JP2009297466A - Ptp cassette, and ptp delivery device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a discharge mechanism in order so that PTP-packed medicines 8 or the like can be sequentially discharged stably at high speed while using a simple hook method as well. <P>SOLUTION: In the PTP cassette 10, PTP-packed medicines 8 are each set horizontally, and they are vertically put on each other to be housed and held in alignment, so that they are set laterally to be discharged forward from the lowest one and on. It is provided with a pair of inner bottom plates 15 and 15 for holding the PTP-packed medicines 8 as they are placed on their upper surface, a hook member 19 to catch a rear end of the lowest one of the PTP-packed medicines, and an endless belt 16 to send the hook member 19 forward along the pair of inner bottom plates 15 and 15. The hook member 19 includes a flexible member provided with an action part 19c in the form of an inverse hook which returns in an acute angle, and extended from a base end part 19a over the action part 19c up to a chip part 19d. When the action part 19c is in a no-load state, it is apart from the endless belt 16. When it interferes with the PTP-packed medicine 8, it reacts to approach the endless belt 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a PTP cassette and a PTP dispensing device for arranging and storing PTP-packed medicines or equivalent medicines (hereinafter referred to as PTP packaging agents) and sequentially discharging them. The present invention relates to a PTP cassette and a PTP dispensing device that hold and discharge laterally in the longitudinal direction in order from the bottom.

  An oscillating discharge cassette has been developed and put into practical use in which PTP packaging material alignment maintenance, alignment advancement, and sequential discharge are performed by vibration. Specifically (for example, refer to Patent Document 1), the vibration discharge cassette diverts the vibration system used in the powder feeder to the PTP packaging material, and at the time of diversion, a weighing member for weight measurement and an urging force for forward movement are used. The mechanism is simplified by eliminating the need for members, etc., and the outer plate that aligns and stores drugs such as PTP packaging and the upper end of the release front surface interferes with the upper end of the leading drug. An upper frame that prevents the stored medicine from being moved forward, an inner plate that is formed so that the front end portion of the upper surface is inclined forward and the remaining portion is inclined downward, and the stored medicine is loaded and moved forward during vibration, and this inner plate is vibrated. And a vibration member.

  In such a vibration discharge cassette, when a PTP packaging agent or the like is placed in the medicine storage space in the outer plate and arranged on the inner plate, and the top of the stored medicine is leaned against the upper frame, a large number of medicines are Aligned and stored without falling down. When the inner plate is vibrated by the vibrating member, the stored medicine advances, but the upper end of the head is stopped by the upper frame, so the stored medicines are closely arranged, and the lower end of the head is separated from the inner plate. When the medicine is pushed forward and removed, the leading medicine is dropped from the release front and discharged. Along with this, the top end of the newly raised drug is slightly tilted forward and stopped by the upper frame, and then the drug falls again when the new lower end is pushed forward from the inner plate and removed. Discharged. Thus, even with a simple cassette, the PTP packaging agent and the like are aligned and stored and sequentially discharged one by one by vibration.

Also, a support means for holding a large number of such vibration discharge cassettes and modified PTP cassettes side by side, a drop guide member for guiding the PTP packaging material released from each cassette downward, and collecting these PTP packaging materials A PTP dispensing device that includes a collection mechanism and automatically dispenses a necessary PTP packaging material according to a prescription or a dispensing instruction from various PTP packaging materials has also been put into practical use (for example, see Patent Document 2). ).
In addition, when looking at other chemical handling equipment, the main mechanism of the cassette is equally pitched or unequal in the longitudinal and non-inclined directions of the shelf relative to the shelf that is horizontal in the left and right longitudinal directions but is inclined forward and backward. A drug dispensing device that is fixedly installed side by side at a pitch has also been developed (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

  In addition, when aligning and storing and sequentially discharging the PTP packaging agent without using vibration, the drugs are stacked horizontally and stored vertically in the cassette and taken up in order from the top, or It was supposed to feed horizontally in order. Examples of methods that are picked up from above include those using a method such as picking, and those that are adsorbed by a pad. The latter pad adsorbing method (see, for example, Patent Document 4) achieves both improved processing efficiency and simplification of the mechanism. A large number of drug cassettes stored in a rotatable storage container and taking out of the drug cassettes. And a take-out mechanism for sucking and taking out the medicine for dispensing from the position. In addition, in the case of the lateral feed in order from the bottom (see, for example, Patent Document 5), a plurality of rotating wheels are arranged at a narrow pitch on the inner bottom of the cassette, and the bottom drug is moved by rotating them. It is designed to traverse with frictional force.

