JPH0710103A - Automatic tablet dispensing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic tablet dispensing apparatus which can automatically pack various kinds of tablets separately into a blister pack having a plurality of tablet receiving holes according to predetermined prescription at a high speed. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of tablet containers 16 are housed on respective shelves 11 to 15 of feeder shelves 1a, 1b of a slide cabinet 1. A blister pack BP is supplied from a blister pack stocker 2 to a packing part 4, and respective tablets from the tablet container 16 are sequentially put into the respective holes of the blister pack to be packed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic tablet packaging apparatus, and more particularly to a packaging apparatus for packaging desired types of tablets into blister packs for each dose.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a conventional packaging device of this type is designed to perform a vertical seal while transferring a long folded packing sheet folded in half horizontally intermittently in the horizontal direction with the folded portion at the bottom. A compartment is formed between adjacent vertical seals, then a desired tablet is put into this compartment, and then a horizontal seal is applied to the top of the compartment to enclose the tablet in the compartment. For example, tablets for four times a day for seven days are individually packaged in 28 compartments continuous in the longitudinal direction of the packaging sheet.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional one, since 28 compartments for 7 days are continuous and not divided 4 times a day, for example, after breakfast on one day and lunch. After that, after dinner, before taking a total of 4 times before going to bed, if you take a tablet of a different type from the other 3 times only before going to bed, you should take 4 times a day and actually take only 3 times. If you do not do it for one day, you may continue to take the tablets you should take after meals and the tablets you should take before bedtime while ignoring it, and conventionally, Since one compartment is formed for each divided transfer sheet intermittent transfer cycle, a single packaging bag containing tablets is formed. 28 pieces for 7 days 4 times a day The time required to pack tablets in a compartment is 28 times the intermittent transfer cycle of the packing sheet, that is, 28 times the time required to pack tablets in one compartment. There was a point.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional apparatus, the applicant of the present invention has realized as a tablet packing machine that can easily distinguish the compartments for one day and further increase the packing speed. Japanese Patent Application No. Sho 62-117383
23402). In this device, two long wrapping sheets are used, and the two sheets are stuck together while being intermittently transferred downward, and the daily dose is taken along the direction orthogonal to the transfer direction of both sheets. The number of compartments corresponding to the number of times is formed as one set, and various necessary tablets are packaged in this compartment.

Therefore, the device of the prior application cannot be applied when a blister pack is used instead of such a packaging sheet. This blister pack is, for example, as shown in FIG. 16, a member made of a synthetic resin, in which one sheet is formed by preliminarily forming seven rows of four tablet storage holes 1a to 1d (compartment chambers) in one row. Widely used in hospitals in European countries.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to provide an automatic tablet packaging apparatus which can be applied to a packaging material using such a blister pack.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic tablet packing apparatus of the present invention is provided with a plurality of tablet containers for supplying tablets according to a prescription order for dispensing and collecting the supplied tablets. A hopper, a stocker in which a plurality of blister packs are stored, a supply unit that sequentially supplies the blister packs from the stocker to the transport device, and a plurality of compartments, and the tablets are divided into the compartments A dividing means, a discharging means for temporarily discharging the blister pack from the compartment, a packaging means for inspecting and sealing a blister pack containing tablets, and a conveying means for conveying the blister pack by the conveying device are provided. That is the summary.

[0008]

The device of the present invention can be applied to the case where the blister pack is used as a packaging material by adopting the above-mentioned means. In this blister pack, the number of compartments (tablet storage parts) corresponding to the predetermined number of doses is increased. Because it is preformed,
Since the compartments for one day are easily distinguished and are packaged at one time, the packaging speed is increased.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described below.
FIG. 1 shows the entire configuration of an embodiment of the automatic tablet packaging apparatus of the present invention, 1 is a slide cabinet, 2 is a blister pack / stocker, 3 is an operation panel, 4 is a packaging unit, 5 is a tray discharge unit. , 6 are tray holders.

The slide cabinet 1 has, for example, two feeder shelves 1a and 1b as shown in FIG. 2, and each feeder shelves is provided with a plurality of shelves 11 to 15, and a plurality of shelves are provided on each shelves. The tablet container (rotor cassette) 16 is stored.

FIG. 3 shows the overall configuration of the control system of the apparatus of FIG. 1, 21 is a control unit, 22 and 23 are feeder control units of the feeder shelves 1a and 1b, 24 is a packaging control unit in the packaging unit 4, and 25 is a packaging control unit. Is an operation panel, 26 is a stocker
It is a unit. The control unit 21 controls the respective devices to be described later based on the prescription information input from the operator console to generate a command signal for performing the packaging operation, and drives the respective devices and inputs / outputs timing signals. It has an / O board 21b and a power supply section 21c for supplying power to each device.

