JPH02205522A - Tablet feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect in advance whether a tablet is stored in a recess on an array disc by providing a detecting member for detecting the tablet in the recess when the tablet is stored in the recess at a specific position before a supply port. CONSTITUTION:When a tablet is stored in a recess 16 which has come to a position immediately before a supply port 22 along with rotation of an array disc 10, one tip 30 of an operating member 27 rides over the tablet to be displaced outward so that the other tip 33 interrupts a light path of a photo interrupter 35 allowing the photo interrupter 35 to detect that the tablet is stored in the recess 16 at a position immediately before the supply port 22. Therefore, along with subsequent rotation of the array disc 10, it is confirmed in advance that the tablet is to reach a position immediately below a partition 24 and to be discharged from the supply port 22. When the tablet is not stored in the recess 16, the light path of the photo interrupter 35 is not interrupted allowing confirmation that the tablet is not to be discharged from the supply port 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a tablet feeder that stores a large number of tablets (including capsules, the same applies hereinafter) and sequentially discharges them as necessary.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, this type of tablet feeder is equipped with an alignment plate in which a large number of recesses for individually accommodating tablets are formed along the circumference with partition walls in between, and as the alignment plate rotates. Some tablets are designed to sequentially discharge the tablets housed in each recess from the supply port.

[Problem M to be Solved by the Invention] However, such a conventional tablet feeder cannot detect whether or not a tablet is definitely accommodated in each recess of the alignment plate, and therefore, Therefore, even if each recess is moved sequentially to the position of the supply port, it is unclear whether the tablet will be ejected from the recess that has reached that position until the tablet is actually ejected. Even if an appropriate detection means for detecting that the operation has been performed is provided, there are problems such as not being able to confirm in advance whether the tablet has been ejected.

This invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional methods, and can detect in advance whether or not tablets are stored in the recesses of the sorting board without waiting for the tablet ejection operation to actually take place. The purpose is to provide a tablet feeder.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an arrangement in which a large number of recesses for individually accommodating tablets are formed along the circumferential direction with partition walls in between, as the alignment plate rotates. , in a tablet feeder configured to sequentially discharge tablets accommodated in each of the recesses from a supply port, when a tablet is accommodated in the recess at a predetermined position before the supply port, the inside of the recess is This device is equipped with a detection member that detects tablets in the area.

[Operation] By adopting the above means, the detection member detects whether or not a tablet is accommodated in a recess at a predetermined position before the supply port, and therefore, the recess at the position is detected by the alignment board. Whether or not the tablet will be ejected when it moves to the position of the supply port as the tablet rotates can be confirmed in advance without waiting for the tablet ejection operation to actually take place.

[Example code] Embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings will be described below.

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention, and this tablet feeder has a hollow container-like cassette 1 that accommodates a large number of tablets.
and a base 2 on which the cassette 1 is removably placed.

The cassette 1 includes a rectangular bottom plate 5 around which a frame plate 4 is formed, which is positioned by fitting into a step 3 of the base 2 when the cassette 1 is placed on the base 2. A through hole 6 extending downward in a cylindrical shape is formed in a predetermined position of the bottom plate 5, and a cylindrical portion 7 of a size that is approximately inscribed in the bottom plate 5 with the through hole 6 as the center is provided upward in the bottom plate 5. Therefore, the bottom surface of the cylindrical portion 7 is formed by the bottom plate 5.
An enlarged portion 8 having a cross-sectional area approximately equal to the size of the bottom plate 5 is provided in series, and the bottom plate 5 is provided with a handle 9 used for attaching and detaching the cassette 1 from the base 2, such as when replenishing tablets. .

The alignment board 10 disposed within the cylindrical portion 7 has an alignment section 11 and an insertion section 12 integrally molded from synthetic resin. The alignment part 11 has an upper surface that slopes downward from the center 13, and is divided into three parts in the circumferential direction, each of which has sloped surfaces 14, 14, and 14 that slope in the same direction along the circumferential direction, each having a step between them. 15, and around the recesses 16, 16, 16, .
are formed in large numbers at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, separated by partition walls 17, 17, . . . , respectively.