JP 2006-109854 A JP 2006-223528 A JP 2007-020897 JP 2000-167023 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-75989 (FIG. 3)

[Patent Document 6] Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-149073 [Patent Document 7] Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-31940

  Furthermore, a vibration discharge cassette has been developed that can smoothly and sequentially discharge even a PTP packaging material without a waist by combining vibration with the lateral feed system of the bottom medicine (see Patent Document 6). Specifically, it is a vibration discharge cassette that holds a PTP packaging agent etc. horizontally and then stacks vertically and holds them in a line and stores them in a horizontal direction and discharges them in order from the bottom. An inner bottom member that holds the inner bottom member on the upper surface, a friction member that laterally feeds the lowermost one of the PTP packaging materials or the like with a friction force to the lower surface, and a vibration member that vibrates the inner bottom member up and down. The friction member is provided on the inner bottom member, and when the vibration member is operated, the vibration of the inner bottom member is transmitted to the friction member and also transmitted to the PTP packaging agent, etc. The frictional force between the two PTP packaging agents and the like is reduced to such an extent that the entanglement with the above is avoided.

However, PTP packaging agents that cannot be handled well with such PTP cassettes and PTP dispensing devices have appeared. The PTP packaging material 8 has a sheet warped like a shallow groove-like ridge (see FIG. 5). This is because the use of polypropylene as a sheet material for environmental measures has increased the curl of the sheet to a level that cannot be ignored. Such wrinkle-like deformation often causes not only variation but also twisting.
For this reason, it is difficult to determine and adjust an appropriate vibration state or friction state with the conventional feeding method using vibration or friction, and in some cases, it may not be possible to adjust to a stable operation state.

On the other hand, the deformed PTP packaging material 8 has a buckling load larger than that of the undeformed one due to the deformation, and therefore it is not easily buckled even when a compressive load is applied in the longitudinal direction. The nature of, is also added.
Therefore, it is possible to improve the sequential discharge mechanism and the like so that the PTP packaging agent to be handled can be stably and sequentially discharged by using a characteristic that the PTP packaging agent to be handled becomes difficult to buckle. It becomes a basic technical problem.

  In order to solve such basic problems, a PTP cassette and a PTP dispensing device having a novel configuration have been developed (see Patent Document 7), each of which has a PTP-packed medicine or an equivalent medicine lying on its side. Assuming that they are stacked vertically and held on the inner bottom member in an aligned and housed state, and are fed laterally from the bottom in order and discharged to the front, further, the rear end of the lowest held drug is hooked A hook member and a feed mechanism for feeding the hook member forward along the inner bottom member are provided.

  In such an improved product, when the aligned medicines such as the PTP packaging agent are sequentially discharged, the feeding mechanism is activated to advance the hooking member along the inner bottom member. However, since the PTP packaging agent or the like is not easily buckled, the discharge operation is stable even by the method of pushing in order from the bottom. In addition, since the range in which the hook member is hooked on the rear end of the lowermost drug can be easily and sufficiently widened by adjusting the hook width of the hook member, for example, even if the position of the rear end of the drug fluctuates due to deformation of the PTP packaging agent, etc. The discharge is surely made. Furthermore, it can be said that the hooking member and its feeding mechanism can be realized simply and inexpensively. Therefore, according to this improvement, by sequentially improving the discharge mechanism etc. using the characteristic that the PTP packaging agent etc. to be handled became difficult to buckle, the PTP packaging agent etc. can be stably stabilized by a simple method. It can be discharged sequentially.

  In addition, in order to realize the sequential discharge mechanism with a simple structure, the inner bottom member has a pair of inner bottom plates arranged side by side on the left and right sides, and the feeding mechanism is between or just below the inner bottom plate pair. The hook member has an endless belt extending in the back-and-forth direction, and the working end is formed in a hook shape and the base end is attached to the endless belt. Furthermore, considering the large deformation of the sheet, a flexible member is adopted as the hooking member in order to expand the hooking range, and the working end portion is separated from the endless belt in the unloaded state, but the drug and At the time of interference, it is designed to approach the endless belt side by reaction force.

