JP5430514B2 - Tablet splitting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tablet dividing apparatus that cuts a tablet and divides the tablet into several pieces, and more particularly to a tablet dividing apparatus that cuts a tablet by advancing and retracting a pair of opposed cutting edges.

  As a tablet splitting device that divides a tablet into two pieces, in addition to the conventional tablet splitting machine that presses the cutter down into the tablets received one by one and cuts the tablets, less than one tablet held and contained in one tablet unit The tablet supply that divides the tablet in the tablet passage route into the front and the rear in the passage direction and discharges the tablet fragments individually by cutting the tablet passage route in a manner that cuts the tablet passage route so that it can be automatically fed to the subsequent packaging device etc. The device or (see, for example, Patent Document 1), the received tablet is cut up and down with a cutter blade, the lower tablet cutting piece is discharged first, but the upper tablet cutting piece is temporarily retained on the cutter and the next cutter operation Has been put to practical use (see Patent Document 2, for example). These are configured to cut a single cutter blade provided in a cutting mechanism into a tablet to be divided that is held at a cutting position by a holding mechanism.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-226088 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-226089 Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-236992 Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-252589

In addition, two blades for the cutting mechanism have been developed. This tablet dividing apparatus is a tablet dividing apparatus that cuts a tablet with a cutting mechanism having a straight blade and divides the tablet into a plurality of tablet cutting pieces, wherein the two blades are provided facing each other, and the cutting mechanism comprises: The counter gap is expanded and contracted while the counter two blades are kept parallel to perform tablet cutting, and the counter two blades are relatively displaced in the parallel direction when the counter gap is expanded or contracted (Patent Document). 3).
Furthermore, what used the blade of the cutting mechanism as the rotary blade has been developed (see Patent Document 4).

In such a tablet dividing device, the tablet to be divided is held in the cutting position by the holding mechanism, and the cutting position of the tablet is cut into the tablet while regulating the position of the tablet, thereby accurately cutting the tablet. To come to fulfill. If the holding mechanism is adjusted appropriately, the tablet is held at an appropriate cutting position at any time, and the fluctuation of the cutting edge contact portion when the cutting edge of the cutting mechanism hits the intended portion of the tablet is visually observed. It becomes so small that it cannot be confirmed.
However, fluctuations in the amount of tablet trimming pieces may be larger than fluctuations in the blade contact part. For example, when a tablet is equally divided into two half-tablets, the half-tablets separated from one tablet are larger. There may be cases where the difference is visually confirmed.

However, the frequency of occurrence of such unbalanced division is not so high, and even if it occurs, it does not mean that the tablet fragments can be used immediately beyond the allowable range.
However, even if the variation in the amount of the trim pieces is within the allowable range according to the prescription of the preparation, the user may have anxiety if it can be seen visually. Variation is undesirable. In addition, even if the frequency of undesired division exceeding the specified allowable range is within the allowable range in the specifications of the device, if the occurrence frequency of unbalanced division that can be visually confirmed is high, the specified allowable Since there is a tendency that the occurrence frequency of undesired divisions exceeding the range also increases, it is also possible to reduce the amount of cut pieces from the viewpoint of reducing waste by reducing the number of drugs that are not used because of unwanted divisions. A large is not preferable.

In addition, when the blade of the cutting mechanism is a rotary blade, the cutting edge cuts into the tablet while scraping off the cutting part of the tablet, so the amount of imbalance at the time of division is less than that of the advanced blade type While having the advantage of being easy to make small, the amount of fine dust is large. Fine dust is not preferred because it is not only effectively used but must be removed by a dust collector or the like. In addition, the rotary type has a complicated cutting mechanism and it is difficult to reduce the cost, so the introduction destination tends to be limited.
Therefore, it is a technical problem to realize a tablet dividing device that uses a simple advance / retract type blade and has a small variation in the amount of tablet trimming pieces.

  The tablet dividing device of the present invention (Solution means 1) was devised to solve such a problem, and a holding mechanism for holding a tablet to be divided in a cutting position, and advancing and retreating toward the cutting position. A cutting mechanism that cuts the tablet by expanding and contracting a facing gap of the counter blade, and an operation procedure of the cutting mechanism or an operation procedure of the cutting mechanism and the holding mechanism The cutting operation defining means, when reducing the opposing gap during tablet cutting, continues holding the tablet by the holding mechanism until the opposing blade sandwiches the tablet, After the opposed blade sandwiches the tablet, the tablet holding by the holding mechanism is released, the tablet is held only by the opposed blade, and after the tablet holding by the holding mechanism is released, the opposed blade And adapted to cut into the tablet.

