JP2005059903A - Tablet feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To securely discharge tablets prepared in accordance with each prescription, by preventing the tablets from sticking to the wall or inclined face of a passage due to static electricity or ambient temperature. <P>SOLUTION: Conductive members 14 and 15 are disposed in the first passage 9, through which the tablets move from a pocket 8 to a discharging opening 10, through which tablets are moved. The conductive members 14 and 15 are grounded. A tablet cassette 2 is provided with a cooling member 19. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a tablet feeder that discharges a necessary number of tablets according to a prescription.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a tablet feeder including a tablet cassette including a container for storing a large number of tablets and a mounting table on which the tablet cassette is mounted is known. The tablet cassette accommodates a rotatable rotor in its container, forms a pocket portion on the outer peripheral surface of the rotor, and forms a first passage between the pocket portion and the inner wall of the container. A discharge port for discharging the tablets held in the first passage is formed in the bottom or wall surface of the tablet cassette, and a partition member is provided at the top so that a plurality of tablets are not discharged. The mounting base includes a motor for rotating the rotor via a gear provided on the rotor and a gear protruding from the mounting base, and forms a second passage communicating with the discharge port. When the mounting table motor is driven to rotate the tablet cassette rotor, the tablets held in the first passage are discharged through the discharge port and the second passage.

  In the tablet feeder having the above-described configuration, the tablet may be clogged in the first passage, or the tablet in the middle of discharging may be stopped by the action of static electricity on the wall of the second passage, and the tablet according to the prescription may not be discharged.

  In particular, regarding the problem of tablets clogging in the first passage, as described in Patent Document 1, a low friction member such as a Teflon (registered trademark) sheet is provided on the portion of the tablet cassette container facing the rotor or the peripheral wall of the rotor. Has been proposed. In this case, since the tablet contacts the low friction member when the rotor holding the tablet in the first passage rotates, friction is caused as compared with the tablet cassette of the ABS resin injection molded product without the low friction member. It was confirmed that the biting was eliminated.

  However, when a Teflon sheet (manufactured by DuPont) is used as in the invention of Patent Document 1, a phenomenon that static electricity is generated 1.5 to 2.5 times larger than that of an ABS resin injection molded product has been confirmed. (Probably a difference in molecular weight). When the amount of static electricity generated increases, the static electricity may cause the tablet to stick to the vicinity of the pocket portion entrance, the wall surface of the tablet cassette, or the pocket portion. As a result, a phenomenon occurs in which the tablets are not efficiently stored in the pocket portion and the tablets are not discharged from the discharge port, the discharge speed is reduced, the tablet is sandwiched between the discharge port and the pocket portion, and the rotor bites the tablet. There was a new problem of stopping.

  As described above, the invention of Patent Document 1 has not yet solved the problem that the rotor stops. In particular, the number of times the rotor is stopped increases during the dry season in winter.

  At present, there is no optimum conductive Teflon sheet for the first passage. The reason is that the Teflon sheet is made of carbon in order to have conductivity, and a stabilizer that stabilizes the carbon is used. Therefore, tablets taken by patients cannot be brought into contact with such a Teflon sheet. It is. If conductive Teflon sheets that can solve food hygiene problems are developed, they will be usable.

  In addition, when the capsule is stored in a tablet cassette, the capsule generates a higher amount of static electricity than the sugar-coated tablet and is lighter in weight. There was a thing. In the worst case, the capsule bites between the outlet and the pocket, the capsule is crushed, and the powder is separated from the center of the capsule and scattered inside.

  When an injection molded product of a conductive polymer material (trademark: Neocon) is used as the second passage, the inclination angle is 38 degrees, and the internal static electricity is charged at a high voltage of 20 kV (limit value of the measuring instrument) or more, It has been experimentally confirmed by the applicant of the present application that an unintelligible phenomenon that suddenly stops due to charging energy also occurs when the charged tablet falls through the second passage of the mounting table.