  The embodied hook member 19 (see FIG. 6) is made by bending an elongated plate-like member made of, for example, engineering plastic so as not to damage the PTP packaging material 8 and to exhibit sufficient flexibility. The base end portion 19a is attached to the endless belt 16 in a state where the base end portion 19a is perfectly attached to the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt 16 or is buried in the outer peripheral side of the endless belt 16. The other end of the hooking member 19 is formed in a bowl shape and serves as a working end 19b. The hook member 19 is slightly bent, for example, by 10 ° to 30 ° toward the end of the endless belt 16 when slightly approaching the operating end 19b from the base end 19a, and is also separated from the endless belt 16 at the operating end 19b. Specifically, it is bent in a bowl shape. By adopting the hooking member 19 and the endless belt 16, the PTP packaging material 8 having an undesirably large curling property can be discharged stably and sequentially with a simple method.

However, when the demand for stable discharge is satisfied, even higher-speed discharge is required, but even the improved product as described above may impair stable operation if it is forced to operate at high speed. Specifically, the hit portion 8b of the PTP packaging material 8 hooked on the action end portion 19b bent in a bowl shape is plastically deformed in the bending direction of the action end portion 19b by a strong impact (FIG. 6A). , (B)), the working end portion 19b falls quickly and becomes too large, and the working end portion 19b fails to catch the PTP packaging material 8 (see FIGS. 6C and 6D).
Therefore, it is a further technical problem to further improve the sequential discharge mechanism so that the PTP packaging agent and the like can be sequentially discharged stably and at high speed while following a simple hooking method.

The PTP cassette and the PTP dispensing device of the present invention (Solution 1) were created to solve such problems. Each of the PTP-packed medicines or equivalent medicines is placed horizontally and vertically. In addition to being held in a state of being stacked and aligned and stored, they are laterally fed in order from the bottom and discharged to the front.
That is, the PTP cassette (initial claim 1) is provided with an inner bottom member for holding the medicine on the upper surface and an action part having a reverse heel (back-spinning, turning back, and returning) shape returning to an acute angle. A hooking member that hooks the rear end of the lowermost member with the action portion, and a feed mechanism that forwards the hooking member along the inner bottom member.

  The PTP dispensing device (initial claim 4) comprises one or a plurality of shelves, a sequential discharge mechanism arranged in the shelves, and a box that holds the medicine on the upper surface of the inner bottom member. An alignment storage unit mounted one by one on the discharge mechanism, and a collection / dispensing mechanism for collecting and discharging the drugs discharged from the alignment storage unit by the sequential discharge mechanism, the sequential discharge mechanism, A member having an action part of a reverse heel (back-stab, return, return) shape that returns to an acute angle, and the rear end of the medicine held in the alignment storage part is hooked by the action part. It comprises a hooking member and a feed mechanism that forwards the hooking member along the inner bottom member, and the medicine is laterally fed in order from the bottom and discharged forward. And

  Further, the PTP cassette and the PTP dispensing device according to the present invention are (the solution means 2), the PTP cassette and the PTP dispensing device of the solution means 1, wherein the inner bottom member is divided into a pair of inner bottom plates arranged side by side. The feed mechanism includes an endless belt extending back and forth between or just below the inner bottom plate pair, and the hook member is attached to the endless belt at a base end portion. (Initial claims 2 and 5).

  Furthermore, the PTP cassette and the PTP dispensing device according to the present invention are (the solution means 3), the PTP cassette and the PTP dispensing device of the solution means 2, wherein the hooking member extends beyond the action portion from the base end portion. It is made of a flexible member that extends to the end, and the action part is separated from the endless belt in a no-load state, but when it interferes with the medicine, it approaches the endless belt side by a reaction force. Features (initial claims 3 and 6).

In such a PTP cassette and a PTP dispensing device of the present invention (Solution 1), since the hooking method is followed, the PTP packaging agent and the like can be discharged stably and sequentially while being simple. And basic technical issues have been solved.
In addition, the shape of the action part that hooks the rear end of the lowest drug has been changed from a round-curved bowl shape to an inverted saddle shape that returns to an acute angle, so that the drug rear end that is hooked on the acute angle action part is there. Since the hit portion is sandwiched and deformation in the thickness direction is not allowed, even if the impact on the hit portion at the rear end of the medicine is somewhat increased due to the increase in speed, undesired plastic deformation (FIG. 6 (a), (See (b)) does not occur.
Therefore, according to the present invention, the PTP packaging agent and the like can be sequentially discharged stably and at high speed, and further technical problems have been solved.

