WO2021245961A1

WO2021245961A1 - Ptp cassette, ptp discharge device and drug storage device

Info

Publication number: WO2021245961A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/045525
Authority: WO
Inventors: 義人大村
Original assignee: 株式会社トーショー
Priority date: 2020-06-02
Filing date: 2020-12-07
Publication date: 2021-12-09
Also published as: TW202145989A; JP2021186356A

Abstract

The present invention improves a PTP cassette such that a width expansion/contraction mechanism is not obstructing or interfering when storing and arranging PTP packaging materials etc. in a drug storage space.　The present invention comprises: an arrangement storage section 50 provided with a front panel, a left-side panel 51, and a right-side panel 61, in order to form a drug storage space capable of holding PTP packaging materials 5 etc., which are PTP packaging materials or equivalent sheet-shaped packaging materials for storing drugs in segments in a sheet, each of the PTP packaging materials 5 being laid down and stacked vertically so as to be arranged and stored; a sequential discharge mechanism 40 that defines the bottom surface of the drug storage space, forward feeds the lowermost of the PTP packaging materials 5, etc., and discharges the same from a discharge port located below the front panel; a width expansion/contraction mechanism 70 that can expand and contract the gap between the left-side panel 51 and the right-side panel 61; a front panel raising/lowering mechanism that raises and lowers the front panel; and a width following mechanism 70 that positions the front panel raising/lowering mechanism in the middle of the left-side panel 51 and the right side panel 61.

Description

PTP cassette, PTP payout device and chemical storage device

The present invention relates to a PTP cassette in which a PTP packaging agent in which some agents are separately stored in one sheet or a PTP packaging agent which is an equivalent sheet-shaped packaging agent is arranged and stored in order and discharged in sequence.
A typical example of a sheet-shaped packaging agent equivalent to a PTP packaging agent is a blister packaging agent.

The PTP packaging agent or the like has a flat surface on one side, but pockets (protrusions for compartmentalizing and storing) containing the drug are formed vertically and horizontally on the other side.
PTP cassettes that contain a large number of such PTP packaging agents and sequentially discharge them are not uncommon to be used alone, but in most cases, they are arranged in multiple rows on the shelves of PTP dispensing devices, which are a type of chemical storage device. It is often installed side by side in multiple stages (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, PTP cassettes are those in which individual PTP packaging agents, etc. are placed in a vertical position, held side by side, and vibrated in small steps to advance them in order and discharge them in sequence. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).
Further, some PTP cassettes are such that individual PTP packaging agents and the like are placed in a horizontal posture, stacked up and down to hold a large number of them, and then laterally fed in the longitudinal direction in order from the bottom to be sequentially discharged (. For example, see Patent Documents 2 and 3).

Each PTP cassette is provided with a box-shaped aligned storage unit (upper unit) that defines a drug storage space and a sequential discharge mechanism (lower unit) provided below the box-shaped aligned storage unit (lower unit). Since it is intended for types, the aligned storage unit holds PTP packaging agents, etc. in a state where they are laid down, placed on the inner bottom member of the drug storage space, stacked vertically, and stored in an aligned state. The sequential discharge mechanism is adapted to laterally feed the PTP packaging agent and the like held in the aligned storage unit in order from the bottom and discharge them forward (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3).

The alignment storage section is similar in configuration to all cassettes, and the drug storage space above the inner bottom is surrounded by the front plate and both side plates to maintain the alignment state, but to replenish the PTP packaging agent, etc. The top surface is open. In addition, the rear back surface is released to facilitate the replenishment work, and the inner bottom member of the drug storage space is tilted slightly forward to stabilize the alignment state. Furthermore, for lateral feed discharge, the front end of the inner bottom of the front plate is cut out to form a discharge port, and a discharge sensor (passing sensor) is placed below the discharge port to confirm discharge. ing. The front plate is equipped with an adjustment member located above the discharge port to adjust the opening of the discharge port, and a whiskers-shaped flexible fastener or a simple plate-like body is used for the adjustment member. (See, for example, Patent Document 2).

