JP7227548B2 - Drug dispensing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to drug dispensing devices.

Patent Literature 1 discloses an example of a variable cassette that can dispense any type of drug (eg, tablets, capsules) in unit amounts (eg, one tablet at a time) by changing driving conditions. The variable cassette of Patent Document 1 includes a first rotating body, a second rotating body, a height restricting body, and a width restricting body. In the variable cassette, the drug put in is discharged from the first rotating body to the second rotating body by the rotation of the first rotating body, and then conveyed toward the outlet by the rotation of the second rotating body. The medicine on the second rotating body is transported to the dispensing opening in a state in which the tablets are arranged one by one in the circumferential direction on the second rotating body by the height regulating body and the width regulating body.

WO2017/159819

The upstream side of the ejection port (medicine guide area that guides the medication to the ejection port) is arranged at a position facing the width regulating body so that the medicines are dispensed one by one in a row. A predetermined width is defined by the side wall member. In Patent Literature 1, the side wall member is a fixed member. Therefore, depending on the shape of the medicine, there is a possibility that the medicine may be caught on the fixing member, which may interfere with the transport of the medicine, or the medicine may be damaged when the medicine comes into contact with the fixing member.

An object of one aspect of the present invention is to realize a drug dispensing device capable of efficiently dispensing drugs.

A medicine dispensing device according to one aspect of the present invention is a medicine dispensing device that conveys a medicine to a dispensing opening and thereby dispenses the medicine from the dispensing opening, comprising: a rotating member that conveys the medicine by rotating; and a displacement member with which the medicine conveyed on the rotation member by the rotation member comes into contact, and the passage path of the medicine located downstream of the displacement member in the rotation member has a predetermined width. and the displacement member is displaced toward the rotation center of the rotating member by contact with the drug.

According to the medicine dispensing device according to one aspect of the present invention, medicine can be efficiently dispensed.

(a) is a perspective view showing a state in which a medicine dispensing cassette is attached to a motor base, (b) is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the motor base, and (c) is an arrangement example of a count sensor. It is a figure which shows. It is a perspective view which shows the structural example of a medicine expenditure cassette. (a) is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the medicine dispensing cassette with the cover removed, and (b) is a plan view showing part of the medicine dispensing cassette in the state. (a) is sectional drawing of a 1st rotating body and a 2nd rotating body, (b) is a figure which shows an example of the peripheral part of a 1st rotating body. (a) is a perspective view showing a comparative example of the second rotating body, and (b) is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the second rotating body 13. FIG. (a) and (b) are diagrams showing configuration examples of a height regulating body and a width regulating body. (a) and (b) are diagrams for explaining the prevention of overlapping of split tablets in the vicinity of the dispensing port. (a) and (b) are diagrams for explaining examples of adjustment of transfer height and transfer width. (a) is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a guide member, and (b) is a plan view showing a configuration example of a first displacement member and a second displacement member. (a) and (b) are diagrams for explaining an example of conveying a split tablet when the cross-sectional shape of the first displacement member is D-shaped. (a) to (c) are diagrams for explaining an operation example of the second rotating body. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a comparative example of a guide member; FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a medicine dispensing cassette and a motor base; (a) and (b) is a figure for demonstrating the operation example of a 2nd rotary body. (a) and (b) is a figure for demonstrating the operation example of a 2nd rotary body. It is a flow chart which shows an example of processing in a medicine expenditure cassette. It is a figure showing an example of composition of a medicine expenditure cassette concerning a modification.

[Embodiment 1]
One embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 16. FIG. First, the state in which the drug dispensing cassette 1 (medicine dispensing device) is attached to the motor base 10 will be described based on FIG. (a) of FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which the drug dispensing cassette 1 is attached to the motor base 10, (b) is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the motor base 10, and (c) is a 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement example of the count sensor 101. FIG.

As shown in (a) of FIG. 1 , by connecting the medicine dispensing cassette 1 to the motor base 10 , the dispensing process of split tablets by the medicine dispensing cassette 1 is realized under the control of the motor base 10 . The drug dispensing cassette 1 is a member that sequentially feeds the inserted divided tablets to the dispensing port 17 (see (c) in FIG. 1), thereby dispensing the divided tablets from the dispensing port 17 . The motor base 10 is a member on which the medicine dispensing cassette 1 is mounted and connected to control the operation of the medicine dispensing cassette 1 .

The drug to be dispensed by the drug dispensing cassette 1 is not a drug contained in a drug container that cannot be taken (e.g., an ampoule or a vial), but a drug that is not contained in a drug container that cannot be taken, or a package that cannot be taken. It refers to the drug itself that has not been applied. In the present specification, the drug to be dispensed is described as being a divided tablet (eg, a tablet divided into approximately halves (half tablet)) (hereinafter referred to as a divided tablet). The medicine dispensing cassette 1 may be used to dispense undivided tablets (one tablet) or capsules, but it functions effectively when handling fragile or crackable medicines. Regarding these points, the same applies to the medicine dispensing cassettes in the following embodiments.

In this specification, a drug dispensing cassette that dispenses any type of drug by unit amount by changing driving conditions will be described as an example. In other words, for example, a medicine dispensing cassette provided with a medicine packaging device for packaging medicines, together with a fixed cassette for dispensing a predetermined kind of medicine and a manual dispensing unit for manually dispensing medicines, etc. will be described. do. However, the function of the drug dispensing cassette described herein can also be applied to a drug dispensing device that, for example, sequentially feeds a plurality of inserted drugs and counts and dispenses at least a portion of the sequentially fed drugs.

[Motor base configuration]
The motor base 10 includes a count sensor 101, a connector 102, and drive members 103-106, as shown in FIG. 1(b).

The count sensor 101, as shown in FIG. 1(c), is a sensor that detects divided tablets that have been delivered from the second rotating body 13 of the drug delivery cassette 1 and have passed (dropped) through the delivery port 17. As shown in FIG. The count sensor 101 counts the number of divided tablets by detecting the divided tablets that have passed through the dispensing port 17 . The count sensor 101 is arranged so that an object detection range is formed on the passing path of the split tablets sent out from the second rotating body 13 (see "optical axis" in FIG. 1(c)).

The count sensor 101 identifies the presence or absence of an object within a detection range by receiving (or not receiving) the light emitted from the light-emitting unit by the light-receiving unit located opposite the light-emitting unit. sensor. However, the count sensor 101 is a so-called reflective type in which the light emitted from the light emitting unit is reflected by the object and the reflected light is received by the light receiving unit to identify the presence or absence of the object within the detection range. It may be a sensor. In this case, the light emitting section and the light receiving section are arranged side by side.

The connector 102 supplies electric power to the medicine dispensing cassette 1 by being connected to a connector (not shown) of the medicine dispensing cassette 1 . The driving members 103 and 104 are connected to a first rotating mechanism for rotating the first rotating body 12 of the medicine dispensing cassette 1 shown in FIG. 2 and a second rotating mechanism for rotating the second rotating body 13, respectively. Power is supplied to the rotating mechanism and the second rotating mechanism. The drive members 105 and 106 are respectively connected to a height restrictor moving mechanism for moving the height restrictor 14 of the medicine dispensing cassette 1 shown in FIG. 2 and a width restrictor moving mechanism for moving the width restrictor 15, Powers the height limiter movement mechanism and the width limiter movement mechanism.

Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the motor base 10 includes a control section 50 and a storage section 60, and these members will be described later.

Although the motor base 10 is described as including the control unit 50 and the storage unit 60, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 50 and the storage unit 60 may be realized by a control device that controls the operation of the medicine dispensing cassette 1 provided separately from the motor base 10 and the medicine dispensing cassette 1 . In this case, the control device is connected to the motor base 10 and controls the operation of the medicine dispensing cassette 1 by controlling the operation of the motor base 10 .

Moreover, although the drug dispensing cassette 1 and the motor base 10 are separate mechanisms, they may be integrated. In this case, for example, the medicine dispensing cassette 1 may include the count sensor 101 , the control section 50 and the storage section 60 .