  Further, in the PTP cassette and the PTP dispensing apparatus of the present invention (Solution means 2), the sequential discharge mechanism is embodied with a simple structure.

  Furthermore, in the PTP cassette and the PTP dispensing device of the present invention (Solution means 3), the hooking member hooks the rear end of the lowest drug by allowing the action part of the hooking member to swing up and down. The range to be extended further extends beyond the width of the working portion of the hooking member. That is, the heel width of the action part of the hooking member is limited to the thickness of the medicine or less so as not to hook a plurality of medicines in sequential discharge, but before the hooking, the action part of the hooking member floats and reliably captures the lowest medicine, After hooking the rear end of the lowermost medicine, the action portion of the hooking member sinks to avoid catching excess medicine, so that the hooking range is expanded by the amount of oscillation.

In addition to that, the hooking member that was from the base end to the working end extends from the base end to beyond the working portion, so that the tip of the tip of the working portion when the hooking member swings. However, even if the impact on the action part of the hooking member is somewhat increased due to the increase in speed, the action part escapes too early or the drug is not easily caught (FIG. 6). (See (c) and (d)) does not occur.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably and stably sequentially discharge even a highly deformed PTP packaging agent or the like with a simple method.

With respect to such a PTP cassette and a PTP dispensing apparatus of the present invention, specific modes for carrying out this will be described with reference to the following Examples 1-2.
The embodiment 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 embodies the PTP cassette of the above-described solving means 1 to 3 (claims 1 to 3 as originally filed), and the embodiment 2 shown in FIGS. Is an embodiment of the PTP payout apparatus according to the above-described solving means 1 to 3 (claims 4 to 6 at the beginning of application).
In the illustration, for the sake of simplicity, fasteners such as bolts, coupling tools such as hinges, electric circuits such as motor drivers, electronic circuits such as controllers, etc. are omitted from the illustration. The illustrations focus on what is needed and what is relevant.

  A specific configuration of the first embodiment relating to the PTP cassette of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1A is a perspective view of a PTP cassette 10, FIGS. 1B and 1C are perspective views of a hook member 19, and FIG. 1D is a longitudinal sectional view of an empty PTP cassette 10.

The PTP cassette 10 includes a box 11 (alignment storage unit) for holding drugs such as PTP packaging agents in a state where they are horizontally stacked and aligned and stored in order, and the drugs in the containers are sequentially arranged from the bottom. Sequential discharge mechanisms 16 to 19 for horizontally feeding and discharging forward are provided.
A typical example of the medicine stored and aligned in the cassette 10 is the PTP packaging material 8 (see FIG. 5). The typical shape of the medicine is flat on one side, and drug storage protrusions (pockets) are arranged on one side. It is a square plate. The typical size of the PTP packaging material 8 is several tens of mm in width and hundreds of tens of mm in length, typical weight / mass is several tens to several hundreds of mg, and typical thickness is several mm.

  The box 11 (see FIG. 1) includes a vertical front plate, left and right vertical side plates, and a horizontal outer bottom plate for alignment storage, but the upper surface and the rear rear surface are open for easy refilling. . On the front surface of the box 11, for example, a label 12 on which a product name or an identification code of the PTP packaging material 8 is attached is attached so that the medicine check at the time of replenishment and the barcode input operation can be easily and accurately performed. A discharge port 13 through which the PTP packaging material 8 is sequentially discharged is formed in the lower portion of the front surface of the box body 11, and the upper portion of the discharge port 13 is arranged in a row across the entire width. A hook-shaped flexible fastener 14 hangs down, and a pair of inner bottom plates 15 and 15 (inner bottom members) whose front ends are positioned near the distal end and lower end of the flexible fastener 14 are separated from each other and are juxtaposed. Has been.

  The inner bottom plate pair 15, 15 extends between the front and rear sides of the box body 11 with a gap between them, the left inner bottom plate 15 is attached to the inside of the left side plate of the box body 11, and the right inner bottom plate 15 is Since it is attached to the inner side of the right side plate of the box 11 and maintains the forwardly lowered state and the rearwardly raised state, when the PTP packaging material 8 is placed on the upper surface of the inner bottom plate 15 and stacked and stored, the PTP packaging material 8 Is biased slightly forward by the component force of its own weight and the front end is brought into contact with the front plate of the box 11 so that the posture during alignment and storage is stabilized. In addition, the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 and the PTP packaging material 8 immediately above the PTP packaging material 8 are prevented from slipping out by themselves because the front end thereof is in contact with the flexible clip 14 at the discharge port 13. Yes. Since the upper end of the flexible clasp 14 is fixed and the lower end is not fixed, the lowermost PTP packing material 8 can be pushed out with a weak force, but the PTP packing material 8 on the upper side is the flexible clasp 14 or the front. It is stopped by a plate so that it is not discharged.

