JP7011304B2 - Goods supply equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an article supply device for supplying articles.

Conventionally, a dispensing device for discharging a container containing a drug is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-81429 (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-81429

The payout device described in the above document includes a storage shelf and a takeout device. A large number of cassettes are stored in the storage shelves, and each cassette contains a plurality of containers containing chemicals. The payout device performs a take-out operation of removing the container containing the desired chemical from the cassette.

In such a payout device, when the container is taken out from the cassettes in the left and right end rows, the takeout device is arranged so as to protrude from the storage shelf. Specifically, when the container is taken out from the cassette in the leftmost row, the take-out device is arranged so as to protrude to the left of the cassette. When removing a container from a cassette in the rightmost row, the removal device is arranged so that it protrudes to the right of the cassette. Therefore, a space for arranging the take-out device is required on the left and right sides of the storage shelf, and the width dimension of the entire device becomes large.

An object of the present invention is to provide an article supply device that improves space efficiency and enables miniaturization.

The article supply device based on the present invention includes a plurality of cassettes and an article take-out section. A plurality of cassettes are arranged side by side in the width direction of the device, and each of them stores an article. The article take-out section moves to a position corresponding to each of the plurality of cassettes and takes out articles from each of the plurality of cassettes. The article take-out section moved to the position corresponding to the cassette arranged at the left end in the device width direction is arranged so that the left-end cassette is located closer to the left side surface of the article take-out section. The article take-out section moved to the position corresponding to the cassette arranged at the right end in the device width direction is arranged so that the right-end cassette is located closer to the right side of the article take-out section.

In the article supply device, the article take-out portion engages with a first engaging portion that engages with a cassette arranged at the left end in the device width direction and a second engaging portion that engages with a cassette arranged at the right end in the device width direction. It has an engaging portion.

In the article supply device, the first engaging portion includes the first groove, and the second engaging portion has a second groove formed at a position different from the first groove in the device width direction. include.

In the article feeding device, the plurality of cassettes include a wide cassette having a relatively large dimension in the device width direction and a narrow cassette having a relatively small dimension in the device width direction.

According to the article supply device of the present invention, the space efficiency can be improved and the device can be miniaturized.

It is a perspective view which shows the article supply apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the part of the cassette support part enlarged. It is a perspective view which shows typically the cassette looking up from diagonally below. It is a perspective view which shows typically the head part of the article take-out part. It is a schematic diagram of the operation which takes out a cassette at the left end from a cassette support part which holds three rows of cassettes in the left-right direction. It is a schematic diagram of the operation which takes out the rightmost cassette from the cassette support part which holds three rows of cassettes in the left-right direction. It is a schematic diagram of the operation which takes out a cassette at the left end from a cassette support part which holds four rows of cassettes in the left-right direction. It is a schematic diagram of the operation which takes out the rightmost cassette from the cassette support part which holds four rows of cassettes in the left-right direction.

Hereinafter, the structure of the article supply device according to the embodiment based on the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an article supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The article supply device 100 includes a housing 110. FIG. 1 shows a state in which a part of the housing 110 is removed from the article supply device 100.

The article supply device 100 supplies articles. The article has a certain shape and a certain size. The article is, for example, an enclosure containing the drug. More specifically, the article is, for example, a container containing a drug. The shape of the container may be, for example, a cylindrical shape, a box shape, or a tubular shape. Articles are not limited to containers. The article may be, for example, a bundle of a plurality of PTP (Press Through Package) packaging sheets.

The article supply device 100 includes a cassette support section 600 and an article take-out section 700. The cassette support portion 600 supports a plurality of cassettes 200 (not shown in FIG. 1). A plurality of articles are stored in each of the plurality of cassettes 200. The article take-out unit 700 moves to a position corresponding to each of the plurality of cassettes 200, and takes out articles from each of the plurality of cassettes 200.

The cassette support portion 600 supports a plurality of cassettes 200 so that the plurality of cassettes 200 are arranged along a virtual surface. In this embodiment, the virtual plane is a plane perpendicular to the horizontal plane. More specifically, the virtual surface is a vertical surface located in the housing 110, parallel to the front surface of the housing 110. A plurality of cassettes 200 are arranged in a horizontal horizontal direction and a vertical vertical direction so that their front ends are aligned with the virtual surface.

