JP2022100541A - Medicine feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

To make a width regulation function of a regulation mechanism useful also for medicine congestion solution in a range of not damaging even fragile medicines and by an easy method.SOLUTION: A medicine feeder 1100 includes: an outer annular rotary body 1020; an inclined rotary body 1030 blocking the hollow; and a sorting mechanism 1600 and a regulation mechanism 1700 for aligning solid medicines carried from above onto an edge peripheral edge part 23 of the annular rotary body 1020 during the rotation of the annular rotary body 1020. The sorting mechanism 1600 regulates a height for medicines on the edge peripheral edge part 23, and the regulation mechanism 1700 regulates a width of a medicine conveyance path on the edge peripheral edge part 23. A controller 1800 controls the regulation mechanism 1700 and expands the width of the medicine conveyance path so as to collapse medicine congestion when a detection interval between falling medicines reaches an interval of congestion larger than an interval at normal time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a drug feeder that automatically supplies granular solid drugs such as tablets and ampoules in order to automate dispensing performed in hospitals and pharmacies. Regarding a drug feeder that randomly accommodates and aligns those drugs with a rotating body to send out those drugs one by one, sequentially sends and discharges them, and more specifically, it relates to strengthening the width control function at the time of drug alignment. ..

[Background Technique 1] (Refer to Patent Document 1)
As an alignment supply type drug feeder that transports tablets and the like (drugs) of the same shape while aligning them in a row, an outer annular rotating body that can rotate around a vertical line and an axis centered on an inclined line inclined from the vertical line. An inclined rotating body that is mounted inside the annular rotating body in a rotatable state and closes the hollow of the annular rotating body, and is transported from above by rotation of the inclined rotating body onto the upper end peripheral portion of the annular rotating body. A drug feeder provided with a regulating member for aligning the exposed solid drug during rotation of the annular rotating body has been put into practical use.

Of these, the parts that are useful for understanding the structure and problems of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings (see FIG. 8).
8A and 8B show almost the entire contents of the drug feeder 10, where FIG. 8A is a plan view and FIG. 8B is a vertical sectional front view.

The drug feeder 10 is of a double rotation type, and has a peripheral wall 11 located at the uppermost part of the housing and having a hollow central portion hollowed out in a circular shape, and an inner peripheral wall surface 11a, that is, a peripheral wall 11. An annular rotating body 20 installed in a state where the upper end is loosely fitted to the wall surface of the inner peripheral surface of the hollow or installed directly under the hollow of the peripheral wall 11, and installed in the hollow of the annular rotating body 20. An inclined rotating body 30, a support mechanism 40 that supports the inner inclined rotating body 30 and the outer annular rotating body 20 so as to be axially rotatable, a rotational driving mechanism 50 that drives the rotation thereof, and a peripheral wall. It includes a sorting member 60 and a regulating mechanism 70 provided on the upper side of the eleven.

Moreover, the support mechanism 40 keeps the annular rotating body 20 in a state in which the annular rotating body 20 can rotate about the axis around the vertical straight line, and the inclined rotating body 30 in a state in which the inclined rotating body 30 can rotate around the inclined line inclined from the vertical direction. Then, the inclined rotating body 30 closes the hollow of the annular rotating body 20 while maintaining a slight gap through which the chemical does not pass through the inner inclined rotating body 30 and the outer annular rotating body 20. The rotating container 20 + 30 of the double-rotating type drug feeder is configured, and the drug is pumped from above the peripheral edge portion 33 of the inclined rotating body 30 by lifting the inclined rotating body 30 by rotation and sorting the sorting member 60. Carry it on the upper end peripheral edge 23 of 20, and carry it to the drop discharge port 14 while aligning the medicine on the upper end peripheral edge 23 by the horizontal transport by the rotation of the annular rotating body 20 and the alignment function of the regulation mechanism 70. It has become. Each part will be described below.

The annular rotating body 20 is composed of a lower portion 21 having a larger hollow diameter toward the upper side and an upper portion 22 having a smaller hollow diameter toward the upper side. It is integrated by connecting with, and forms a rotating container 20 + 30 together with the inclined rotating body 30.
The upper surface of the inclined rotating body 30 is the inner bottom of the rotating container 20 + 30, and in the figure, a central protrusion 31 is formed in the center of the central portion 32 of the upper surface thereof. Further, the upper surface of the peripheral edge portion 33 of the inclined rotating body 30 is processed into a loose serrated corrugation that is useful for scooping up the drug over one circumference, and the scooped up drug is smoothly rotated in an annular shape by rolling due to the inclination. It is in a downward-sloping state so that it can be sent to the upper end peripheral portion 23 of the body 20.

The bearing mechanism 40 is composed of a plurality of members 41 to 43 dispersedly arranged in various places, and includes some passive members 41 mainly composed of, for example, radial bearings, and a ring-shaped body such as a hard rubber O-ring. -The rotary transmission members 42 and 43 made of an annular body are included.
The rotation drive mechanism 50 includes a rotation drive member 51 arranged under the rotation container 20 + 30 and a rotation drive motor 54 for axially rotating the rotation drive member 51, and rotation transmission members 42, 43 having different diameters. The annular rotating body 20 is axially rotated at a relatively high speed by friction transmission via the above, and the inclined rotating body 30 is axially rotated at a relatively low speed.

The sorting member 60 is mainly composed of an elongated rod extending from the base end portion 61 of the swing fulcrum to the tip end portion 62 of the swing end, and the base end portion 61 is formed by a support portion 63 to form a peripheral wall 11 or an annular rotating body. It is supported above 20 so that the tip portion 62 can swing up and down around it. The portion closer to the tip portion 62 is slightly bent, and in the normal state, the tip portion 62 is lightly mounted on the peripheral edge portion 33 of the inclined rotating body 30 due to its own weight in a state of being slanted downward. Most of the chemicals carried while riding on the peripheral edge portion 33 without slipping down to the upper end peripheral edge portion 23 come into contact with the tip end portion 62 and are returned to the central portion 32 of the inclined rotating body 30 by the urging force of the reaction. However, if this is not done smoothly, the tip portion 62 swings and escapes upward in order to avoid damage to the drug.

The regulating mechanism 70 includes a first regulating member 71 installed ahead of the sorting member 60 with reference to the rotation direction of the upper end peripheral edge portion 23 of the annular rotating body 20, and a second regulation installed further ahead of the sorting member 60. A link mechanism 73 connected to the member 72 and any of the first regulating member 71 and the second regulating member 72 via a pin-shaped rotation allowable shaft member or the like, and a mold storage space 74 capable of accommodating a sample drug. And are equipped.
In both the first regulating member 71 and the second regulating member 72, the swing center portion is located on the peripheral wall 11 side, and the swing end portion is located on the upper end peripheral portion 23 of the annular rotating body 20. The width of the drug transport path above the upper end peripheral portion 23 is narrowed from the outer peripheral side.

Moreover, both the first regulating member 71 and the second regulating member 72 can variably adjust the narrowing amount of the drug transport path width on the upper end peripheral edge portion 23 by swinging, but the length of the link mechanism 73. Since both the regulating members 71 and 72 swing simultaneously and similarly according to the direction advancement and retreat, the adjustment amount of the narrowing amount of the drug transport path width by both the regulating members 71 and 72 is also linked. Further, when the sample drug is stored in the mold storage place 74 and then the link mechanism 73 is moved toward the sample drug, the link mechanism 73 advances in the longitudinal direction and the tip is brought into contact with the sample drug to be stopped. The swinging end of the 1-regulating member 71 and the swinging end of the 2nd regulating member 72 both narrow the width of the drug transport path on the upper end peripheral edge 23 to the equivalent of one drug following the sample drug. ing.

Further, further ahead of such a regulation mechanism 70, a drop discharge port 14 is formed on the peripheral wall 11 so as to vertically penetrate the peripheral wall 11, and a drug on the upper end peripheral portion 23 of the annular rotating body 20 is formed therein. A discharge guide 13 is also provided on the peripheral wall 11 in order to feed the ring by the rotation of the annular rotating body 20. At the tip of the discharge guide 13, a transport surface guide 12 that extends downward and extends to the tip is formed, and the tilting rotating body is formed by the reaction of the drug in contact with the discharge guide 13. It is designed to prevent an undesired fall toward 30.

Further, although not shown, a controller responsible for controlling the operation of the rotary drive motor 54 and a power source for supplying operating power to them are also built in or outside the same housing. Further, a photo sensor or the like for detecting the fall of the drug at the drop discharge port 14 is also attached, and the detection signal is transmitted to the controller or the tablet counter.
The rotation control of the controller starts from low-speed rotation, and after detecting the discharge of the first drug, further, when the discharge of a predetermined number of drugs set in advance is detected, the rotation is shifted to high-speed rotation. In addition, the remaining number is calculated from the total number of discharged sheets and the number of discharged pieces specified in advance, and when the remaining number reaches the specified predetermined number, the rotation speed is reduced or an undesired excessive drop occurs after the drug discharge is completed. It is also designed to rotate in the reverse direction to prevent it.