  Further, the tablet dividing device of the present invention is (solving means 2), which is the tablet dividing apparatus of the above-described solving means 1, and the cutting operation defining means is configured to release the tablet holding by the holding mechanism until the releasing is completed. The operation for reducing the facing gap is temporarily stopped.

  The cutting operation defining means is configured to release the holding of the tablet by the holding mechanism by causing the holding mechanism to perform an operation of separating the holding mechanism from the tablet sandwiched between the opposed blades. May be. Alternatively, the holding of the tablet by the holding mechanism may be released by causing the cutting mechanism to move the counter blade sandwiching the tablet to release the tablet from the holding mechanism. In addition, the holding mechanism is caused to move the holding mechanism away from the tablet sandwiched between the opposed blades, and the opposed blade sandwiching the tablet is moved to move the tablet away from the holding mechanism. The tablet holding by the holding mechanism may be released by causing the cutting mechanism to perform the above.

  The cutting operation defining means may be embodied separately from the holding mechanism and the cutting mechanism, but is not limited to a separate body, and is embodied in a form incorporated in the holding mechanism. It may be embodied in a form incorporated in the cutting mechanism, or may be embodied in a form incorporated in both the holding mechanism and the cutting mechanism.

In such a tablet dividing device of the present invention (solution 1), the tablet to be divided is held at the cutting position by the holding mechanism and then cut by the opposed blade that reduces the opposed gap. At that time, if the opposed blade sandwiches the tablet, the holding of the tablet by the holding mechanism is released before the opposed blade cuts into the tablet, and the opposed blade cuts into the tablet in a state where the tablet is held only by the opposed blade.
Thus, when the opposing blade cuts into the tablet during tablet cutting, the tablet is separated from the holding mechanism, so that even if the tablet is deformed or displaced due to the cutting of the opposing blade, the There is no reaction force acting on the tablet.

  If the tablet is in contact with the holding mechanism when the advance / retreat blade cuts into the tablet, the advance / retreat blade may be one (see FIGS. 1 (a) and (b)) or the advance / retreat blade may be two opposing ( 1 (c), (d)), the reaction force F acts on the tablet 10 from the holding mechanism 30 due to deformation or displacement of the tablet 10, and this reaction force F is based on the advancing and retracting blades 41 and 42. If it acts on the asymmetrical position of the tablet 10, the crack 11 generated at the cutting edge of the advance / retreat blades 41, 42 in the tablet 10 is likely to bend or become large. Varies depending on the presence / absence and presence of fine chips on the surface of the tablet 10, cracks in the surface layer or inside of the tablet 10, fragments attached to the contact portion between the tablet 10 and the holding mechanism 30, and the like.

On the other hand, in the present invention in which the opposed blades 41 and 42 are cut into the tablet 10 in a state where the tablet 10 is separated from the holding mechanism and is held only by the opposed blades 41 and 42 (FIG. 1 (e), (Refer to (f)), since the reaction force F that is considered to be a variation factor of the cutting state and an amplification factor of the variation amount does not occur, the crack 11 is stable and the variation of the amount of the tablet fragment is small. That's it.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a tablet dividing device with a small variation in the amount of tablet trimming pieces even when a simple advance / retract type blade is used.

Further, in the tablet dividing device of the present invention (solution means 2), when the tablet is sandwiched between the opposed blades, the tablet holding by the retaining mechanism is released in order to sandwich the tablet with only the opposed blade. Since the reduction operation of the opposed gap of the opposed blade is temporarily stopped over a period of time from the start of release to the completion of release, the opposed blade cuts into the tablet after the tablet holding by the holding mechanism is completely released.
As a result, the timing restriction related to the release operation of the tablet holding by the holding mechanism is relaxed / resolved, so that the mechanism design is facilitated, the adjustment man-hours are shortened, and the member cost is reduced.