The feeder control units 22 and 23 receive the command signal from the control unit 21 by the feeder control boards 22a and 23a, and control the tablet container of each feeder shelf based on the prescription information by this command signal, and the packaging unit 4 Supply the required tablets to.

The operation panel 3 functions as an interface section with an operator for instructing the status display of each control and the activation of the operation described above, and the stocker unit 26 is provided in the blister pack stocker 2. Blister packs (trays) for packing tablets are stocked, and the blister packs are sequentially supplied to the packaging unit 4.

The packaging control unit 24 includes the tray supply unit 2
4a, a tray transport unit 24b, an up / down unit 24c and a scraper unit 24d. The tray supply unit 24a is disposed between the stocker unit 26 and the tray transfer unit 24b, and loads the blister pack supplied from the stocker unit 26 on the tray transfer unit 24b. The tray transfer unit 24b transfers the loaded blister packs to the tablet loading position by the scraper unit 24d. The scraper unit 24d packs the tablets of a predetermined type supplied from each tablet container of the feeder shelf into a blister pack on the conveyor. After all the tablets have been loaded, the blister pack is conveyed to the tray discharge section 5, where the operator manually moves the packaged blister pack by the up / down unit 24c to perform work such as covering.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the construction of the stocker unit 26 and the tray supply unit 24a. The stocker unit 26 includes a stock conveyor 26a, a stock conveyor reversal start switch 26b, a stock conveyor reversal non-detector 26c, a stock conveyor drive detector 26d, and a tray passage detector 26e. The stock conveyor 26a has a plurality of stock arms 26f on which the blister packs BP are placed.
The blister pack BP stocked is driven to rotate in the clockwise direction and is supplied to the tray supply unit 24a. The switch 26b is for starting and stopping to reverse drive the stock conveyor 26a. Since the work of mounting the blister pack BP on the stock arm 26f can be performed only from the front side of the stock conveyor 26a, the blister pack BP can be placed on the rear side stock arm 26f.
In order to be mounted on the stock conveyor 26a, it is necessary to reverse drive the stock conveyor 26a, for which the switch 26b is used.

Stock / conveyor non-reversible detector 26c
Will overdrive the stock conveyor 26a,
Since the blister pack BP falls from the stock arm 26f, it is for detecting the limit. The output of this detector turns on the indicator 26g to stop and prohibit the reverse drive of the stock conveyor 26a. To do.

The stock conveyor drive detector 26d detects the drive completion position of the stock conveyor 26a during the normal rotation driving and the reverse rotation driving in order to supply the blister pack BP to the tray supply unit 24a. Further, the tray passage detector 26e drives the stock conveyor 26a forward by one pitch in order to feed the blister pack BP to the tray feeding unit 24a. At that time,
It is detected that the blister pack BP has passed to the supply position.

The tray supply unit 24a includes a tray receiving arm 41, a tray receiving arm origin detector 42, a tray receiving arm drive detector 43, a tray detector 44, a tray holding arm 45, a tray holding arm origin detector 46, and a tray holding arm. It consists of an arm drive detector 47.

The tray receiving arm 41 temporarily receives the blister pack BP supplied from the stock conveyor 26a, and its fixed position (the position where the blister pack is received from the stock conveyor 26a) is detected by the detector 42. Further, in order to place the blister pack BP on the tray receiving arm 41 on the conveyor 48, the tray receiving arm 41 is positively driven, but the drive completion position is detected by the detector 43.