The sequential discharge mechanisms 16 to 19 include an endless belt 16, a discharge sensor 17, an electric motor 18, and a hook member 19, and are provided on the outer bottom plate of the box 11.
The endless belt 16 is supported by rollers at both ends and extends in the front-rear direction. The endless belt 16 is located between the inner bottom plate pair 15 and 15 in a plan view, and the upper side portion is slightly lower than the inner bottom plate 15 in a side view. In this state, it is inclined along the inner bottom plate 15, and the upper side is advanced by driving of the electric motor 18. The electric motor 18 operates intermittently when discharging only one sheet of PTP packaging material 8 according to the operation control of a control circuit (not shown), and continuously operates when discharging a plurality of sheets of PTP packaging material 8 successively. .

  The hook member 19 is made of, for example, engineering plastic so as not to damage the PTP packaging material 8 and exhibits sufficient flexibility, and is mainly composed of an elongated plate-like member or rod-like member extending from the base end portion 19a to the tip end portion 19d. In the middle portion, an action portion 19c is implanted near the tip portion 19d. The action portion 19c is not limited to the illustrated cone shape, but may be a plate shape or a rod shape (not shown) as long as it has an inverted saddle shape that returns to an acute angle when viewed from the base end portion 19a side. The hook member 19 is attached to the endless belt 16 in a state where the base end portion 19 a is perfectly attached to the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt 16 or is buried in the outer peripheral side of the endless belt 16. Further, the hooking member 19 is slightly bent by, for example, 10 ° to 30 ° away from the endless belt 16 when slightly approaching the operating portion 19c from the base end portion 19a, and clearly from the endless belt 16 at the operating portion 19c. The distal end portion 19d is largely separated, and since the distal end portion 19d is a free end, it can swing around the proximal end portion 19a based on flexibility.

  Such a hooking member 19 is separated from the endless belt 16 when the action portion 19c is in an unloaded state, but is moved toward the endless belt 16 by a reaction force when interfering with the PTP packaging material 8, and the endless belt 16 However, a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) are mounted in order to perform continuous discharge without interruption. In the case of multiple mounting, the hooking members 19 are dispersed so that the mutual distance of the hooking members 19 measured along the endless belt 16 is larger than the length of the PTP packaging material 8. Then, when the electric motor 18 is activated, the endless belt 16 circulates, and accordingly, the hooking member 19 moves forward between the inner bottom plate pair 15 and 15 while pushing up the action portion 19c and the tip portion 19d. The hooking member 19 that has finished moving forward passes back under the inner bottom plate 15 and the endless belt 16 and returns to the rear. Such an endless belt 16 is a feed mechanism that forwards the hooking member 19 along the inner bottom plate 15, and the hooking member 19 hooks the rear end of the lowest PTP packaging material 8. ing.

  The discharge sensor 17 is composed of, for example, a reflective optical sensor. In this example, the discharge sensor 17 is provided on the upper surface of the outer bottom plate of the box body 11 obliquely below the front ends of the discharge port 13 and the endless belt 16 and faces the detection direction upward. Then, an on / off signal is output depending on whether the PTP packaging material 8 is present above and the reflected light is detected or the PTP packaging material 8 is not present above and the reflected light is not detected. Based on this signal, the above-described control circuit (not shown) detects the start of discharge of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 when the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 is laterally fed forward and comes out of the discharge port 13. When the PTP packaging material 8 falls out of the discharge port 13 and leaves from the upper side to the front side, the completion of the discharge is detected.

  The use mode and operation of the PTP cassette 10 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. 2A is a perspective view of the PTP cassette 10 in which the PTP packaging material 8 is accommodated, FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the PTP packaging material 8 and the hooking member 19, and FIG. 2C and FIG. 2C is a longitudinal sectional view of the PTP cassette 10 in which the bottom PTP packaging material 8 is discharged. FIG. 2C shows the state when the bottom feed of the bottom PTP packaging material 8 is started, and FIG. 2D is the bottom PTP packaging. The state in the middle of the lateral feed of the agent 8 is shown.