The sequential discharge mechanism is long in the front-rear direction according to the aligned storage unit, and acts on the lowest PTP packaging material, etc. held in the aligned storage unit. It is common to all cassettes that it is equipped with a movable member (forward feed member) and a drive mechanism that moves the member to laterally feed the bottom PTP packaging agent and the like to discharge it forward from the discharge port. However, there are several types of movable members, which are used properly according to the characteristics of the PTP packaging agent, for example, hardness and curl. Claw-shaped hooking members (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3), protrusion-shaped extrusion members, and the like are movable members that are moved by the cyclic movement of endless belts stretched back and forth, but of endless belts. An example of an unnecessary movable member is a friction type rotary wheel.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-019928 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-135994 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-150309

Furthermore, since there are various sizes of PTP packaging agents, it is difficult to use a dedicated PTP cassette without omission for PTP packaging agents, etc., which are used infrequently, and PTP packaging agents, etc., which are later used. A PTP cassette whose width and the like can be adjusted to be compatible with PTP packaging agents having different widths and lengths has also been developed and put into practical use (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Recognizing the convenience of PTP cassettes that can expand and contract the drug storage space (PTP alignment storage space), as the use of PTP cassettes increases, the expansion and contraction adjustment of the drug storage space can be adjusted by the user alone. The demand has increased.

Therefore, there is a demand for a PTP cassette that allows the user to relatively easily perform the width adjustment work to adapt the drug storage space to PTP packaging agents having different widths. Specifically, there is a need to develop a lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism that allows the operator to easily adjust the width of the drug storage space, and a PTP cassette that can maintain a constant gap between the left and right side plates following such operation. Has been done.

The PTP cassette of the present invention was devised to solve the above-mentioned problems.
A drug storage space is formed in which PTP packaging agents in which drugs are separately stored in sheets or PTP packaging agents, which are equivalent sheet-like packaging agents, can be stored horizontally and vertically stacked and aligned. The front plate is such that the aligned storage unit provided with the front plate, the left side plate, and the right side plate and the bottom surface of the drug storage space are demarcated, and the lowest of the PTP packaging agents and the like is forward-forwarded. A sequential discharge mechanism that discharges from the discharge port located below, a horizontal width expansion / contraction mechanism that can expand / contract the gap between the left side plate and the right side plate, a front plate elevating mechanism that raises / lowers the front plate, and a front plate elevating mechanism. Is provided with a width tracking mechanism for locating the left side plate and the right side plate at the center.

In such a PTP cassette of the present invention, a width expansion / contraction mechanism and a width follow-up mechanism are provided, and the gap between both side plates is expanded / contracted by operating the width expansion / contraction mechanism, and the front plate elevating mechanism and thus the front plate are both side plates. By keeping the position in the middle of the above, it is possible for the user alone to easily perform the width adjustment work to adapt the drug storage space to the PTP packaging agent having a different width.