It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the effect of the tablet division | segmentation apparatus of this invention in contrast with the conventional apparatus, (a) is a front view of the principal part of the conventional apparatus of a single blade, (b) is the notch | incision part. An enlarged sectional view, (c) is a front view of a main part of a conventional device having a counter blade, (d) is an enlarged cross sectional view of the cut portion, and (d) is a main part of the tablet dividing device of the present invention having the counter blade. (D) is an enlarged sectional view of the cut portion. FIG. 2 shows the structure of a vertical blade type tablet dividing device in Example 1 of the present invention, in which (a) is an overall side view, and (b) is a perspective view of a main body with a side panel removed. (A) is a perspective view of the internal mechanism of a main-body part, (b) is an expansion | deployment perspective view of a holding mechanism and a cutting mechanism. In each of (a) to (c), the left half is a front view of the main part of the holding mechanism, and the right half is a side view of the longitudinal section of the main part of the holding mechanism and the opposed blade. In each of (a) to (c), the left half is a front view of the main part of the holding mechanism, and the right half is a side view of the longitudinal section of the main part of the holding mechanism and the opposed blade. In each of (a) to (c), the left half is a front view of the main part of the holding mechanism, and the right half is a side view of the longitudinal section of the main part of the holding mechanism and the opposed blade. Example 2 of the present invention shows the structure of a horizontal blade type tablet dividing device, (a) is an overall perspective view, (b) is a developed perspective view, and (c) to (i) are all the essential parts of the holding mechanism. It is a side view of a longitudinal section of a section and a counter blade. About Example 3 of this invention, the different structure of the vertical blade type tablet dividing device is shown, the left half is a front view of the main part of the holding mechanism, and the right half is the vertical cross section of the main part of the holding mechanism and the opposed blade. FIG. About Example 4 of this invention, the structure of the tablet division | segmentation apparatus from which a division | segmentation number differs is shown, (a) is the shape of the blade edge for 3 divisions, (b) is the shape of the blade edge for 4 divisions.

About the tablet dividing apparatus of such this invention, the specific form for implementing this is demonstrated by the following Examples 1-4.
The embodiment 1 shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 embodies the above-described solving means 1 and 2 (claims 1 to 4 at the beginning of the application), and the embodiment 2 shown in FIG. The third embodiment shown and the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 9 are modifications thereof.
In these drawings, for the sake of simplification and the like, details such as fasteners such as bolts, couplings such as hinges, electric circuits such as motor drivers, and electronic circuits such as controllers are omitted from the illustration. The figure mainly shows what is necessary for the explanation and related items.

  A specific configuration of Example 1 of the tablet dividing device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 2A is an overall side view of a vertical blade type tablet splitting device 20 that cuts the tablet passage path along the path, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the main body 24 with the side panel removed. . 3A is a perspective view of the internal mechanism of the main body 24, and FIG. 3B is a developed perspective view of the holding mechanism 30 and the cutting mechanism 40. Further, in FIGS. 4A to 4C, the left half is a front view of the main part of the holding mechanism 30, and the right half is the longitudinal section of the main part 30 of the holding mechanism and the opposed blades 41 and 42. FIG.

  The tablet dividing device 20 (see FIG. 2A) includes a main body 24 equipped with a tablet feeder base 27, a relay 26 and a receiver 25 in addition to a holding mechanism 30 and a cutting mechanism 40, and a processing tablet (not shown). A detachable tablet cassette that externally mounts a number setting device, a processing start button, and the like, and has a controller 23, a power supply unit (not shown), and the like, and a detachable tablet cassette that is mounted on the tablet feeder base unit 27 and discharges tablets 10 one by one. 21 is provided. The main body portion 24 and the operation portion 22 may be integrated, but in this example, the operation portion 22 is connected to the main body portion 24 from the rear for facilitating manufacturing and maintenance. Moreover, although the support part of the receiver 25 and the relay part 26 may be a unit separable from the main-body part 24, in this example, it is integrated.

In the main body 24 (see FIGS. 2 and 3), the tablet feeder base 27 is fixedly arranged at the uppermost part, and the holding mechanism 30 is arranged at the lower side and near the front surface. Is fixedly arranged, and a receiver 25 can be taken in and out below. The cutting mechanism 40 is mounted on the main body 24 as if it penetrates the holding mechanism 30 in and out.
The tablet feeder base portion 27 (see FIG. 3A) is for automatically supplying the tablets 10 sequentially, and the drive motor 27a is operated according to the control of the controller 23 and is attached to the base plate 27b. The tablet 10 is discharged from the tablet cassette 21 and fed into the tablet passage path 32 of the holding mechanism 30 via the introduction port 27c and the guide 27d.

