JPH02205525A - Tablet feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To confirm discharge of a tablet without error by a method wherein a discharge path is provided with a detecting member for detecting the passage of the tablet and a detecting member of detecting the tablet in a recess before a supply port is provided so that discharge of the tablet is confirmed by utilizing outputs of both detecting members. CONSTITUTION:A photo interrupter 27 is fixed on a base 2 immediately below a supply port 22 so that a tablet falling through the supply port 22 of a cassette 1 interrupts a light path from a light emitting element 28 to a light receiving element 29 allowing the photo interrupter 27 to detect the passage of the tablet. A tip 36 of an operating member 30 enters a slit hole 37 When the cassette 1 is mounted on the base 2. A photo interrupter 38 is provided on a part of the slit hole 37. When the tablet is stored in a recess 16, one tip 33 of the operating member 30 rides over the tablet while the other tip 36 interrupts the light path from the photo interrupter 38 to detect that the tablet is stored in the recess 16. In addition, when the tablet is discharged from the supply port 22, the photo interrupter 27 detects passage of the tablet to confirm discharge of the tablet without error.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a tablet feeder that stores a large number of tablets (including capsules, the same applies hereinafter) and sequentially discharges them as needed.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in this type of tablet feeder, a large number of recesses for individually accommodating tablets are formed along the circumferential direction with partition walls in between. There is a device that sequentially discharges tablets housed in respective locations from a supply port, and is equipped with a detection member in the discharge passage for detecting passage of the tablets.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such conventional tablet feeders, the detection member generally does not detect the size of the passing tablet, but optically detects the presence of the passing tablet. As a result, not only can a genuine tablet be detected as one tablet, but for example, if a tablet that is chipped in half passes by for some reason, each chipped part can be detected as a single tablet.
As a result of detection as 2, two pieces of tablet chips that should be one tablet in total are detected as two tablets.Moreover, as long as only the detection member is used, the occurrence of such false detection can be avoided. There were problems such as it being completely impossible.

This invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional method by not only detecting the passage of a tablet to be ejected, but also estimating in advance that the tablet will be ejected and comparing the two. The object of the present invention is to provide a tablet feeder that can confirm the ejection of tablets without error.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an arrangement in which a large number of recesses for individually accommodating tablets are formed along the circumferential direction with partition walls in between, as the alignment plate rotates. , in a tablet feeder that sequentially discharges the tablets accommodated in each of the recesses from a supply port, and is provided with a detection member in the discharge path for detecting passage of the tablet, the recess is located at a predetermined position before the supply port; When a tablet is stored in the recess, a detection member is provided to detect the tablet in the recess, and the output of both detection members is used to confirm the ejection of the tablet. .

[For f'r-] By employing the above-mentioned means, the detection member detects whether or not a tablet is accommodated in a recess at a predetermined position before the supply port. Whether or not the tablet will be ejected when the position moves to the supply port position as the alignment plate rotates can be estimated in advance without waiting for the tablet ejection operation to actually take place. From the estimation and the result of the passage of the tablet in the discharge passage, the discharge of the tablet can be confirmed without error.

[Example] Embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings will be described below.

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention, and this tablet feeder has a hollow container-like cassette 1 that accommodates a large number of tablets.
and a base 2 on which the cassette 1 is removably mounted.

The cassette 1 includes a rectangular bottom plate 5 around which a frame plate 4 is formed, which is positioned by fitting into a step 3 of the base 2 when the cassette 1 is placed on the base 2. A through hole 6 extending downward in a cylindrical shape is formed in a predetermined position of the bottom plate 5, and a cylindrical portion 7 of a size that is approximately inscribed in the bottom plate 5 with the through hole 6 as the center is provided upward in the bottom plate 5. The bottom surface of the slanted cylindrical portion 7 is formed by the bottom plate 5. Above the cylindrical portion 7,
An enlarged portion 8 having a cross-sectional area approximately equal to the size of the bottom plate 5 is provided in series, and the bottom plate 5 is provided with a handle 9 used for attaching and detaching the cassette 1 from the base 2, such as when replenishing tablets. .

The alignment g1io arranged in the cylindrical part 7 is formed by integrally molding the alignment part 11 and the insertion part 12 with synthetic resin.

The alignment portion 11 has an upper surface sloped downward from its center 13;
The inclined surfaces 14, 14, 14 are divided into three parts in the circumferential direction and are each inclined in the same direction along the circumferential direction, with a step 15 between them, and one tablet is placed around the circumference. Recesses 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16, etc.
are formed in large numbers at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, separated by partition walls 17, 17, . . . , respectively.

On the other hand, the insertion part 12 has a cylindrical shape extending downward from the upper surface of the alignment part 11 along its central axis, and has a spline 18 formed on the inner periphery of the lower part, and a groove 19 on the outer periphery near the lower end.
is formed.