  When the PTP cassette 10 is empty, the PTP packaging material 8 is manually replenished from the release upper surface or the release rear surface. At that time, after laying each PTP packaging material 8 sideways, align the front and back of a large number of PTP packaging materials 8 in the same direction, with the pocket side (the side for forming the protrusion for storing the medicine) as far as possible, By stacking on the upper surface of the bottom plate 15, the PTP packaging material 8 is accommodated in the box 11. Then, the rear end of the stored PTP packaging material 8 is lightly pressed with a finger or the like to arrange the row of PTP packaging materials 8. The positions of the aligned and stored PTP packaging agents 8 are determined by applying the front end to the front plate of the box 11 or the flexible clip 14, and the preparation for sequential discharge is completed (see FIG. 2 (a)).

  Thereafter, when the PTP packaging material 8 is discharged one by one, a discharge command or instruction is given to a control circuit (not shown) to cause the PTP cassette 10 to perform a discharge operation. Specifically, the control circuit operates the electric motor 18 while confirming that the reflected light is not detected by the discharge sensor 17. As a result, the endless belt 16 circulates, and the hooking member 19 rotates in association with the endless belt 16, and the hooking member 19 that has become upward or rearward advances from the rear to the front. Then, when the PTP packaging agent 8 is advanced (see FIGS. 2B and 2C), the hooking member 19 has a base end portion 19a that sinks below the rear end of the lowest PTP packaging agent 8, With the forward movement, the intermediate portion following the base end portion 19a is pushed down to the rear end of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 and also sinks under the lowermost PTP packaging material 8, and the further advancement causes the action portion 19c to move. The bottom end of the PTP packaging material 8 is caught.

  In this way, since the hooking member 19 approaches the endless belt 16 side, it easily follows the rear end of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8, so that the rear end and the endless belt 16 may change depending on the deformation state of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8. Even if the separation distances are different, the action portion 19c reliably captures only the rear end of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8. At this time, when the hooking member 19 is advanced at a high speed, the contact between the rear end of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 and the intermediate part of the hooking member 19 becomes strong, and the impact component force that pushes down the collision part and the action part 19c immediately after the collision part. The action portion 19c becomes so large that the action portion 19c may be pulled downward from the lowermost PTP packaging material 8, but the hook member 19 is provided with a tip portion 19d at the tip of the action portion 19c, and the tip portion 19d. Since the speed of the swinging of the hooking member 19 is suppressed by the inertia, the undesired situation in which the hooking member 19 is too far from the rear end of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 and the action portion 19c fails to hook the PTP packaging material 8. Does not occur.

Moreover, in this hooking member 19, since the action part 19c is not a round-curved bowl shape but an inverted bowl shape that returns to an acute angle, the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 that is hooked on the acute angle action part 19c. Since the hitting portion 8b is sandwiched in the rear end of the rear end and deformation in the thickness direction is not allowed, the impact on the hitting portion 8b at the rear end of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 is somewhat stronger due to the increase in speed. However, undesired plastic deformation (see FIGS. 6A and 6B) does not occur.
Therefore, even if the discharge speed is increased, the rear end of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 is reliably caught by the action portion 19c of the hooking member 19 and is not damaged.
Then, when the hooking member 19 is further forwarded by the endless belt 16 (see FIG. 2D), the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 is laterally fed by the pushing of the hooking member 19 and goes out from the discharge port 13. .

When the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 is discharged forward from the discharge port 13, the reflected light from the PTP packaging material 8 being discharged is detected by the discharge sensor 17, and the electric motor is appropriately timed accordingly. Since the operation of 18 is stopped, the circulating operation of the endless belt 16 and the circular movement of the hooking member 19 are stopped. In parallel, the next PTP packaging agent 8 becomes the lowest PTP packaging agent 8 on the inner bottom plate 15 from which the lowermost PTP packaging agent 8 has been removed.
Thus, in this PTP cassette 10, even the PTP packaging material 8 having strong curl and deformed into a bowl shape can be discharged one by one stably, surely and surely at a high speed.

  A specific configuration of the second embodiment of the PTP payout apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 3A and 3B show the structure of the shelf portion of the PTP payout device 20, wherein FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the shelf portion with the alignment storage portion 21 separated, and FIG. 3B is the shelf portion with the alignment storage portion 21 mounted. FIG. 4A and 4B show the overall structure of the PTP dispensing apparatus 20, wherein FIG. 4A is a front view (a longitudinal sectional view taken along arrow BB), and FIG. 4B is a side view (a longitudinal sectional view taken along arrow AA).