The holding mechanism 30 holds the tablet 10 to be divided at the cutting position 33, and the cutting mechanism 40 cuts the tablet 10 and divides the tablet 10 into two pieces (see FIG. 3).
The relay unit 26 (see FIG. 3A) receives the tablet trimming pieces 12 while receiving the tablet trimming pieces 12 falling from the tablet passage path 32 of the holding mechanism 30 from being scattered or damaged. In order to send the data to the storage, a collection guide 26a and a buffer 26b are provided.
The receptacle 25 (see FIG. 2) is a rectangular box-shaped or square dish-shaped container that receives and stores the tablet trimming pieces 12 formed by dividing the tablet 10, and is a drawer type.

  In this example, the holding mechanism 30 holds the tablet 10 to be divided at the cutting position 33 and also releases the tablet holding by the holding mechanism 30 in cooperation with the cutting mechanism 40. To do this, a plate-shaped passage forming member 31 disposed between the tablet feeder base portion 27 and the relay portion 26 and a pair of receiving members each having a movable lower end swingable with the upper end as a fulcrum. And a stop member 34. The passage forming member 31 is inclined with the upper end rearward and the lower end forward. For example, the passage forming member 31 is inclined at an angle of about 45 ° to 60 ° from the horizontal. A tablet passage path 32 that continues to the guide 26a is engraved. The inclination of the passage forming member 31 is set so that the tablet 10 slides down at an appropriate speed in the tablet passage route 32 without leaving the passage forming member 31.

  The tablet passage path 32 has a wide cutting position 33, a vertical slit 35 is formed through the center of the tablet passage path 32, and receiving members 34 are disposed on both sides thereof. When the driving member (not shown) on the back surface of the passage forming member 31 is operated in accordance with the control of the controller 23 in the tablet passage path 32, the receiving member 34 swings at the lower end portion, thereby bringing the lower end portions into contact with each other. When the lower end portions are brought close to each other, it becomes V-shaped and closes the tablet passage path 32 just below the cutting position 33 (see FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b)). It becomes a letter shape and opens the tablet passage path 32 below the cutting position 33 (see FIG. 4C).

  The cutting mechanism 40 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) includes opposed blades 41, 42 composed of a front outer blade 41 that advances and retreats toward the cutting position 33 and a back inner blade 42. , 42 is expanded and contracted, and the tablet 10 at the cutting position 33 is cut. In this example, the opposed blades 41 and 42 are oriented vertically, but are not vertical, but are inclined at the same angle as the passage forming member 31, the outer blade 41 is obliquely upward, and the inner blade 42 is obliquely downward. It has become. The outer blade 41 is supported by an outer blade advance / retreat member 43 that passes through the passage forming member 31 and reciprocates. When the outer blade drive member 44 is operated according to the control of the controller 23, the outer blade 41 moves forward and backward toward the cutting position 33. It is like that. The inner blade 42 is supported by an inner blade advance / retreat member 45 that reciprocates behind the passage forming member 31. When the inner blade driving member 46 is operated according to the control of the controller 23, the inner blade 42 passes through the slit 35 to the cutting position 33. It is designed to move forward and backward.

  The controller 23 is an electronic control device including, for example, a programmable microprocessor system or a sequencer. The controller 23 is embodied as a cutting operation defining unit separate from the holding mechanism 30 and the cutting mechanism 40. The operation procedure of the mechanism 40 is defined. In particular, when the opposing gap between the opposing blades 41 and 42 is reduced during tablet cutting, the holding mechanism 30 continues to hold the tablet until the opposing blades 41 and 42 sandwich the tablet 10 at the cutting position 33, After 42 sandwiches the tablet 10, the reduction operation of the facing gap between the opposed blades 41, 42 is temporarily stopped, and then the tablet holding by the holding mechanism 30 is released, and the tablet 10 is sandwiched and held only by the opposed blades 41, 42. After the tablet holding by the mechanism 30 is completely released, the reduction operation of the opposing gap between the opposing blades 41 and 42 is resumed so that the opposing blades 41 and 42 are cut into the tablet 10. Other control contents are exemplified in the following operation control.