[Structure of Medicine Dispensing Cassette]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the medicine dispensing cassette 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3(a) is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the medicine dispensing cassette 1 with the cover part 11 removed, and FIG. 3(b) is a plan view showing a part of the medicine dispensing cassette 1 in this state. be.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the medicine dispensing cassette 1 mainly includes a cover portion 11, a first rotating body 12, a second rotating body 13, a height restricting body 14, a width restricting body 15, and a guide member 16. Prepare.

In medicine dispensing cassette 1 , divided tablets are put into first rotating body 12 . After that, the split tablets are transferred from the first rotating body 12 to the second rotating body 13 in the movement area Ar1 by the rotation of the first rotating body 12, and are dispensed from the second rotating body 13 by the rotation of the second rotating body 13. Drop down to exit 17. Also, the split tablets on the second rotating body 13 are aligned in one row by the height restricting body 14 and the width restricting body 15 . Each member will be described in detail below.

<Cover part/dispensing port>
The cover part 11 is a part of a housing provided in the upper part of the medicine dispensing cassette 1 (on the divided tablet input side), and protects the inside of the medicine dispensing cassette 1 . The dispensing port 17 is an opening through which the split tablets conveyed by the second rotating body 13 drop.

<First Rotating Body/Second Rotating Body>
The first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 as well. 4A is a cross-sectional view of the first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13, and FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of the peripheral portion of the first rotating body 12. FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing a comparative example of the second rotating body 13, and FIG. 5B is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the second rotating body 13. FIG.

The first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 function as a drug transport mechanism that transports the inserted split tablets to the dispensing port 17 . Specifically, the first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 convey the input split tablets toward the dispensing port 17 in the case of forward feeding. In the case of reverse feeding, the second rotating body 13 conveys the split tablets placed on the second rotating body 13 in a direction opposite to the forward feeding direction. That is, the second rotating body 13 can switch between a forward feeding operation for forward feeding the divided tablets and a reverse feeding operation for backward feeding the divided tablets. However, like the second rotating body 13, the first rotating body 12 may also be switchable between the forward feeding operation and the reverse feeding operation. Forward feeding may be referred to as forward rotation, and reverse feeding may be referred to as reverse rotation.

The first rotating body 12 is a rotating member (inner disk, inner ring) that rotates to move the divided tablets that have been put in to the outer peripheral side (diameter direction outside). Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first rotating body 12 is a disk-shaped rotating member that rotates around a first shaft portion 12A.

Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3A, and 4A, a partition wall 18 is erected along the outer peripheral portion of the first rotating body 12. As shown in FIG. As a result, the charged divided tablets are placed on the first rotating body 12 . Specifically, the divided tablets that have been thrown are accommodated in an accommodation space defined by the first rotating body 12 and the partition wall 18 .

As shown in (a) of FIG. 4, the first rotating body 12 is disposed so as to be inclined with respect to the XY plane (eg, the mounting surface of the medicine dispensing cassette 1). That is, the first shaft portion 12A of the first rotating body 12 is arranged so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the Z-axis direction (vertical direction).

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the upper surface of the first rotating body 12 is provided with a plurality of ridges 12B radially for suppressing the rolling of the divided tablets that have been put on the upper surface. ing. The split tablets put into the first rotating body 12 are moved to the outer peripheral portion by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the first rotating body 12 .

As shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), the side surface 12C of the peripheral edge of each protruding portion 12B is substantially parallel to the surface of the second rotating body 13 on which the split tablets are placed. has a slope. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the split tablets from being damaged when the split tablets are moved between the first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 . In particular, when the divided tablets are returned from the second rotating body 13 to the first rotating body 12 during reverse feeding, breakage of the divided tablets can be prevented.

Tablets are generally coated with a protective film around them to make them more resistant to breakage. However, in the case of split tablets, the split surfaces are not coated with a protective film. Therefore, split tablets are more vulnerable to external impact and breakage than tablets that are not split. In other words, the split tablets are likely to generate powder or fragments from the split surface. Therefore, in the medicine dispensing cassette 1 for handling split tablets, it is useful that the side surface 12C has an inclination as described above.

Further, the size and positional relationship of the first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 are defined so that a gap is generated at least in the movement area Ar1 and the facing area Ar2. The moving area Ar1 is an area where the divided tablets are transferred from the first rotating body 12 to the second rotating body 13 . The facing area Ar2 is an area close to the lower portion of the partition wall 18, facing the moving area Ar1.

In general, a gap is provided between the first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 so that the first rotating body 12 does not come into contact with the second rotating body 13 . However, the first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 are not designed to positively provide a gap in consideration of the transfer of the medicine in the movement area Ar1. When handling split tablets as in the drug delivery cassette 1, powder or fragments are likely to occur as described above. Therefore, by positively providing a gap (at least providing a larger gap than in the past), it becomes possible to drop the powder or fragments to the lower side of the first rotating body 12 and collect them.

Here, for example, consider a case where, after dispensing a split tablet (first split tablet), a split tablet (second split tablet) different in type from the first split tablet is dispensed. When there is no gap, the remaining amount of powder or fragments of the first split tablet on the first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 is greater than when there is a gap. Therefore, when there is no gap, powder or fragments of the first split tablet are more likely to be dispensed together with the second split tablet than when there is a gap. Dispensing the drug to be dispensed together with powder or fragments of other drugs is not preferable from the viewpoint of safety. Therefore, it is useful to provide a gap in the drug dispensing cassette 1 for handling split tablets. However, the gap is limited to a size that does not allow the split tablets to fall.

In addition, an accumulating portion 19 (storage portion) for accumulating the powder or pieces that have fallen through the gap is provided in the lower portion of the moving area Ar1. By providing the accumulating portion 19, for example, when the medicine dispensing cassette 1 is disassembled and cleaned, the accumulated powder or fragments can be easily collected. Therefore, the labor for cleaning the medicine dispensing cassette 1 can be reduced. The stacking unit 19 may be detachably provided under the moving area Ar1. In addition, a stacking portion may be provided below the opposing region Ar2. Also, a stacking portion may be provided along the lower portion of at least one of the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion of the second rotating body 13 .

Moreover, the medicine dispensing cassette 1 incorporates a first rotating mechanism for rotating the first rotating body 12 . The first rotation mechanism is implemented, for example, by the first shaft portion 12A and a drive member (not shown) that rotates the first shaft portion 12A around the first rotation axis of the first shaft portion 12A. By connecting the driving member 103 of the motor base 10 to the driving member of the first rotating mechanism, the first rotor 12 rotates by receiving power from the motor base 10 . The driving of the first rotating mechanism is controlled by a rotating body control section 51 (see FIG. 13).

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the second rotating body 13 is an annular rotating member and is arranged above the first rotating body 12 (in the +Z-axis direction). The second rotating body 13 is horizontally arranged such that the second rotating shaft of the second rotating body 13 extends in the ±Z-axis direction and the upper surface thereof is substantially parallel to the XY plane. That is, the second rotation axis of the second rotor 13 extends in a direction different from the first rotation axis of the first rotor 12 .

The second rotating body 13 is arranged along the outer circumference of the first rotating body 12 when viewed from the axial direction of the second rotating shaft (+Z-axis direction). It is a rotating member (outer disc, outer ring) that conveys the divided tablets placed thereon to, for example, the dispensing port 17 .

During forward feeding, the first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 rotate in the same direction so that the inserted split tablets are conveyed toward the dispensing port 17 . At least part of the split tablets transferred from the first rotating body 12 to the second rotating body 13 in the movement area Ar1 is fed forward to the ejection port 17, and the remaining split tablets are fed to the height regulating body 14 and the width regulating body. 15 and the guide member 16 (the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B) to drop toward the first rotor 12 side.

The medicine dispensing cassette 1 incorporates a second rotating mechanism that rotates the second rotating body 13 . The second rotating mechanism is implemented by, for example, a gear member 13A (see FIG. 5(b)) provided along the side surface of the second rotating body 13. As shown in FIG. By fitting the driving member 104 of the motor base 10 to the gear member 13A, the second rotor 13 rotates by receiving power from the motor base 10 . The driving of the second rotating mechanism is also controlled by the rotating body control section 51 .