  Even when the tablet does not stop in the second passage, it has been found that when the tablet cassette is an injection molding of ABS resin, the meandering and fluctuation of the tablet and the drop speed are reduced. As described above, the cause was due to static electricity generated by friction between the wall surface of the tablet cassette and the tablet.

  Thus, the static electricity generated inside the tablet cassette directly affects the discharge accuracy of the tablet and is a problem to be solved. Electrically, high-voltage charging is not preferable because it increases the risk of damaging the electronic device.

  Also, some tablets have their surfaces dissolved and softened due to an increase in room temperature or humidity, and in particular, if such a phenomenon occurs in the tablet cassette due to an increase in room temperature, it will cause clogging of the rotor. Such drugs include those listed in Table 1 below.

  The tablet packaging device includes a packaging machine at the lower part of the device. When the heat of the heat sealing device of the packaging machine is conducted in the reverse direction of the tablet supply path to the packaging device and finally reaches the tablet cassette, the tablets stored in the tablet cassette are softened by heat, and the tablet cassette Clogging occurs.

JP 2000-84048 A

  The present invention relates to a tablet feeder that can prevent tablets from clogging due to static electricity or ambient temperature or to stop the tablets on the inclined surface of the second passage, and reliably discharge tablets according to prescription. It is an issue to provide.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the invention of claim 1,
A rotatable rotor is accommodated in a container for storing a large number of tablets, a pocket portion for holding at least one tablet is provided in the rotor, and a discharge port communicating with the pocket portion that moves as the rotor rotates is provided. A tablet feeder comprising a tablet cassette and a mounting table on which the tablet cassette is mounted, wherein the tablet held in the pocket portion by rotating the rotor is discharged through the discharge port.
A conductive member is disposed in a first passage through which the tablet moves from the pocket portion to the discharge port, and the conductive member is grounded.

  In the invention of claim 2, in the state where the tablet cassette is mounted on the mounting base, a contact piece for electrically connecting the conductive member and the conductive portion provided on the mounting base is provided, and the contact The conductive member was grounded through a piece.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a contact piece for electrically connecting the conductive member and a conductive wall to which the mounting table is mounted in a state where the tablet cassette is mounted on the mounting table. The conductive member was grounded through the contact piece.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a rotatable rotor is housed in a container that accommodates a large number of tablets, a pocket portion that holds at least one tablet is provided in the rotor, and a pocket portion that moves as the rotor rotates. In a tablet feeder comprising a tablet cassette provided with a communicating discharge port, and a mounting base for mounting the tablet cassette, wherein the tablet held in the pocket portion by rotating the rotor is discharged through the discharge port.
A conductive member was disposed on at least the bottom wall of the second passage of the mounting base communicating with the discharge port of the tablet cassette, and the conductive member was grounded.

  In the invention of claim 5, the conductive member is formed with a non-adhesive plating layer made of fluorine-based composite plating.

In the invention of claim 6, a rotatable rotor is accommodated in a container for storing a large number of tablets, a pocket portion for holding at least one tablet is provided in the rotor, and the pocket portion moves as the rotor rotates. In a tablet feeder comprising a tablet cassette provided with a communicating discharge port, and a mounting base for mounting the tablet cassette, wherein the tablet held in the pocket portion by rotating the rotor is discharged through the discharge port.
A cooling member that cools the inside of the tablet cassette to a temperature that is lower than room temperature and does not form condensation is provided in the tablet cassette.

  In a seventh aspect of the present invention, the cooling surface of the cooling member is connected to conduct heat to a conductive member provided on the inner wall of the container, and the conductive member is made of a heat conductor.

Here, the meaning of the wording used in each claim is explained.
The “container” of the “container for storing a large number of tablets” may be capable of storing one or more tablets regardless of sealing or opening. The “tablet” means a solid medicine including a capsule, and the shape is not limited as long as it can be discharged by a tablet feeder. Injectable drugs such as ampoules and vials are discharged one by one with the tablet feeder of the present invention, and are included in “tablets” if the glass container solves the problem of clogging due to the influence of static electricity. .