  About the tablet division | segmentation apparatus 20 of this Example 1, the use aspect and operation | movement are demonstrated referring drawings. In each of FIGS. 5A to 5C and FIGS. 6A to 6C, the left half is a front view of the main part of the holding mechanism 30, and the right half is a longitudinal section of the main part 30 of the holding mechanism. It is a side view of a surface and counter blades 41 and 42, and shows tablet cutting operation in time series.

In the initial state (see FIG. 5A), the receiving member 34 immediately below the cutting position 33 is closed, but the holding mechanism 30 and the cutting mechanism 40 do not have the tablet 10, and the cutting position 33 is free. Yes. Further, the outer blade 41 retreats from the cutting position 33 to the outside and the front upper side, and the inner blade 42 retracts from the cutting position 33 to the inner back side and the rear lower side, so that the facing gap between the facing blades 41 and 42 is in an expanded state. .
In this state, when the operation unit 22 is operated to cause the tablet dividing device 20 to start the cutting process, the drive motor 27a of the tablet feeder base unit 27 operates, and one tablet 10 falls from the tablet cassette 21 driven thereby. Discharged.

  Then, when the tablet 10 is dropped into the tablet passage path 32 of the holding mechanism 30 via the inlet 27c and the guide 27d of the tablet feeder base portion 27 and guided to the tablet passage path 32 to reach the cutting position 33, Then, it abuts on the receiving member 34 and stops, and is positioned and held at the center of the two receiving members 34 (see FIG. 5B). At this time, the tablet 10 is held by the inner bottom surface of the tablet passage 32 of the passage forming member 31 and the contact portion of the two receiving members 34 in the holding mechanism 30 and touches the opposing blades 41 and 42. Without entering into the opposing gap between the opposing blades 41, 42.

Next (see FIG. 5C), the inner blade 42 advances slightly toward the outer blade 41, and when the tablet 10 is pushed and lifts away from the inner bottom surface of the tablet passage path 32, the inner blade 42 stops. .
Then (see FIG. 6A), the outer blade 41 advances toward the inner blade 42, the opposing gap between the opposing blades 41, 42 is reduced, and the tablet 10 is sandwiched between the opposing blades 41, 42. Stops.
Then (see FIG. 6B), the receiving member 34 swings and separates from the tablet 10. However, since the tablet 10 is sandwiched between the opposed blades 41 and 42, it does not drop undesirably.

  From this state (see FIG. 6 (c)), the opposing blades 41 and 42 are further advanced so that the opposing gap is reduced to almost zero, whereby the tablet 10 is cut vertically and the left and right tablet cutting pieces are cut. Divided into 12. At that time, since the tablet 10 is cut from the state of being held only by the opposed blades 41 and 42, an undesired reaction force F acts from the holding mechanism 30 even if the tablet 10 is slightly deformed or displaced by the cutting. Since there is no tablet, the tablet 10 is stably broken as expected. The receiving member 34 swings and closes while the two tablet trimming pieces 12 formed by dividing the tablet 10 pass through the tablet passage path 32 and the relay part 26 and drop into the receiver 25. The opposing blades 41 and 42 are both retracted to return to the initial state (see FIG. 5A).

  About the Example 2 of the tablet division | segmentation apparatus of this invention, the specific structure is demonstrated with reference to drawing. 7A is an overall perspective view of a horizontal blade type tablet splitting device 70 that cuts the tablet passage path in a manner that FIG. 7A is cut, FIG. 7B is a developed perspective view thereof, and FIG. 7C is a longitudinal section of the main part of the holding mechanism 30. It is a side view of a surface and counter blades 41 and.

  The difference between the tablet dividing device 70 and the tablet dividing device 20 of the first embodiment described above (see FIGS. 7A to 7C) is that the holding mechanism 30 and the cutting mechanism 40 are not inclined, and the holding mechanism 30 is not provided. , The outer cutter 41 and the inner cutter 42 become horizontal, the entire cutting mechanism 40 including the advance / retreat members 43 and 45 and the drive members 44 and 46 becomes horizontal, and the receiver 25 is omitted. It is a point which can be arrange | positioned instead of the standard tablet feeder base part 27 or side by side in the tablet storage of a tablet packaging machine. In addition, in order to reduce the height of the holding mechanism 30 and thus the tablet dividing device 70, the receiving member 34 can be moved back and forth from the side by a horizontal reciprocating motion with respect to the vertical tablet passage path 32 and can move up and down. It is a single member.