Then, the insertion part 12 is inserted into the through hole 6 from above, and the alignment part 11 is arranged in the cylindrical part 7. By loosely fitting the washer 20 into the downwardly protruding insertion portion 12 and fitting the elastic ring 21 into the groove 19, the alignment board 10 is firmly and rotatably attached to the five-slot tray 1.

The bottom plate 5 of the cassette 1 has a recess 1 at a predetermined location.
A supply port 22 communicating with 6 is formed. Further, a plurality of slits 23, 23, . A partition plate 24 is inserted into the slit 23 with a height that matches the size and is screwed in. As a result, the partition plate 24 covers the upper end of the recess 16 located at the position corresponding to the supply port 22, and the upper end of the recess 16 is covered with a lid. This is to prevent the unaligned tablets above the tablets in the recess 16 from being ejected together with the tablets in the recess 16.

An appropriate motor 25 is attached to the base 2, and a spline shaft 26 is fixed to the rotating shaft of the motor 25. When the cassette 1 is positioned and placed on the base 2, the spline 18 of the alignment plate 10 is connected to the spline shaft 26. It is adapted to be engaged with the shaft 26.

When the motor 25 is driven in this state, the alignment plate 10 moves into the recesses 16, 16, . . . along the arrow direction in FIG.
As the alignment plate 10 rotates, the tablets in the cassette 1 are rotated by one pitch of the inclined surfaces 14, 14, .
14, while being stirred in one direction while being aligned and accommodated in the recesses 16, 16, . . .
Starting with the tablets that have reached the position directly below the partition plate 24, the tablets are dropped one by one through the supply port 22 and are discharged.

Further, a photointerrupter 27 is fixed to the base 2 at a position directly below the supply port 22, so that a tablet falling through the supply port 22 of the cassette 1 can pass through an optical path from the light emitting element 28 of the photointerrupter 27 to the light receiving element 29. By blocking light, the photointerrupter 27 detects the passage of the tablet.

As shown in FIG. 3, an intermediate portion of a bent actuating member 30 is pivotally attached to the bottom [5 of the cassette 1 by a support shaft 31. One side piece of the actuating member 30 disposed above the bottom plate 5 passes from the support shaft 31 through a long groove 32 formed in the side surface of the cylindrical portion 7 below the lowest slit 23 to support the supply port 22. It extends to the side opposite to the shaft 31, and its tip 33 enters the recess 16 of the alignment plate 10 at a position immediately in front of the supply port 22 with respect to the rotational direction of the alignment plate 10. The alignment board 10 has partition walls 17.
17, . . ., the tip portion 33 of the actuating member 30
Wells 34, 34, .

On the other hand, the other side piece of the actuating member 30, which extends from the support shaft 31 through the bottom plate 5 and along the back surface thereof, has a spring 3 between it and the frame plate 4.
5 is attached and biased to rotate the actuating member 30 counterclockwise around the support shaft 31, and its tip 36 is attached to the base 2 when the cassette 1 is attached to the base 2. It is designed to enter a slot 37 provided in 2. A photointerrupter 38 is provided in a part of the slot 37.

As shown in FIG. 4, no tablet is accommodated in the recess 16 at the position just before the supply port 22, so that one tip 33 of the actuating member 30 is pushed into the recess 16 or the groove 3 by the biasing force of the spring 35. 5, the other tip 36 is in the slot 37 and does not block the optical path of the photointerrupter 38, and as shown in FIG. contains a tablet, so that when one tip 33 of the actuating member 30 rides on the tablet in the recess 16 and is displaced outwardly, the other tip 36 is displaced in the slot 37. The optical path of the photointerrupter 38 is blocked, so that the photointerrupter 38
It is designed to detect that a tablet is accommodated in the recess 16 at a position immediately in front of the supply port 22.

Further, although not shown, appropriate means for comparing the output of the photointerrupter 38 and the output of the photointerrupter 27 is provided.

Next, the operation of the above will be explained.

First, the cassette 1 containing a large number of tablets is positioned and placed on the base 2, and the motor 25 is activated in accordance with an appropriate tablet ejection command, thereby rotating the alignment plate 10. As the alignment plate 10 rotates, the tablets in the cassette 1 are pushed upward by the inclined surfaces 14, 14, 14 and stirred in one direction, while the tablets are moved into the recesses 16, 16,
...are arranged and accommodated within.

When the tablets are accommodated in the recess 16 that has come to the position just before the supply port 22 as the alignment plate 10 rotates,
Since one tip 33 of the actuating member 30 rides on the tablet and is displaced outward, the other tip 36 blocks the optical path of the photo-interrupter 38, and the photo-interrupter 38 is moved to a position just before the supply port 22. It is detected that a tablet is accommodated in the recess 16 at , and therefore, when the recess 16 reaches a position directly below the partition plate 24 due to the subsequent rotation of the alignment plate 10, the tablet is discharged from the supply port 22. It is estimated in advance that the

Further, when no tablet is accommodated in the recess 16 that has come to the position immediately before the supply port 22 as the alignment plate 10 rotates,
Since one tip 33 of the actuating member 30 does not ride on the tablet, the other tip 36 does not block the optical path of the photointerrupter 38, so that the photointerrupter 38 is placed in the recess 16 at a position immediately before the supply port 22. Detects that the tablet is not accommodated and therefore follows the alignment! Even if the recess 16 reaches the position directly below the partition plate 24 by rotating the tablet 10, it is estimated in advance that the tablet will not be discharged from the supply port 22.

