JP5383548B2 - PTP cassette - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a PTP cassette for arranging and storing PTP-packed medicines or equivalent medicines (hereinafter referred to as PTP packaging agents, etc.) and sequentially discharging them. Specifically, the PTP packaging agents are stacked and held in large numbers. The present invention relates to a PTP cassette that is laterally fed in the longitudinal direction and discharged. Note that the PTP cassette may be integrated into a single unit, or may be divided into a plurality of detachable parts such as an alignment storage unit and a sequential discharge mechanism. In addition, PTP packaging is a product in which a plurality of or many drugs are packaged in a PTP sheet. In some cases, each sheet is handled in a loose state. It may be handled in the state of a PTP bundle.

  PTP that can be discharged in a stable and sequential manner with a simple method for PTP packaging, where the curl of the sheet is large and the sheet is warped like a shallow groove-like wrinkle or even the sheet is twisted Several cassettes are put to practical use (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). Each PTP cassette includes a box-shaped alignment storage portion having an inner bottom member (storage space bottom member), and a fixed or detachable sequential discharge mechanism below the alignment storage portion. Each of the PTP packaging agents is placed horizontally and placed on the upper surface of the inner bottom member and vertically stacked and stored in an aligned and stored state. The discharge mechanism is sequentially held in the aligned storage portion. The PTP packaging agent and the like that are present are fed laterally from the bottom and discharged forward.

The alignment storage section is similar in configuration in any cassette, and the alignment storage space on the inner bottom member is surrounded by the front plate and both side plates, but the upper surface and the rear back surface are open, The front end of the inner bottom member is cut away to form a discharge port. A hook-shaped flexible clip (elastic clip) hangs down from the upper part of the discharge port, and a discharge sensor is placed below the discharge port.
The sequential discharge mechanism includes a movable member that acts on the rear end of the lowest PTP packaging material and the like, and a feed mechanism that forwards the movable member along the inner bottom member. However, the movable member has a type in which the rear end of the PTP packaging agent or the like is hooked by a hooking member (see Patent Documents 1 and 3), and a type in which the rear end of the PTP packaging agent or the like is pushed by an extrusion member. (See Patent Document 2).

JP 2009-131560 A JP 2009-165675 A JP 2009-297466 A

In such a conventional PTP cassette, the operation of sequentially discharging and sequentially discharging the PTP packaging agent and the like is stabilized by devising the movable member acting on the rear end of the PTP packaging agent and the like.
However, the adverse effect of the increased curling properties of the PTP packaging agent and the like extends not only to the discharging operation but also to the detection of the PTP packaging agent and the like. In detail, for the detection of PTP packaging and the like, a reflection type optical sensor in which a light emitting element and a light receiving element are incorporated in advance and integrated into a single unit is widely used among various sensors in consideration of economy and mountability. However, if the deformation of the detection target is large, the distance between the target and the sensor does not necessarily fall within the appropriate range, and it may be too close or too far, so that the detection accuracy decreases, which is inconvenient. is there.
Therefore, it is a technical problem to realize a PTP cassette that can be reliably detected by a reflective optical sensor even with a PTP packaging agent that easily curls.

  The PTP cassette of the present invention (Solution 1) was devised to solve such a problem. Each of the PTP-packed medicines or the medicine equivalent thereto is laid down on the storage space bottom member. An alignment storage unit that is placed on the upper surface and is vertically stacked and held in an aligned storage state, and a movable member that acts on the rear end of the lowest one of the medicines is moved forward along the storage space bottom member by a feed mechanism. A PTP cassette that sequentially feeds the medicines in order from the bottom and discharges them forward from the outlet of the alignment storage unit, and sends and receives light to the lower surface of the lowest one of the medicines. A plurality of reflective optical sensors for detecting the presence / absence of a medicine are provided separately on the left and right behind the discharge port, and a logical sum of the presence of the medicine is obtained for the detection results and the result is reflected in the front-rear direction. Characterized in that it is as to the drug presence detection result at the installation position of the mold optical sensor.