  In the PTP dispensing apparatus 20, the above-described equivalents of the PTP cassette 10 are arranged on the inclined shelf 22 so that desired ones can be automatically dispensed from various PTP packaging agents 8. The equivalent of the PTP cassette 10 is composed of an aligning / accommodating portion 21 at the detachable portion and a sequential discharge mechanism 23 at the fixed portion. The box 11, the label 12, the discharge port 13, the flexible clip 14 and the inner bottom plate 15 are succeeded to the alignment storage portion 21, and a portion below the inner bottom plate 15, for example, the outer bottom plate is removed. . The endless belt 16, the discharge sensor 17, the electric motor 18, and the hooking member 19 are taken over by the sequential discharge mechanism 23, and the sequential discharge mechanism 23 is attached to the inclined shelf 22 instead of the outer bottom plate. The assembly of the seat frame 24 and the seat plate 25 is arranged in parallel on the left and right of the discharge mechanism 23, and the seat frame 24 is erected on the inclined shelf 22, and the seat plate 25 branched from the seat frame 24 is provided inside. Since it is made to face, the alignment storage part 21 can be attached or detached by placing the lower end of the box 11 on it.

  In addition to the inclined shelves 22, the collecting / dispensing mechanisms 26 to 28 are also provided. The PTP payout device 20 is horizontally held in the left and right longitudinal directions, and has four inclined shelves 22 inclined slightly downward. Each of the inclined shelves 22 has a plurality of discharge mechanisms 23 arranged in a plurality in the longitudinal direction, and the PTP packaging material 8 is placed horizontally and stacked vertically and stored in an aligned manner. Alignment storage unit 21 which is formed of box 11 held on the upper surface and is sequentially mounted on discharge mechanism 23, and collects PTP packaging material 8 which is sequentially discharged from alignment storage unit 21 by discharge mechanism 23. Thus, a collection / dispensing mechanism 26-28 for dispensing is provided.

In addition, as described above, the sequential discharge mechanism 23 includes the hooking member 19 that hooks the rear end of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 held in the alignment storage portion 21, and the hooking member 19 along the inner bottom plate 15. An endless belt 16 is provided as a feed mechanism for forward feed, and the PTP packaging material 8 is laterally fed in order from the bottom and discharged forward.
Further, the collecting / dispensing mechanisms 26 to 28 are sequentially formed at a drop guide path 26 disposed in front of and at the discharge destination of the discharge mechanism 23, a transport mechanism 27 disposed below the drop guide path 26, and a discharge destination thereof. The payout outlet 28 is included.

In this case, the above-described PTP packaging material 8 is aligned and stored in one alignment storage portion 21, and another PTP packaging agent or the like is aligned and stored in another alignment storage portion 21.
When a discharge command is issued to an appropriate sequential discharge mechanism 23 by a controller (not shown) based on the prescription data or the derived dispensing instruction sheet data, the alignment mounted on each sequential discharge mechanism 23 that has received it. As described above for the PTP cassette 10 from the storage unit 21, the PTP packaging agent and the like are sequentially discharged and sequentially discharged. The discharged PTP packaging agent or the like descends on the drop guide path 26 and falls onto the transport mechanism 27, and is transported by the transport mechanism 27 and discharged from the discharge outlet 28 to the outside of the apparatus.
In this way, a desired product is automatically paid out from various PTP packaging agents.

[Others]
The PTP packaging material 8 shown in FIG. 5 is warped with the pocket side containing the medicine inward, but the present invention is also useful for a PTP packaging material warped with the pocket side outward.
A tag reading method is effective for preventing erroneous mounting of the PTP cassette 10 and the alignment storage unit 21. As the tag reading method, contact reading of an IC card or the like, short distance such as RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification), or the like. Wireless communication system tag information reading is easy to use.
In the PTP dispensing apparatus 20 of the second embodiment, four shelves 22 are provided. However, the number of the shelves 22 is arbitrary, and may be one or more.