The operation and the like of such a drug feeder 10 will also be described. In order to sequentially deliver a large number of drugs using the drug feeder 10, prior to that, the work of regulating the width of the drug transport route and the random loading of the drugs are completed.
Among them, in the work of regulating the width of the drug transport route, the person in charge of the work selects an appropriate one from a large number of drugs as a mold drug, puts it in the mold storage place 74, and then puts it in the mold storage place 74, and then one end of the link mechanism 73. This is accomplished by simply adjusting the position of the link mechanism 73 so that the links are in contact with each other.

When the work is performed, both the first regulating member 71 and the second regulating member 72 swing in conjunction with the link mechanism 73, and the swinging ends of the swinging end portion of the upper end peripheral edge portion 23 of the annular rotating body 20. The width of the upper drug transport path is narrowed to the point corresponding to the diameter of the mold drug in two places.
Further, for the random charging of the drug, the person in charge of the work may literally randomly charge a large number of drugs from the upper opening of the annular rotating body 20 into the rotating container 20 + 30.
Then, the charged randomly contained drug naturally collects on the lower portion of the upper surface of the inclined rotating body 30.

Now that the preparation for automatic operation is complete, when the drug feeder 10 is operated in, for example, a simple continuous delivery mode, the rotary drive motor 54 is subsequently rotated at an appropriate speed according to the control of the controller. Then, the rotation drive member 51 rotates about the axis accordingly, and the rotational motion is transmitted to the annular rotating body 20 by friction transmission via the large diameter portion exterior rotation transmission member 42, and the small diameter portion exterior rotation transmission member. It is also transmitted to the inclined rotating body 30 by friction transmission via 43, and the large diameter portion exterior rotation transmission member 42 and the small diameter portion exterior rotation transmission member 43 axially rotate in the same direction, but the large diameter portion exterior rotation transmission member 42 The member 42 rotates at a higher speed than the small diameter portion exterior rotation transmission member 43.

When the inclined rotating body 30 rotates about its axis, the agent that has come on the peripheral portion 33 of the inclined rotating body 30 among the randomly contained agents accumulated in the inner bottom of the rotating container 20 + 30 moves in the circular motion of the serrated peripheral portion 33. It is scooped up from a low position to a high position.
The drug carried to the point where the peripheral edge portion 33 is higher than the upper end peripheral edge portion 23 of the annular rotating body 20 is mostly on the upper end peripheral edge portion 23 by sliding or rolling based on the inclination of the peripheral edge portion 33. Transfer to.

On the other hand, the drug remaining on the peripheral edge 33 of the inclined rotating body 30 because the upper end peripheral edge 23 was clogged with other preceding chemicals, or because it happened not to slide or roll. Further axial rotation of the inclined rotating body 30 carries it to the tip portion 62 of the sorting member 60, where it abuts on the tip portion 62, and is moved in the opposite direction to the upper end peripheral portion 23 by the reaction of the contact. Therefore, the central portion 32 of the inclined rotating body 30 slides down along the inclined surface.
In this way, the excess drug returns to the randomly contained drug, so that the drug is narrowed down to some extent to the drug transport path above the upper end peripheral portion 23, and the drug is delivered at a frequency close to an appropriate amount.

Since the annular rotating body 20 rotates at a higher speed than the inclined rotating body 30, the agent on the upper end peripheral portion 23 has a certain degree of rotation speed difference when transferred from the peripheral edge portion 33. Although it may be scattered, some may be lined up vertically, such as when the drug is small, while others may be lined up side by side or diagonally. Then, when those drugs are carried to the first regulating member 71 by the axial rotation of the annular rotating body 20, the drugs in a row pass as they are, but the drugs in a row pass through the interference with the first regulating member 71. Since the inner drug is pushed out from above the upper end peripheral portion 23, falls onto the inclined rotating body 30, and returns to the randomly contained drug, the side-by-side arrangement is eliminated.

However, when there are many side-by-side drugs, there may be a drug that slips through the tip of the first regulating member 71 by pushing the drugs against each other. Then, in such a case, some of the drugs that have passed through the first regulating member 71 may remain in a diagonally horizontal arrangement state. In any case, the drug that has passed through the first regulating member 71 is then carried to the second regulating member 72 by the axial rotation of the annular rotating body 20, and the same alignment is forced again. Even if it remains, it is only a small amount and it remains in a light state of diagonal side-by-side arrangement, so the side-by-side arrangement state can be quickly and sufficiently eliminated by re-regulation.

The aligned drugs that have cleared the double regulation and are aligned in a row in this way are carried to the discharge guide 13 one after another by the circulating motion of the upper end peripheral portion 23 accompanying the axial rotation of the annular rotating body 20, and are carried to the upper end. It abuts on the outer side surface of the discharge guide 13 that diagonally intersects the drug transport path above the peripheral edge 23.
Then, most of the aligned medicines immediately proceed along the contact side surface of the discharge guide 13 and are sent in a line to the drop discharge port 14.

However, depending on the contact situation, some of the aligned drug may be slightly repelled toward the inner peripheral side, but even when such a situation occurs, the aligned drug is placed on the annular rotating body 20. The transport surface guide 12 prevents the fall and the pinching of the upper end peripheral portion 23 and the discharge guide 13 into the oblique intersection portion.
In this way, all the aligned drugs are fed in a row to the drop outlet 14 without waste. Since the drug sent to the drop discharge port 14 is accelerated by gravity and the falling speed increases, the separation distance of the drug after the previous one increases, so the falling drug is removed by a photo sensor or the like installed in a place where the separation distance is sufficient. By detecting it, the drug can be accurately counted.

In such a drug feeder, the double rotation type drug feeder is used as a basis, that is, the rotating container is doubled inside and outside, and the rotation of the rotating container is performed from the inner inclined rotating body to the upper end of the outer annular rotating body. By carrying the solid drug on the peripheral edge and aligning the solid drug with the regulating member, it is not necessary to provide a fixed rectifying guide in the rotating body, and the drug of various shapes and sizes is not required. The range of sharing with is expanding.

Further, in such a drug feeder, two regulatory mechanisms for regulating the width of the drug are arranged in a row in the front-rear direction in order to align the solid drugs in a stable posture on the upper end peripheral portion of the annular rotating body. Along with being equipped, a sorting member that regulates the height of the drug is placed in front of the above-mentioned regulating mechanism, and the alignment function is properly exerted by them. As mentioned above, when the reaction force from the drug is strong to avoid damage to the drug, the tip swings and escapes upward, so it cannot be said that height regulation is always performed reliably. However, the height regulation by the sorting member is a pretreatment for reducing the burden of the width regulation by the regulation mechanism, so that there is no practical inconvenience.

[Background Technique 2] (Refer to Patent Documents 2 to 4)
On the other hand, when the common range is expanded as described above, not only the difference in shape and size, but also the chemicals made of different materials, for example, not only hard chemicals but also brittle chemicals on the surface layer, and chemicals having a spherical or spindle-shaped shape that easily rolls. There is an increasing demand for sharing such items.
Then, in order to handle fragile drugs and drugs that are easy to roll accordingly, so-called sorting members that soften the contact between the drugs and the sorting members in order to avoid and suppress damage to the drugs and excessive rolling. Delicacy and diversification are required.

However, such measures tend to weaken the height regulation function of the sorting member, so that the height regulation function is maintained even if the contact between the drug and the sorting member is relaxed, not limited to simple delicacy. Furthermore, it is desirable to take measures that take into consideration measures that will be strengthened.
Therefore, it has become a further technical issue to realize a drug feeder in which the sorting member hits the drug gently while maintaining the height regulation function at the time of drug alignment while following the double rotation type drug feeder. ..

Then, in order to solve such a technical problem, an outer annular rotating body that can rotate about an axis around a vertical line and the annular rotating body that can rotate about an axis about an inclined line inclined from the vertical line. An inclined rotating body equipped inside the ring-shaped rotating body to close the hollow of the annular rotating body, and a solid drug carried from above by the rotation of the inclined rotating body onto the upper end peripheral portion of the annular rotating body. A drug feeder including a sorting member and a regulating member that are aligned when the body rotates, wherein the regulating member regulates the width of the drug on the upper end peripheral portion of the annular rotating body. The sorting member is provided with a hanging object that hangs above the upper end peripheral portion of the annular rotating body and can be deformed when the lower end portion is pushed laterally, whereby the upper end peripheral edge portion of the annular rotating body is provided. A drug feeder has been developed in which the height is regulated for the drug above the body of revolution, and the droop consists of loosely connected multiple spheres.

Of these, the parts useful for understanding the problems of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings relating to the drug feeder 100 which is an improved version of the drug feeder 10 described above (see FIGS. 9 to 11).
FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view showing the overall configuration of the drug feeder 100.