  “Rotating” of “rotating rotor” includes those that swing in a clockwise or counterclockwise range of one rotation or less. The “rotor” is not limited to one that is completely housed in a container, but includes one in which a part of the rotor is exposed outside the container, for example. In short, the rotor only needs to be stored so that the tablet is introduced into the pocket portion of the rotor using natural fall. Further, the “rotor” may have a cylindrical shape extending in the height direction or a disk shape.

  The “pocket portion” may be provided in a groove shape extending in the axial direction on the outer periphery of the rotor, or may be one in which holes for storing tablets are arranged in the circumferential direction near the outer periphery of the rotor. The “pocket portion” has a function of storing at least one tablet in the container, moving to the discharge port as the rotor rotates, and discharging it from the discharge port in the “pocket portion”. For this reason, the shape, size, and position of the pocket portion are not limited. The number of tablets stored in the “pocket part” includes all but 0, and may be a half tablet or a quarter tablet.

  The “discharge port” is for sending the tablet stored in the pocket portion to the packaging portion. Therefore, the position and shape are not limited.

  The means for rotating the “rotor” is generally a motor, but the motor may be provided on the mounting table, or may be provided on the tablet cassette without being provided on the mounting table. In the latter case, when the tablet cassette is mounted on the mounting table, the motor provided on the tablet cassette is electrically connected to the power supply on the mounting table side.

  The “first passage” of the tablet cassette means a passage through which the tablet moves from the pocket portion to the discharge port.

  The “conductive member” may be disposed on the inner wall of the container facing the pocket portion, or may be provided on the wall of the pocket portion, or the rotor itself may be conductive. Further, the “conductive member” can be provided just below the tablet on the bottom of the container or slightly inside. "Conductive member" basically means that it is a good electrical conductor of metal, and the material that can remove static electricity positively and efficiently by grounding is referred to as "Conductive member" I can say. In addition, the “conductive member” includes a thin film of metal particles by vapor deposition, for example. The meaning of “grounding the conductive member” is to electrically discharge static electricity to the tablet packaging device body. “Grounding” includes air discharge.

  The “second passage” of the mounting table means a discharge path through which the tablet can slide and move from the discharge port of the tablet cassette, and can be of any shape or position. The “bottom wall” of the second passage is usually an inclined surface, and does not include horizontal and vertical, but even if it is horizontal, the tablet is urged by the action of centrifugal force of the rotor, etc. to slide and move. Such a bottom wall is included.

  "Fluorine-based composite plating" is a method in which fluorine resin particles (about 0.3 microns) are dispersed in a metal plating tank, and these particles are adhered and formed together with metal in the plating process. In general, nickel composite plating is the mainstream, but chromium may also be used. Further, there is no limitation on electrolytic plating and electroless plating. What finally fixed the fluorine particle on the surface is contained in "fluorine-type composite plating". The “fluorine-based” naturally includes PTFE, and includes any fluorine-type resin having a low friction coefficient, such as PFE, polyethylene, and nylon. Further, the “non-adhesive plating layer” means a layer whose surface is finished to have a low coefficient of friction and a property in which the adhesion of the tablet powder is kept low. At present, it is known that fluororesin is a material with a low friction coefficient, but even if a material with a friction coefficient lower than that is developed in the future and a non-adhesive plating layer is formed with that material, Included in the “reactive plating layer”.

  The “lower than room temperature” temperature among the “temperatures below the room temperature without condensation” means the temperature at which the drug surface shown in Table 1 does not dissolve. For example, when the melting temperature is 30 degrees, maintain the temperature inside the tablet cassette from 20 degrees to 25 degrees, and when the room temperature is 15 degrees by an air conditioner or the like, the temperature inside the tablet cassette is temporarily Even 20 degrees is included. Further, “temperature in a range where no condensation occurs” means “below room temperature” and does not allow excessive cooling, and does not extremely reduce the temperature to 5 degrees when the room temperature is 20 degrees.