It is a figure which shows an example of the whole structure of the chemicals storage apparatus in this invention. It is a figure which shows the mounting state of a base and a PTP cassette. About Example 1 of this invention, it is a figure which shows an example of the perspective view of the appearance of the base which is the attachment / detachment destination of a PTP cassette. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the state which the base shown in FIG. 3 is arranged in a row on a shelf. It is an external perspective view which shows the state in the process of attaching and detaching a base and a PTP cassette. It is a figure which shows an example of the state in which the alignment storage part is sequentially attached to the discharge mechanism. It is a figure which shows the state which separated the aligned storage part of a PTP cassette and the sequential discharge mechanism up and down. It is a figure which shows the state which widened the width of the medicine storage space by separating the left side plate and the right side plate of a PTP cassette. It is a figure which shows the state which the left side plate and the right side plate of a PTP cassette are brought close to each other, and the width of a drug storage space is reduced. It is a figure which shows the state which separated the aligned storage part in the widened state of a PTP cassette, and the sequential discharge mechanism vertically. It is a figure which shows the state which separated the aligned storage part in the narrowed state of a PTP cassette, and the sequential discharge mechanism vertically. It is a figure which shows the widening state of the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism. It is a figure which shows the contraction state of the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism. It is a vertical sectional front view of the left side plate part of a PTP cassette. It is a developed view of the left side plate part shown in FIG. It is a side view of the left side plate part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the lateral width tracking mechanism in the widened state of the lateral width following mechanism and the front plate elevating mechanism. It is a figure which shows the width following mechanism in a narrowed state. It is a figure which shows the front plate elevating mechanism which raised the front plate of a PTP cassette. The front plate elevating mechanism in which the front plate of the PTP cassette is lowered is shown. It is an external perspective view which concerns on the base and the non-attached PTP cassette. It is a figure which shows an example of another structure of a base and a PTP cassette. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the left side plate part among the PTP cassettes shown in FIG. 22. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the right side plate part among the PTP cassettes shown in FIG. 22. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism in Example 2. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation of the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism in Example 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the width tracking mechanism in Example 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation of the width tracking mechanism in Example 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation of the width tracking mechanism in Example 2. FIG.

The specific embodiment for carrying out such a PTP cassette of the present invention will be described with reference to Example 1 below.

The specific configuration of Example 1 of the PTP cassette of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of a chemical storage device 100 including a PTP dispensing device 20 + 30.
FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the PTP payout device 20 + 30 in which the PTP cassette 30 is mounted on the base 20 and can be operated.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a single base 20. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the base 20 shown in FIG. 3 installed side by side on the row shelf 10.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the PTP cassette is being attached / detached from the base 20 in the PTP payout device 20 + 30 shown in FIG.
Further, FIG. 6 is a left side view of the PTP cassette 30, and FIG. 7 is a left side view of the PTP cassette 30 deployed in the sequentially discharging mechanism 40 and the aligned storage unit 50.

Further, FIG. 8 is a front view of the PTP cassette 30 in which the left side plate portion 51 and the right side plate portion 61 are separated from each other to widen the width of the drug storage space, and FIG. 9 is a front view of the left side plate portion 51 and the right side plate portion 61. It is a front view of the PTP cassette 30 in which the width of the medicine storage space is shortened by approaching. FIG. 10 is a front view showing the aligned storage unit 50 in the widened state and the sequential discharge mechanism 40 separated vertically, and FIG. 11 shows the aligned storage unit 50 in the narrowed state and the sequential discharge mechanism 40 up and down. It is a front view of the place separated into.

Further, FIG. 12 is a plan view of the lateral width expanding / contracting mechanism 70 in the widened state, and FIG. 13 is a plan view of the lateral width expanding / contracting mechanism 70 in the narrowed state.
14 is a vertical sectional front view of the left plate portion 51, FIG. 15 is a developed view of the left plate portion 51 shown in FIG. 14, and FIG. 16 is a side view of the corresponding portion of the left plate portion 51.
17 is a front view of the width-following mechanism 80 in the widened state, FIG. 18 is a front view of the width-following mechanism 80 in the narrowed state, and FIG. 19 is a front view of the front plate raising and lowering with the front plate 31 raised. It is a front view of the mechanism 32, and FIG. 20 is a front view of the front plate elevating mechanism 32 in which the front plate 31 is lowered.

Further, FIG. 21 is an external perspective view of the base 20 and the PTP cassette 30 not attached to the base 20.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the chemical storage device 100 includes a base 20 arranged side by side on a plurality of row shelves 10 divided into shelves, and a PTP cassette 30 attached to the base 20. ,have. A plurality of PTP packaging agents 5 are placed on the PTP cassette 30.
As shown in FIG. 2, the base 20 and the PTP cassette 30 are integrally combined with the base 20 and operate as a PTP payout device 20 + 30 for paying out the PTP packaging agent 5. Here, a state in which the base 20 and the PTP cassette 30 are combined and operate integrally is described as the PTP payout device 20 + 30.
The chemical storage device 100 also has a transport unit 101 provided below the row shelf 10 and transports the PTP packaging material 5 paid out by the PTP payout device 20 + 30 to the take-out port 103, and a controller which is a control terminal. 102 and.