FIG. 10 shows the configuration of the regulation mechanism 700 which is an improvement of the above-mentioned regulation mechanism 70, and (a) is a plan view relating to the regulation mechanism 700 when the mold agent 5a is placed in the mold storage place 74, (b). Is a plan view and an end view of the first regulating member 710 having the same shape as the second regulating member 720.
FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the sorting mechanism 600 which is an improved version of the sorting mechanism 60 described above. FIG. 11A is an external perspective view of the sorting mechanism 600 and its installation destination portion, and FIG. 11B is an external perspective view. It is a front view which concerns on the 1st sorting member 610 of a sorting mechanism 600, and (c) is the front view which concerns on the 2nd sorting member 620 of a sorting mechanism 600.

The difference between the drug feeder 100 and the drug feeder 10 described above (see FIG. 9) is that the rotation drive mechanism 50 includes two rotation drive motors 54a and 54b to rotate the annular rotating body 20 and the inclined rotating body 30. The rotation of the rotating body 20 can be controlled individually, and the annular rotating body 20 has become a bowl-shaped integral body that allows the tilting rotating body 30 to be inserted and removed without disassembling it up and down. The addition of the tilting rotating body mounting detecting means 55 for detecting the attachment / detachment of the moving body, the indication of the drug drop detecting means 56 below the drop discharge port 14, and the like.

Further, the regulation mechanism 70 is remodeled to become the regulation mechanism 700, and the sorting member 60 is remodeled to become the sorting mechanism 600. Here, among those differences, the problem of the present invention is mentioned. The regulatory mechanism 700 and the sorting mechanism 600, which are closely related to each other, will be described in detail.
In particular, the regulatory mechanism 700 is a central part of the application of the present invention.

In the regulation mechanism 700 (see FIG. 10A), when the above-mentioned regulation mechanism 70 is taken over, the mold storage place 74 for setting the mold agent 5a and the link mechanism 73 for interlocking the regulation members 71 and 72 are almost unchanged. Although it has been taken over, the first regulating member 71 and the second regulating member 72 have been improved to become the first regulating member 710 and the second regulating member 720, respectively.
Since the first and second regulating members 710 and 720 have the same shape, 710 will be described in detail (see FIG. 10B), but the first regulating member 710 is similar to the first regulating member 71 described above in the figure. The leftmost swing center is located on the peripheral wall 11 side, and the rightmost swing end is located above the upper end peripheral edge 23 of the annular rotating body 20 in the figure. It exerts a width regulating function of narrowing the width of the drug transport path on the portion 23 from the outer peripheral side.

Moreover, the inner peripheral side surface portion of the first regulating member 710 (see FIG. 10B) has been modified, and the inner peripheral side surface portion follows the inner peripheral side surface portion of the first regulating member 71 described above. Not only the lower portion 711 that has the width regulating function, but also the upper portion 712 that is not included in the first regulating member 71 described above is formed. The upper portion 712 projects toward the inner peripheral side of the lower portion 711, and an inclined surface is formed between the upper portion 712 and the lower portion 711. Therefore, in the first regulating member 710, the lower portion 711 performs a strict width regulation function according to the state of the link mechanism 73, and the upper portion 712 performs a gradual height regulation.
Although detailed explanations to be repeated are omitted, the same applies to the second regulating member 720.

The sorting mechanism 600 (see FIG. 11A) is a first sorting member arranged upstream of the regulating mechanism 700 in the drug transport path of the upper end peripheral portion 230 of the annular rotating body 200, similarly to the sorting member 60 described above. It is equipped with a 610 and a second sorting member 620 arranged at a position aligned with the regulation mechanism 700 in the above-mentioned drug transport path unlike the sorting member 60, and the plurality of members exert a sorting function in multiple stages. It is supposed to be done.
Like the sorting member 60 described above, each of the members 610 and 620 is attached to the upper plate portion of the peripheral wall 11 that includes the discharge guide 13 and supports the regulation mechanism 700.

The first sorting member 610 (see FIGS. 11A and 11B) is attached to a short support member 611 whose vertical position can be adjusted by a manual screw mechanism and a support member 611 attached to a portion near the tip thereof. It is equipped with a front-stage hanging object 612 (first type hanging object) that moves up and down along with it.
The front hanging object 612 (see FIG. 11 (b)) is a chain formed by loosely connecting a plurality of large balls 613 (two spheres in the figure), and it is easy if a commercially available ball chain or the like is sufficient. It can be realized at low cost. In the first sorting member 610, two front-stage hanging objects 612 hang down side by side from the support member 611 above the drug transport path of the upper end peripheral portion 230, and usually the lower end of the front-stage hanging object 612 is slightly lower than the height of the drug. The vertical position is adjusted so that it is only higher.

The second sorting member 620 (see FIGS. 11 (a) and 11 (c)) is also accompanied by a long support member 621 whose vertical position can be manually adjusted, and a support member 621 attached to a portion near the tip thereof. It is provided with a middle-stage hanging object 622 and a rear-stage hanging object 632 (both are first-type hanging objects) that move up and down, and a manual adjustment mechanism 650 that adjusts the vertical position of the support member 621.
The middle-stage hanging object 622 (see FIG. 11 (c)) is formed by loosely connecting a plurality of middle balls 623 (three spheres in the figure) to form a chain. Is increasing.
The rear hanging object 632 is also a chain of a plurality of small balls 633 (seven in the front and six in the back in the figure), and the small balls 633 are further reduced in size and the number of connected pieces is increasing.

In the manual adjustment mechanism 650, the support member 621 is manually raised to widen the gap between the support member 621 and the lower limit setting mechanism 651, and then the mold medicine 5b (placed in the above-mentioned mold storage place 74) is placed on the lower limit setting mechanism 651. 10 (a) is different from the mold medicine 5a, but one of the medicines of the same shape) is placed, and then the support member 621 is manually lowered to the point where it lightly hits the mold medicine 5b. The vertical position of 621 comes to the position corresponding to the mold medicine 5b.
A scale member 652 is attached to the lower limit setting mechanism 651 (see FIG. 11C), and the scale indicates the distance between the lower limit setting mechanism 651 and the support member 621, and thus the size of the mold medicine 5b, and further manually. It also indicates the height regulated by the second sorting member 620 adjusted by the adjusting mechanism 650. Further, since the vertical position adjustment of the support member 621 is accompanied by the measurement and display of the mold medicine 5a, it can be used as a guide for the adjustment of the first sorting member 610.

Further, the positional relationship and the division of roles of the above-mentioned front-stage hanging object 612, middle-stage hanging object 622, and rear-stage hanging object 632 will be described.
The two front-stage hanging objects 612 both hang above the drug transport path of the upper end peripheral edge 230, but are aligned in the transverse direction of the drug transport path, which is the radial direction of the upper end peripheral edge 230. The position of the lower end of the anterior drooping object 612 cannot be unequivocally determined because it depends on the adjustment policy, but it is usually a little smaller than the drug so that if the drug overlaps on the drug transport route, it interferes with the above drug. Be raised. The large ball 613 is heavy and the overlap of the chemicals is efficiently eliminated, but the large ball 613 at the lower end, which is the free end, escapes due to the deformation of the connecting portion immediately above, so that the impact on the chemical is small.

When the drug is spherical, the drug is likely to roll and the position is not stable in many cases, but when the drug is located in a desirable place such as the center in the transverse direction of the drug transport route, the drug is placed side by side in the anterior stage hanging object. It slips through between 612. Further, when the drug is slightly laterally displaced from the center, the displaced front-stage hanging object 612 and the drug lightly interfere with each other, and the drug is centered (for a drug that easily rolls, the upper end of the above-mentioned annular rotating body 200). It is brought closer to the widened portion of the groove 231 of the peripheral edge portion 230). On the other hand, when the medicine is largely displaced from the center, some medicines are moved to the center depending on the degree of contact, but many medicines are pushed out from above the upper end peripheral portion 230 and returned to the top of the inclined rotating body 300.

The two middle-stage hanging objects 622 are straddling sorting members whose support members 621 straddle the regulating mechanism 700, and any of the middle-stage hanging objects 622 hangs above the drug transport path of the upper end peripheral portion 230 and is regulated. It is located next to the mechanism 700 (particularly the second regulating member 720) and is a side-by-side hanging object.
Further, all of the middle-stage hanging objects 622 are located above the drug transport path of the upper end peripheral portion 230, and they are arranged diagonally with respect to the drug transport path.

Further, the relationship between the support member 621 and the manual adjustment mechanism 650 is set so that the lower end position of the middle stage hanging object 622 is slightly lower than the drug on the drug transport path in the standard setting.
Therefore, in addition to the function that the middle ball 623 interferes with the upper drug to eliminate the overlap of the drugs if the drugs overlap on the drug transport path, the middle stage hanging object 622 is, for example, isolated alone or diagonally. The drug alignment function on the drug transport path is strengthened by separating whether the drug that happens to be on the inner peripheral side of the drug transport path is returned to the center of the drug transport path or the inclined rotating body 300 in a side-by-side state. It is also a function that can be used.