  The PTP cassette of the present invention is (Solution means 2), which is the PTP cassette of the above-mentioned solution means 1, wherein a plurality of the reflection type photosensors are provided in the front and rear of the discharge port, and the front and rear arrangements are provided. The storage space bottom member is partially removed from above the range from the last sensor to the discharge port, and is higher than the upper surface of any of the front and rear sensors, but from the upper surface of the storage space bottom member. A low protrusion is provided at an intermediate portion of the front and rear arrangement sensor.

In such a PTP cassette of the present invention (Solution means 1), since the reflection type optical sensor for detecting the presence or absence of medicine is provided at the rear of the discharge port, it is located at the front of the discharge port of the alignment storage unit. It is possible to detect the presence or absence of a medicine before or during discharge in a storage space that cannot be detected by the sensor. Moreover, in order to detect only the bottom of the medicines stacked and stored in the storage space by the bottom surface reflection, the detection distance range is set corresponding to the thickness of the medicine so that the second one is not erroneously detected. While it must be narrowed, when the drug is twisted, either the left or right will float and tend to deviate from the detection distance range. The result is integrated into one by the logical OR operation with the drug, and it shows the presence or absence of the drug at the corresponding front and back position, so that either the left or right stays within the detection distance range even if the drug is twisted If so, the lowest medicine can be detected in the storage space.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a PTP cassette that can reliably detect even a curling PTP packaging agent or the like with a reflective optical sensor.

Further, in the PTP cassette of the present invention (Solution means 2), a plurality of reflective optical sensors for detecting the presence or absence of medicine are provided at the rear of the discharge port, separately on the left and right as well as the front and rear. It is possible to detect the progress of the medicine being discharged in the space.
In addition, in the installation location of each reflection type photosensor so that it does not interfere with the reflection type photosensor, the storage space bottom member that is removed from the upper side is not only there, but also the range from the rearmost one of the front and rear arrangement sensors to the discharge port Since it is also removed from above, it does not become uneven, so it does not hinder smooth lateral feeding of the lowermost drug.

In addition, since the bottom part of the storage space is removed at the intermediate part of the front and rear arrangement sensor, a protrusion higher than the upper surface of any of the front and rear arrangement sensors is provided, so even if the twisted medicine falls down there The distance between the reflective optical sensor and the lower surface of the medicine does not fall below the required detection distance range. In addition, since the protrusion provided instead of the storage space bottom member being removed is lower than the upper surface of the storage space bottom member, it does not hinder the smooth lateral feeding of the lowest medicine.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a PTP cassette that can reliably detect even a curling PTP packaging agent or the like up to an advanced stage in the middle of discharge by a reflective optical sensor.

Example 1 of the present invention shows the structure of a PTP cassette, (a) is a perspective view of an empty cassette, (b) is a perspective view of a cassette containing a PTP packaging agent, and (c) is a key of an empty cassette. (D) is a perspective view of a storage space bottom member and a sequential discharge mechanism. (A) is a vertical right side view of the main part of the cassette in which the PTP packaging material is stored and arranged for discharge, (b) is a vertical right side view of the main part of the cassette when the PTP packaging material is discharged, and (c) is PTP packaging. The longitudinal section front view of the cassette main part at the time of agent discharge, (d) is a perspective view of a PTP packaging agent.

With regard to such a PTP cassette of the present invention, a specific form for carrying out this will be described with reference to Example 1 shown in FIGS.
In the illustration, for the sake of simplification and the like, the connecting device such as the hinge, the electric circuit such as the motor driver, the electronic circuit such as the controller, etc. are omitted and related to what is necessary for explaining the invention. The figure is centered on things.

  A specific configuration of the PTP cassette according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1A is a perspective view of an empty PTP cassette 10, FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a PTP cassette 10 containing a PTP packaging material 8, and FIG. 1C is a longitudinal right side of a main part of the empty PTP cassette 10. FIG. 4D is a perspective view of the inner bottom plate 15 (storage space bottom member) of the box body 11 (alignment storage unit) and the discharge mechanisms 16 to 26 in sequence. FIG. 2D is a perspective view of the PTP packaging material 8.