The PTP payout device 20 + 30 is a combination of the fixed base 20 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and the removable PTP cassette 30 shown in FIG. 5, of which the base 20 receives power and receives power as shown in FIG. Normally, it is fixed to the upper surface 12 of the row shelf 10 for signal transmission / reception.
On the other hand, the PTP cassette 30 (see FIGS. 1 to 4) is detached from the base 20 as shown in FIG. 5 when the PTP packaging agent 5 is replenished, but contains the PTP packaging agent 5. When it is present, it is mounted on the base 20 in preparation for drug discharge as shown in FIG. 2, and is driven by the base 20 when the drug is discharged.

It is rare that the PTP dispensing device 20 + 30 is provided independently, and in most cases, a large number of PTP dispensing devices 20 + 30 are installed in the chemical storage section of the automatic dispensing device. That is, in the chemical storage device 100 as shown in FIG. 1, the PTP cassette 30 and the base 20 to which the PTP cassette 30 is mounted (see FIG. 3) are spaced from each other on the upper surface 12 of the row shelf 10 at an appropriate pitch. (See Fig. 4).
Since the PTP cassette 30 is often used in a state of being slightly lowered forward, the rear end 11 is thick in FIG. 4 in order to clearly indicate that the upper surface 12 of the row shelf 10 on which the base 20 is mounted is slightly inclined. A row shelf 10 having a thin front end 13 is shown. However, this configuration is not essential, and the row shelves 10 may be flat plates or plate-shaped bodies having appropriate uneven portions.

In the PTP cassette 30, in order to discharge the aligned PTP packaging agents 5 in order (see FIGS. 1 to 2), each of the PTP packaging agents 5 is laid horizontally and vertically stacked and stored in an aligned manner. It is provided with an aligned storage unit 50 suitable for holding in (see FIGS. 6 to 7) and a sequential discharge mechanism 40 for advancing the lowest one of the PTP packaging agents 5 one by one. , The discharge mechanism 40 is sequentially mounted on the aligned storage unit 50.
The sequential discharge mechanism 40 mounts the PTP cassette 30 on the base 20 as shown in FIG. 2, and removes the PTP cassette 30 from the base 20 as shown in FIG. 5 from the rear of the base 20. It can be easily done by moving it back and forth. Further, as will be described later, the aligned storage unit 50 can easily expand or contract the width of the drug storage space between the

plate portions

51 and 61 on both sides and adjust the height of the discharge port 34.

The structure of each part will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 3, the base 20 is composed of a bottom plate 21 attached to the upper surface 12 of the row shelf 10 and mounting members 22 to 28 provided on the bottom plate 21. The base 20 includes a pair of left and right side frames 22 that are long in the front-rear direction, a pair of left and right side plates 23 that are erected on the outside behind the side frame 22, a motor 25 for power provided inside the rear, and the motor. The external tooth gear 24 for extending the rotary output shaft, which is fitted so as to be movable back and forth with respect to the rear end portion of the rotary output shaft protruding rearward from 25, and the rear end portion / tip of the rotary output shaft of the external tooth gear 24. It consists of a coil spring that urges the portion and a strike portion (held portion) of the push latch device. It has a joint portion 26 and a passage sensor 27 provided near the front end to detect the upward passage of the PTP packaging agent 5.