Two posterior hanging objects 632 (see FIG. 11 (a)), one (six objects in the back in the figure) hangs above the inner peripheral side of the drug transport path of the upper end peripheral portion 230, and the other (in the figure, the front). The seven consecutive objects) deviate from above the drug transport path of the upper end peripheral portion 230 and hang down above the outer peripheral side of the inclined rotating body 300, and are lined up in the transverse direction of the drug transport path.
Moreover, as the height of the support member 621 is adjusted by the manual adjustment mechanism 650, the lower end position of one rear hanging object 632 is slightly lower than the lower end position of the above-mentioned middle stage hanging object 622, and the lower end position of the other rear hanging object 632 is set. The position is designed to be further lowered.
Therefore, the lower end positions of the first sorting member 610 in which the above-mentioned large balls 613 are connected, the middle-stage hanging object 622 in which the middle balls 623 are connected, and the rear-stage hanging object 632 in which the small balls 633 are connected are in the order of the size of the balls. ing.

Further (see FIG. 11A), the rear hanging object 632 is at least on the inner peripheral side (seven objects in the foreground in the figure), and a magnetic material such as iron is used as the material of the small ball 633. Correspondingly, an attractive member 640 made of a permanent magnet or the like is attached to a portion of the second regulating member 720 close to the rear hanging object 632 by fitting or the like. Then, since the attractive force is applied to the component force of gravity, the rear hanging object 632 exerts a gentle but effective reaction force on the drug that comes into contact with the drug from above the drug transport path. ing. As a result, the drug that has been separated from the second regulating member 720 approaches the second regulating member 720, so that the function of the second regulating member 720 is enhanced. Such a post-stage hanging object 632 emphasizes the strengthening of the lateral width regulation of the drug of the second regulating member 720 rather than the height regulating function of its own drug.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-108277 Patent No. 6736075 Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-012192 (application) Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-012231 (application)

In such a drug feeder, it is no longer necessary to provide a fixed rectifying guide in the rotating body, and the range of common use for drugs of various shapes and sizes has expanded (see Background Technology 1, Patent Document 1), and in addition (see Patent Document 1). Background technology 2, see Patent Documents 2 to 4), by letting the subsequent regulation mechanism that regulates the width of the drug take charge of the height regulation function, and then loosening the height regulation function of the sorting member located upstream of it. From hard and tough drugs to brittle drugs, from hard-to-roll drugs such as plate-shaped to easy-to-roll drugs such as spherical and spindle-shaped, solid drugs are reasonably arranged in a row by the drug transport path at the upper edge of the annular rotating body. It is designed to be able to be made to.

However, after using various drugs with different shapes and materials for a long period of time, it is rare that the so-called multi-stage drug with multiple drugs stacked on top of each other remains difficult to unravel. , Escapes the height regulation of the sorting member in the front stage and reaches the regulation mechanism in the rear stage, without being understood by the height regulation function of the regulation mechanism, and further by the width regulation function of the regulation mechanism, the drug transport path of the annular rotating body. It may trigger a large number of subsequent drugs to remain on the drug transport path of the annular body of revolution, such as when dropped onto an inwardly tilted body of revolution for a long time. It turned out that.

Furthermore, although it is rare, if the contact surface between the drugs is not slippery due to the surface properties of the drugs, even if multiple drugs do not overlap each other up and down. The chemicals are lined up in a zigzag pattern on the upper edge of the annular body of revolution instead of in a neat line, and the center of gravity deviates from the upper edge of the ring body and falls downward on the inner circumference and rotates in an inclined manner. It has also been found that the drug to be transferred to the body may remain on the drug transport path of the annular body of revolution for an undesiredly long time.

When such a situation that can be said to be a drug congestion state occurs, the frequency of drug transport from the regulatory mechanism to the drop discharge port decreases, and the sequential discharge function of the drug is impaired more than expected, so the processing capacity Will drop to an undesired degree, and an undesired time-out of drug discharge detection will lead to the misjudgment that all drugs in the feeder have been discharged and the feeder has been emptied. It could be.
Therefore, it is a technical issue to make the width regulation function of the regulatory mechanism useful for eliminating drug congestion by a simple method within a range that does not damage even a fragile drug.

The drug feeder of the present invention (Solution 1) was devised to solve such a problem.
An outer annular rotating body that can rotate around the vertical line and a hollow of the annular rotating body that is equipped inside the annular rotating body in a state where the axis can rotate about the inclined line inclined from the vertical line. An inclined rotating body that closes, a sorting member and a regulating member that aligns solid chemicals carried from above the inclined rotating body onto the upper end peripheral portion of the annular rotating body during rotation of the annular rotating body. A control unit that controls the rotation of the annular rotating body and a drug drop detecting means for detecting the drug that has been carried to the drop discharge port by the annular rotating body and dropped are provided, and the sorting member is the said of the annular rotating body. The height is regulated with respect to the drug on the upper end peripheral edge portion, and the regulating member regulates the width of the drug transport path on the upper end peripheral edge portion of the annular rotating body. In the drug feeder
The regulating member adjusts the regulation amount of the lateral width according to the control of the control unit, and the control unit sets a value at which the drug detection interval in the drug drop detecting means is larger than the normal time interval. When the traffic jam time interval is reached, the restricting member is controlled to expand the width.
The drug detection interval includes the time interval from the start of rotation of the annular rotating body to the drug detection by the drug drop detecting means, and the time interval from one drug detection by the drug drop detecting means to the next drug detection. Applicable.

Further, the drug feeder of the present invention (solution 2) is the drug feeder of the solution 1, and after the control unit controls the regulation member to expand the width, the drug drop detecting means uses the drug. When a drop is detected, the control unit controls the restricting member to return the width to the state before the expansion.

Further, the drug feeder of the present invention (solution 3) is a drug feeder of the solutions 1 and 2, characterized in that the control unit gradually expands the width. ..

Further, the drug feeder of the present invention (solution 4) is the drug feeder of the above-mentioned solutions 1 to 3, and is a measuring mechanism for sandwiching a drug and measuring a dimension, and a drive for moving a movable portion of the measuring mechanism. A member is provided, and the regulating member is interlocked with the movable portion of the measuring mechanism, and the control unit controls the driving member to place a drug placed on the measuring mechanism. It is characterized in that the dimension data of the above is acquired and the regulation member is made to regulate the width based on the dimension data.

In such a drug feeder of the present invention (solutions 1 and 2), the drug detection interval for the drug carried to the drop discharge port by the annular rotating body and dropped is known under normal drug discharge operation. When the normal time interval (normal time interval) or close to the normal time interval (normal time interval) or a longer congestion time interval (congestion time interval) is reached, the drug transport path at the upper end peripheral edge of the annular rotating body is unsuccessful. As it is highly probable that the desired drug congestion condition has occurred, the regulatory member is activated to widen the width of the drug transport route, so that the restriction on the passage of the drug by the side of the regulatory member is temporarily relaxed. ..

As described above, when a large number of drugs are clogged at the regulation member and a drug congestion state occurs in which the drugs are continuously connected in the transport direction, this is detected and the drug at the head of the congestion is likely to move forward. Then, a slight movement of the leading drug causes relaxation of the pushing state between the succeeding drugs, and the continuous state of the drugs changes, which is useful for resolving the drug congestion state. Moreover, it can be easily carried out by slightly adding the regulating member, and since the undesired pressing of the drugs is alleviated, even if the drugs are fragile, there is no risk of damaging them.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to make the width regulation function of the regulation mechanism useful for resolving the drug congestion within a range that does not damage even a fragile drug and by a simple method.

Further, in the drug feeder of the present invention (Solution 3), the width of the drug transport path is relaxed, that is, the width of the drug transport path is expanded stepwise rather than continuously. Since the target drug moves laterally intermittently, the friction between the drugs is suppressed during the movement, the pressing state between the drugs is also alleviated, and the alignment state of the drugs is adjusted between the movements. , It is possible to suppress the impact on the drug and eliminate the congestion state of the drug reasonably and efficiently.

Further, in the drug feeder of the present invention (solution 4), the regulating member and the moving part of the measuring mechanism are interlocked so that the regulating member also operates when the driving member moves the moving part. In addition to acquiring the dimensional data of the drug placed in the measuring mechanism, even temporarily relaxing the width of the drug transport path based on the dimensional data is realized by the control unit controlling the drive member. Therefore, the number of built-in drive members is smaller than the number of functions and the number of movable members, and the drug used for measurement is automatically taken out from the measuring mechanism after measurement and transferred onto the inclined rotating body without waste. It can be used for dispensing. Furthermore, the measuring mechanism can be simplified by acquiring or calculating dimensional data from the amount of movement of the driving member.