The article taking-out section 700 includes a head section 720 and a head section moving section 710 that moves the head section 720. The head portion 720 takes out an article from the cassette 200. The head portion 720 is located on the front side of the cassette support portion 600. The head portion moving portion 710 moves the head portion 720 up, down, left and right along the virtual surface. As a result, the head portion moving portion 710 moves the head portion 720 to a position corresponding to each of the plurality of cassettes 200.

The head portion moving portion 710 includes an X carriage and a Y carriage as an example. The Y carriage includes a servomotor, a ball screw driven by the servomotor and extending in the vertical direction, a vertical guide extending in the vertical direction, and the like. The X carriage includes a carriage body guided in the vertical direction by a vertical guide, a servomotor, a ball screw driven by the servomotor, and the like in the lateral direction.

The article take-out unit 700 delivers the article taken out from the cassette 200 to a tray (not shown). The tray is located below the article take-out section 700. The tray is conveyed through the tray transfer hole 112 provided in the housing 110 by the tray transfer unit.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of the cassette support portion. The cassette support portion 600 supports the cassette 200 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction.

The cassette support portion 600 includes a shelf portion 610 and a cassette guide portion 620. The shelf portion 610 supports the cassette 200 from below. The cassette guide unit 620 guides the cassette 200 in the front-rear direction. The cassette guide portion 620 is attached to the shelf portion 610. The cassette guide unit 620 includes a left side cassette guide unit 630 and a right side cassette guide unit 640. The left cassette guide portion 630 is located on the left side of the cassette 200. The right cassette guide 640 is located on the right side of the cassette 200.

The right side and the left side refer to the right side and the left side of the worker facing the article supply device 100 in the state where the cassette 200 is housed in the housing 110 shown in FIG. That is, the right side and the left side when the cassette 200 is viewed from the front to the rear are the above right side and the left side. The left-right direction of the article supply device 100 is also referred to as a device width direction.

Between the two cassettes 200 and 200 that are adjacent to each other on the left and right, there is a right cassette guide unit 640 that guides the left cassette and a left cassette guide unit 630 that guides the right cassette. These right-side cassette guides 640 and left-side cassette guides 630 are integrally formed.

The cassette support unit 600 shown in FIG. 2 has four cassette guide units 620, and can support a total of three cassettes 200 between two adjacent cassette guide units 620. The lower thirteen stages of the storage shelf shown in FIG. 1 can support three cassettes 200 in the same manner as the cassette support portion 600 shown in FIG. On the other hand, the upper eight stages of the storage shelf have five cassette guide units 620, and can support a total of four cassettes between two adjacent cassette guide units 620.

The cassette 200 supported by the lower thirteen-stage cassette support portion 600 is a wide cassette having a relatively large dimension in the device width direction. The cassette 200 supported by the upper eight-stage cassette support portion 600 is a narrow cassette having a relatively small dimension in the device width direction. The plurality of cassettes 200 housed in the housing 110 of the article supply device 100 of the embodiment include a wide cassette and a narrow cassette.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a cassette looking up from diagonally below. The cassette 200 stores a plurality of articles so that the plurality of articles are arranged in the front-rear direction. Here, the front-back direction is a direction that intersects the virtual surface. In the present embodiment, the front-back direction is the direction perpendicular to the virtual plane.

The cassette 200 has a lower surface 210, a left side surface 221 and a right side surface 222. The lower surface 210 constitutes the bottom surface of the cassette 200. The left side surface 221 constitutes the left side surface of the cassette 200. The right side surface 222 constitutes the right side surface of the cassette 200.

From the lower surface 210, the left rail portion 211 and the right rail portion 212 project downward. Both the left rail portion 211 and the right rail portion 212 have a rib-like shape extending in the front-rear direction. The left rail portion 211 is provided in the vicinity of the left side surface 221. The right rail portion 212 is provided in the vicinity of the right side surface 222. The left rail portion 211 and the right rail portion 212 are provided in parallel with each other with a space in the left-right direction.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing the head portion of the article taking-out portion. The head portion 720 moves the cassette 200 in the front-rear direction, takes out an article from the cassette 200 pulled forward from the cassette support portion 600, and receives the taken-out article. The head portion 720 is formed with a receiving space that is open upward, and the article taken out from the cassette 200 enters the receiving space from above.