The PTP cassette 10 includes a box 11 (alignment storage unit) that holds the drugs such as the PTP packing material 8 in a state of being horizontally stacked and aligned and stored, and the drug in the container from below. Sequential discharge mechanisms 16 to 26 for sequentially feeding in the lateral direction and discharging forward are provided.
A typical example of the medicine to be stored in the PTP cassette 10 is the PTP packaging material 8 (see FIG. 2 (d)), which has a flat shape on one side and a protrusion for storing medicine on the other side (pocket). ) In the shape of a square plate. Its typical size 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 includes a vertical front plate, left and right vertical side plates, and a pair of inner bottom plates 15 and 15 (storage space bottom members) for defining an aligned storage space. Although it has a bottom plate, the top and back surfaces are open for easy refilling. A label 12 is affixed to the front surface of the box 11 for replenishing chemical confirmation and the like. 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 11, and the upper portion of the discharge port 13 is arranged in a row across the entire width. And a pair of inner bottom plates 15 and 15 (storage space bottom members) with the front end positioned near the front end and the lower end of the flange portion of the flexible retainer 14. Are arranged side by side on the left and right.

  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 By being biased slightly forward by the component force of its own weight and bringing the front end into contact with the front plate of the box 11 and the flexible fastener 14, the posture during alignment and storage becomes stable. ing. It should be noted that the reflection-type optical sensors 21 to 24 behind the discharge port 13 described later, that is, the left front and rear arrangement sensors 21 and 23 and the right front and rear arrangement sensors 22 and 24 are discharged from the rearmost ones 23 and 24. The storage space bottom member notch portions 15a and 15a including the range are notched from the inner bottom plate pair 15 and 15 so that the inner bottom plate pair 15 and 15 are partially removed from above the range connected to the outlet 13.

  The lowermost PTP packaging material 8 placed directly on the inner bottom plate pair 15, 15 and the second PTP packaging material 8 just above it are particularly flexible at the front end of the flexible fastener 14 at the discharge port 13. By abutting on, it does not slide out without permission. The flexible clasp 14 is a first flexible clasp for preventing natural slipping and a second flexible clasp for the bottom drug and a second flexible clasp for preventing two sheets from dropping. It is divided into a plurality of flexible fasteners for medicines, and is a two-stage flexible fastener arranged side by side. The flexible anchor for the second medicine is made of a hook-like / comb-like flexible member, and the hook part forming the main part is located at the discharge port 13 with its lower part, and its support and height adjustment The plate-shaped adjustment portion that bears the upper portion is attached to the front plate of the box 11. The flexible anchor for the lowest drug is composed of a hook-like / comb-like flexible member, and the hook part forming the main part is located at the discharge port 13 with its lower part, and its support and height adjustment The plate-shaped adjustment portion that bears the upper portion is attached to the front plate of the box 11 from above the adjustment portion, and is positioned in front of the second drug-use flexible clip.

  In the adjusting portion, for example, a set screw insertion hole is formed vertically long so that the height, that is, the vertical position can be easily changed. Also, set screw insertion holes are individually formed so that the height can be adjusted individually, and both adjustment portions are slightly separated by appropriate spacers or the like. Each of the flanges is located in a suspended state on the upper portion of the discharge port 13, and extends over substantially the entire width of the discharge port 13. Among them, the back part and the inner part of the second drug-use flexible fastener are for preventing two pieces from falling, so they are relatively stiff so as to strongly interfere with the tip of the second PTP packaging 8 from the bottom. , Located relatively high. On the other hand, since the flexible clip for the lowermost drug on the front and the outer side is for preventing natural slipping, it is relatively soft so as to weakly interfere with the tip of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8, and is relatively It is located in a low place.

  The sequential discharge mechanisms 16 to 26 include an endless belt 16, a discharge sensor 17 in front of the discharge port 13, an electric motor 18, a unit case 20 in which a movable member 19 and a protrusion 26 are formed, and a rear of the discharge port 13. Front and rear left and right arrangement sensors 21 to 24 (reflection type optical sensors). In the example shown in the figure, the unit case 20 is internally or externally integrated and integrated together, However, the unit case 20 may be attached to both side plates of the box 11, and each member may be mounted on the outer bottom plate of the box 11 or the side plate of the box 11 without being unitized. It may be installed individually.