  About the tablet division | segmentation apparatus 70 of this Example 2, the use aspect and operation | movement are demonstrated referring drawings. 7 (c) to (i) are all side views of the longitudinal section of the main part of the holding mechanism 30 and the opposing blades 41 and 42, and show the tablet cutting operation in time series.

  In this case, in the initial state (see FIG. 7C), the receiving member 34 has entered the tablet passage path 32 just below the cutting position 33, but the holding mechanism 30 and the cutting mechanism 40 have the tablet 10. There is no cutting position 33. Further, the outer blade 41 retreats from the cutting position 33 to the outside and the front, and the inner blade 42 retreats from the cutting position 33 to the inner back and the rear, so that the facing gap between the facing blades 41 and 42 is in an enlarged state. In this state, when the tablet dividing device 70 starts the cutting process, one tablet 10 is dropped and discharged from the tablet cassette 21.

Then, when the tablet 10 is dropped into the tablet passage path 32 of the holding mechanism 30 and guided to the tablet passage path 32 to reach the cutting position 33, the tablet 10 comes into contact with the receiving member 34 and stops there. It is positioned and held in a state where it rides on 34 (see FIG. 7D).
At this time, the tablet 10 is held by the inner wall surface of the tablet passage path 32 of the passage forming member 31 and the upper surface of the receiving member 34 in the holding mechanism 30, and without touching the opposing blades 41 and 42, It enters into the facing gap between the facing blades 41, 42.

  Next (see FIG. 7 (e)), the opposing blades 41, 42 both move toward the cutting position 33, the opposing gap between the opposing blades 41, 42 is reduced accordingly, and the cutting edges of the opposing blades 41, 42 are further reduced. When entering the tablet passage path 32 and hitting the tablet 10, the counter blades 41 and 42 stop moving there, and the tablet 10 is sandwiched between the counter blades 41 and 42. Then (see FIG. 7 (f)), the receiving member 34 is lowered and separated from the tablet 10. However, since the tablet 10 is sandwiched between the opposed blades 41 and 42, it does not drop undesirably. Further, in this state, the tablet 10 is moved to the center of the tablet passage path 32 by the opposed blades 41 and 42 and is separated from the inner wall surface of the tablet passage path 32 by the amount of play for passage. It is clamped only by the opposed blades 41 and 42.

  From this state (see FIG. 7 (g)), the opposing blades 41 and 42 are further advanced to reduce the opposing gap to almost zero, whereby the tablet 10 is cut horizontally and the upper and lower tablet fragments. Divided into 12. At that time, since the tablet 10 is cut from the state of being held only by the opposed blades 41 and 42, an undesired reaction force F acts from the holding mechanism 30 even if the tablet 10 is slightly deformed or displaced by the cutting. Since there is no tablet, the tablet 10 is stably broken as expected. Of the two tablet fragments 12 formed by dividing the tablet 10, the upper half tablet stays on the opposed blades 41 and 42, and the lower half tablet stays on the receiving member 34.

Therefore, when sequentially dropping the tablet trimming pieces 12 one by one (see FIG. 7 (h)), first, when the receiving member 34 is retracted and exits from the tablet passage path 32, only the lower half tablet is dropped. Then (see FIG. 7 (i)), when the opposing blades 41 and 42 are both retracted and come out of the tablet passage path 32, the upper half tablet falls. When dropping two tablet cutting pieces 12 together, their operations are performed together. Then, when all of the tablet fragments 12 have been dropped, the receiving member 34 enters the tablet passage path 32 and rises to return to the initial state (see FIG. 7C).
Thus, also in this case, since the opposing blades 41 and 42 cut into the tablet 10 while the tablet 10 is held only by the opposing blades 41 and 42, the tablet 10 is stably broken as expected.

  About Example 3 of the tablet division | segmentation apparatus of this invention, the specific structure is demonstrated with reference to drawing. FIG. 8 is a front view of the main part of the holding mechanism 30 on the left half, and a side view of the vertical cross section of the main part of the holding mechanism 30 and the opposing blades 41 and 42. The other structural example which concerns on an apparatus is shown.