The head portion 720 has a left side surface 721, a right side surface 722, a rear side surface 723, and a front side surface 724. The left side surface 721 constitutes the outer surface of the left side wall of the head portion 720 forming the receiving space. The right side surface 722 constitutes the outer surface of the right side wall of the head portion 720 forming the receiving space. The rear side surface 723 constitutes the outer surface of the side wall on the rear side of the head portion 720 forming the receiving space. The front side surface 724 constitutes the outer surface of the side wall on the front side of the head portion 720 forming the receiving space.

The rear side surface 723 is a surface of the outer surface of the head portion 720 facing the cassette support portion 600 and the cassette 200 supported by the cassette support portion 600. Grooves 771,772,773,774 in which the upper end portion is recessed are formed in the upper end portion of the rear side wall surface on which the rear side surface 723 is formed. The grooves 771, 772, 773, 774 all extend in the front-rear direction. The grooves 771, 772, 773, 774 are formed in this order from the left to the right in the width direction of the apparatus with a gap from each other. The grooves 771, 772, 773, 774 are formed at different positions in the device width direction.

Of the four grooves, the groove 771 and the groove 773 form the first engaging portion 780. Of the four grooves, the groove 772 and the groove 774 form a second engaging portion 790. The first engaging portion 780 and the second engaging portion 790 are configured to include different grooves. The first engaging portion 780 includes the leftmost groove 771 of the four grooves. The second engaging portion 790 includes the rightmost groove 774 of the four grooves.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an operation of taking out the leftmost cassette from the cassette support portion that holds three rows of cassettes in the left-right direction. The three cassettes 200 arranged in the left-right direction in FIG. 5 represent the three cassettes 200 supported by any of the thirteen-stage cassette support portions 600 at the lower stage of the housing 110 of the article supply device 100. There is. The prescription information records that, of the three cassettes 200 shown in FIG. 5, the article stored in the leftmost cassette 200 is taken out. Therefore, the head portion 720 of the article take-out portion 700 has moved to a position corresponding to the cassette 200 at the left end.

The left rail portion 211 of the leftmost cassette 200 moves in the groove 771, and the right rail portion 212 moves in the groove 774, so that the leftmost cassette 200 is pulled out from the cassette support portion 600 forward and moves backward. Then, it is returned to the cassette support portion 600.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an operation of taking out the rightmost cassette from the cassette support portion that holds three rows of cassettes in the left-right direction. The three cassettes 200 in FIG. 6 are the same cassettes 200 as in FIG. The prescription information records that, of the three cassettes 200 shown in FIG. 6, the article stored in the rightmost cassette 200 is taken out. Therefore, the head portion 720 of the article take-out portion 700 has moved to a position corresponding to the cassette 200 at the right end.

Similar to FIG. 5, the left rail portion 211 of the left end cassette 200 moves in the groove 771, and the right rail portion 212 moves in the groove 774, so that the left end cassette 200 is pulled out forward from the cassette support portion 600. It also moves backward and is returned onto the cassette support 600.

Of the three cassettes shown in FIGS. It moves in 774 and moves in the front-back direction.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an operation of taking out the leftmost cassette from the cassette support portion that holds four rows of cassettes in the left-right direction. The four cassettes 200 arranged in the left-right direction in FIG. 7 represent the four cassettes 200 supported by any of the eight-stage cassette support portions 600 in the upper stage of the housing 110 of the article supply device 100. .. The prescription information records that, of the four cassettes 200 shown in FIG. 7, the article stored in the leftmost cassette 200 is taken out. Therefore, the head portion 720 of the article take-out portion 700 has moved to a position corresponding to the cassette 200 at the left end.

The left rail portion 211 of the leftmost cassette 200 moves in the groove 771, and the right rail portion 212 moves in the groove 773, so that the leftmost cassette 200 is pulled out from the cassette support portion 600 forward and moves backward. Then, it is returned to the cassette support portion 600. That is, the cassette 200 arranged at the left end in the device width direction shown in FIG. 7 engages with the first engaging portion 780 (see FIG. 4) of the head portion 720 of the article taking-out portion 700.