  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 the state of being positioned at the position, it is inclined along the inner bottom plate 15, and the upper side is advanced by the drive 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 movable member 19 is attached to the outer peripheral side of the endless belt 16, and moves in association with the circulation operation of the endless belt 16, so that when it comes between the inner bottom plate pair 15, 15, Since the PTP packaging agent 8 moves from the rear to the front along the 15 (storage space bottom member) and contacts the rear end of the lowest PTP packaging agent 8 stored in the box 11, the PTP packaging agent 8 For example, it is made from engineering plastics so as not to be damaged and to exhibit sufficient flexibility. The illustrated movable member 19 is a hooking member having an acute reverse hook (see, for example, Patent Document 3), but may have other shapes as long as the lowermost PTP packaging material can be fed forward, for example, a round shape. (See, for example, Patent Document 1), or an extruded member in which a hard member and a soft member are combined (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  The discharge sensor 17 is formed of, for example, a reflective optical sensor. In this example, the discharge sensor 17 is provided at the foremost end of the upper surface of the unit case 20 and is positioned in front of the discharge port 13 with the detection direction facing 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. One or a plurality of such discharge sensors 17 are provided on the left and right sides of the endless belt 16, and the discharge position is obtained by taking a logical OR with a medicine for the detection result with a logic operation circuit (not shown). The detection results at are combined into one. Then, based on the integrated detection result, when the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 is laterally fed forward and comes out from the discharge port 13, the above-described control circuit (not shown) controls the lowermost PTP packaging material 8. When the start of discharge is detected and the PTP packaging material 8 falls out of the discharge port 13 and leaves from the upper side to the front, the completion of the discharge is detected.

  Similarly to the discharge sensor 17, the front / rear / left / right arrangement sensors 21 to 24 are also composed of reflection type optical sensors, the detection direction is directed upward, and the PTP packaging material 8 vertically stacked and stored in the storage space of the box body 11. Among them, the bottom surface of the bottom one is transmitted and received to detect the presence or absence of the drug, but unlike the discharge sensor 17, it is arranged behind the discharge port 13 and only the bottom PTP packaging material 8 is reflected on the bottom surface. The detection distance range is narrowed in correspondence with the thickness of the PTP packaging material 8 so as not to detect the second one. As described above, the left front and rear placement sensors 21 and 23 among the front and rear left and right placement sensors 21 to 24 are located below the storage space bottom member cutout portion 15a of the left inner bottom plate 15 and the right front and rear placement sensors 22 and 24. Is located below the storage space bottom member cutout portion 15 a of the right inner bottom plate 15, so that any of the reflection type photosensors 21 to 24 is not obstructed by the inner bottom plate 15 and the lower surface of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8. Can transmit and receive light.

  The front left and right placement sensors 21 and 22 among the front and rear left and right placement sensors 21 to 24 are separately provided on the left and right immediately behind the discharge port 13, and a logical sum with a drug is not illustrated for those detection results. These detection results are combined into one by using a logic operation circuit or the like. That is, if even one detection result of the previous left and right arrangement sensors 21 and 22 has a drug, the integrated detection result is set to have a drug, and the integrated detection result is set to have no drug only when all of the detection results are no drug. It has become. Then, the detection result integrated by such a logical OR with the drug is detected by the above-described control circuit (not shown) to detect the presence or absence of the drug at the installation position of the front left and right arrangement sensors 21 and 22 in the front-rear direction of the PTP cassette 10. Is the result.

  Further, the rear left and right arrangement sensors 23 and 24 among the front and rear left and right arrangement sensors 21 to 24 are separately installed on the left and right sides behind the front left and right arrangement sensors 21 and 22, and the detection result is also a drug. The detected logical sum is taken by a logical operation circuit (not shown) and the detection results are combined into one. Then, the detection result integrated by such a logical OR with the drug is detected by the above-described control circuit (not shown) to detect the presence / absence of the drug at the installation positions of the left and right arrangement sensors 23 and 24 in the front-rear direction of the PTP cassette 10. Is the result. In addition, the rear left and right arrangement sensors 23 and 24 and the front left and right arrangement sensors 21 and 22 described above are provided with a plurality of reflection type optical sensors separated in the front and rear at the rear of the discharge port 13. ing.