The PTP cassette and the PTP dispensing apparatus of the present invention can be applied not only to PTP-packed medicines but also to equivalent medicines such as sheet-like packaging and card-like packaging medicines.
In addition, the PTP cassette of the present invention can be used alone, or can be incorporated in a part or all of the medicine dispensing device in a removable manner (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

1 is a perspective view of a cassette, (b) and (c) are perspective views of a hook member, and (d) is a longitudinal sectional view of an empty cassette according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. is there. (A) is a perspective view of a cassette containing a PTP packaging agent, (b) is a perspective view of a PTP packaging agent and a hook member, and (c) and (d) are longitudinal sectional views of the cassette when the PTP packaging agent is discharged. . The second embodiment of the present invention shows the structure of the shelf portion of the PTP dispensing device, (a) is a perspective view of the shelf portion in the aligned storage portion separation state, (b) is a perspective view of the shelf portion in the alignment storage portion mounted state. It is. The whole structure of a PTP paying-out apparatus is shown, (a) is a front view (vertical sectional view as seen from arrow BB), and (b) is a side view (vertical sectional view as seen from arrow AA). The external appearance of a PTP packaging agent is shown, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is an end view. The subject of this invention is shown, (a) is a perspective view of a PTP packaging agent and a hooking member, (b) is a side view of a PTP packaging agent, a hooking member, and an endless belt, (c) And (d) is a PTP packaging agent, It is a side view of a hook member.

Explanation of symbols

8 ... PTP packaging agent,
10 ... PTP cassette,
11 ... box, 12 ... label, 13 ... discharge port,
14 ... flexible fastener, 15 ... inner bottom plate (inner bottom member),
16 ... endless belt (feed mechanism), 17 ... discharge sensor,
18 ... Electric motor, 19 ... Hook member, 19a ... Base end,
19b ... working end, 19c ... working part, 19d ... tip part,
20 ... PTP dispensing device,
21 ... Alignment storage unit, 22 ... Inclined shelf,
23 ... Sequential discharge mechanism, 24 ... Seat frame, 25 ... Seat plate,
26 ... Drop guide path, 27 ... Conveyance mechanism, 28 ... Discharge outlet

Claims (6)

  A PTP cassette or a medicine equivalent to the PTP cassette is a PTP cassette in which each of the medicines is horizontally placed and vertically stacked and held in an aligned and stored state, and the medicine is horizontally fed in order from the bottom and discharged forward. An inner bottom member that is placed on the upper surface and held; a hooking member that has a reverse saddle-shaped action portion that returns to an acute angle; and that hooks the rear end of the bottom of the medicines at the action portion; and the hooking member. A PTP cassette comprising: a feed mechanism that feeds forward along the inner bottom member.   The inner bottom member includes a pair of inner bottom plates arranged side by side on the left and right sides, and the feed mechanism includes an endless belt extending back and forth between or just below the inner bottom plate pair. The PTP cassette according to claim 1, wherein a base end portion of the hooking member is attached to the endless belt.   The hook member is made of a flexible member extending from the base end portion to the point beyond the action portion, and is separated from the endless belt when the action portion is in an unloaded state, but at the time of interference with the medicine. The PTP cassette according to claim 2, wherein the PTP cassette approaches the endless belt side by a reaction force. One or a plurality of shelves, a sequential discharge mechanism arranged on the shelves, and PTP-packed medicines or equivalent medicines are placed horizontally and stacked vertically and stored in an aligned manner. An alignment storage unit that is mounted on the upper surface of the container and is mounted one by one on the sequential discharge mechanism, and collects and dispenses the medicine discharged from the alignment storage unit by the sequential discharge mechanism. A PTP dispensing device having a collection and dispensing mechanism,
The sequential discharge mechanism is a member having a reverse saddle-shaped action part that returns to an acute angle, and a hook member that hooks the rear end of the medicine held by the alignment storage part at the action part. And a feed mechanism that forwards the hooking member along the inner bottom member, and the medicine is laterally fed in order from the bottom and discharged forward.
A PTP payout device characterized by the above.   The inner bottom member includes a pair of inner bottom plates arranged side by side on the left and right sides, and the feed mechanism includes an endless belt extending back and forth between or just below the inner bottom plate pair. 5. The PTP dispensing device according to claim 4, wherein a base end portion of the hooking member is attached to the endless belt.   The hook member is made of a flexible member extending from the base end portion to the point beyond the action portion, and is separated from the endless belt when the action portion is in an unloaded state, but at the time of interference with the medicine. 6. The PTP dispensing device according to claim 5, wherein the PTP dispensing device is adapted to approach the endless belt side by a reaction force.

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