The tray detector 44 is a tray receiving arm 41.
It detects that there is a blister pack on the upper side, and when the passage of the blister pack BP is detected by the tray passage detector 26e, but it cannot be detected here, an alarm is issued. The tray pressing arm 45 presses the blister pack BP when the blister pack BP on the tray receiving arm 41 is placed on the transfer conveyor 48, and its fixed position (the blister pack from the stock conveyor 26a to the tray receiving arm 41 is placed on the tray receiving arm 41). The supply position) is detected by the detector 46, and the drive completion position of the tray pressing arm 45 is detected by the detector 47.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the transfer conveyor 48 transfers the blister pack BP supplied from the tray supply unit 24a to the tablet loading position and the tray discharging section 5, and in connection with this, the tray supply position. Detector 48a,
A tray supply detector 48b, a tray start end detector 48c, tablet loading position detectors 48d and 48e, and a tray ejection detector 48f are provided. The detector 48a detects the stop position when the blister pack BP is supplied from the stocker unit 24d to the transport conveyor 48, and the detector 4
8b detects the supply, and after the detection output is turned off, the next blister pack supply can be prepared. The tray leading edge detector 48c detects that the new blister pack BP has been conveyed to the front of the scraper unit 24d, and the detection output thereof enables preparation of the tablet injection on the first day of prescription. The detectors 48d and 48e detect stop positions when the tablets are loaded from the scraper unit 24d into the blister pack BP on the transport conveyor 48. The detector 48f detects the presence / absence of a blister pack immediately before being discharged to the tray discharge unit 5, and this detector and the tray discharge detector 5 of the tray discharge unit 5
When the detection outputs are generated from both a, it is determined that the blister pack is congested and the driving of the conveyor 48 is prohibited.

The tray discharge section 5 is a section for discharging a blister pack containing tablets from the conveyor 48. The discharged blister pack BP is manually processed by the operator, but the tray discharge detector 5a generates a detection output. The next blister pack cannot be discharged inside.

The scraper unit 24d is constructed as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, for example. In the figure, 51 is a hopper, 52 is a first shutter, and 53.
Is a second shutter, 54 is a scraper, 55-58
Are the compartments of the divider 59.

From the tablet container 16 placed on the feeder shelf in the slide cabinet 1, via the ducts and chutes in the slide cabinet, into the hopper 51, the prescription inputted by a higher-order prescription input terminal (not shown). The tablets 60 are accumulated one by one.

The dividing machine 59 has, for example, a compartment 55 for accommodating tablets for bedtime, a compartment 56 for the evening, a compartment 57 for the day and a compartment 58 for the morning. The origin is at the position A and the compartment 58 is at the end at the position D. The compartments 58 are sequentially moved to the lower side of the hopper 51 in each direction in the X direction, and the tablets 60 accumulated in the hopper 51 are opened and closed by opening and closing the first shutter 52. Receive each dose in each compartment.

In the divider 59 which has finished receiving the daily dose [packaging 1 (minimum) to packing 4 (maximum)] of an arbitrary prescription, the respective second shutters 53 which are interlocked open and interlock. The respective scrapers 54 that are used are the second shutters 53.
The tablet 60 is extruded in synchronism with the above and is delivered to each hole of the blister pack BP.

The blister pack BP has, for example, a total of 28 holes in the horizontal direction (daily dose: 1 to 4 packages) and 7 holes in the vertical direction (rows) (1 to 7 days in total). The carrier conveyer 48 vertically moves each hole in the vertical direction (arrow direction in FIG. 7) to below the corresponding compartment of the dividing machine 59, and tablets are loaded into each hole daily as described above. It

Based on arbitrary prescription input information to the control unit 21, 1 day (minimum) to 7 days (maximum) is divided and packaged per blister pack BP 1 sheet, and 7
In the case of prescription input information for more than one day, the blister pack BP is used as 2 sheets, 3 sheets ...

Also, the daily dose of tablets is divided into 3 holes,
In the case of packaging as the packaging 2 and the packaging 3, the first shutter 52 is opened and closed only in the necessary compartments, and in the unnecessary compartments, a temporary stop is performed below the hopper 51. However, the opening / closing operation of the first shutter 52 is not performed, and the next operation is performed.

The following detectors are provided in association with the scraper unit 24d. A shutter origin detector 52a detects a fixed position of the first shutter 52 (a state where the shutter is closed), and stops the driving of the first shutter 52 by the detection output. A shutter closing detector 52b detects that the first shutter 52 is closed, and starts the feeder control for the next hole by the detection output.

Reference numeral 54a denotes a divider origin detector, which is a fixed position of the divider 59 (position for supplying tablets from the feeder shelf to the divider).
To detect. Further, 54b is a divider drive detector, which detects the drive completion position when the divider 59 is moved as described above.

Next, the blister pack BP at the blister pack discharge position is manually moved by the operator to the up / down unit 24c to perform work such as covering the blister pack BP. Here, 61 is a start-up switch, and the operator operates this switch to start up / down operation of the up / down unit 24c. Again 62
Is a drive completion detector that detects the completion of drive of the up / down unit.