  Each of the protrusions 25 and 26 has a smooth top surface so that the PTP packaging material 8 is not caught. Of these, the left protrusion 25 is formed in a portion of the upper surface of the unit case 20 that is located in the middle of the left front and rear arrangement sensors 21 and 23, and the height of the top surface of the protrusion 25 is the left front and rear arrangement. Although it is higher than any upper surface of the sensors 21 and 23, it is lower than the upper surface of the inner bottom plate 15. Further, the right protrusion 26 is formed in a portion of the upper surface of the unit case 20 that is positioned between the right front and rear arrangement sensors 22 and 24, and the height of the top surface of the protrusion 26 is the right front and rear. Although it is higher than the upper surface of any of the placement sensors 22, 24, it is lower than the upper surface of the inner bottom plate 15. Both the protrusions 25 and 26 and the front and rear, right and left arrangement sensors 21 to 24 are located below the inner bottom plate 15 and below the notches 15a and 15a.

  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 vertical right side view of the cassette main part in which the PTP packaging material 8 is accommodated and arranged for discharge, and FIG. 2B is the cassette main part when the bottom PTP packaging material 8 is discharged. FIG. 4C is a vertical front view of the main part of the cassette when the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 is discharged, and FIG. 5D is a perspective view of the PTP packaging material 8.

  When the PTP cassette 10 is used for the first time or when the type of the PTP packaging material 8 is changed, the height of the flexible fastener 14 is adjusted so as to be adapted to the PTP packaging material 8 to be processed. Since the clip 14 is divided into a plurality of flexible clips for the lowest drug and a flexible clip for the second drug and can be adjusted individually, there is a risk of dropping two sheets. Each height adjustment is performed so that stable discharge is performed stably even at a high speed. Specifically, with respect to the flexible clip for the lowermost drug, the attachment position is adjusted so that the collar part interferes with the tip of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 and prevents its natural sliding. Moreover, about the flexible fastener for 2nd chemical | medical agents, a buttocks interferes with the front-end | tip of the 2nd PTP packing material 8 from the bottom, and the accompanying discharge is prevented, but discharge | emission of the lowest PTP packaging material 8 is prevented. The mounting position is adjusted so that there is no.

  After the flexible fastener 14 is adjusted, the empty PTP cassette 10 is manually replenished with the PTP packaging material 8 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. In this way, the PTP packaging material 8 that is aligned and stored is positioned with the front end of the PTP packaging agent 8 in contact with the buttocks of the flexible clip for the lower drug of the flexible clip 14 and the second one from the bottom. The position is determined by placing the front end against the buttocks of the flexible clip for the second drug, and the third and higher ones from the bottom are positioned by placing the front end against the front plate of the box 11 and sequentially discharging them. Is ready (see FIG. 2A).

  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 moves in association with the endless belt 16, and the movable member 19 that has become upward or rearward advances from the rear to the front. Then, when the PTP packaging material 8 is advanced, the movable member 19 comes into contact with the rear end of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 to advance the lowermost PTP packaging material 8. At this time, the buttocks of the flexible anchor for the lowermost drug try to hold down the tip of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8, but even if it can prevent natural slipping, it cannot resist the driving force of the movable member 19. Therefore, the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 advances.

  Then, when the movable member 19 is further forwarded by the endless belt 16 (see FIG. 2B), the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 is laterally fed by the back push of the movable member 19 and goes out from the discharge port 13. . At this time, the second PTP packaging agent 8 from the bottom is dragged by friction to the lowermost PTP packaging agent 8 and tries to come out from the outlet 13 together. Although it is not damaged by the buttocks, it is strongly stopped, so it stays in the box 11. 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 cyclic movement of the movable member 19 are stopped. At the same time, on the inner bottom plate 15 from which the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 has been removed, the next PTP packaging material 8 that was second is the lowest.

  The above-described discharge operation is a basic one in the case of being controlled based only on the detection result of the discharge sensor 17. In this PTP cassette 10, the discharge sensor 17 is provided at the discharge position C in front of the discharge port 13. In addition, the front left and right arrangement sensors 21 and 22 are provided at a close position B immediately behind the discharge port 13, and the rear left and right arrangement sensors 23 and 24 are provided at the inner back position C behind the discharge opening 13. And the presence or absence of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 is detected at each of the sensor positions A, B, and C (see FIGS. 2B and 2D). In addition to being able to directly detect that it is empty, it is possible to detect the progress of the medicine during discharge.