The base 20 also includes a base front engaging portion 28 erected near the front end in front of the base rear engaging portion 26. The base front engaging portion 28 has a through hole formed at the upper end portion and exiting in the front-rear direction of the base 20. This through hole allows the operation portion 72, which is the front end portion of the rod-shaped operation member 71 of the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism 70, which will be described later, to be inserted from the rear.
Since the upper end portion of the base front engaging portion 28 is an outer fitting portion with respect to the operating portion 72, the base front engaging portion 28 is a front end portion of the rod-shaped operating member 71 of the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism 70 described later. It also causes the operation unit 72 to function as the front engaging portion of the discharge mechanism. In addition, each of these parts is collectively referred to as mounting members 22 to 28.

As shown in FIGS. The endless belt 44, the gear-shaped forward feed member 42 projecting from the outer peripheral portion of the endless belt 44, and the base 20 which is built in the rear part of the frame 41 when the PTP cassette 30 is attached to and detached from the base 20. The frame 41 is composed of an internal gear 45 (rotation driven shaft) that can be engaged and disengaged from the rear with respect to the external gear 24 at the rear end of the rotary output shaft, and an arm hook portion (grip portion) of the push latch device. It is equipped with a discharge mechanism rear engaging portion 46 which is built in the rear portion and has an action direction and a gripping direction facing forward so as to be engaged and disengaged from the rear with respect to the base rear engaging portion 26 of the base 20.

The discharge mechanism rear engaging portion 46 and the above-mentioned base rear engaging portion 26 form a pair or pair to form a push latch device often used for locking an opening / closing door of a cupboard or the like. When the discharge mechanism rear engaging portion 46 and the base rear engaging portion 26 engage with each other, the PTP cassette 30 and the base 20 are pressed from the front and back from the separated state shown in FIG. 5 and further pushed. As shown in 2, it becomes a connected state, and immediately after the push is released, it returns only a little by the spring force, but the connected state is maintained even after that. Further, when the PTP cassette 30 is pushed backward again from the connected state, the engagement between the discharge mechanism rear engaging portion 46 and the base rear engaging portion 26 is disengaged and the connection is released.

Further, as shown in FIGS. A horizontal width expansion / contraction mechanism 70 for expanding / contracting the horizontal width of the drug storage space of the aligned storage unit 50 is provided inside the frame body 41.
The lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism 70 will be described in detail later. On the upper surface of the frame 41 of the sequential discharge mechanism 40, the left side plate 51 that defines the left side surface and the right side plate that defines the right side surface to delineate the left and right sides of the drug storage space of the aligned storage unit 50. A section 61 is erected. Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the frame body 41 accommodates the horizontally

long racks

53 and 63 protruding downward from the left bottom plate portion 52 of the left side plate portion 51 and the right bottom plate portion 62 of the right side plate portion 61. A plurality of cutouts 41e for restricting forward / backward movement are formed on the upper surface of the frame body 41, and by engaging the cutouts 41e with the racks 53 and 63 (protruding engaging parts), the aligned storage part 50 is sequentially discharged. In the state of being attached to, both the left side plate portion 51 and the right side plate portion 61 are allowed to move left and right, but cannot move back and forth. That is, both the left plate portion 51 and the right plate portion 61 are allowed to move only in the expansion / contraction direction of the gap.
As described above, the protruding engaging portion such as the

racks

53 and 63 and the groove-shaped cutout 41e function as face-to-face maintenance means in the first embodiment by engaging with each other.

As described above, the alignment storage unit 50 has a left plate portion 51 with a left bottom plate portion 52 and a right plate with a right bottom plate portion 62 in order to define a drug storage space capable of aligning and storing a large number of PTP packaging agents 5. It is provided with a portion 61. The alignment storage unit 50 further includes a front plate 31, a front plate elevating mechanism 32, and an operation unit 33, as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20. The front plate elevating mechanism 32 is attached to the lateral center maintaining member 81 of the lateral width following mechanism 80, which will be described in detail later, and when the operation unit 33 is manually rotated, the front plate 31 is elevated and lowered accordingly. It is designed to let you. As for the elevating position of the front plate 31, only one PTP packaging agent 5 can pass through the discharge port 34 directly below the front plate 31, but the upper PTP packaging agent 5 hits the discharge port 34. It is adjusted so that it does not touch and move forward.