On the other hand, the insertion part 12 has a cylindrical shape extending downward from the upper surface of the alignment part 11 along its central axis, and a spline 18 is formed on the inner periphery of the lower part, and a spline 119 is formed on the outer periphery near the lower end.
is formed.

Then, the insertion part 12 is inserted into the through hole 6 from above, and the alignment part 11 is rearranged into the cylindrical part 7. With the lower surface of the alignment part 11 in contact with the bottom plate 5 of the cylindrical part 7, the alignment part 11 is inserted downward from the through hole 6. By loosely fitting the washer 20 into the insertion portion 12 protruding from the cassette 1 and fitting the elastic ring 21 fully 19, the alignment board 10 is attached to the cassette 1 without play and rotatably.

The bottom plate 5 of the cassette 1 has a recess 1 at a predetermined location.
A supply port 22 communicating with 6 is formed. Furthermore, a plurality of slits 23, 23, . The partition plate 24 is inserted into the slit 23 and screwed into the slit 23, which has a height suitable for This is to prevent the unaligned tablets above the tablets in the recess 16 from being ejected together with the tablets in the recess 16.

An appropriate motor 25 is attached to the base 2, and a spline shaft 26 is fixed to the rotating shaft of the motor 25. When the cassette 1 is positioned and placed on the base 2, the spline 18 of the alignment plate 10 is connected to the spline shaft 26. It is adapted to be engaged with the shaft 26.

When the motor 25 is driven in this state, the alignment plate lO moves into the recesses 16, 16, . . . in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
As the alignment plate 10 rotates, the tablets in the cassette 1 are rotated by one pitch of the inclined surfaces 14, 14, .
14, while being stirred in one direction while being aligned and accommodated in the recesses 16, 16, . . .
Starting with the tablets that have reached the position directly below the partition plate 24, the tablets are dropped one by one through the supply port 22 and are discharged.

As shown in FIG. 3, an intermediate portion of a bent actuating member 27 is pivotally attached to the bottom plate 5 of the cassette 1 by a support shaft 28. As shown in FIG. One side piece of the actuating member 27 disposed above the bottom plate 5 passes from the support shaft 28 through a long groove 29 formed in the side surface of the cylindrical portion 7 below the lowest slit 23 to support the supply port 22. It extends to the opposite side of the shaft 28, and its tip 3o enters the recess 16 of the alignment plate 10 at a position immediately in front of the supply port 22 with respect to the rotational direction of the alignment plate 10. Then, in the alignment 1110, the partition wall 17
．． At an intermediate height of 17, . . .
Grooves 31, 31, . . . through which the 0 passes are formed, respectively.

On the other hand, the other side piece of the actuating member 27 that extends from the support shaft 28 through the bottom plate 5 and along the back surface has a spring 3 between it and the frame plate 4.
2 is attached and biased to rotate the actuating member 27 counterclockwise around the support shaft 28, and its tip 33 is attached to the base 2 when the cassette 1 is attached to the base 2. It is designed to enter a slot 34 provided in 2. A photointerrupter 35 is provided in a part of the slot 34.

As shown in No. 4121, no tablet is accommodated in the recess 16 at the position immediately before the supply port 22, and therefore one tip 30 of the actuating member 27 is pushed into the recess 16 or the groove 31 by the biasing force of the spring 32. During the penetration, the other tip 33 is in the slot 34 and does not block the optical path of the photointerrupter 35, and the tablet is inserted into the recess 16 at the position just before the supply port 22, as shown at 512. is accommodated, so that one tip 30 of the actuating member 27 is in the recess 1.
6 and is displaced outwardly, the other tip 33 displaces within the slot 34 and blocks the optical path of the photointerrupter 35, whereby the photointerrupter 3
5 detects that a tablet is accommodated in the recess 16 at a position immediately in front of the supply port 22.

Next, the above product for use in cattle will be explained.

First, the cassette 1 containing a large number of tablets is positioned and placed on the base 2, and the motor 25 is activated in accordance with an appropriate tablet ejection command, thereby rotating the alignment plate 10. As the alignment plate 10 rotates, the tablets in the cassette 1 are pushed upward by the inclined surfaces 14, 14, 14 and stirred in one direction, while the tablets are moved into the recesses 16, 16,
...are arranged and accommodated within.