  A heat pipe can be used between the “cooling member” and the conductive member. By providing the heat pipe in a flat plate shape on the inner wall of the container, the conductive member can be omitted.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the static electricity generated by the rotation of the rotor in the tablet held in the pocket portion escapes through the conductive member, the tablet is prevented from adhering to the wall of the first passage due to the static electricity. Thus, the tablet according to the prescription can be surely discharged. Moreover, since the clogging of the tablet is prevented by buffering the gap between the conductive member and the container, there is an effect that the rotor does not stop.

  According to the invention of Claim 2 and Claim 3, the static electricity of the tablet hold | maintained at the 1st channel | path can be reliably escaped to a mounting base through a contact piece.

  According to the invention of claim 4, even if static electricity is generated by rotation of the rotor in the tablet held in the pocket portion, the static electricity escapes through the conductive member when passing through the second passage, The tablet is prevented from adhering to the wall of the second passage due to static electricity, and the tablet according to the prescription can be reliably discharged.

  According to the invention of claim 5, since the non-adhesive plating layer is formed on the conductive member, the tablet powder is difficult to adhere.

  According to the invention of claim 6, since the tablets accommodated in the tablet cassette are cooled by the cooling member to a temperature below the room temperature and does not condense, the surface of the tablet in the tablet cassette dissolves even when the room temperature is high. Therefore, it is difficult to adhere to the inner wall of the rotor or the container, and the tablet according to the prescription can be reliably discharged.

  According to the invention of claim 7, since the cooling surface of the cooling member directly conducts heat to the conductive member on the inner wall of the container, the tablet in the container can be reliably cooled.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a tablet feeder 1 according to the present invention. The tablet feeder 1 includes a tablet cassette 2 and a motor base 3.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the tablet cassette 2 includes a synthetic resin container 4 including a rectangular portion 4 a, a conical portion 4 b, and a cylindrical portion 4 c in order from the top, and a synthetic resin support portion integrated with the container 4. It consists of five. A large number of tablets T are accommodated in the container 4. The open end of the rectangular portion 4 a can be opened and closed by the lid 6. A synthetic resin rotor 7 is disposed in the cylindrical portion 4c. The rotor 7 has a conical upper surface, and pocket portions 8 extending in the axial direction are formed at a plurality of positions at equal angles on the outer peripheral surface. The pocket portion 8 has a width and depth that can hold only one tablet T. Between each pocket part 8 and the internal peripheral surface of the cylindrical part 4c, it is the 1st channel | path 9 through which the tablet T passes. A discharge port 10 is formed in the lower part of the container 4. The discharge port 10 has a width dimension that allows only one pocket portion 8 of the rotor 7 to be positioned. The rotating shaft 11 of the rotor 7 protrudes from the bottom surface of the bottom wall of the container 4 and the driven gear 12 is integrated. An intermediate gear 13 that meshes with the driven gear 12 is rotatably provided on the lower surface of the bottom wall of the container 4. The support portion 5 is formed in a U shape when viewed from the bottom surface of the container 4.

  On the inner surface of the container 4 of the tablet cassette 2, a metal plate 14 made of a metal, preferably stainless steel (SUS304), which is formed in the same shape as the inner surface and includes a rectangular portion 14 a, a conical portion 14 b and a cylindrical portion 14 c in order from the top. It is mounted as a conductive member of the present invention. Instead of the metal plate 14, an annular metal plate 15 attached to the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 4c of the container 4 forming the first passage 9 may be used. As shown in FIG. 3, the metal plate 14 is connected to a first contact pad 17 on the outer surface of the container 4 through a conductive portion 16 formed in a part of the container 4 of the tablet cassette 2. The conductive portion 16 is made of a conductive resin or a metal material and is formed integrally with the container 4. When the tablet cassette 2 is mounted on the motor base 3, the first contact pad 17 is configured to be in electrical contact with a first contact piece 36 of the motor base 3 to be described later.