The cassette 200 arranged at the left end in the width direction of the apparatus shown in FIG. 7 is arranged closer to the left side surface 721 of the head portion 720 with respect to the head portion 720 of the article taking-out portion 700 that has moved to the position corresponding to the cassette 200. To. The center of the leftmost cassette 200 in the left-right direction is closer to the left side surface 721 and farther from the right side surface 722 with respect to the head portion 720 moved to the position corresponding to the cassette 200.

The head portion 720 of the article take-out unit 700 that has moved to a position corresponding to the cassette 200 arranged at the left end in the device width direction is arranged so that the cassette 200 is located closer to the left side surface 721 of the head portion 720. The head portion 720 moved to a position corresponding to the leftmost cassette 200 is arranged closer to the center of the device in the left-right direction with respect to the cassette 200.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an operation of taking out the rightmost cassette from the cassette support portion that holds four rows of cassettes in the left-right direction. The four cassettes 200 in FIG. 8 are the same cassettes 200 as in FIG. 7. The prescription information records that, of the four cassettes 200 shown in FIG. 8, the article stored in the rightmost cassette 200 is taken out. Therefore, the head portion 720 of the article take-out portion 700 has moved to a position corresponding to the cassette 200 at the right end.

The left rail portion 211 of the rightmost cassette 200 moves in the groove 772, and the right rail portion 212 moves in the groove 774, so that the rightmost cassette 200 is pulled out from the cassette support portion 600 forward and moves backward. Then, it is returned to the cassette support portion 600. That is, the cassette 200 arranged at the right end in the device width direction shown in FIG. 8 engages with the second engaging portion 790 (see FIG. 4) of the head portion 720 of the article taking-out portion 700.

The cassette 200 arranged at the right end in the width direction of the apparatus shown in FIG. 8 is arranged closer to the right side surface 722 of the head portion 720 with respect to the head portion 720 of the article taking-out portion 700 that has moved to the position corresponding to the cassette 200. To. The center of the rightmost cassette 200 in the left-right direction is closer to the right side surface 722 and farther from the left side surface 721 with respect to the head portion 720 moved to the position corresponding to the cassette 200.

The head portion 720 of the article take-out unit 700 that has moved to a position corresponding to the cassette 200 arranged at the right end in the device width direction is arranged so that the cassette 200 is located closer to the right side surface 722 of the head portion 720. The head portion 720 moved to a position corresponding to the rightmost cassette 200 is arranged closer to the center of the device in the left-right direction with respect to the cassette 200.

Of the four cassettes 200 shown in FIGS. It may be arranged so that either one of the second engaging portion 790 is engaged with the second engaging portion 790. For example, both of the two central cassettes 200 may engage the first engaging portion 780. Further, for example, the second cassette 200 from the right engages with the first engaging portion 780, the second cassette from the left engages with the second engaging portion 790, and so on. It may be set so that it can be separated whether to engage with the first engaging portion 780 or the second engaging portion 790 at the center of the direction.

As described above, in the article supply device 100 of the embodiment, the arrangement of the article take-out section 700 with respect to the cassette 200 is not the same for all the cassettes 200. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the arrangement of the article take-out section 700 when taking out the article from the leftmost cassette 200 is set to the right side with respect to the cassette 200. As shown in FIG. 8, the arrangement of the article take-out section 700 when taking out the article from the rightmost cassette 200 is set to the left side with respect to the cassette 200.

By doing so, it is possible to reduce the size of the article taking-out portion 700 protruding from the cassettes 200 at the left and right ends. Space for arranging the article take-out portion 700 on the right and left sides of the cassette support portion 600 in the housing 110 can be reduced. By improving the space efficiency in this way, it is possible to reduce the dimension in the device width direction of the housing 110 for accommodating the same number of cassettes 200 as compared with the conventional article supply device, and the device can be downsized. Can be done. Alternatively, a larger number of cassettes 200 can be stored in the housing 110 having the same dimensions in the width direction of the device.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, 8, the head portion 720 of the article take-out portion 700 may have a first engaging portion 780 and a second engaging portion 790. By engaging the leftmost cassette 200 shown in FIG. 7 with the first engaging portion 780 and engaging the rightmost cassette 200 shown with FIG. 8 with the second engaging portion 790, the cassettes at the left and right ends are engaged. Since the arrangement of the article take-out section 700 with respect to the 200 is reliably changed, the dimension in which the article take-out section 700 protrudes from the cassettes 200 at the left and right ends can be reliably reduced.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7 and 8, the first engaging portion 780 includes the groove 771, and the second engaging portion 790 includes the groove 771 and the groove 774 formed at different positions in the device width direction. But it may be. By forming the groove with which the leftmost cassette 200 engages and the groove with which the rightmost cassette 200 engages as different grooves, it is possible to reliably change the arrangement of the article take-out portion 700 with respect to the cassettes 200 at the left and right ends. can.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5-8, the plurality of cassettes 200 have the wide cassette shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 having relatively large dimensions in the device width direction and FIG. 7 having relatively small dimensions in the device width direction. , The narrow cassette shown in 8 may be included. The article take-out section 700 needs to be configured so that the article can be taken out from the wide cassette, and has a dimension in the width direction of the device corresponding to the wide cassette. The size of the article take-out section 700 in the width direction of the device is excessively large for the narrow cassette, but the article take-out section 700 for the narrow cassettes at the left and right ends is arranged closer to the center of the entire device. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the size of the article taking-out portion 700 protruding from the narrow cassettes at the left and right ends to the left and right.

