that. It is provided at the bottom of the water turbine-shaped mass body in the lowermost layer of the water wheel-shaped mass body group, and is shifted by one section in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the water wheel-shaped mass body with respect to the position of the opening of the closed disk directly above. Further has a lower platform on which a drug outlet is formed.
The drug storage / release device according to claim 1. On the lower stand
A lock mechanism that allows the rotation of the water wheel-shaped mass body group when the drug storage / release device is attached to the drug packaging device, and regulates the rotation of the water wheel-shaped mass body group when it is removed from the drug packaging device. Was provided,
The drug storage / release device according to claim 1 or 2. The cylindrical outer wall of each turbine-shaped mass body is composed of a single cylindrical outer wall common to each turbine-shaped mass body.
The drug storage / release device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A convex portion is formed on a part of the outer circumference of the closed disk, and the rotation of the closed disk is restricted by connecting and fixing the convex portions of all the closed disks up and down.
The drug storage / release device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. Each turbine-shaped mass is arranged on a substantially horizontal plane, and each turbine-shaped mass is laminated in a substantially vertical direction.
The drug storage / release device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A shelf portion in which a plurality of drug storage / release devices according to any one of claims 1 to 6 are stored, and a shelf portion.
A packaging device provided below the shelf and for packaging the drug released from the drug storage / release device.
Drug packaging device with.

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