  Returning to FIG. 2, above the discharge port 10 of the container 4 of the container tablet cassette 2, the pocket portion 8 rushes into the pocket portion 8 arriving at the discharge port 10, and the pocket portion 8 is partitioned vertically. A partition member 18 composed of a brush for separating the tablet T at the lowermost position from the tablet T above the tablet T is attached.

  A cooling member 19 made of a Peltier element is attached to the outer surface of the container 4 of the tablet cassette 2 so as to come into contact with the metal plate 14. The cooling member 19 keeps the inside of the container 4 at 20 ° C. As shown in FIG. 3, the lead wire of the cooling member 19 is wired to the second contact pad 20 provided on the outer surface of the container 4. When the tablet cassette 2 is mounted on the motor base 3, a second contact piece 37 of the motor base 3, which will be described later, comes into contact with the second contact pad 20 and power is supplied to the cooling member 19.

  The motor base 3 comprises a synthetic resin mounting base 21 to which the tablet cassette 2 is detachably mounted. As shown in FIG. 4, one end of the motor base 3 is fixed to the wall 22 of the tablet packaging apparatus main body and formed into a shelf shape. Has been. On the upper surface of the motor base 3, a guide portion 23 for guiding the support portion 5 of the tablet cassette 2 is provided in parallel. The motor base 3 houses a motor 24 that is driven and controlled based on a control signal from a control device (not shown). The rotating shaft 25 of the motor 24 protrudes from the upper surface of the motor base 3 and the drive gear 26 is integrated. The motor base 3 is formed with an inclined second passage 27 communicating with the discharge port 10 of the tablet cassette 2, and sensors 28 for detecting the tablet T passing therethrough are provided on both side surfaces of the second passage 27. Is provided. The second passage 27 communicates with a drop guide passage 30 on the back side of the wall 22 through an opening 29 formed in the wall 22 of the tablet packaging device body.

  On the lower surface of the second passage 27 of the motor base 3, as shown in FIG. 5, a number of protrusions 31 are formed along the second passage 27, and a metal, preferably made of stainless steel (SUS304), is formed thereon. A rectangular metal plate 32 is placed as a conductive member of the present invention. The metal plate 32 is made of metal, preferably stainless steel, and is attached by engaging protrusions 33 formed on both side ends thereof with the edges of the holes 34 to which the sensor 28 is attached.

  A part of the motor base 3 in which the second passage 27 is formed is a conductive portion 35 made of a conductive resin. The conductive portion 35 is grounded via the wall 22 of the tablet packaging device body. As shown in FIG. 3, the conductive portion 35 is electrically connected to the first contact pad 17 and the second contact pad 20 of the tablet case 2 when the tablet cassette 2 is attached to the motor base 3. The 1st contact piece 36 and the 2nd contact piece 37 which contact are attached. The first contact piece 36 is connected to the conductive portion 35. The second contact piece 37 is connected to a power source (not shown). Instead of providing the first and second contact pieces 36 and 37 on the motor base 3, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, a contact piece 38 is provided on the conductive wall 22 of the tablet packaging device body. When the tablet case 2 is mounted, the contact pads 17 and 20 of the tablet case 2 may be contacted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the metal plates 14, 15 and 32 are formed by forming a non-adhesive plating layer 42 on a base material 41 made of stainless steel. The non-adhesive plating layer 42 includes a 1 μm base plating layer 43 and a 10 μm composite plating layer 44. The composite plating layer 44 can be obtained by co-depositing a tetrafluoride resin together with nickel by an electrolytic nickel plating process or an electroless nickel plating process described in detail below. Here, the surface eutectoid (occupancy) ratio of the tetrafluoride resin is 10% or more. This is because if the surface eutectoid ratio of the tetrafluororesin is 10% or more, tablet powder (for example, calcium lactate) is difficult to adhere. Note that 30% hardly adheres.

  Next, the manufacturing method of the metal plate 32 will be described. However, the metal plates 14 and 15 are the same manufacturing method except for the shape, and the description thereof will be omitted. The metal plate 32 is manufactured by a press process, a base plating process, a composite plating process, and a firing process.