Regarding Example 1 of the present invention, the structure of the drug feeder is shown, (a) is an external perspective view, and (b) and (c) are external perspective views of a mold storage place that also serves as a measuring mechanism. (A) to (d) are all plan views of the main part showing the interlocking state between the mold yard and the regulation mechanism. (A) is an external perspective view relating to the sorting mechanism and its peripheral portion, and (b) is an external perspective view of only the sorting mechanism. It is a plan view, a front view, a right side view, a rear view, and a left side view of a single middle-stage hanging object. It is a plan view, a front view, a right side view, a rear view, and a left side view of a plurality of parallel hanging objects. An operating state of the drug feeder is shown, (a) is an external perspective view relating to a sorting mechanism for sorting drugs, and (b) shows a sorting situation by an oblique contact surface of a middle-stage hanging object of the sorting mechanism. It is an external perspective view. The rocking state of the middle-stage hanging object that sorts the medicines is shown, (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a front view. The structure of the main part of the drug feeder described in the column of Background Technique 1 is shown, (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a vertical sectional front view. It is a vertical sectional front view which shows the structure of the main part of the drug feeder explained in the column of the background technique 2. The structure of the regulation mechanism of the drug feeder is shown, (a) is a plan view when a mold drug is placed in a mold yard, and (b) is a plan view and an end view of the first regulating member. The structure of the sorting mechanism of the drug feeder is shown, (a) is a perspective view relating to the sorting mechanism and its installation destination portion, (b) is a front view of the first sorting member, and (c) is a front view of the second sorting member. It is a figure.

In addition to strengthening the width regulation function of the regulatory mechanism within the range that does not damage even fragile drugs and by a simple method, the height regulation function of the sorting member should be appropriately restored within the range that does not damage even fragile drugs and by a simple method. Will also be a further technical issue, and embodiments for solving this issue will also be described.
[Embodiment 1]
The drug feeder of the first embodiment is the drug feeder of the above-mentioned solution, and the annular shape is provided by the sorting member including a hanging object hanging above the upper end peripheral portion of the annular rotating body. The height is regulated for the drug on the upper edge of the rotating body.
As the hanging object, a first-type hanging object and a second-type hanging object having different shapes are provided, and the first-type hanging object can be deformed when the lower end portion is pushed sideways. The second type of hanging object is characterized in that the upper end portion is loosely supported and when the lower end portion is pushed laterally, the hanging object can swing without being deformed.

In such a drug feeder of the first embodiment, as a hanging object for gently eliminating the overlap of drugs, the lower end portion is deformed when the lower end portion is laterally pushed like the above-mentioned hanging object 612,622,632. Not only the first type of hanging object that can be used, but also the second type of hanging object that is loosely supported at the upper end and can swing without being deformed when the lower end is pushed sideways, and both are used together. It is supposed to be done. When the chemicals carried by the annular rotating body come into contact with any of the drooping objects, a reaction force is applied to the abutting agents to break the overlap, but the means of generating the reaction force and the mode of action are deformed. Since it is different from the shaking, it is possible to expect a more diverse and higher overlap elimination effect than when the same quality of action is repeated. In addition, since the end portion in contact with the drug escapes laterally by swinging, excessive reaction force is less likely to occur than the one that escapes upward.
Therefore, according to this embodiment, the height regulating function of the sorting member can be appropriately restored within a range that does not damage even a brittle agent and by a simple method.

[Embodiment 2]
The drug feeder of the second embodiment is the drug feeder of the first embodiment, and the first-type drooping object and the second-type drooping object have different circumferential positions of the annular rotating body. It is characterized by being.

In such a drug feeder of the second embodiment, the first type of hanging object and the second type of hanging object are dispersed in the circumferential direction of the annular rotating body, so that a plurality of hanging objects can be provided. Not only can it be reasonably placed on the drug transport path, but also by having multiple types of actions with different modes, that is, different types of "dissolving actions of superposed drugs" work with a time lag, both actions cancel each other out. It is also possible to easily avoid such an undesired situation.

[Embodiment 3]
The drug feeder of the third embodiment is the drug feeder of the first and second embodiments, and the second form of the droop has a plate-like portion including all or a part of the lower end portion thereof. The straight line in the longitudinal direction of the lower end surface of the shaped portion and the straight line in the circumferential direction of the upper end peripheral portion of the annular rotating body maintain the relationship of "straight line at the twist position", and the annular rotating body maintains the relationship. It is characterized in that the transfer direction of the drug that has been transferred and abuts on the hanging object of the second type is directed to the inner peripheral side of the annular rotating body.

In such a drug feeder of the third embodiment, the shape of at least the lower end of the second-shaped hanging object is shaped like a plate, and the drug is transferred directly below the lower end of the plate-shaped portion in the longitudinal direction. It has been transferred while riding on other drugs by a simple method of tilting it with respect to the direction and limiting the range in which the tilt fluctuates due to the swing of the second type of droop. Since the transfer direction of the drug is changed to the inner peripheral side of the annular rotating body by contact with the second type of drooping object, the unraveling action of the superposed drug and the returning action of the surplus drug are strengthened even with a simple configuration. To.

[Embodiment 4]
The drug feeder of the fourth embodiment is the drug feeder of the first to third embodiments, wherein the hanging object of the second form is composed of a plurality of separable members arranged side by side. do.

In such a drug feeder of the fourth embodiment, a plurality of separable members are arranged side by side to form a second-type hanging object, so that the plurality of members are slightly displaced or finely separated from each other when the drug is abutted. Therefore, even if the total amount of the reaction force against the drug is the same, the peak tends to decrease, so that it is possible to enhance the unraveling action of the superposed drug while suppressing an undesired impact on the drug.

[Embodiment 5]
The drug feeder of the fifth embodiment is the drug feeder of the first to third embodiments, wherein the second type of hanging material is composed of a plurality of plates of the same shape arranged side by side in a separable state. It is characterized by being.

In such a drug feeder of the fifth embodiment, in addition to exhibiting the action and effect of the fourth embodiment by arranging a plurality of separable members side by side, the manufacturing burden is reduced by the same plate material shape, and the manufacturing burden is reduced. By arranging multiple plates of the same shape side by side, even dense arrangement can be easily performed.

A specific embodiment for carrying out such a drug feeder of the present invention will be described with reference to Example 1 below.
In the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, in addition to the above-mentioned solutions 1 to 3 (claims 1 to 3 at the time of filing), the above-mentioned embodiments 1 to 5 are all embodied. Is.
In addition, in order to simplify the illustrations, the illustrations are omitted for the members described in the background technology column and the members for which equivalent products are sufficient, and the ones necessary for the explanation of the invention and related ones are mainly shown. Illustrated.
In addition, for those that overlap with those described in the background technology section, repeated explanations will be omitted, and the differences from the conventional ones will be mainly explained below.

The specific configuration of Example 1 of the drug feeder of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1A and 1B show a main structure of a drug feeder 1100 with a transparent upper lid removed, where FIG. 1A is an external perspective view, and FIGS. 1B and 1C are external perspective views of a mold storage place 1740 which also serves as a measuring mechanism.
Further, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an interlocking state between the movable holding portion 1742 of the mold storage place 1740 and the link mechanism 73 of the regulation mechanism 1700 in each of (a) to (d).

Further, FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the sorting mechanism 1600 and its peripheral portion, and FIG. 3B is an external perspective view of only the sorting mechanism 1600.
Further, FIG. 4 is a plan view, a front view, a right side view, a rear view, and a left side view of the single middle stage hanging object 1623, and FIG. 5 shows two middle stage hanging objects 1623, 1623 side by side. It is a plan view, a front view, a right side view, a back view, and a left side view relating to the middle-stage hanging object 1622 arranged side by side.

The drug feeder 1100 (see FIGS. 1 and 3) has an overall outline component from the above-mentioned drug feeders 10 and 100 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) in such a manner that the required functions are maintained while being appropriately improved. It follows (see FIGS. 1 (a) and 3 (a)), follows the peripheral wall 11 inherited from the above-mentioned housing, and follows the above-mentioned annular rotating body 20, and rotates around the vertical line. It is installed inside the annular rotating body 1020 in a state where it can rotate around the inclined line inclined from the above vertical line following the possible outer annular rotating body 1020 and the inclined rotating body 30 described above. It is provided with an inclined rotating body 1030 that closes the hollow of the annular rotating body 1020.

Further, the drug feeder 1100 (see FIGS. 1 (a) and 3 (a)) is carried from above the inclined rotating body 1030 onto the upper end peripheral portion 23 of the annular rotating body 1020 by the rotation of the inclined rotating body 1030. It also has a regulating mechanism 1700 (see FIG. 2) and a sorting mechanism 1600 (see FIG. 3B) for aligning the solid drug with the rotation of the annular rotating body 1020.
The sorting mechanism 1600 is an improvement of the above-mentioned sorting mechanism 600, and the regulation mechanism 1700 is an improvement of the above-mentioned regulation mechanism 700. The functions of the controller 1800, which is responsible for controlling their operation, have also been enhanced (see FIG. 1A).

First, the regulating mechanism 1700 (see the scattered spot pattern portion in FIG. 1A) includes a link mechanism 73, a first regulating member 710, a second regulating member 720, and an urging spring as a basic structural portion. Following the above-mentioned regulation mechanism 700 (see FIG. 10), the width is regulated with respect to the drug transport path on the upper end peripheral portion 23 of the annular rotating body 1020, and the final height of the drug is also regulated. However, the width of the regulated object can be variably adjusted electrically by interlocking with the electric mold storage 1740.