Moreover, as shown in (b) of FIG. 5 , in the medicine dispensing cassette 1 , ribs are not provided over the entire circumference of the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion of the second rotating body 13 . As mentioned above, split tablets are prone to breakage. As shown in FIG. 5(a), when the ribs 130A are provided on the inner circumference of the second rotating body 13, when the split tablets are returned from the second rotating body 13 to the first rotating body 12, the split tablets may come into contact with the rib 130A and be damaged. Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, when ribs 130B are provided on the outer peripheral portion of the second rotating body 13, when the divided tablets are conveyed from the second rotating body 13 to the dispensing port 17, the split tablets A tablet may contact ribs 130B and break. Further, if the rib 130A or 130B prevents the split tablet from being conveyed, there is a possibility that the following split tablet may run over the split tablet. This is because the split tablet does not have a round shape like the unsegmented tablet, but has a special shape that is partially flattened.

In the drug dispensing cassette 1, by not providing ribs on the inner and outer peripheral portions of the second rotating body 13, breakage of the split tablets is suppressed and the split tablets can be easily conveyed to the first rotating body 12 or the dispensing opening 17. can do. In addition, since ribs are not provided on the inner peripheral portion and the outer peripheral portion of the second rotating body 13, powder or fragments of the divided tablet on the second rotating body 13 can be removed from the inner peripheral edge or the outer peripheral edge of the second rotating body 13. It becomes easy to drop to the lower part (for example, storage part).

<Height regulator/Width regulator>
The height regulating body 14 and the width regulating body 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. FIG. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing configuration examples of the height restricting body 14 and the width restricting body 15. FIG. (a) and (b) of FIG. 7 are diagrams for explaining the prevention of overlapping of split tablets near the dispensing port 17. FIG. (a) and (b) of FIG. 8 are diagrams for explaining examples of adjustment of the transfer height W1 and the transfer width W22.

The height regulating body 14 and the width regulating body 15 regulate the passage of the divided tablets forwarded by the first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 according to the size of the divided tablets. A restriction that defines the width and is movable to change the width of the passageway. The height regulating body 14 and the width regulating body 15 define a passage route Ro for the divided tablets on the second rotating body 13 so that the divided tablets can be lined up in a line and conveyed to the dispensing port 17 .

The height regulating body (height guide) 14 regulates the transfer height W1 shown in FIG. 6(a) as the passage width. The width regulating body 15 regulates transfer widths W21 and W22 shown in FIG. 3(b) as passage widths. The transfer height W<b>1 is the distance between the lower surface of the first height regulating portion 14</b>A of the height regulating body 14 and the upper surface of the second rotating body 13 . In other words, the transfer height W1 is the distance of the height regulating body 14 from the surface of the passing route Ro. The transfer width W21 is the distance from the inner peripheral portion of the second rotating body 13 to the first wall surface 15S1 of the width restricting body 15, and the transfer width W22 is the distance from the guide member 16 to the second wall surface 15S2 of the width restricting body 15. is the interval to

The height regulating body 14 includes a first height regulating portion 14A and a second height regulating portion 14B, as shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b). The first height regulating portion 14A is a member that prevents the split tablets placed on the second rotating body 13 from being transported to the dispensing port 17 while being stacked in the height direction (+Z-axis direction) during forward feeding. is. The first height regulating portion 14A is disposed downstream of the movement region Ar1 in the drug transfer direction during forward feeding and above the second rotating body 13 . As shown in FIG. 6(a), the first height regulating portion 14A extends from the outer peripheral portion to the inner peripheral portion of the second rotating body 13 and along the drug transfer direction.

The height regulating body 14 moves in the ±Z-axis directions to define the transfer height W1 on the upper surface of the second rotating body 13 . The drug dispensing cassette 1 incorporates a height regulator moving mechanism that controls the movement of the first height regulator 14A. The height regulating body moving mechanism includes, for example, a screw member 14C. The screw member 14C is provided in engagement with a screw receiving portion formed on the height regulating body 14, as shown in FIG. 6(a). In this embodiment, the screw member 14C is connected to the drive member 105 of the motor base 10, so that the screw member 14C is rotated by receiving power from the motor base 10, and the height regulating body 14 moves in the ±Z-axis direction. Moving. As a result, the transfer height W1 is adjusted according to the size of the divided tablets that have been fed. The driving of the height regulating body moving mechanism is controlled by, for example, a regulating body control section 52 (see FIG. 13).

As with the first height regulating portion 14A, the second height regulating portion 14B conveys the split tablets placed on the second rotating body 13 to the dispensing port 17 in a state of being stacked in the height direction during forward feeding. It is a member that prevents this. The second height regulating portion 14B is disposed upstream of the dispensing port 17 in the drug transfer direction during forward feeding and above the second rotating body 13 . That is, the second height regulating portion 14B is provided at the tip portion of the height regulating body 14. As shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 7(b), a step 14B1 is formed in the second height regulating portion 14B so that the height is slightly lowered in the medicine transfer direction during forward feeding.

As shown in (a) of FIG. 7, consider a state in which the guide member 16 hinders the conveyance of the split tablet MD1 during forward feeding. In FIG. 7, the shapes of the split tablets MD1, MD2 and MD3 are substantially the same, but the directions of the split tablets MD1, MD2 and MD3 are different from each other. Therefore, in FIG. 7, the divided tablets MD1, MD2 and MD3 are shown to have different shapes.

If forward feeding is continued in a state in which the transport of the split tablet MD1 is impeded, the split tablet MD2 may be pushed by the split tablet MD3 and run over the split tablet MD1 stopped by the guide member 16. - 特許庁

When the divided tablet MD2 is carried on the divided tablet MD1 to the dispensing port 17, two divided tablets are dispensed from the dispensing port 17 at a time. When two split tablets are dispensed at once, the count sensor 101 may mistakenly count these two split tablets as one split tablet. By providing the second height regulating portion 14B, as shown in FIG. 7B, the split tablet MD2 on the split tablet MD1 can be brought into contact with the step 14B1 and dropped. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the dispensing of the divided tablets while they are piled up, thereby preventing the above-mentioned erroneous counting from occurring.

As shown in FIGS. 3(b) and 6(a), the width regulating body (width guide) 15, together with the height regulating body 14, is located downstream of the moving region Ar1 in the drug transfer direction during forward feeding. and above the second rotor 13 . As shown in FIG. 3B, the width restricting body 15 has a first wall surface 15S1 (curved surface) having a diameter larger than the diameter of the inner peripheral portion of the second rotating body 13, and a first wall surface 15S1. and a second wall surface 15S2 located on the downstream side in the drug transfer direction. The transfer widths W21 and W22 can be adjusted by moving the width regulating body 15 substantially in the ±Y-axis direction. The positional relationship between the width regulating body 15 and the second rotating body 13 is defined so that the minimum transfer width W21 can be formed in a portion of the first wall surface 15S1 in the circumferential direction.

The width regulating body 15 moves substantially in the ±Y-axis direction in order to define transfer widths W21 and W22 on the upper surface of the second rotating body 13 . As shown in FIG. 3(a), the medicine dispensing cassette 1 incorporates a width regulating body movement mechanism that controls the movement of the width regulating body 15. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3A, the width restrictor moving mechanism includes, for example, a screw member 15A1 and a piston portion 15A2.

The piston portion 15A2 moves the width restricting body 15 along the piston portion 15A2. In this embodiment, the screw member 15A1 is connected to the driving member 106 of the motor base 10, so that the screw member 15A1 rotates by receiving power from the motor base 10. FIG. Power generated by the rotation of the screw member 15A1 is transmitted to the piston portion 15A2, and the power moves the width restricting body 15 connected to the piston portion 15A2. As a result, the transfer widths W21 and W22 are adjusted according to the size of the divided tablets that have been input. The driving of the width restricting body moving mechanism is controlled by the restricting body control section 52, for example.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, the width restricting body 15 accommodates part of the second height restricting portion 14B so that the second height restricting portion 14B can move in the ±Z-axis directions. It has an opening 15B. By providing the opening 15B, the second height regulating portion 14B can be arranged on the passage route Ro without depending on the variation of the transfer width W22. Therefore, even when two split tablets are conveyed while overlapping each other, the upper split tablet can be reliably dropped by the second height regulating portion 14B.