  In the pressing step, the base material 41 is formed by appropriately pressing a material made of stainless steel.

  In the base plating step, since it is generally difficult to plate the material stainless steel, a nickel or Pt base plating layer 43 having a thickness of 1 μm or less is formed as the base treatment.

  In the composite plating step, a composite plating layer 44 of about 10 μm is formed on the base plating layer 43 by electrolytic nickel plating or electroless nickel plating. That is, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) particles having a particle diameter of 0.3 μm are mixed in the plating solution, and PTFE is co-deposited on the nickel plating layer. The amount of eutectoid depends on the dispersion ratio of the PTFE fine powder and the stirring of the liquid. As the dispersion rate of the PTFE fine powder is improved, the non-adhesiveness of the tablet is improved, but the surface hardness is lowered. For this reason, the quality is stabilized by setting the dispersion ratio in the range of 25 to 35%. Further, the plating solution is agitated in order to efficiently eutect PTFE particles on the plating surface. Examples of the plating substrate include nickel and chromium. Examples of the eutectoid material include graphite fluoride and polytetrafluoroethylene PTFE fine powder having a particle size of about 0.3 μm.

The electrolytic nickel plating process is performed in a plating tank 50 shown in FIG. The plating solution is a nickel sulfamate solution, to which nickel chloride, phosphoric acid, phosphorous acid, and a cationic surfactant are added to disperse PTFE. In order to disperse PTFE, it is preferable to provide an air nozzle 51 or the like at the bottom and stir the plating solution. A nickel plate is set on the anode electrode 52 and a metal plate 32 is set on the cathode electrode 53 as an object to be plated. The anode electrode 52 and the cathode electrode 53 are connected to a DC power supply 55 via a current control device 54. The cathode current is maintained at 2 A / dm ³ by the current controller 54. The plating solution is maintained at a temperature of 40-50 ° C. and a pH of 4.0. The plating time is 60 minutes. When electrolytic plating is performed under such conditions, ionized nickel collects on the cathode electrode 53, and the PTFE dispersed in the plating solution by the cationic surfactant is applied to the metal plate 32 which is the object to be plated of the cathode electrode 53. A film is deposited. As a result, the PTFE on the plating surface is maintained at around 30%.

  The electroless nickel plating process is performed in a plating tank 60 shown in FIG. As the plating solution, nickel sulfate or nickel chloride is mixed in a plating solution containing sodium hypophosphite as a reducing agent, and sodium succinate or malic acid is added. Add diethylamine or ammonium sulfate as needed. When diethylamine or ammonium sulfate is added, the occurrence of color spots on the plating surface can be prevented and the quality can be improved. In the plating solution, PTFE is dispersed by a cationic surfactant. In order to activate the dispersion of PTFE, a pump 61 is connected to the plating tank 60 and the plating solution is circulated and stirred. In the electroless plating, if the metal plate 32 to be plated is made of stainless steel, it is difficult to plate on the surface. Therefore, at the start, the electrode is inserted and the above-described electrolytic plating is performed, and then the base plating is performed. Electrolytic plating is performed. The plating solution is maintained at a temperature of 90 ° C. and a pH of 5.0. The plating time is 60 minutes. When electroless plating is performed under such conditions, ionized nickel collects on the metal plate 32 and adheres to the metal plate 32 as the object to be plated together with PTFE dispersed in the plating solution by the cationic surfactant. Be filmed. As a result, the PTFE on the plating surface is maintained at around 30%.

  In the firing step, the metal plate 32 plated in the composite plating step is fired at 200 to 300 ° C. in a vacuum, a fluorinated gas, or in the atmosphere. This firing increases the surface hardness. FIG. 9 shows an example in which a composite-plated metal plate 32 is placed in a vacuum firing furnace 70 provided with a heater 71 and connected to a vacuum pump 72, and heated in a range of about 220 to 320 ° C.