The container containing the drug has a variety of different dimensions, depending on the type or volume of the drug. When the article supplied by the article supply device 100 is a drug, it is necessary to store and prepare a plurality of types of drugs in the cassette 200 in advance, but if all the cassettes 200 have the same width, the dimensions are The dead space in the cassette 200 for accommodating the small drug container is increased. If the plurality of cassettes 200 have a wide cassette and a narrow cassette, dead space can be reduced and space efficiency can be further improved by using cassettes corresponding to drug containers having different shapes.

In the above embodiment, the cassette 200 has a left rail portion 211 and a right rail portion 212 extending in the front-rear direction, and the first engaging portion 780 and the second engaging portion 790 to which the cassette 200 engages are grooved. An example including is described. Instead of this configuration, a groove may be formed in the cassette 200, and the first engaging portion 780 and the second engaging portion 790 may have a protrusion that engages with the groove.

Further, the groove is not always indispensable for the engagement between the cassette 200 and the article take-out portion 700. For example, by changing the position where the hook portion for moving the cassette 200 in the front-rear direction engages with the cassette 200 between the left-end cassette 200 and the right-end cassette 200, the article take-out portion for the cassette 200 at the left and right ends. The arrangement of 700 may be changed. If the rail portion moves in the groove when the cassette 200 moves in the front-rear direction, the cassette 200 is positioned with respect to the article take-out portion 700 guided by the groove, and the cassette 200 is moved more accurately by the intended route. Considering what can be done, the structure for forming the groove described in the embodiment is more preferable.

It should be considered that the embodiments disclosed this time are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown by the scope of claims rather than the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims.

100 Goods supply device, 110 housing, 112 tray transport hole, 200 cassette, 210 bottom surface, 211 left rail part, 212 right rail part, 221,721 left side, 222,722 right side, 600 cassette support part, 610 shelf part , 620 cassette guide, 630 left cassette guide, 640 right cassette guide, 700 article take-out, 710 head moving, 720 head, 723 rear side, 724 front side, 771,772,773,774 grooves, 780 first engaging part, 790 second engaging part.

Claims (4)

Multiple cassettes, each of which is arranged side by side in the width direction of the device and stores goods,
It is provided with an article take-out unit that moves to a position corresponding to each of the plurality of cassettes and takes out the article from each of the plurality of cassettes.
The article take-out section moved to a position corresponding to the cassette arranged at the left end in the device width direction is arranged so that the cassette is located closer to the left side surface of the article take-out section.
An article supply device in which the article take-out unit moved to a position corresponding to the cassette arranged at the right end in the width direction of the device is arranged so that the cassette is located closer to the right side surface of the article take-out unit. The article take-out portion has a first engagement portion that engages with the cassette arranged at the left end in the device width direction and a second engagement portion that engages with the cassette arranged at the right end in the device width direction. The article supply device according to claim 1, which has a joint portion. The first engaging portion includes a first groove and includes a first groove.
The article supply device according to claim 2, wherein the second engaging portion includes a second groove formed at a position different from the first groove in the width direction of the device. The plurality of cassettes according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of cassettes include a wide cassette having a relatively large dimension in the device width direction and a narrow cassette having a relatively small dimension in the device width direction. The article supply device described.

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