This tablet dividing device is different from the tablet dividing device 20 of the first embodiment described above in that the receiving member 34 is not a movable member but a fixed member, and the tablet holding release is the parallel movement of the opposed blades 41 and 42. This is realized by the above and is no longer dependent on the operation of the receiving member 34.
Specifically, a step that can hold the tablet 10 at the cutting position 33 is formed on the inner bottom of the tablet passage path 32, and the step is fixed. More specifically, the cutting position 33 and the upstream portion thereof in the tablet passage path 32 are formed deeper than the receiving member 34, but the portion downstream of the cutting position 33 in the tablet passage path 32 is on the receiving member 34. The upper surface of the receiving member 34 is used as the bottom surface of the path, and is raised and shallowed by the thickness of the receiving member 34.

In this case, after the tablet 10 held at the cutting position 33 by the receiving member 34 is sandwiched between the opposed blades 41 and 42, the opposed blades 41 and 42 are largely moved to the outer blade 41 side. 41 and 42 are moved over a distance longer than the thickness of the receiving member 34. If it does so, the tablet 10 will remove | deviate from the receiving member 34, and will be clamped only by the opposing blades 41 and 42. FIG. Then, when the opposed gap between the opposed blades 41 and 42 is reduced and the opposed blades 41 and 42 are cut into the tablet 10, the tablet 10 is divided into a plurality of tablet cutting pieces 12, and these tablet cutting pieces 12 are formed on the receiving member 34. It slips on the upper surface or passes over the receiving member 34 and falls.
Thus, in this case, the release of the tablet holding by the holding mechanism 30 is executed by the operation of moving the opposed blades 41 and 42 sandwiching the tablet 10 to release the tablet 10 from the holding mechanism 30.

  About the Example 4 of the tablet division | segmentation apparatus of this invention, the specific structure is demonstrated with reference to drawing. FIG. 9 shows a structure example of a tablet dividing device in which (a) shows the shape of a cutting edge for three divisions, (b) shows the shape of a cutting edge for four divisions, and the number of divisions is greater than two.

  The tablet dividing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the one that divides the tablet 10 into two tablet fragments 12 (half tablets) as in the above-described embodiments. By attaching the advancing / retracting blade (see FIG. 9) with the blade tips arranged radially to the cutting mechanism 40, the tablet 10 can be divided into a large number of tablet cutting pieces 12 by a single cutting operation. In addition, it is comparatively easy to appropriately divide the large and small tablets 10 having different diameters by adjusting the position by moving one or both of the opposed blades 41 and 42 and the receiving member 34 up and down. You can also.

[Others]
In addition, although illustration is omitted, when other modified examples in which the tablet holding release by the holding mechanism 30 is performed only by the operation of the holding mechanism 30 are described, for example, the receiving member 34 is opened and separated from the tablet 10, and the passage forming member If the portion including the cutting position 33 of the 31 is also movable so as to be separated from the tablet 10, the holding mechanism 30 is caused to move the holding mechanism 30 away from the tablet 10 held by the opposed blades 41 and 42. Only by this, the tablet holding by the holding mechanism 30 can be released.

  In the tablet dividing device 20, when cutting the tablet, first the inner blade 42 is advanced, then the outer blade 41 is advanced, the receiving member 34 is further released, and then the opposing blades 41 and 42 are cut. The operation procedure is not limited to this. For example, the outer blade 41 may be advanced first, then the inner blade 42 may be advanced, the receiving member 34 may be released, and then the opposing blades 41 and 42 may be cut. Alternatively, the outer blade 41 may be first advanced, then the receiving member 34 may be released, the inner blade 42 may be further advanced, and then the opposing blades 41 and 42 may be cut. If the speed at which the receiving member 34 is opened and separated from the tablet 10 is sufficiently high, the temporary stop of the outer blade 41 when the tablet 10 is sandwiched between the opposing blades 41 and 42 and then the transition to cutting can be omitted.