8 to 10 show an example of the structure of the tablet container 16. In the figure, 16a is a housing with a rectangular cross section, 1
6b is a lid, 16c is a hopper, 16d is a corner, and 16e is a cylinder. A central hole 16s is formed in a bottom plate 16q that is continuous with the cylindrical portion 16e. 16 g is a rotary alignment table, and a tablet stirring blade 16 f is formed on the upper surface thereof, and the flange portion 1 having an outer diameter close to the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 16 e.
A large number of notches 16j are formed in the 6i at predetermined intervals, an upper rotary shaft 16t is formed in the center, and the lower end of the upper rotary shaft 16t is located above the lower end of the flange 16i. 1
6f can be inserted into the central hole 16s, and the central hole 1
With the lower rotary shaft having the overhanging portion 16u having a diameter larger than 6s, the rotary aligning table 16g is placed on the bottom plate 16q, and the overhanging portion 16u
The u is inserted into the central hole 16s from below, and the upper rotary shaft 16t is fixed to the upper end of the central hole 16s.
6g is rotatably attached to the bottom plate 16q. The lower rotary shaft 16f is composed of, for example, a spline shaft that is detachably connected to a drive shaft of a motor (not shown).

On the other hand, a plurality of slits 16k are formed on the lower side surface of the housing 16a, and a partition 16m having a tongue piece 16l which can be inserted into the slit 16k at one end is a screw hole 16n and a set screw. It is attached so as to be movable up and down by a fastener made of 16o. Reference numeral 16p is a tablet discharge port, which is openable at one end of the bottom plate 16q and has an assembling structure so that it can be replaced and replaced. 1
6r is a carrying handle.

In the tablet container 16 described above, the size of the rotary alignment table 16g, the flange portion 16i and the cutout portion 1 are adjusted so as to match the size and shape of the tablet to be loaded in advance.
The size and shape of 6j are determined, and a suitable slit 16k is selected and fixed according to the tablet width of the partition 16m, so that the tongue piece 16l that protrudes inward from the slit 16k and the rotary alignment table 16g and flange 16
The space surrounded by the notch 16j provided in i and the bottom plate 16q forms a holding space for one tablet, and the tablet discharge port 16
will be transported to p. The tablets input from the hopper portion 16c sequentially fall into the cylindrical portion 16e.

The tablet dropped on the cylindrical portion 16e is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 10 and is sequentially dropped on the intermediate portion between the rotary alignment table 16g and the cylindrical portion 16e shown in FIG.
It is arranged in a notch 16j provided at a predetermined interval with respect to and is transported to the tablet discharge port 16p. Tablet outlet 16
Since the tongue piece 16l protruding from the partition 16m is located above p, only the tablet with one hole having the tongue piece 16l as the tablet width reaches the upper part of the tablet discharge port 16p, and the other tablets. Prevent tablets from falling at the same time.

If the lower rotary shaft 16f is further driven to rotate, the tablets stored in the notch 16j in the next stage are dropped, so that a desired arbitrary number of tablets are continuously dropped one by one.

11 to 13 show an example of the construction of the slide cabinet 1. In the figure, 1a is a tablet container including a plurality of tablet containers 1b, and 1c is each tablet container 1
It is a packaging unit for packaging the tablets discharged from b through the hopper 1d.

The tablet accommodating portion 1a is composed of two drawers 1f which can be pulled out forward along rails (not shown).
Is equipped with. Each drawer has a plurality of tablet storage units 1b.
A plurality of shelves 1g for mounting the above is provided in two rows on the left and right, and a guide path 1h for dropping tablets discharged from all the tablet containers 1b of the drawer 1f is provided in the middle thereof.

The tablet container 1b is provided with several kinds of heights so that an appropriate capacity can be selected according to the size and usage amount of the tablets to be housed, and the height of each shelf 1g is mounted on it. The height can be arbitrarily adjusted to fit the height of the tablet container 1b. 1i is a chute that guides the tablets falling through the guide paths 1h of both drawers 1f to the hopper 1d.

In the cabinet 1 described above, when the required tablet container 1b is operated, tablets are discharged from the tablet container 1b and introduced into the packaging section 1c via the guide path 1h, chute 1k and hopper 1d, It is packaged in each hole of the blister pack as described above.

14 and 15 show the above scraper.
The other structural example of the unit 24d is shown. In the figure, 6
Reference numeral 1 denotes a chute that collects the tablets discharged from the tablet container 1b in one place, and a discharge portion 62 is provided at the lower end of the chute 61.
The discharge portion 62 is provided with a receiving plate 63 that can receive tablets dropped to the lower end of the chute 61, and a receiving plate 63 that moves along the receiving plate from a retracted position shown by a solid line to an advanced position shown by a chain line. The extrusion member 64 for extruding the tablet, and the lid plate 65 that swings between the closed position shown by the solid line and the open position shown by the chain line in conjunction with the movement of the extrusion member 64.
The reciprocating movement of 4 and the swinging of the cover plate 65 are performed by an appropriate driving member (not shown).