As shown in FIG. 7, the left plate portion 51 is a rack 53 (protruding engaging portion) that locally protrudes further downward from the left bottom plate portion 52, which is the end of contact with the upper surface of the sequential discharge mechanism 40. The right side plate portion 61 also has a rack 63 (protruding engagement portion) that locally protrudes further downward from the right bottom plate portion 62, which is the end of contact with the upper surface of the sequentially discharging mechanism 40. Is provided in the front and back. The rack 53 and the rack 63 can be said to be a part of the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism 70 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, respectively, which will be described in detail later.

Further, the left side plate portion 51 includes a support shaft frame 58 that pivotally supports the left end portion of the width tracking mechanism 80, which will be described in detail later. The portion of the left plate portion 51 including the equipment portion of the support shaft frame 58 (most of the left plate portion 51 excluding the upper end portion in FIGS. 8 to 11) is the outer plate body 51a as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. It is a double-layered portion in which two plates such as the inner plate 51b are combined from the left and right, and the upper end portion (convex portion 58a forming portion) of the support shaft frame 58 is formed in the upper cutout 56 formed in the upper portion of the outer plate 51a. ), And the contact surfaces of the two

plates

51a and 51b are passed through the sliding portion 58b in the gap of the support shaft frame 58 through the lower cutout 55 formed in the middle portion of the inner plate 51b. By pasting them together, the support shaft frame 58 is held in a state where it can be moved back and forth.

As shown in FIG. 15, the sliding portion 58b in the gap at the lower end of the support shaft frame 58 fits in the gap connected downward via the lower cutout 55, that is, in the gap between the outer plate body 51a and the inner plate body 51b and is lightly sandwiched. Since it is held by the left side plate portion 51 in this state, the lower end portion of the support shaft frame 58 does not shift in position due to pressing during feeding of the PTP packaging agent 5. However, as shown in FIG. 16, since the lower cutout 55 formed in the inner portion of the double-layered portion is long in the front-rear direction, it can easily slide back and forth by explicitly operating it with a fingertip or the like. As described above, in this embodiment, the left and right side plates are formed with a double-layered portion, and a long cutout is formed in the double-layered portion so that the left and right support shaft frames can slide back and forth by using the cutout. According to such a configuration, the lateral width following mechanism 80 held on the side plate via both support shaft frames is normally fixed in position by a holding force such as a frictional force of a double-layered portion, but is superior to a holding force due to such friction. If a force is applied to the width-following mechanism 80, the width-following mechanism 80 easily moves together with the support shaft frame 58. With such a configuration, the position of the support shaft frame can be changed quickly and easily.

Further, as shown in FIG. 16, a convex portion 58a is formed at the upper end portion of the support shaft frame 58, and the convex portion 58a fits into the punched hole 57 of the left side plate portion 51. Since the portion of the upper end of the support shaft frame 58 that fits in the upper cutout 56 is thin and easy to bend, the convex portion 58a that normally remains in the punched hole 57 can explicitly operate the support shaft frame 58 with a fingertip or the like. For example, it can easily escape from the punched hole 57 and slide with respect to the surface around the punched hole 57. A large number of such punched holes 57 are formed in the front and rear along the upper cutout 56 which is long in the front and rear, and a large load is applied by the punched holes 57 to the sliding of the support shaft frame of the support shaft frame 58. It has become. Due to this load, the convex portion 58a is gently held in the punched hole 57. In this way, by forming a plurality of punched holes 57 as sliding restraining portions for applying a load to the sliding of the support shaft frame 58 in the left side plate portion 51 along the upper cutout 56, the left support shaft frame 58 is stopped. It will be easy and accurate to match the positions in the front-back direction. The same applies to the right side plate portion 61.