(Adjustment of Transfer Height and Transfer Width)
As preprocessing for dispensing the split tablets, processing for adjusting the transport height W1 and the transport widths W21 and W22 is performed. The transfer height W1 and the transfer width W22 are calculated based on the types of split tablets to be fed. Specifically, the transport height W1 and the transport width W22 are calculated based on the diameter and thickness of the tablet (substantially circular shape) before being split as the split tablet, which is included in the drug data related to the split tablet to be fed. be. This calculation may be performed by the host system of the medicine dispensing cassette 1 or may be performed by the control unit 50 of the medicine dispensing cassette 1 .

A calculation example of the transfer height W1 and the transfer width W22 will be described. The transfer width W22 may be set to a value that allows a plurality of split tablets to be conveyed to the dispensing port 17 in a row, regardless of the thickness (B) of the split tablets.

From this point of view, the transfer width W22 is set, for example, to be more than 1 time and less than 2 times the radius (A) of the split tablet. As the radius of the split tablet, a value obtained by dividing the diameter of the tablet before splitting as the split tablet, which is included in the drug data relating to the split tablet to be inserted, by 2 is used.

By setting the radius to be larger than 1 times the radius of the split tablets, the split tablets lying flat can be conveyed to the dispensing port 17 . The lying state refers to a state in which the split surface does not face the surface of the second rotating body 13 (a state in which the split tablets are not upright). In addition, by setting the radius to less than twice the radius of the split tablets, it is possible to prevent the split tablets in a lying state from being conveyed side by side in two rows.

A split tablet is split evenly so that the tablet is approximately in half, but in some cases it may not be evenly split (eg, one tablet is split 4:6). In this case, it is necessary to set the transfer width W22 to be larger than 1 times the radius of the split tablet so that the larger split tablet can also be conveyed in a lying state. Therefore, the transfer width W22 is set to be larger than 1 times the radius of the divided tablets.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the thickness of the split tablet is relatively thick (when the thickness is equal to or greater than a predetermined thickness), a plurality of split tablets are arranged in an upright state in the direction of the transfer width W22, and 2 There is a possibility that it will be conveyed on the rotating body 13 . Considering this point, when the thickness of the split tablet is equal to or greater than a predetermined thickness, the transfer width W22 may be set to less than twice the thickness of the split tablet. By setting the transfer width W22 to be less than twice the thickness of the split tablets, it is possible to prevent the standing split tablets from being conveyed side by side in the direction of the transfer width W22. Note that the predetermined thickness may be set through experiments or the like. In the example of FIG. 8, when twice the thickness of the split tablet is 1.3 times or more the radius of the split tablet, the thickness of the split tablet is defined as a predetermined thickness or more.

Also, the transfer width W21 may be set to a size that allows relatively thick split tablets to be transferred in an upright state. Even when relatively thick split tablets stand upright, the transfer width W22 is set as described above to prevent a plurality of split tablets from lining up in the direction of the transfer width W22 on the passage route Ro of the transfer width W22. It's for.

On the other hand, as shown in (a) of FIG. 8, when the thickness of the split tablet is relatively thin (less than the predetermined thickness), a plurality of split tablets are arranged in an upright state in the direction of the transfer width W22. , the possibility of being transported on the second rotating body 13 is low. Therefore, it is not necessary to set the transfer width W22 in consideration of the erection of the split tablet (that is, the thickness of the split tablet).

In the examples of FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b), the transfer width W22 is set to be, for example, 1.3 times (1.3A) the radius of the split tablet.

Further, when the thickness of the divided tablet is less than a predetermined value, the transfer height W1 is set to a value that is greater than 1 time the thickness of the divided tablet and less than 2 times the thickness. That is, in this case, the transfer height W1 is set according to the dimension of the divided tablets in the thickness direction. Further, when the thickness of the divided tablet is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the transfer height W1 is set to a value that is larger than 1 times the radius of the divided tablet and less than 2 times the thickness of the divided tablet. That is, in this case, the transfer height W1 is set in consideration of the dimensions of the split tablets in directions other than the thickness direction (radius in the case of tablets with a circular cross-section).

As noted above, if the split tablets are relatively thin, it is less likely that the split tablets will be conveyed upright. Therefore, the transfer height W1 is set so that two divided tablets are conveyed on the second rotating body 13 in an overlapping state without considering that the split tablets are conveyed on the second rotating body 13 in an upright state. It is sufficient to set the value to the extent that it is possible to prevent this (to the extent that one divided tablet is reliably conveyed).

For example, as shown in FIG. 8(a), when twice the thickness of the split tablet is less than the transfer width W22 (in the example of FIG. 8, less than 1.3 times the radius of the split tablet), the transfer height W1 is set to a value (1.1B) obtained by multiplying the thickness of the split tablet by 1.1 times.

However, if a relatively thin split tablet were to stand upright, the split tablets would be conveyed side by side in the direction of the transfer width W22 and would be dispensed from the dispensing port 17. FIG. Therefore, relatively thin split tablets are preferably conveyed to dispensing port 17 in a lying state. If the transfer width W22 is set in consideration of the fact that relatively thin split tablets are dispensed in an upright state, the transfer width W22 becomes too small and the split tablets lying down cannot be conveyed to the dispensing port 17. . Therefore, the transfer width W22 is set as described above, assuming that relatively thin split tablets are unlikely to stand up (that is, allow them to stand up). In order to reliably prevent relatively thin split tablets from being dispensed in an upright state, when the thickness of the split tablets is less than a predetermined value, the transfer height W1 is further set to be less than the radius of the split tablets. I don't mind if you do.

On the other hand, if the divided tablet is relatively thick, there is a possibility that the divided tablet will be conveyed in an upright state. Therefore, the transfer height W1 is set to a value larger than the radius of the divided tablets so that the divided tablets can be conveyed on the second rotating body 13 even in an upright state. On the other hand, it is necessary to prevent two split tablets from being conveyed on the second rotating body 13 in a state of being vertically overlapped. set.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8B, when twice the thickness of the split tablet is equal to or greater than the transfer width W22 (in the example of FIG. 8, 1.3 times or more the radius of the split tablet), the transfer height W1 is set to a value obtained by multiplying the radius of the split tablet by 1.1 (1.1A).

In a general drug dispensing cassette, assuming that the drug is dispensed in a lying state, the transfer height W1 is set to be more than 1 time and less than 2 times the thickness of the drug, and the transfer width W22 is set to , greater than 1 and less than 2 times the diameter of the drug. This is because, if the tablet is not a split tablet, the drug tends to lie flat.

On the other hand, the drug dispensing cassette 1 handles split tablets. Therefore, it is necessary to set the transfer height W1 and the transfer width W22 in consideration of the possibility that the split tablets will be dispensed in an upright state. By setting the transfer height W1 and the transfer width W22 as described above, the passage route from at least the guide member 16 to the dispensing port 17 can be maintained regardless of the state in which the divided tablets are conveyed on the second rotor 13. The split tablets can be aligned in one row on Ro.

Therefore, the medicine dispensing cassette 1 can dispense not only the split tablets lying down but also the split tablets standing up one by one. Since even divided tablets in an upright state can be dispensed, the dispensing efficiency of divided tablets can be improved. Also, it is possible to prevent two split tablets from being dispensed in a state of being overlapped.

In the above description, an example of calculation of the transfer height W1 and the transfer width W22 using the thickness and radius of the split tablets has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. As the thickness of the split tablet used for calculation, the first portion having the smallest dimension (also referred to as the short side) of the length (diameter), width (radius) and height (thickness) of the split tablet may be used. . As the radius of the split tablet used for calculation, the second portion (also referred to as the middle side) having the second smallest dimension among the length, width and height dimensions of the split tablet may be used.

In other words, the transfer width W22 may be set to be larger than 1 time the second portion of the split tablet and less than 2 times the second portion. When the first portion of the split tablet has a predetermined length or more (eg, the thickness of the split tablet is a predetermined thickness or more), the transfer width W22 is further set to less than twice the first portion of the split tablet. I don't mind.

In addition, when the first portion of the split tablet is less than a predetermined value (e.g., first portion×2<transfer width W22, that is, first portion<transfer width W22/2), the transfer height W1 is the height of the first portion. It may be set to a value greater than 1 and less than 2 times the first portion. In addition, when the first portion of the split tablet is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (eg, the first portion×2≧the transfer width W22, that is, the first portion≧the transfer width W22/2), the transfer height W1 is set to the first portion of the split tablet. It may be set to a value that is greater than 1 time the 2nd portion and less than 2 times the 1st portion.