66a to 66d are hoppers arranged corresponding to the respective compartments, 67 is a transfer section provided below the discharge section 62 and above the hopper, and the transfer sections 67 are the same number as the compartments. The four accommodation chambers 68a to 68d are provided, and the accommodation chambers 68a to 68d are driven by appropriate driving members (not shown).
The d can be moved to the receiving position corresponding to the discharging section 62, and can be moved to the transfer section 67 corresponding to each compartment. The receiving chambers 68a to 68d are configured to receive tablets 69a to 69d capable of receiving tablets discharged from the discharge section 62, and to move from the retracted position shown by solid lines to the advanced position shown by chain lines along the receiving plates. Extruding members 70a to 7 for extruding the upper tablet
0d and the lid plates 71a to 71 which swing between the closed position shown by the solid line and the open position shown by the chain line in conjunction with the movement of each pushing member.
d, and the reciprocating movement of the pushing members 70a to 70d and the swinging of the cover plates 71a to 71d are temporarily performed by an appropriate driving member (not shown).

In the scraper unit described above, with the storage chamber 68a of the transfer section 67 positioned right below the discharge section 62, for example, the tablets to be taken in the "morning" four times a day are shot 61. From the discharge chamber 62 to the storage chamber 68a, and then the transfer unit 67 is moved to move the storage chamber 6a.
With the 8b positioned directly below the discharge part 62, the tablets to be taken during "daytime" are collected from the chute 61 to the discharge part 62 and stored in the storage chamber 68b, and then the transfer part 67 is moved and stored. With the chamber 68c positioned right below the discharge section 62,
The tablet to be taken in the "evening" is discharged from the chute 61 to the discharge part 62
In the state where the transfer section 67 is moved and the storage chamber 68d is positioned right below the discharge section 62, the tablets to be taken in “sleep” are discharged from the chute 61 from the chute 61. It collects in 62 and accommodates in the accommodation chamber 68d.

After this, the transfer section 67 is moved to a position where the storage chambers 68a to 68d correspond to the hoppers 66a to 66d, respectively, and the pushing members 70a to 70d and the cover plates 71a to 71d are operated. Then, the tablets in each accommodation chamber are temporarily put into each compartment via each hopper.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention, an automatic tablet packaging apparatus applicable to a blister pack can be realized, and the blister pack has a predetermined number of holes corresponding to the number of doses per day. As a result, not only can you easily distinguish the hall rows for one day and prevent mistakes in taking the medicine, but it is also partially open compared to the conventional packing paper method that seals and packages the tablets at the same time. Since the blister pack that is used is used, it is easy to correct the wrong medicine at the time of audit. Moreover, when the chemicals to be dispensed are insufficient, they can be replenished and removed in the case of excess, at the time of audit, so there is no need to provide special means for chemicals not stored in the cabinet. . Further, if the conventional packaging material of soft material is used, a medicine bag for transportation is required, but since the blister pack of hard material is used in the present invention, it can be transported without a medicine bag.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a slide cabinet.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a control system of the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a stocker unit and a tray supply unit.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a packaging unit.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a scraper unit.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the scraper unit of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a tablet container.

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a top view of FIG. 8 with a lid removed.

FIG. 11 is a front view showing a configuration example of a slide cabinet.

FIG. 12 is a side view of FIG. 1 with a part cut away.

13 is a plan view of that of FIG. 11. FIG.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing a configuration example of a packaging unit.

15 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the one shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a blister pack.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 slide cabinet 2 blister pack / stocker 3 operation panel 4 packaging unit 5 tray discharge unit 16 tablet container

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of tablet containers for supplying tablets according to a prescription order for dispensing, a hopper for collecting the supplied tablets, a stocker storing a plurality of blister packs, and a blister from the stocker. A supply means for sequentially supplying the pack to the transport device, a dividing means having a plurality of compartments for dividing the tablets into the compartments, a discharging means for temporarily discharging the blister pack from the compartments, and the tablets An automatic tablet packing apparatus comprising: a packaging means for inspecting and sealing a blister pack that has been stored, and a carrying means for carrying the blister pack by the carrying device. 2. The automatic tablet packing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blister pack has four holes arranged in a row and seven holes arranged in a row.