  A specific example of the control using the lower surface detection of the bottom PTP packaging material 8 at the sensor position A by the left and right arrangement sensors 23 and 24 and the sensor position B by the front left and right arrangement sensors 21 and 22 will be described. 8 is stored and the PTP cassette 10 is waiting to be discharged when the detection at the sensor positions A and B has the drug and the detection at the discharge position C has no drug. Then, when the discharge operation is started, the detection at the sensor positions A, B, and C is within a predetermined time with the advance of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8, and the presence or absence of the drug is detected, and then within the predetermined time In addition, the detection at the sensor positions A, B, and C indicates that there is no drug, is present, and is present, and further, the detection at the sensor positions A, B, and C is that there is no drug, is present, and is present.

  Then, if there is a second or more PTP packaging material 8, the detection at sensor positions A, B, and C is caused by the drop, and the presence or absence of the drug is detected. , C, the presence / absence of drug is detected, and the PTP cassette 10 returns to the waiting state for discharge. If there is no second or more PTP packaging material 8, the PTP cassette 10 is emptied, so that the detection at the sensor positions A, B, and C has a drug, is not present, is not present, and is not present. become. In this way, since the proper discharge operation of the PTP cassette 10 is confirmed in detail, in the case of other detection results, an alarm can be issued to notify the abnormality.

  In addition, in this PTP cassette 10, reflection type photosensors are distributed in left and right at the sensor positions A, B, and C, respectively, and the detection result is a logic with a drug. Since the PTP packaging material 8 is twisted and either the left or right side, for example, the right side is lifted and exceeds the upper limit of the detection distance range, the other of the left and right sides of the PTP packaging material 8 is integrated. For example, the left side does not rise so much, so it remains where it does not exceed the upper limit of the detection distance range. On the other hand, when the left side of the PTP packaging material 8 is about to fall, for example, the left side of the PTP packaging material 8 falls within the detection distance range because the corresponding left protrusion 25 prevents the lowering. The presence or absence of the lowermost PTP packaging material 8 is accurately detected even at sensor positions A and B for detecting only the lower sheet and having a narrow detection distance range.

[Others]
In the above embodiment, the front plate of the box 11 is vertical, but the front plate of the box 11 may be slightly inclined, for example, tilted forward by the same angle as the inner bottom plate 15 and the inner bottom plate 15 You may make it orthogonal.
In the above embodiment, the electric motor 18 is mounted on the unit case 20, but the electric motor 18 may be mounted on the unit case 20.

The PTP cassette of the present invention can be applied to a drug equivalent to the PTP-packed drug, for example, a sheet-shaped package or a card-shaped package. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to PTP bundles.
In addition, the PTP cassette of the present invention can be used alone, or may be incorporated into a part or all of the medicine dispensing device (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

8 ... PTP packaging agent (drug), 10 ... PTP cassette,
11 ... box (alignment storage section), 12 ... label, 13 ... discharge port,
14 ... flexible fastener, 15 ... inner bottom plate (storage space bottom member),
15a: storage space bottom member notch,
16 ... endless belt (feed mechanism), 17 ... discharge sensor,
18 ... electric motor, 19 ... movable member, 20 ... unit case,
21, 22, 23, 24... Reflective optical sensor, 25, 26.

Claims (1)

The PTP-packed medicine or the medicine equivalent thereto is placed horizontally and placed on the upper surface of the storage space bottom member to be stacked vertically and held in an aligned storage state, and the bottom of the medicines And a sequential discharge mechanism that feeds a movable member acting on the rear end of the article along the storage space bottom member by a feed mechanism, and laterally feeds the medicines sequentially from the bottom to discharge outlets of the alignment storage unit In the PTP cassette that discharges from the front to the front, a plurality of reflective optical sensors that detect the presence or absence of the drug by transmitting and receiving light to the lower surface of the bottom of the drugs are provided on the left and right sides of the discharge port. the detection result it takes the logical sum of there agents adapted to the drug presence detection result at the installation position of the reflective optical sensor in the longitudinal direction for the reflective optical sensor is the exhaust The storage space bottom member is partially removed from the upper part of the range connected from the rearmost one of the front and rear arrangement sensors to the discharge port. P TP cassette is higher than the arrangement sensor either top you characterized by lower projections than the upper surface of the receiving space bottom member is provided at an intermediate portion of the longitudinal placement sensor.

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