When the tablets are accommodated in the recess 16 that has come to the position just before the supply port 22 as the alignment plate 10 rotates,
Since one tip 30 of the actuating member 27 rides on the tablet and is displaced outward, the other tip 33 blocks the optical path of the photo-interrupter 35, thereby moving the photo-interrupter 35 to a position immediately before the supply port 22. It is detected in advance that a tablet is accommodated in the recess 16 in the recess 16, and therefore, by the subsequent rotation of the alignment plate 10, the tablet will reach a position directly below the partition plate 24 and be discharged from the supply port 22. This will be confirmed.

Further, when no tablet is accommodated in the recess 16 that has come to the position immediately before the supply port 22 as the alignment plate 10 rotates,
Since one tip 30 of the actuating member 27 does not ride on the tablet, the other tip 33 does not block the optical path of the photointerrupter 35, so that the photointerrupter 35 is placed in the recess 16 at a position immediately before the supply port 22. It is detected in advance that no tablets are accommodated, and therefore it is ensured in advance that no tablets will be discharged from the supply port 22 even if the recess 16 reaches the position directly below the partition plate 24 due to the subsequent rotation of the alignment plate 10. z2 will be applied.

In the above embodiment, the insertion portion 12 of the alignment board 10 and the motor 25 are spline-engaged, but the insertion portion 12
The motor 25 or other drive member may be engaged with the motor 25 or other driving member by any suitable means other than spline engagement. In the above embodiment, the washer 20 is loosely fitted into the insertion portion 12 and the elastic ring 21 is inserted into the groove 19. Although the alignment plate 10 is attached to the cassette 1 by fitting the alignment plate 10 to the cassette 1, the alignment plate 10 may be attached to the cassette 1 by other appropriate means.
．． The shapes of the partition walls 14, 14, 17, 17, etc. are not limited to those of the above embodiments.

Further, in the above embodiment, the actuating member 27 detects whether or not a tablet is accommodated in the recess 16 at the position immediately before the supply port 22. The presence or absence of a tablet in the recess 16 may be detected, and the actuating member 27 is not limited to the bent shape as shown,
7.17, . . . are not provided with grooves 31, 31, . You may also do so.

Furthermore, as a detection member for detecting the presence or absence of a tablet based on the position of the tip end 33 of the actuating member 27, in addition to the photointerrupter 35 shown in the above embodiment, an appropriate member such as a reed switch or a Hall element may be used. In addition, the tablet in the recess 16 at a predetermined position may be directly detected by an appropriate means without providing the actuating member 27. It goes without saying that this is possible.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to detect by the detection member whether or not a tablet is accommodated in the recess at a predetermined position before the supply port,
Check whether the tablet will be ejected when the recess at that position moves to the supply port position as the alignment plate rotates.
This has excellent effects such as being able to confirm the tablet ejection operation in advance without waiting for it to actually take place.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway exploded vertical sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the cassette of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 (2I is an exploded perspective view of the main part of Fig. 1). Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the one in Figure 3 when no tablet is stored in the recess at the predetermined position, and Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the one in Figure 3 when the tablet is stored in the recess at the predetermined position. It is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the thing in Fig. 3. 1... Cassette 3... Step part 5 - Bottom plate 7... Cylindrical part 9... Handle 11... Alignment part 13... Center 15...・Step 17...One bulkhead...Spring 21...Elastic ring 23...Slit 25...Motor 27...Operating member 29...Long groove 2...Base 4...Frame Plate 6...Through hole 8...Enlarged part 10...Alignment plate 12...Insertion part 14...Slanted surface 16...Recess 18...Spline 20...Washer 22...・Supply port 24...Partition plate 26...Spline shaft 28...Spin shaft 30...Tip 31...7s 32...Spring 33...Tip 34...Slot hole 35...・Photo interrupter

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. With the rotation of an alignment plate in which a large number of recesses for individually accommodating tablets are formed along the circumferential direction with partition walls in between, the tablets respectively accommodated in the recesses are sequentially discharged from the supply port. In tablet feeders that have been designed to
A tablet feeder characterized in that a detection member is provided that detects a tablet in the recess when the tablet is stored in the recess at a predetermined position in front of the supply port.