  When the firing process is not performed, the wear rate is accelerated because the surface strength of the plated surface cannot be obtained. For this reason, it is preferable to use a flexible material such as a sponge or a sliding rubber for the contact surface with the metal plate 32.

  Since the metal plate 32 formed as described above has the non-adhesive plating layer 42, it is difficult for the tablet powder to adhere thereto.

  In the case of composite plating, when the tablet packaging device is used for a long period of time, PTFE particles adhering to the surface of the composite plating layer 44 of the non-adhesive plating layer 42 of the metal plate 32 are scattered and the PTFE dispersion rate on the surface is lowered. . As a result, calcium lactate comes to adhere to the metal plate 32, resulting in poor cleaning properties. Therefore, by buffing the surface of the composite plating layer 44 by about 0.6 μm, new PTFE is exposed on the surface, so that the PTFE dispersion rate on the surface is improved and the non-adhesiveness and cleaning property of the tablet are restored. Can do.

  As another method for forming the non-adhesive plating layer 42, there is an impregnation method in which a plating surface is roughened and a groove or crack is impregnated with a fluororesin. This impregnation method includes a plating step, a roughening step, and an impregnation step. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, first, nickel or chrome is plated on the base material 41 in a plating process to form a nickel plating layer 80 or a chrome plating layer 82. Next, in the roughening step, grooves or holes are formed on the surface of the nickel plating layer 80 or the chromium plating layer 82 by etching or electrolytic polishing, or cracks are formed by thermal shock. Grooves, holes, or cracks have finer pitches than widths and depths, and regular arrangements such as stitch patterns increase the non-adhesive effect of the tablet. Finally, in the impregnation step, the fluororesin 81 is impregnated into the grooves, holes, or cracks obtained in the roughening step.

  Further, as another method for forming the non-adhesive plating layer 12, there is an impregnation method in which a fluororesin 81 is impregnated between the sintered metal particles 83 as shown in FIG. In this case, after impregnating the liquid fluororesin 81, the non-adhesive plating layer 42 can be formed through a baking process. However, if the sintered metal particles 83 are coarse, craters appear on the surface of the metal plate 32, which is not preferable in terms of quality. Therefore, it is preferable to reduce the outer diameter size of the sintered metal particles 83 and make the impregnated fluororesin 81 flat.

  Next, the operation of the tablet feeder 1 having the above configuration will be described.

  Based on the prescription data, the tablet feeder 1 containing the corresponding tablet T is driven. That is, the motor 24 of the motor base 3 is driven to rotate the rotor 7 of the tablet cassette 2, and the tablets held in the first passage 9 are sequentially discharged from the discharge port 10 and the second passage 27. The discharged quantity of tablets T is counted by a sensor 28 provided in the second passage 27, and when it reaches a predetermined quantity, the motor 24 is stopped. The tablet T that has exited the second passage 27 falls through the tablet drop guide passage 30 and is guided and packaged to a packaging device or the like via a hopper (not shown).

  Since the first passage 9 of the tablet cassette 2 and the second passage 27 of the motor base 3 are provided with the metal plates 14, 15, 32, even if static electricity is generated by the rotation of the rotor 7, the static electricity is It escapes from the metal plate 32 of the first passage 9 of the cassette 2 through the conductive portion 16, the first contact pad 17, the first contact piece 36, the conductive portion 35 of the motor base 3 and the wall 22. Therefore, the tablets T do not adhere to the first passage 9 and the second passage 27 due to static electricity, and the number of tablets according to the prescription can be reliably discharged.

  In addition, since the metal plates 14, 15, and 32 are formed with the non-adhesive plating layer 42 made of fluorine-based composite plating, the tablet powder is difficult to adhere.

  Furthermore, since the inside of the tablet cassette 2 is maintained at 20 ° C. by the cooling member 19, even when the atmospheric temperature is high as in summer, the internal tablet T does not melt and become more sticky, and further adheres. It becomes difficult to do.