In the above example, when twice the thickness of the split tablet is the same as the transfer width W22 (1.3 times the radius of the split tablet), the transfer height W1 is set by the setting method shown in FIG. However, the transfer height W1 may be set by the setting method shown in FIG. 8(a).

<Guide member>
The guide member 16 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12 as well. 9A is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the guide member 16, and FIG. 9B is a plan view showing a configuration example of the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B. FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b) are diagrams for explaining an example of conveying a split tablet when the cross-sectional shape of the first displacement member 16A is D-shaped. (a) to (c) of FIG. 11 are diagrams for explaining an operation example of the second rotor 13. FIG. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a guide member 160 as a comparative example.

As shown in (a) of FIG. 9 , the medicine dispensing cassette 1 has a part of the passage route Ro of the split tablets formed by the second rotating body 13 connected to the dispensing port 17 near the dispensing port 17 . and a guide member 16 that guides the split tablets to the dispensing opening 17 . As shown in FIG. 3B, the guide member 16 is erected at a position facing the second wall surface 15S2 of the width restricting body 15, and defines a part of the passage route Ro together with the second wall surface 15S2. The passage route Ro defined by the guide member 16 can also be said to be an end area (medicine guide area) on the second rotating body 13 where the split tablets that have passed through the first wall surface 15S1 are guided to the ejection port 17.

The guide member 16 includes a first displacement member 16A, a second displacement member 16B, a fixed member 16C, and a support member 16D.

(fixing member)
The fixed member 16C is a non-displaceable member installed on the second rotating body 13, and is a side wall member (first side wall member) that defines the side wall of the passage route Ro. The width regulating body 15 can also be said to be a side wall member (second side wall member) that defines the side wall.

(support member)
The support member 16D extends upstream from the fixed member 16C, and supports the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B so as to be suspended below the support member 16D.

(Displacement member)
Since the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B are suspended from the support member 16D, they are displaced by contact with the divided tablets conveyed by the second rotating body 13, and are displaced with respect to the divided tablets. A force is exerted in a direction to cancel the displacement. As a result, the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B adjust the orientation or position of the split tablet to convey the split tablet to the downstream side (medicine guide area) defined by the predetermined width (transfer width W22). to assist.

The displacement (rocking) of the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B can absorb the impact applied to the split tablets. Therefore, breakage of the split tablet can be prevented. In addition, by applying the force to the split tablet, the orientation (orientation) of the split tablet can be corrected. In addition, the position of the split tablet can be corrected so that the fixed member 16C does not interfere with the transportation of the split tablet. Therefore, clogging of the split tablets in the fixing member 16C can be suppressed.

Specifically, the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B are arranged upstream of the fixed member 16C. This allows the progressively fed divided tablets to contact the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B before contacting the fixed member 16C. Therefore, breakage of the split tablets due to contact with the fixing member 16C can be prevented.

Also, the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B change the orientation or position of the split tablet so as to prevent the split tablet from contacting one end (one end on the upstream side) of the fixed member 16C. By changing the orientation or position in this way, it is possible to prevent the split tablets from being broken due to contact with the one end of the fixing member 16C, and to suppress the occurrence of clogging of the split tablets at the one end.

In addition, by providing two displacement members, the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B, the direction or position of the split tablets can be changed step by step. Therefore, clogging of the split tablets can be efficiently suppressed.

As noted above, split tablets are prone to breakage. Therefore, in the medicine dispensing cassette 1 for handling split tablets, the guide member 16 is provided with the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B so that the split tablets can be conveyed to the dispensing opening 17 while preventing the split tablets from being damaged. It is beneficial to

Also, a split tablet has a special shape (a shape including a split surface), unlike a rounded tablet. Therefore, when the corners of the divided surface come into contact with the width regulating body 15 and the fixing member 16C, conveyance of the divided tablets is hindered, and the divided tablets tend to clog. Therefore, from this point of view as well, providing the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B is beneficial.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9A, the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B are, when viewed from the payout port 17 side, the fixed member 16C, the first displacement member 16A, and the second displacement member 16B. are connected to the fixing member 16C so as to be arranged in the order of . In other words, the drug dispensing cassette 1 includes, as displacement members, a first displacement member 16A and a second displacement member 16B arranged upstream of the first displacement member 16A (at a position farther from the dispensing port 17). .

As shown in FIG. 9B, the contact surface 16AS1 (upstream side contact surface) of the first displacement member 16A with which the divided tablets contact during forward feeding has a shape that does not hinder the movement of the divided tablets. In this case, it is possible to prevent breakage of the divided tablets when the divided tablets come into contact with the first displacement member 16A during forward feeding. Further, the contact surface 16AS2 (downstream side contact surface) of the first displacement member 16A with which the divided tablets come into contact during reverse feed also has a shape that does not hinder the movement of the divided tablets. In this case, it is possible to prevent breakage of the divided tablets when the divided tablets come into contact with the first displacement member 16A during reverse feeding.

In this embodiment, the contact surfaces 16AS1 and 16AS2 are both curved, and the cross-sectional shape of the first displacement member 16A is circular. However, the first displacement member 16A may have any shape (eg, polygonal shape) as long as at least the contact surfaces 16AS1 and 16AS2 do not hinder the movement of the split tablets. However, when the cross-sectional shape of the first displacement member 16A is circular, it is possible to easily manufacture the first displacement member 16A that prevents breakage of the split tablets.

Here, consider the case where either one of the contact surfaces 16AS1 and 16AS2 does not have the above shape (that is, has a surface shape (eg, planar shape) that hinders movement of the split tablet). In this case, the corners of the split surface are likely to get caught on the contact surface 16AS1 or 16AS2, and the transport of the split tablets is likely to be hindered.

When the contact surface 16AS2 has a planar shape as shown in (a) of FIG. 10, as shown in (b) of FIG. becomes easier to fit. In this case, it is difficult to eliminate the engagement of the split tablets only by the forward feeding operation and the reverse feeding operation of the second rotating body 13 .

From this point of view, the shape of the first displacement member 16A is preferably such that at least the contact surfaces 16AS1 and 16AS2 do not hinder the movement of the split tablets. For example, it is preferable that the contact surfaces 16AS1 and 16AS2 have a circular arc shape, or a polygonal shape with a relatively large internal angle (eg, a shape with an internal angle greater than at least 90°).

Further, the positional relationship between the first displacement member 16A and the fixing member 16C is defined such that the space W3 between the first displacement member 16A and the fixing member 16C is large enough to prevent the split tablets from being fitted. If the positional relationship is such that the split tablets are fitted, the corners of the split surface are likely to come into contact with the fixing member 16C during forward feeding, for example, and the movement of the split tablets is likely to be hindered. In addition, there is a possibility that the divided tablet may rotate around the first displacement member 16A as a rotation axis and drop toward the first rotor 12 side. In order not to cause these problems, the positional relationship is defined as described above.

Further, the contact surface 16BS1 (upstream side contact surface) of the second displacement member 16B with which the divided tablets come into contact when the divided tablets are forwarded has a shape that does not hinder the movement of the divided tablets. In this case, it is possible to prevent breakage of the divided tablets when the divided tablets come into contact with the second displacement member 16B during forward feeding.

On the other hand, the second displacement member 16B has a suppressing surface 16BS2 (downstream side contact surface) that suppresses the movement of the split tablet by coming into contact with the split tablet when the split tablet in contact with the first displacement member 16A is reversely fed. face).

As shown in (a) of FIG. 11, even if the divided tablets are conveyed in a state where they are caught by the guide member 16, the contact of the divided tablets MD with the first displacement member 16A changes the direction of the divided tablets. Or the position is corrected. As a result, it is possible to prevent the guide member 16 from being caught, so that the medicine dispensing cassette 1 can efficiently dispense the divided tablets MD. The second displacement member 16B also has the same effect. That is, by providing the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B, the orientation or position of the split tablet MD can be corrected in two steps.