The operation unit 22 is not essential. For example, when the tablet 10 reaches the cutting position 33, a series of cutting operations may be started accordingly. The presence / absence of an operation state display is also arbitrary. The controller 23 is not essential, and the cutting operation defining means may be embodied by being incorporated in the holding mechanism or the cutting mechanism instead of the controller 23. For example, the holding mechanism and the cutting mechanism are operated in sequence by a mechanical mechanism such as a cam or a link. Anyway.
In addition, if there is no problem in discharging the tablet trim pieces 12, the receiver 25 and the relay unit 26 are not essential, and if the automatic sequential supply of the tablets 10 is not necessary, the tablet feeder base unit 27 and the tablet cassette 21 are not essential. .

Further, the drive members 44 and 46 of the opposed blades 41 and 42 and the drive member of the receiving member 34 are not necessarily provided explicitly by an electric type or a fluid drive type, but a holding mechanism or a cutting mechanism. For example, the advance / retreat members 43 and 45 and the receiving member 34 may be driven by pushing or rotating a manual handle.
Further, in the holding mechanism 30 of the tablet dividing device 20, a state in which the upper surface of the tablet passage path 32 is released is illustrated, but a tablet scattering prevention cover may be attached to the tablet passage path 32.

In addition, the holding mechanism 30 and the cutting mechanism 40 are provided with a receiving member 34 and counter blades 41 and 42 according to differences in the shape and material of the tablet 10 so that appropriate cutting results can be obtained for various tablets 10. An adjustment mechanism for changing the operation state may be provided.
Further, such adjustment may be easily performed by parameter setting of the controller 23 or selection operation of the operation unit 22.

  The tablet dividing device of the present invention is used in a stand-alone manner as in the above-described first embodiment, or in an embodiment in which the base portion of the tablet feeder is replaced with an expanded function as in the second embodiment, and is used for automatic dispensing such as a tablet packaging machine. In addition to being incorporated in the machine, it can also be incorporated into a tablet dropping path extending downward from a single tablet feeder, or a tablet collecting path after the tablet dropping paths of a plurality of tablet feeders merge together.

10 ... tablet, 11 ... crack, 12 ... tablet fragment,
20 ... Tablet splitting device,
21 ... Tablet cassette, 22 ... Operating section,
23 ... Controller, 24 ... Main unit, 25 ... Receiver,
26 ... Relay unit, 26a ... Guide, 26b ... Buffer,
27: Tablet feeder base, 27a: Drive motor,
27b ... Base plate, 27c ... Introduction port, 27d ... Guide,
30 ... holding mechanism,
31 ... passage forming member, 32 ... tablet passage route,
33 ... cutting position, 34 ... receiving member, 35 ... slit,
40 ... Cutting mechanism,
41 ... Outer blade (opposite blade), 42 ... Inner blade (opposite blade),
43 ... Outer blade advance / retreat member, 44 ... Outer blade drive member,
45 ... inner blade advance / retreat member, 46 ... inner blade drive member,
70. Tablet splitting device

Claims (4)

A holding mechanism for positioning and holding the tablet in the cutting position by simply supporting the tablet to be divided that has fallen by contact and supporting the weight of the tablet, and an opposing blade that advances and retreats toward the cutting position A cutting mechanism that cuts the tablet by expanding and contracting the opposed gap of the opposed blade, and a cutting operation defining means that defines an operation procedure of the cutting mechanism or an operation procedure of the cutting mechanism and the holding mechanism. In the tablet dividing device, the cutting operation defining means continues holding the tablet by the holding mechanism until the counter blade sandwiches the tablet when the counter gap is reduced at the time of tablet cutting. wherein from across the tablet abutment also the tablet by releasing all is sandwiched only by the opposing blade, including tablets held by the holding mechanism, the tablet tablet holding is released by the holding mechanism Tablet splitting apparatus characterized by being adapted to cut the opposite blade to the tablet from completely away from the holding mechanism.   2. The tablet division according to claim 1, wherein when the tablet holding by the holding mechanism is released, the cutting operation defining means temporarily stops the reduction operation of the facing gap until the release is completed. apparatus.   The cutting operation defining means is configured to move the opposing blade sandwiching the tablet between the operation of separating the holding mechanism from the tablet sandwiched by the opposing blade when releasing the tablet holding by the holding mechanism. The tablet dividing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein one or both of the operations of separating the tablet from the holding mechanism are performed.   The tablet dividing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cutting operation defining means is incorporated in one or both of the holding mechanism and the cutting mechanism. .

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