Specifically, the mold yard 1740 (see the scattered spot pattern portion in FIG. 1 (a) and the same figures (b) and (c)) is for the fixed holding portion 1741 (stationary portion) and its 1741. It is inserted into the slot 1742 (movable section) that can move forward and backward, the mounting section 1743 (transmission section) and slot 1744 (guide section) that move with it, and the slot of this slot 1744. The fixed insertion portion 1745 (guide portion) that regulates the moving direction of the mounting portion 1743 and thus the moving direction of the holding portion 1742, and the mounting portion 1743 are urged in a direction in which the holding portion 1742 is brought into contact with the holding portion 1741. A spring (not shown) is provided, and in the free state, the holding portion 1741 and the holding portion 1742 come into contact with each other (see FIG. 1 (c)), and the holding portion 1742 and the mounting portion 1743 are oriented in a direction contrary to the spring urging. When pressed, the pinching portion 1742 is separated from the pinching portion 1741 (see FIG. 1 (b)).

Moreover, a motor 1750 (driving member) under the control of the controller 1800 is disposed below the mold storage place 1740 (see FIG. 1A). An oscillating member 1751 (transmission unit) that oscillates according to the rotational operation of the motor 1750 (see FIG. 1 (b)) and an origin detection member 1752 that detects the oscillating member 1751 located at the origin are also arranged. (See FIG. 1 (c)). Then, when the motor 1750 is operated in a predetermined direction, the gap between the two holding portions 1741 and 1742 is widened, and when the motor 1750 is rotated in the reverse direction or is in a free state, the gap between the two holding portions 1741 and 1742 is narrowed and both holding portions are narrowed. As the 1741 and 1742 come into contact with each other, the state is detected by the origin detection member 1752, and the detection signal is sent to the controller 1800.

Such a mold storage 1740 functions as a measuring mechanism for measuring dimensions by sandwiching a drug under the control of a controller 1800 composed of, for example, a microprocessor or the like, or as a mechanism for increasing or decreasing the regulation amount of the width of the drug transport path. Is also working.
The function as a measuring mechanism (see FIG. 2) is that when the pinching portion 1742 is moved with a fingertip or the like to separate the pinching portion 1741 and the pinching portion 1742, the drug 5a is placed between them to free the pinching portion 1742. Since the distance between 1741 and 1742 matches the dimension of the drug 5a, it is embodied by measuring the distance (FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b)).

The measurement may be performed by attaching an electronic measuring instrument or the like, but in this example, the controller 1800 acquires the rotation phase data of the motor 1750 and converts it into a distance, which is inexpensively realized. .. For example, when the motor 1750 is operated with a driving force weaker than the spring-forced force of the mounting portion 1743 to lightly contact the rocking member 1751 with the mounting portion 1743, and the swing member 1751 stops, the motor Desired data can be obtained by acquiring 1750 rotation phase data. Further, measured values such as the width of the drug 5a (see FIG. 2A), the thickness of the drug 5a (see FIG. 2B), and the length of the drug 5a (not shown) are acquired by the controller 1800 and are data. It is also to be retained.

In this way, the controller 1800 can acquire the dimensional data of the medicine 5a placed in the mold storage place 1740, which is also a measuring mechanism, by controlling the motor 1750. Further, when the drug 5a is removed from the mold storage place 1740 after the measurement (see FIG. 2C), the pinching portion 1742 moves to the pinching portion 1741 due to the spring urging, but the motor 1750 is controlled by the controller 1800 to move the motor 1750 to the spring. By operating with a driving force stronger than the urging force, the holding portion 1742 can be moved to a position corresponding to the width of the drug 5a or another position without the drug 5a (Fig.). 2 (d)).

Since the support portion of the pinching portion 1742 or the rear end portion of the mounting portion 1743 is evenly connected to the front end portion of the link mechanism 73, when the pinching portion 1742 is moved by the control of the controller 1800 and the drive of the motor 1750, Since the link mechanism 73 advances and retreats in the longitudinal direction in conjunction with this, as described above, the width of the drug transport path regulated by the first and second regulating members 710 and 720, that is, the upper peripheral periphery of the annular rotating body 1020. Since the width allowed for the drug moving on the portion 23 is expanded or contracted from the outer peripheral side, the increase or decrease in the width regulation amount for the drug on the upper end peripheral portion 23 is controlled by the controller 1800. Even when there is no drug 5a in the mold yard 1740, it can be performed. Therefore, even the medicine 5a placed in the mold yard 1740 in order to determine the width regulation width for the medicine on the upper end peripheral edge portion 23 by the first and second regulating members 710 and 720 can be immediately and efficiently dispensed. ..

Next, the sorting mechanism 1600 (see the scattered spot pattern portion in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B) strictly determines the height at which the drug can pass through the upper end peripheral edge portion 23 of the annular rotating body 1020. However, it is intended to be gently regulated because there may be some leakage, and as a hanging object that hangs above the upper end peripheral edge 23 of the annular rotating body 1020, large balls 613 are vertically connected and can be bent freely. There are three types of hangings: the front hangings 612, the middle hangings 1622, which are two plate-shaped middle hangings 1623, which will be described in detail later, and the rear hangings 632, which are made by vertically connecting small balls 633. It is equipped with things. The 612, 162, 632 are arranged in this order from the upstream to the downstream of the upper end peripheral edge portion 23, and all of them are located above the upper end peripheral edge portion 23 (drug transport path), but the annular rotating body 1020. The position in the circumferential direction is different.

While the support member 1611 that suspends and holds a plurality of front-stage hanging objects 612 is short, the support member 1621 that suspends and holds the middle-stage hanging object 1622 and the rear-stage hanging object 632 is long and straddles the regulation mechanism 1700. However, since both members 1611 and 1621 are made of one piece or are tightly connected, the first sorting member 1610 including the support member 1611 and the second sorting member 1620 including the support member 1621 are also integrated.
Therefore, when the controller 1800 operates the motor 1630 (see FIGS. 1 (a) and 3 (a)), the elevating screw 1640 rotates about the axis due to the drive thereof, and in response to this, the supporting members 1611 and 1621 of the integral body are rotated. Is able to automatically adjust the lower end positions of the three types of hanging objects 612, 1622, 632 up and down as they move up and down.

In addition, since these three types of hanging objects can be removed together when they are not needed, they are easy to put on and take off.
Further, as described above, in the front-stage hanging object 612 and the rear-stage hanging object 632 in which the balls are freely connected, the chemicals carried by the upper end peripheral portion 23 of the annular rotating body 1020 are 612, 632 lower end portions. When it collides with and is pushed sideways, it becomes a bow as a whole because the impact is mitigated while holding down the colliding agent, and it can be said that it is a second type hanging object that easily deforms greatly toward the lower end. It has become.

On the other hand, the middle-stage hanging object 1623, which is composed of a vertically elongated plate-like body and is hard to be deformed, has its upper end portion 1623a hooked in a loosely fitted state at the through hole 1621a of the support member 1621 and is loosely suspended. It can be said that it is a single second type hanging object that can swing without being deformed when the lower end is pushed sideways.
In addition, the middle stage hanging material 1622, in which two (plural) pieces of the middle stage hanging material 1623 are arranged side by side in a state where they are dense but easy to separate, can be said to be a second type of hanging material arranged side by side, and the front stage hanging material. The deformation state and the content of the overlapping action of the plurality of drugs are different from those of the object 612 and the posterior hanging object 632.

Further, explaining the holding state of the middle-stage hanging object 1622 by the support member 1621 (see FIGS. 3 (b), 4 and 5), the swing that swings at the lower end portion is allowed to be relatively large for impact mitigation. However, regarding the so-called rotation-like rotation that rotates around the virtual vertical axis, the diagonal contact surface of the lower end portion 1623c on the front side, which is the target of drug contact, among the lower end portions 1623c of the two middle-stage hanging objects 1623. In order to prevent the orientation of 1623d from being excessively changed when pressed by the contacting agent, for example, in a slit shape in which the gap between the upper end portion 1623a and the through hole 1621a of the middle stage hanging object 1623 is appropriately suppressed. It is formed so that the swing width of the above-mentioned rotation-like rotation can be suppressed to a small size.

A typical configuration example of the middle-stage hanging object 1623 (see FIG. 4) is a vertically long flat plate portion 1623e, an upper end portion 1623a slightly protruding from the upper end thereof, and a vertically long flat plate portion 1623e in the same direction as the central portion to the upper end portion 1623a. It is provided with a central portion 1623b protruding from the center and a lower end portion 1623c protruding long from the lower end portion of the vertically elongated flat plate portion 1623e. The vertically elongated flat plate portion 1623e, the upper end portion 1623a, and the central portion 1623b belong to one plane. On the other hand, the lower end portion 1623c protrudes to the same side of both sides of the vertically elongated flat plate portion 1623d like the upper end portion 1623a and the central portion 1623b, but is not in exactly the same direction and is tilted sideways by about 30 °. ..