However, depending on the orientation or position of the split tablet MD11, as shown in FIG. In some cases, it is caught on 16C. In this case, the movement of the split tablet MD12 is hindered by the split tablet MD11.

In this state, when the second rotating body 13 performs a reverse feeding operation, as shown in FIG. can be moved in the direction of the first height regulating portion 14A. That is, the interval between the split tablets MD11 and MD12 can be widened.

In this state, when the second rotating body 13 performs the forward feeding operation again, as shown in FIG. Since contact can be made, the orientation or position of the split tablet MD11 can be corrected.

Also, the orientation or position of the split tablet MD11, when it is caught by the second displacement member 16B during reverse feed, is highly likely to be changed to a different orientation or position than when it is caught by the fixed member 16C. Therefore, bringing the split tablet MD11 into contact with the first displacement member 16A again increases the possibility that the orientation or position of the split tablet MD11 can be corrected to the extent that it can pass through the passage route Ro.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9B, the cross-sectional shape of the second displacement member 16B is a D shape in which the suppression surface 16BS2 is flat and the contact surface 16BS1 is curved. . The shape of the second displacement member 16B is not limited to this, and may be any shape as long as at least the contact surface 16BS1 and the suppression surface 16BS2 have the shapes described above. When the cross-sectional shape of the second displacement member 16B is substantially D-shaped, it is possible to easily manufacture the second displacement member 16B that prevents breakage of the divided tablets during forward feeding and temporarily suppresses movement of the divided tablets during reverse feeding. .

However, the suppressing surface 16BS2 may be curved (that is, the cross-sectional shape of the second displacement member 16B may be circular). In this case, as compared with the case where the suppression surface 16BS2 has a flat shape, the force for suppressing the movement of the split tablets during reverse feeding is lower, but the movement can be suppressed.

Here, consider a case where the guide member 16 does not include the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B. For example, consider a case where a guide member 160 is provided instead of the guide member 16, as shown in FIG. In order to prevent the guide member 160 from catching the split tablets, the guide member 160 has an inclined contact portion 160A with which the split tablets contact during forward feeding.

Since the guide member 160 is fixed, it is difficult to change the orientation of the split tablets. As described above, since the split tablet has a special shape, it is easy to get caught on the contact portion 160A and to ride on it. If a split tablet rides on the contact portion 160A, it may fall on the following split tablet and be dispensed from the dispensing port 17 in a state in which two split tablets are overlapped. Furthermore, contact with the contact portion 160A may easily break the split tablet.

By providing the guide member 16 with the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B, it becomes easier to correct the orientation or position of the split tablet, so that it is possible to prevent the split tablet from being caught. In addition, since it does not run on the fixing member 16C as described above, it is possible to prevent the two split tablets from overlapping due to the run-on. Furthermore, breakage of the split tablet can be prevented by the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B.

Therefore, by providing the guide member 16, it is possible to suppress the clogging of the split tablets while suppressing the load on the split tablets. Therefore, split tablets can be efficiently dispensed. Moreover, these effects can be obtained with a simple configuration in which the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B are provided and the second rotating body 13 is switched between the forward and reverse feeding operations.

(Modification)
In this embodiment, the guide member 16 is described as including a first displacement member 16A and a second displacement member 16B as displacement members, but the number of displacement members is not limited to two. For example, the number of displacement members may be one. Even in this case, clogging of the split tablets can be suppressed while suppressing breakage of the split tablets. However, when only one displacement member is provided, it is preferable to provide the first displacement member 16A from the viewpoint of efficiently correcting the orientation or position of the split tablets and conveying the split tablets.

[Configuration of motor base (control unit/storage unit)]
The control section 50 and the storage section 60 of the motor base 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15. FIG. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the medicine dispensing cassette 1 and the motor base 10. As shown in FIG. FIGS. 14A and 14B and FIGS. 15A and 15B are diagrams for explaining an operation example of the second rotating body 13. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 13, the motor base 10 includes a control section 50 and a storage section 60 in addition to the configuration described above. The control unit 50 comprehensively controls each unit of the motor base 10 and the medicine dispensing cassette 1 . The functions of the control unit 50 may be implemented by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program stored in the storage unit 60 . The storage unit 60 stores various programs executed by the control unit 50 and data used by the programs.

The controller 50 mainly includes a rotor controller 51 , a regulator controller 52 and a timer 53 .

The rotating body control unit 51 drives the first rotating mechanism by controlling the driving of the driving member 103 . Thereby, the rotation of the first rotating body 12 is controlled. Further, the rotating body control unit 51 drives the second rotating mechanism by controlling the driving of the driving member 104 . Thereby, the rotation of the second rotating body 13 is controlled. The rotating body control unit 51 controls, for example, the rotating direction and rotating speed of the first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 .

The rotating body control unit 51 independently controls the first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 . The rotating body control unit 51 always rotates the first rotating body 12 in the forward feeding direction at a constant speed, for example, during dispensing of divided tablets. On the other hand, the second rotor 13 is switched between the forward feeding operation and the reverse feeding operation. Further, the rotational speed of the second rotor 13 during forward feeding and the rotational speed during reverse feeding are set individually. For example, the rotation speed during forward feeding and the rotation speed during reverse feeding can each be set in a plurality of stages (eg, 7 stages). Further, the rotational speed during forward feeding is set according to the size of the divided tablet (the diameter of the divided tablet). For example, the rotation speed during forward feeding is set to increase as the size of the divided tablet increases.

When the count sensor 101 does not detect the split tablet for a predetermined time (first predetermined time), the rotating body control unit 51 temporarily switches the forward feeding operation to the reverse feeding operation. In this case, the second rotor 13 is reversed by the first distance. That is, the second rotating body 13 reversely feeds the split tablets on the passage route Ro by the first distance. The switching operation at this time is called a first switching operation (reverse operation 1).

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11(b), when the movement of the split tablet MD11 is blocked by the fixing member 16C, dispensing of the split tablet MD11 from the dispensing opening 17 is stopped. When this stopped state continues for the first predetermined time, the rotary body control unit 51 determines that the movement of the split tablets MD11 is impeded by the fixed member 16C, temporarily switches the forward feeding operation to the reverse feeding operation, and 2. The rotating body 13 is reversed by the first distance.

The first distance is a distance corresponding to the distance from the first displacement member 16A to the second displacement member 16B. In the present embodiment, the rotating body control unit 51 rotates the second rotating body 13 about the second rotation axis by about 15°, for example, thereby realizing the reverse feed operation for the first distance. Further, the first predetermined time is sufficient for the split tablets existing near the first displacement member 16A to be dispensed from the dispensing port 17 when the rotation speed of the second rotating body 13 during forward feeding is the lowest. time is set.

As shown in (b) of FIG. 11, when the first predetermined time elapses after the movement of the divided tablets MD11 is blocked by the fixing member 16C, the first switching operation is performed, and the divided tablets MD11 and D12 are reversely fed. be done. Since the first distance is defined as described above, when the first switching operation is performed, the split tablet MD11 is prevented from moving by the second displacement member 16B as shown in FIG. be done. On the other hand, the split tablet MD12 moves over the second displacement member 16B to the first height regulating portion 14A. That is, the interval between the split tablets MD11 and MD12 can be widened.

Note that the rotation speed during reverse feed is set to be relatively large. Therefore, even if the split tablet MD12 contacts the second displacement member 16B, the split tablet MD12 can move toward the first height regulating portion 14A. As for the split tablet MD11, since the first distance is defined as described above, the rotational speed in the reverse feed direction is low when the split tablet MD11 moves to the vicinity of the second displacement member 16B. Therefore, the split tablet MD11 is prevented from moving in the reverse feed direction by the second displacement member 16B.

After that, when the second rotating body 13 is forwarded again, the split tablet MD11 can be brought into contact with the first displacement member 16A while the split tablet MD12 is not in contact with the split tablet MD11. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11(a), the orientation or position of the split tablet MD11 is corrected, and the split tablet MD11 can be dispensed from the dispensing opening 17. FIG.

Further, when the count sensor 101 does not detect the split tablet for a predetermined time (second predetermined time), the rotating body control unit 51 temporarily switches the forward feeding operation to the reverse feeding operation. In this case, the second rotating body 13 is reversed by a second distance longer than the first distance. That is, the second rotating body 13 reversely feeds the split tablets on the passing route Ro by the second distance. The switching operation at this time is called a second switching operation (reverse operation 2).