It is a perspective view of the tablet feeder which concerns on this embodiment. It is a disassembled sectional view of the tablet cassette of FIG. It is the III-III line expanded sectional view of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the motor base of FIG. It is the VV line expanded sectional view of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the metal plate which has a non-adhesive plating layer of this invention. It is the schematic of an electroplating tank. It is the schematic of an electroless plating tank. It is the schematic of a vacuum baking furnace. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example of the non-adhesion layer formed by the impregnation method. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example of the non-adhesion layer formed by the impregnation method. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example of the non-adhesion layer formed by the impregnation method.

Explanation of symbols

1 Tablet feeder 2 Tablet cassette 3 Motor base (mounting base)
4 Container 7 Rotor 8 Pocket portion 9 First passage 10 Discharge port 14 Metal plate (conductive member)
15 Metal plate (conductive member)
19 Cooling member 21 Mounting base 24 Motor 27 Second passage 32 Metal plate (conductive member)
35 conductive portion 36 first contact piece

Claims (7)

A rotatable rotor (7) is accommodated in a container (4) for accommodating a large number of tablets, and a pocket portion (8) for holding at least one tablet is provided in the rotor (7) to rotate the rotor (7). A tablet cassette (2) provided with a discharge port (10) communicating with the pocket portion (8) moving along with this, and a mounting base (3) for mounting the tablet cassette (2), the rotor (7 ) In a tablet feeder (1) for discharging the tablet held in the pocket portion (8) through the discharge port (10),
Conductive members (14, 15) are disposed in the first passage through which the tablet moves from the pocket portion (9) to the discharge port (10), and the conductive members (14, 15) are grounded. Tablet feeder characterized by.   In a state where the tablet cassette (2) is mounted on the mounting base (3), the conductive members (14, 15) and the conductive portion (35) provided on the mounting base (3) are electrically connected. The tablet feeder according to claim 1, wherein a contact piece (36) to be connected is provided, and the conductive member (14, 15) is grounded through the contact piece (36).   In a state where the tablet cassette (2) is mounted on the mounting base (3), the conductive members (14, 15) and a conductive wall (22) to which the mounting base (3) is attached. The tablet feeder according to claim 1, wherein a contact piece (38) to be electrically connected is provided, and the conductive member (14, 15) is grounded via the contact piece (38). A rotatable rotor (7) is accommodated in a container (4) for accommodating a large number of tablets, and a pocket portion (8) for holding at least one tablet is provided in the rotor (7) to rotate the rotor (7). A tablet cassette (2) provided with a discharge port (10) communicating with the pocket portion (8) moving along with this, and a mounting base (3) for mounting the tablet cassette (2), the rotor (7 ) In a tablet feeder (1) for discharging the tablet held in the pocket portion (8) through the discharge port (10),
A conductive member (32) is disposed on at least the bottom wall of the second passage (27) of the mounting base (3) communicating with the discharge port (10) of the tablet cassette (2), and the conductive member A tablet feeder characterized by grounding (32).   The tablet feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the conductive member (14, 15, 32) is formed with a non-adhesive plating layer (42) made of fluorine-based composite plating. A rotatable rotor (7) is accommodated in a container (4) for accommodating a large number of tablets, and a pocket portion (8) for holding at least one tablet is provided in the rotor (7) to rotate the rotor (7). A tablet cassette (2) provided with a discharge port (10) communicating with the pocket portion (8) moving along with this, and a mounting base (3) for mounting the tablet cassette (2), the rotor (7 ) In a tablet feeder (1) for discharging the tablet held in the pocket portion (8) through the discharge port (10),
A tablet feeder, wherein the tablet cassette (2) is provided with a cooling member (19) for cooling the interior of the tablet cassette (2) to a temperature lower than room temperature and without condensation.   The cooling surface of the cooling member (19) is connected so as to transfer heat to the conductive members (14, 15) provided on the inner wall of the container (4), and the conductive members (14, 15) are heat conductors. The tablet feeder according to claim 6, comprising:

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