The middle-stage hanging object 1622 (see FIG. 5) is a stack of two of the above-mentioned middle-stage hanging objects 1623, and most of the two pieces overlap each other with the upper end attached to the support member 1621. In this state, it hangs above the upper end peripheral edge portion 23 of the annular rotating body 1020, and one of the lower end portions 1623c of the two middle-stage hanging objects 1623 becomes the oblique contact surface 1623d to which the agent 5 abuts. In the hanging state, a straight line overlapping the lower side of the oblique contact surface 1623d (a straight line in the longitudinal direction of the lower end surface of the plate-shaped portion) and a straight line in the circumferential direction of the upper end peripheral edge portion 23 of the annular rotating body 1020 are formed from above and below. It is designed to maintain the relationship of "straight line of twist position" which seems to intersect when viewed but looks away when viewed from the side.

As described above, the controller 1800 (control unit) is composed of a microprocessor or the like, and the upper end of the annular rotating body 1020 is operated by operating the mold storage 1740 using the width value (dimensional data) of the drug measured in the mold storage 1740. The width of the drug transport path (width of the drug transport path) on the peripheral edge portion 23 is set to an appropriate width, for example, an approximate width calculated by matching the width of the drug or multiplying by a predetermined coefficient, or a width slightly narrower than that. This is one of the initial setting processes before starting the discharge of the drug. During the drug discharge operation, rotation speed control and drug discharge detection as described above are also performed.

In addition, since the procedure of this controller 1800 is not complicated, the illustration in the flowchart is omitted, but the next drug congestion is detected and the width of the drug transport route is relaxed as necessary even during the drug discharge operation (drug transport route). (Expansion of width) is also being performed.
Among them, the detection of drug congestion is performed based on the detection signal of the drug drop detecting means 56, and if the time interval related to the detection timing of the drug dropped from the drop discharge port 14 does not reach the predetermined congestion time interval, "drug congestion" is detected. Is not generated, and when the time interval reaches the congestion time interval, it is determined that drug congestion has occurred. Here, the congestion time interval is a set value of a time interval determined in advance by adding an increment for preventing erroneous determination to the normal time interval known in a test run or the like.

Further, the expansion of the width of the drug transport path is to relax the regulation of the width of the drug on the drug transport path, specifically, the lower portions 711 and 721 of the first and second regulating members 710 and 720. (See FIG. 10) The distance at which the tip of the annular rotating body 1020 enters most from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side just above the upper end peripheral edge portion 23 is realized by reducing the distance and widening the width of the drug transport path. However, in this drug feeder 1100 (see FIG. 1), it is usually performed when the mold yard 1740 is empty without the drug 5a (see FIGS. 2 (c) and 2 (d)), but the controller 1800. When the motor 1750 is operated, the holding portion 1742 and the like of the regulation mechanism 1700 move forward and backward, and the link mechanism 73 and the first and second regulation members 710 and 720 respond accordingly to the measuring motor. Achieves 1750 combined use.

Further, the controller 1800 is also capable of performing such an expansion in a stepwise manner rather than monotonously. The number of stages, the amount of increase for each stage, and the time for each stage can be specified by initial setting of parameters or change of settings.
As an example, if the number of stages is set to 4 stages, the amount of increase for each stage is uniformly set to 5%, and the time for each stage is uniformly set to 3 seconds, the controller 1800 causes drug congestion. When 3 seconds have passed, the width regulation is first relaxed by 5% to widen the width of the drug transport route at the relevant location to 105% of the initial value, and then after 3 seconds, the width regulation is further relaxed by 5%. The width of the drug transport route at the location is widened to 110% of the initial width.

Then, after another 3 seconds, the width regulation was further relaxed by 5% to widen the width of the drug transport route at the relevant location to 115% of the initial value, and after 3 seconds, the width regulation was further relaxed by 5% to transport the drug at the relevant location. The width of the route is widened to 120% of the original width. In addition, in order to avoid the undesired side-by-side state of the drug, even if the regulation is relaxed to the maximum, the width of the drug transport route should be limited to less than 1.5 times the width of the drug. It has become.
Further, when the drug discharge from the drop discharge port 14 is detected by the drug drop detecting means 56 somewhere in the process of deregulation of the width, the controller 1800 sets the first and second regulating members 710 and 720 to the original setting positions. However, when the time-out occurs after a further period of time, it is determined that the drug feeder 1100 is empty.

The usage mode and operation of the drug feeder 1100 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 (b) and 1 (c) are external perspective views showing an operating state of the mold yard 1740, and FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (d) show the movable holding portion 1742 of the mold yard 1740 and the regulating mechanism 1700. It is a top view which shows the interlocking state with a link mechanism 73.

Further, FIG. 6 shows the operating state of the drug feeder 1100, particularly the operating state of the sorting mechanism 1600, in which (a) is the drug 5b, 5c that came to the middle stage droop 1622 of the drug 5. It is an external perspective view which concerns on the sorting mechanism 1600 and the like, and (b) is the external perspective view which shows the sorting situation by the oblique contact surface 1623d of the middle stage hanging object 1622 of a sorting mechanism 1600. Further, FIG. 7 shows a rocking state of the middle stage hanging object 1622 that sorts the agents 5b and 5c, (a) is a plan view, and (b) is a front view.

Prior to using the drug feeder 1100 for dispensing, it is necessary for the controller 1800 to hold at least the width and thickness of the drug shape data, which can be omitted if the data has been input in advance, but if not. Performs measurement and data setting.
The measurement may be performed by another device and the dimensional values may be manually input to the drug feeder 1100. However, in this drug feeder 1100, the drug 5a is laid on its side and set in the mold storage place 1740 (FIG. 2 (FIG. 2). a) See), when operated in the width measurement mode, measurement and data setting related to the width of the drug are automatically performed. Further, when the medicine 5a is set vertically in the mold storage place 1740 (see FIG. 2B) and then operated in the thickness measurement mode, the measurement and data setting related to the thickness of the medicine are automatically performed. After that, the drug 5a can be included in the dispensing target by taking it out from the mold storage place 1740 and putting it in the rotary container 20 + 30 (see FIG. 2 (c)).

Then, when the drug feeder 1100 is operated in the preparation mode, the controller 1800 operates the motor 1630 based on the drug thickness data for the sorting mechanism 1600, and the sorting mechanism 1600 moves up and down accordingly, thereby extending the sorting mechanism 1600. The heights of the anterior pendant 612, the middle pendant 1622, and the posterior pendant 632 are adapted to the thickness of the drug. As for the regulation mechanism 1700, the controller 1800 operates the motor 1750 based on the lateral width data of the drug, the regulation mechanism 1700 operates accordingly, and the first and second regulation members 710 and 720 swing, thereby causing the first and second regulation members 710 and 720 to swing. The width of the corresponding portion of the drug transport path on the upper end peripheral edge 23 of the annular rotating body 1020 is adapted to the width of the drug.

Then, a large number of the required number or more of the drugs 5 are charged into the drug feeder 1100, specifically, the drugs 5 are charged onto the inclined rotating body 1030 surrounded by the annular rotating body 1020, and then the drug feeder 1100 is charged. When the drug 5 is operated in the dispensing mode, the drug 5 is sequentially lifted by the inclined rotating body 1030 and transferred onto the upper end peripheral portion 23 (drug transport path) of the annular rotating body 1020 (see FIG. 6A). As the annular rotating body 1020 rotates, it tries to slip under the front-stage hanging object 612, the middle-stage hanging object 1623, and the rear-stage hanging object 632 in this order.

At that time, the agent 5 which is independently placed on the upper end peripheral portion 23 without overlapping is slightly moved on the upper end peripheral portion 23 even if it interferes with the front and rear hanging objects 612 and 632 with almost no interference. It stays in and passes under them without any interference with the middle hanging objects 1623.
On the other hand, for the drugs 5b and 5c that overlap vertically (see FIG. 6A), the upper drug 5b may come into contact with the front-stage hanging object 612 and the overlap may be broken by the reaction force. Since the contact with the front-stage hanging object 612, which can be deformed when the lower end portion is pushed sideways, is weakened so as not to damage the drug 5, the overlap may remain without collapsing.

Then, when the drugs 5b and 5c that have passed through the front hangs 612 while overlapping vertically are carried to the middle hangs 1622 (see FIG. 6), the upper drug 5b is transferred to the middle hangs 1622. Since it abuts on the oblique contact surface 1623d of the lower end portion 1623c and is prevented from going straight forward due to the reaction force, it should be along the surface of the oblique contact surface 1623d of the lower end portion 1623c and the vertically elongated flat plate portion 1623e. And move.
In this way, the traveling direction of the upper drug 5b is directed to the inner peripheral side of the annular rotating body 1020. It often falls upwards (see FIG. 6 (b) alternate long and short dash line).

The lower drug 5b often passes under the middle pendant 1622, but may fall from the upper end peripheral portion 23 of the annular rotating body 1020 along with the drug 5c.
Since the middle-stage hanging object 1622 does not deform even when the lower end is pushed sideways, the ability to break the overlap of the agents 5b and 5c is superior to the other hanging objects 612,632, but it still does not damage the agent. Since the impact at the time of contact with the drug and the subsequent pressure are alleviated by swinging, in rare cases, the drugs 5b and 5c may be pushed away and passed through while overlapping. ..