Specifically, even if the split tablet MD11 is brought into contact with the first displacement member 16A again after the first switching operation, the split tablet MD11 may be caught again by the fixing member 16C. When such a state occurs, the dispensing of the split tablet MD11 is stopped for the second predetermined time in addition to the first predetermined time. When this stop state continues for the first predetermined time and the second predetermined time, the rotary body control unit 51 determines that the fixed member 16C continues to hinder the movement of the split tablets MD11, and temporarily reverses the forward feeding operation. Switching to the feeding operation, the second rotating body 13 is reversed by the second distance.

The second distance is longer than the distance from the first displacement member 16A to the second displacement member 16B. Further, as described above, the rotation speed during reverse feeding is set relatively high. Therefore, as shown in (b) of FIG. 14, even if not only the divided tablet MD12 but also the divided tablet MD11 comes into contact with the second displacement member 16B, they exceed the second displacement member 16B and reach the first height regulating portion. You can move up to 14A. In the present embodiment, the rotating body control unit 51 rotates the second rotating body 13 about 30° to 50° around the second rotation axis, for example, thereby realizing the reverse feed operation for the second distance. . This rotation angle is set based on the rotation speed of the second rotor 13 during reverse feeding. That is, this rotation angle is set to such an extent that the second rotating body 13 is fed backward by a second distance that is longer than the first distance.

After the movement of the divided tablets MD11 is blocked by the fixing member 16C and a second predetermined time elapses, a second switching operation is performed to reversely feed the divided tablets MD11 and D12. Since the second distance is defined as described above, when the second switching operation is performed, the split tablets MD11 and MD12 move beyond the second displacement member 16B as shown in FIG. , to the first height regulating portion 14A. In other words, when switching to the progressive feeding operation again, both the split tablets MD11 and MD12 are brought into contact with the second displacement member 16B and the first displacement member 16A, thereby correcting their orientations or positions. Therefore, when the second switching operation is performed, it is more likely than when the first switching operation is performed that the orientation or position of the split tablet MD11 can be corrected so that the fixing member 16C does not hinder its movement.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the second switching operation is performed when the count sensor 101 fails to detect the split tablet after the first switching operation, but the present invention is not limited to this. The second switching operation may be performed after performing the first switching operation several times.

Further, when the count sensor 101 detects the split tablet within the first predetermined time, the rotating body control unit 51 temporarily switches the forward feeding operation to the reverse feeding operation. In this case, the second rotor 13 is reversed by the third distance. That is, the second rotating body 13 reversely feeds the split tablets on the passing route Ro by the third distance. The switching operation at this time is called a third switching operation (reverse operation 3).

Consider a case where split tablets MD11 and MD12 are continuously dispensed from the dispensing port 17 as shown in FIG. 15(a). In this case, even after the split tablet MD11 is dispensed from the ejection port 17, if the forward feeding operation is continued, there is a possibility that the split tablet MD12 will be dispensed from the ejection port 17 following the split tablet MD11. In this case, the count sensor 101 may erroneously count the split tablets MD11 and MD12 as one split tablet.

When the rotating body control unit 51 acquires the detection result indicating that the divided tablets MD11 have been counted from the count sensor 101, the rotating body control unit 51 executes the third switching operation. As a result, the second rotating body 13 is temporarily reversed, so that the drop interval between the split tablet MD11 and the split tablet MD12 can be widened as shown in FIG. 15(b). Therefore, the above-described erroneous counting can be prevented.

Note that the third distance may be set through experiments and the like to a distance that does not cause the above-described erroneous counting. In the present embodiment, the rotating body control unit 51 rotates the second rotating body 13 about the second rotation axis by about 5°, for example, thereby realizing the reverse feed operation for the third distance.

The restrictor control unit 52 drives the height restrictor moving mechanism by controlling the driving of the driving member 105 . This controls the movement of the height regulating body 14 in the ±Z-axis direction. Further, the restricting body control section 52 drives the width restricting body moving mechanism by controlling the driving of the driving member 106 . This controls the movement of the width restricting body 15 in the direction in which the piston portion 15A2 extends. As described above, the regulating body control unit 52 moves the height regulating body 14 and the width regulating body 15 when adjusting the transfer height W1 and the transfer widths W21 and W22 as preprocessing for dispensing divided tablets. to control. Also, the restrictor control unit 52 independently controls the movements of the height restrictor 14 and the width restrictor 15 .

The timer 53 measures the first predetermined time or the second predetermined time. The timer unit 53 measures the time after the count sensor 101 detects the split tablet, for example. Further, when measuring the first predetermined time or the second predetermined time, the timer 53 notifies the rotator controller 51 that these times have elapsed.

[Processing in drug dispensing cassette]
Next, based on FIG. 16, an example of processing in the medicine dispensing cassette 1 will be described. FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing an example of processing in the medicine dispensing cassette 1. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the rotation speed of the second rotor 13 can be set in seven stages from stage 1 (lowest speed) to stage 7 (highest speed).

After the split tablets are put into the first rotating body 12 (inner ring), when the dispensing process of the split tablets is started, the regulation body control unit 52 controls the height regulation body 14 and the width regulation body 15. , the transport height W1 and the transport widths W21 and W22 are adjusted. After that, the rotating body control unit 51 rotates the first rotating body 12 to transfer the split tablets from the first rotating body 12 to the second rotating body 13 (outer ring), thereby starting the operation of scooping up the split tablets. (S1).

Thereafter, the rotating body control section 51 forwards the second rotating body 13 (S2). The rotation speed is set to, for example, any one of stages 1 to 3 based on the size of the divided tablets that have been put. Also, at this time, the timer 53 starts measuring a first predetermined time (eg, 2 seconds).

When count sensor 101 detects a split tablet within a first predetermined time period after clocking unit 53 starts clocking and obtains the detection result, rotating body control unit 51 performs a third switching operation (reverse operation 3). ). That is, the rotating body control unit 51 reverses the second rotating body 13 by a third distance (for example, by 5°) (S3). Moreover, after resetting the clocking of the first predetermined time, the clocking unit 53 restarts clocking of the first predetermined time. In this embodiment, the rotational speed during reverse feeding is uniformly set to 7 stages.

In other words, the rotor control unit 51 repeats the processes of S2 and S3 while acquiring the detection result from the count sensor 101 within the first predetermined time. The processing of S2 and S3 is also referred to as a normal dispensing operation, which is a dispensing operation performed when the fixing member 16C is not clogged.

On the other hand, if the detection result is not obtained from the count sensor 101 within the first predetermined time after the clocking unit 53 starts clocking (notification of elapse of the first predetermined time from the clocking unit 53). is obtained), the first switching operation (reverse operation 1) is performed. That is, the rotating body control section 51 reverses the second rotating body 13 by the first distance (for example, by 15°) (S4). After the process of S4, the rotating body control unit 51 forwards the second rotating body 13 again (S5). Further, the timer 53 resets the clocking of the first predetermined time and starts clocking of the second predetermined time (for example, 4 seconds) at the start of forward feeding.

After that, when the detection result is obtained from the count sensor 101 within the second predetermined time, the rotor control unit 51 assumes that the clogging at the fixing member 16C is cleared, and shifts to the process of S3. That is, it returns to the normal payout operation.

On the other hand, when the detection result is not obtained from the count sensor 101 within the second predetermined time (when the notification that the second predetermined time has elapsed is obtained from the timer 53), the rotating body control unit 51 performs the second switching operation. (Reverse operation 2) is executed. That is, the rotating body control section 51 reverses the second rotating body 13 by a second distance (eg, 30° to 50°) (S6). After that, the process returns to S5. At this time, the clock unit 53 resets the clocking of the second predetermined time and starts clocking the second predetermined time.

In other words, the rotating body control unit 51 repeats the processes of S5 and S6 until the detection result is obtained from the count sensor 101 within the second predetermined time. The processing of S5 and S6 is also referred to as a return operation in which the split tablet clogged by the fixed member 16C is returned to the front of the second displacement member 16B, and then the split tablet is dispensed again.