On the other hand, when the tablet is discharged from the supply port 22, the tablet falls and passes through the photointerrupter 27. At this time, the photointerrupter 27 blocks the light path from the light emitting element 28 to the light receiving element 29. 27
will detect the passage of the tablet.

Then, the photo interrupter 3 is activated by the operation of the actuating member 30.
When the photointerrupter 27 detects the passage of a tablet only once from the recess 16 in which the tablet 8 was detected as containing a tablet, it is confirmed that one tablet has definitely been ejected, and The recess 1 in which the photointerrupter 38 detects that a tablet is accommodated by the operation of the actuating member 30
6, when the photointerrupter 27 detects the passage of the tablet twice, it is confirmed that two tablet chips, which should be one tablet in total, have been ejected, and furthermore, due to the inoperation of the actuating member 30, the photointerrupter 27 detects the passage of the tablet twice. When the photo-interrupter 27 detects passage of a tablet from the recess 16 where the interrupter 38 detects that no tablet is accommodated, the detection operation of the photo-interrupter 27 may be due to an erroneous detection due to optical or electrical noise, etc. In addition, by comparing the output of the photointerrupter 38 and the output of the photointerrupter 27, various operating windows of the tablet feeder can be confirmed. becomes.

In the above embodiment, the insertion portion 12 of the alignment board 10 and the motor 25 are spline-engaged, but the insertion portion 12
The motor 25 or other drive member may be engaged with the motor 25 or other drive member by any suitable means other than spline engagement. In the above embodiment, the washer 20 is loosely fitted into the insertion portion 12 and the elastic ring 21 is inserted into the groove 19. Although the alignment plate 10 is attached to the cassette 1 by fitting the alignment plate 10 to the cassette 1, the alignment plate 10 may be attached to the cassette 1 by other suitable means.
．． The shapes of the partition walls 14, 14, 17, 17, etc. are not limited to those of the above embodiments.

Further, in the above embodiment, the actuating member 30 detects whether or not a tablet is accommodated in the recess 16 at the position immediately before the supply port 22. The presence or absence of a tablet in the recess 16 may be detected, and the actuating member 30 is not limited to the bent shape as shown in the figure.
7.17, . . . are not provided with grooves 34, 34, . You may also do so.

Furthermore, as a detection member for detecting the presence or absence of a tablet based on the position of the tip end 36 of the actuating member 30, in addition to the photointerrupter 38 shown in the above embodiment, an appropriate member such as a reed switch or a Hall element may be used. Alternatively, the tablet in the recess 16 at a predetermined position may be directly detected by an appropriate means without providing the actuating member 30. It goes without saying that it is possible.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to detect by the detection member whether or not a tablet is accommodated in the recess at a predetermined position before the supply port, and therefore,
Check whether the tablet will be ejected when the recess at that position moves to the supply port position as the alignment plate rotates.
The ejection movement of the tablet can be estimated in advance without waiting for it to actually take place, and therefore, by contrasting this estimation with the result of the passage of the tablet in the ejection passage,
This method has excellent effects such as being able to confirm the ejection of tablets without error.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway exploded vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cassette shown in FIG. , FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the device shown in FIG. 3 when no tablet is stored in the recess at a predetermined position, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the device shown in FIG. It is an explanatory view showing the operation of the one shown in the figure. 1...Cassette 3...Step part 5...Bottom plate 7...Cylindrical part 9...Handle 11...Alignment part 13...Center 15...Step 2...Base 4... ...Frame plate 6...Through hole 8...Enlarged part 10...Alignment board 12...Insertion part 14...Slanted surface 16...Recess 7...Partition wall 9...Groove 1... Elastic ring 3... Slit 5... Motor 7... Photo interrupter 9... Light receiving element 1... Support shaft 3... Tip 5... Spring 7... Groove Hole 18... Spline 20... Washer 22... Supply port 24... Partition plate 26... Spline shaft 28... Light emitting element 30... Operating member 32... Long groove 34... Spring 36...Tip 38...Photointerference

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. With the rotation of an alignment plate in which a large number of recesses for individually accommodating tablets are formed along the circumferential direction with partition walls in between, the tablets respectively accommodated in the recesses are sequentially discharged from the supply port. , in a tablet feeder having a detection member in its discharge passage for detecting the passage of a tablet, when a tablet is accommodated in the recess at a predetermined position before the supply port, the tablet in the recess is detected. What is claimed is: 1. A tablet feeder characterized in that a detecting member configured as described above is provided, and the outputs of both of the detecting members are used to confirm the ejection of a tablet.