In that case, only when the gentle overlapping action of the posterior hanging object 632 is applied and the agents 5b and 5c do not collapse, the height of the drugs 5b and 5c is regulated loosely by the rear regulation mechanism 700 described above. In addition, the lateral width regulation that narrows the width of the drug transport path of the upper end peripheral portion 23 of the annular rotating body 1020 from the outer peripheral side also works.
Therefore, the overlap of the agents 5b and 5c is eliminated, or the agents 5b and 5c are forcibly moved from the upper end peripheral portion 23 of the annular rotating body 1020 onto the inclined rotating body 1030 while the agents 5b and 5c are overlapped with each other. Is not sent from the drug transport path to the drop discharge port 14.

Further, the operation of a set of middle-stage hanging objects 1622 in which two middle-stage hanging objects 1623 are closely arranged (see FIG. 7) will be described. Since the contact interference portion is inclined with respect to the chain wire), specifically, the oblique contact surface 1623d (contact surface and the copying surface of the first half) of the middle stage hanging object 1622 is inclined by an angle θ1. On the other hand, the vertically elongated flat plate portion 1623e (the copying surface in the latter half) of the middle-stage hanging object 1622 is tilted only at an angle θ2, and the angle θ1 is larger than the angle θ2 (θ1> θ2). With respect to the overlap of 5b and 5c, a strong breaking force acts in the first half, and in the second half, the force to expel the drug 5b from the top of the annular rotating body 1020 onto the inclined rotating body 1030 is strengthened, so that the drugs overlap. Will disappear from the drug transport route.

Moreover, although the plurality of middle-stage hanging objects 1623 and 1623 forming the middle-stage hanging object 1622 are in close contact with each other in the free state (see FIG. 3 (b) and FIG. 5), these 1623 and 1623 are separable. When the agent 5b comes into contact with the oblique contact surface 1623d (see FIG. 7), the upper end portion 1623a hardly moves and the lower end portion 1623c (1623d) swings, and at the same time, fine sliding and detachment. Since the above steps are repeated, the impact at the time of contact and the frictional force after that are reduced and alleviated.
In this way, the overlap of the agents 5b and 5c is reasonably eliminated with high accuracy, and the agents 5 are dropped and discharged one by one from the drop discharge port 14.

By the way, if a drug congestion occurs at the first regulatory member 710 or the second regulatory member 720 during such sequential discharge of the drug, the detection of the falling drug by the drug drop detecting means 56 is interrupted. When the controller 1800 detects the time-out due to the above-mentioned, the width of the drug transport route is relaxed according to the control of the controller 1800. Therefore, the drug congestion that could not be resolved promptly before the timeout can be resolved before the timeout. Since there are many, in this drug feeder 1100, it is possible to automatically discharge all the contained drugs with high probability.

[others]
In the above embodiment, the amount of relaxation of the width of the drug transport route performed during drug congestion is repeatedly increased by 5% up to 4 times, but the number of repetitions is not limited to 4 times. It may be more or less than that. The amount of adjustment per adjustment is not limited to 5%, and may be more or less than that. The method of increase is not limited to a monotonous increase, but in order to strengthen the shaking of traffic congestion on the drug line while suppressing the total amount of relief, for example, increase by 6% and then decrease by 3% are repeated. Is also good.

In the above embodiment, the timing of randomly charging a large number of drugs 5 into the drug feeder 1100 is later than either the height adjustment according to the sorting mechanism 1600 or the width adjustment according to the regulation mechanism 1700, but the order is It is not essential, and before the drug feeder 1100 is operated in the dispensing mode, the order of charging a large number of drugs into the drug feeder 1100, adjusting the height of the sorting mechanism 1600, and adjusting the width of the regulating mechanism 1700 is in which order. You may go there.

In the above embodiment, of the sorting mechanism 1600, only the support member 1621 portion of the second sorting member 1620 is a straddling sorting member, and the support member 1611 of the first sorting member 1610 is not a straddling sorting member. This is not essential, and may be a sorting member straddling up to the support member 1611 of the first sorting member 1610.

The drug feeder of the present invention may be used to replace some or all of the large number of aligning disc rotating type drug feeders mounted on the tablet packing machine, and is loaded with only one or a small number of drug feeders. It may be mounted on a tablet divider, or may be mounted on a tablet counter (drug counter) that counts the number of drugs sequentially delivered in a device for filling a drug bottle with a drug such as a tablet.

5,5a, 5b drug,
10 ... Drug feeder,
11 ... peripheral wall, 11a ... inner peripheral wall surface (hollow inner wall surface of the peripheral wall),
12 ... Transport surface guide, 13 ... Discharge guide, 14 ... Drop outlet,
20 ... annular rotating body, 21 ... lower part, 22 ... upper part, 23 ... upper end peripheral portion (drug transport path),
30 ... Inclined rotating body, 31 ... Central protrusion, 32 ... Central part, 33 ... Peripheral part,
20 + 30 ... Rotating container,
40 ... bearing mechanism, 41 ... passive member,
42 ... Large-diameter exterior rotation transmission member, 43 ... Small-diameter exterior rotation transmission member,
50 ... Rotational drive mechanism, 51 ... Rotational drive member,
54 ... rotary drive motor, 54a, 54b ... rotary drive motor,
55 ... Inclined rotating body mounting detecting means, 56 ... Drug drop detecting means,
60 ... Sorting member, 61 ... Base end, 62 ... Tip (drug contact site), 63 ... Support,
70 ... Regulatory mechanism, 71 ... 1st regulatory member, 72 ... 2nd regulatory member,
73 ... Link mechanism, 74 ... Mold storage,
100 ... Drug feeder,
600 ... Sorting mechanism,
610 ... 1st sorting member, 611 ... support member,
612 ... Front stage hanging object (first type hanging object), 613 ... Large ball,
620 ... Second sorting member (straddling sorting member), 621 ... Support member (straddling portion),
622 ... Middle stage hanging object (side by side hanging object, first type hanging object), 623 ... Middle ball,
632 ... Rear hangings (side by side hangings, first type hangings), 633 ... Kodama,
640 ... attractive member, 650 ... manual adjustment mechanism,
651 ... Lower limit setting mechanism, 652 ... Scale member,
700 ... Regulatory mechanism,
710 ... 1st regulatory member, 711 ... lower part, 712 ... upper part,
720 ... 2nd regulatory member, 721 ... lower part,
1100 ... Drug feeder,
1020 ... Circular rotating body, 1030 ... Inclined rotating body,
1600 ... Sorting mechanism,
1610 ... 1st sorting member, 1611 ... support member,
1620 ... Second sorting member (straddling sorting member),
1621 ... Support member (straddling part), 1621a ... Through hole (swing allowance indicating part),
1622 ... Middle stage hanging object (multiple parallel second type hanging objects),
1623 ... Middle stage hanging object (single second type hanging object),
1623a ... upper end, 1623b ... central, 1623c ... lower end,
1623d ... Oblique contact surface, 1623e ... Vertical flat plate portion,
1630 ... motor, 1640 ... lifting screw,
1700 ... Regulatory Organization,
1740 ... Mold storage (measuring mechanism),
1741 ... Holding part (stationary part), 1742 ... Holding part (moving part),
1743 ... Placement part (transmission part), 1744 ... Long hole part (guidance part),
1745 ... Insertion part (guide part), 1750 ... Motor (drive member),
1751 ... Swing member (transmission part), 1752 ... Origin detection member,
1800 ... Controller (control unit)

Claims (4)

An outer annular rotating body that can rotate around the vertical line and a hollow of the annular rotating body that is equipped inside the annular rotating body in a state where the axis can rotate about the inclined line inclined from the vertical line. An inclined rotating body that closes, a sorting member and a regulating member that aligns solid chemicals carried from above the inclined rotating body onto the upper end peripheral portion of the annular rotating body during rotation of the annular rotating body. A control unit that controls the rotation of the annular rotating body and a drug drop detecting means for detecting the drug that has been carried to the drop discharge port by the annular rotating body and dropped are provided, and the sorting member is the said of the annular rotating body. The height is regulated with respect to the drug on the upper end peripheral edge portion, and the regulating member regulates the width of the drug transport path on the upper end peripheral edge portion of the annular rotating body. In the drug feeder
The regulating member adjusts the regulation amount of the lateral width according to the control of the control unit, and the control unit sets a value at which the drug detection interval in the drug drop detecting means is larger than the normal time interval. A drug feeder characterized in that when the traffic jam time interval is reached, the restricting member is controlled to expand the width. When the drug drop detecting means detects the drug drop after the control unit controls the restricting member to expand the width, the control unit controls the regulation member to expand the width before expanding the width. The drug feeder according to claim 1, wherein the drug feeder is designed to be returned. The drug feeder according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit gradually expands the lateral width. A measuring mechanism for measuring dimensions by sandwiching a drug and a driving member for moving a movable part of the measuring mechanism are provided, and the restricting member is interlocked with the movable part of the measuring mechanism. By controlling the driving member, the control unit acquires dimensional data of the drug placed in the measuring mechanism and causes the regulating member to regulate the width based on the dimensional data. The drug feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the drug feeder is characterized by the above.

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