The regulating body control unit 52 executes the process of S6 a predetermined number of times (eg, 5 times), and if the detection result is not obtained from the count sensor 101 within the second predetermined time after the process of S5, the height The regulating body 14 and the width regulating body 15 are returned to their initial positions. The initial position is a position where the transfer height W1 and the transfer widths W21 and W22 take maximum values, and the position where the height regulating body 14 and the width regulating body 15 are fully opened. After that, the rotating body control section 51 performs a reverse feed operation for a predetermined time to return the split tablets on the second rotating body 13 to the first rotating body 12 (S7). The predetermined time here may be set to a time sufficient for the split tablets on the second rotating body 13 to be returned to the first rotating body 12 . At this time, the clock unit 53 resets clocking of the second predetermined time.

Thereafter, similarly to S1, the restrictor control unit 52 controls the height restrictor 14 and the width restrictor 15 to adjust the transport height W1 and the transport widths W21 and W22. Further, the rotating body control section 51 starts the operation of scraping up the split tablets by rotating the first rotating body 12 (S8). The processes of S7 and S8 are also referred to as a reset operation for resetting the divided tablet dispensing process.

After that, similarly to S5 and S6, the return operation is executed (S9 and S10). If the rotating body control unit 51 acquires the detection result from the count sensor 101 within the second predetermined time after starting the forward feeding in S9, the process proceeds to S3. That is, it returns to the normal payout operation. On the other hand, after the processes of S9 and S10 have been executed a predetermined number of times (for example, twice), the process of S7 is performed, and then the process ends. This is because there is a high possibility that the divided tablets cannot be efficiently dispensed even if the return operation is performed any more.

By the above processing, the medicine dispensing cassette 1 can efficiently dispense divided tablets.

[Embodiment 2]
Other embodiments of the invention are described below. For convenience of description, members having the same functions as those of the members described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated. The same applies to subsequent embodiments.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a drug delivery cassette 1A, which is a modified example of the drug delivery cassette 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 17, the medicine dispensing cassette 1A includes a first rotating body 12, a second rotating body 13, a height restricting body 14 and a width restricting body 15, like the medicine dispensing cassette 1 does. However, the medicine dispensing cassette 1A is provided with a conveying member 31 that conveys the split tablets MD dropped from the dispensing port 17 to the dispensing port 17A. Further, in the medicine dispensing cassette 1A, unlike the medicine dispensing cassette 1, the guide member 16 (at least the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B) is not provided on the second rotating body 13.

The conveying member 31 is a belt-shaped member that extends to the payout port 17A for counting the number of dispensed divided tablets below the payout port 17. As shown in FIG. That is, a count sensor (not shown) is provided near the payout port 17A. In this embodiment, the conveying member 31 extends in the ±X-axis directions. The conveying member 31 may be implemented by, for example, a belt conveyor.

The split tablets MD are aligned in a row on the second rotor 13 by the height restrictor 14 and the width restrictor 15 . In this state, the split tablets MD drop one by one from the outlet 17 onto the conveying member 31 . The divided tablet MD dropped onto the conveying member 31 is conveyed by the conveying member 31 to the dispensing port 17A.

Further, the conveying member 31 is provided with a side wall portion 31A for preventing the split tablets MD dropped from the dispensing port 17 from falling at a location other than the dispensing port 17A. The side wall portion 31A is provided on the opposite side of the conveying member 31 to the side on which the first displacement member 16A and the second displacement member 16B are provided. The relative position between the second rotating body 13 and the conveying member 31 is defined so that the split tablet MD dropped from the outlet 17 is conveyed on the conveying member 31 along the side wall portion 31A.

Further, in this embodiment, the control unit 50 controls the forward feeding operation and the reverse feeding operation of the conveying member 31 . The control unit 50 controls the operation of the conveying member 31 in the same manner as the control of the second rotating body 13 by the rotating body control unit 51 of the first embodiment. In other words, the conveying member 31 functions as a drug conveying mechanism that forwards or reverses the split tablets MD.

As for the second rotating body 13, the forward feeding operation is performed at a rotational speed corresponding to the size of the divided tablets. or perform a third switching operation.

Moreover, the medicine dispensing cassette is not limited to the medicine dispensing cassettes 1 and 1A. As long as a displacement member (first displacement member 16A and/or second displacement member 16B) is provided in the vicinity of the dispensing port 17 or 17A, other members may be realized by any member. For example, in the medicine dispensing cassette, the first rotating body 12 may not have a predetermined inclination, and the heights of the first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 may be substantially the same. Also, the first rotating body 12 and the second rotating body 13 may be integrated. Further, the medicine dispensing cassette may be realized by a strip-shaped conveying member from the input portion into which the split tablets are input to the dispensing port without the rotating body.

[Embodiment 3]
As described in Embodiment 1, the transport height W1 and the transport width W22 are calculated based on the diameter of the split tablet included in the drug data regarding the split tablet to be thrown, and the height regulation is performed based on the calculation result. The positions of the body 14 and the width restricting body 15 are adjusted. Therefore, the medicine dispensing cassette 1 can dispense a plurality of types of divided tablets. That is, the medicine dispensing cassette 1 functions not as a medicine dispensing cassette dedicated to dispensing arbitrary split tablets, but as a medicine dispensing cassette capable of dispensing a plurality of types of split tablets.

The main configuration of such a medicine dispensing cassette is as follows. That is, the drug dispensing cassette of this embodiment is
A medicine dispensing cassette that dispenses the medicine from the dispensing opening by sequentially feeding the inserted medicine to the dispensing opening,
The drug is a divided tablet obtained by dividing a tablet,
a regulating body that defines a width of a passageway for the divided tablets in order to regulate the passage of the divided tablets that are progressively fed according to their size, and that is movable to change the width of the passageway;
The regulation body is configured to move so that the width of the passage path is a value calculated based on the size of the split tablet, which is included in drug data relating to the split tablet to be thrown.

[Example of realization by software]
The control block of the motor base 10 (especially the control unit 50) may be implemented by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be implemented by software.

In the latter case, the motor base 10 is equipped with a computer that executes program instructions, which are software that implements each function. This computer includes, for example, one or more processors, and a computer-readable recording medium storing the program. In the computer, the processor reads the program from the recording medium and executes it, thereby achieving the object of the present invention. As the processor, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) can be used. As the recording medium, a "non-temporary tangible medium" such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. In addition, a RAM (Random Access Memory) for developing the above program may be further provided. Also, the program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (communication network, broadcast wave, etc.) capable of transmitting the program. Note that one aspect of the present invention can also be implemented in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[Another expression according to one aspect of the present disclosure]
A medicine dispensing device according to an aspect of the present invention is a medicine dispensing device that dispenses the medicine from the dispensing opening by conveying the medicine to the dispensing opening, comprising: a medicine conveying mechanism that conveys the medicine; The medicine conveyed by the conveying mechanism is displaced by contact and exerts a force acting on the medicine in a direction that cancels the displacement, thereby adjusting the direction or position of the medicine and defining a predetermined width. and a displacement member that assists in transporting the drug downstream.

[Additional notes]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims, and can be obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1, 1A drug delivery cassette (drug delivery device)
12 first rotating body (medicine transport mechanism)
13 Second rotating body (medicine transport mechanism)
14 height regulator 16A first displacement member (displacement member)
16B second displacement member (displacement member)
16C fixing member (side wall member)
16AS1, 16AS2 contact surface 16BS2 suppression surface 16BS1 contact surface 17, 17A payout port 101 count sensor (sensor)
A radius of split tablet (radius of drug)
B Thickness of split tablet (thickness of drug)
MD, MD1-3, MD11, MD12 Divided tablets (medicine)
Ro Passing route W1 Transfer height (passing route width)

Claims (2)

A medicine dispensing device that dispenses the medicine from the dispensing opening by conveying the medicine to the dispensing opening,
a rotating member that conveys the drug by rotating;
a displacement member that comes into contact with the drug conveyed on the rotating member by the rotating member ;
a passageway for the drug located downstream of the displacement member in the rotating member is defined to have a predetermined width,
The drug dispensing device, wherein the displacement member is displaced toward the rotation center of the rotating member by contact with the drug . The displacement member is
a first displacement member;
and a second displacement member arranged upstream of the first displacement member.

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