Since the right side plate portion 61 is a left-right inverted version of the left side plate portion 51 described above, a detailed explanation of repetition is omitted, and a portion useful for explaining the width expansion / contraction mechanism 70 and the width tracking mechanism 80 will be described. As shown in FIG. 8 and the like, the right side plate portion 61 includes a support shaft frame 68 that pivotally supports the right end portion of the width tracking mechanism 80, and the portion including the equipment portion thereof is a double-layered portion 64, etc. As a result, the support shaft frame 68 can be easily moved back and forth by hand. Further, the right side plate portion 61 also includes a right bottom plate portion 62 which is an abutting end to the upper surface of the sequential discharge mechanism 40, and the above-mentioned right bottom plate portion 62 which locally protrudes further downward from the right bottom plate portion 62.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism 70 includes a rod-shaped operation member 71 that is long in the front-rear direction, and an operation unit 72 that is equipped at the front end thereof and is suitable for being picked up by a fingertip or the like and manually rotating the shaft. , Two worms 73 equipped at the front part and the rear part of the rod-shaped operation member 71, and two worm gears (cum-pinion) 74 at the front and rear provided one crossing each worm 73. It is equipped. As already described in FIGS. 8 to 11, the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism 70 is sequentially incorporated in the discharge mechanism 40, and as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the

racks

53 and 63 are front and rear with respect to the pinion (cum-worm gear) 74. When the rod-shaped operation member 71 is rotated by operating the operation unit 72, the operation direction is changed by the worm 73, the pinion / worm gear 74, and the

racks

53 and 63, and the rack 53 and the rack 63 are engaged with each other. And move linearly in the opposite direction. Due to the linear movement between the rack 53 and the rack 63, the gap between the left side plate portion 51 and the right side plate portion 61 on the sequentially discharging mechanism 40, and thus the width of the drug storage space is widened as shown in FIGS. 9. It is designed to narrow as shown in FIG. As described above, the width of the drug storage space can be freely changed between the widened state of FIGS. 8 and 10 and the narrowed state of FIGS. 9 and 11 by the width expansion / contraction mechanism 70. In this way, since the moving member when adjusting the width of the drug storage space can be operated collectively not only on one side plate but also on a plurality of side plates, an increase in work load can be avoided and the drug storage space can be expanded or contracted. However, since the central position of the drug storage space with respect to the sequential discharge mechanism does not change, there is a further effect that the forward-forwarding state of the lowest PTP packaging agent or the like by the sequential discharge mechanism becomes easy to stabilize.

As shown in FIG. 17, the lateral width following mechanism 80 always positions the front plate 31 at the center of both

side plate portions

51 and 61 even if the lateral separation distance between the left side plate portion 51 and the right side plate portion 61 changes. Is.
The lateral width following mechanism 80 includes an upper left parallel link 82 spanned between the left side portion of the lateral center maintenance member 81 and the support shaft frame 58 of the left side plate portion 51, and the right side portion and the right side plate portion 61 of the lateral center maintenance member 81. The upper right parallel link 83 hung on the support shaft frame 68, the hanging rod 87 extending downward from the bottom of the lateral center maintenance member 81, and the horizontal lower link freely attached to the hanging rod 87 so as to move up and down. The 86, the lower left link 84 spanned between the left end of the lower link 86 and the lower portion of the support shaft frame 58, and the right end portion of the lower link 86 and the lower portion of the support shaft frame 68. It includes a lower right link 85 and a coil spring 88 which is an elastic member that is externally compressed with respect to a portion of the hanging rod 87 below the lower link 86.

By maintaining the parallel state of the lateral center maintaining member 81 and the support shaft frame 58 at the upper left parallel link 82, and maintaining the parallel state of the lateral center maintaining member 81 and the support shaft frame 68 at the upper right parallel link 83. , The parallel state of the support shaft frame 58 and the support shaft frame 68, and thus the parallel state of the left side plate portion 51 and the right side plate portion 61 is maintained. Further, the upper left parallel link 82 and the upper right parallel link 83 cause the hanging rod 87 to maintain a vertical state at the center of the left side plate portion 51 and the right side plate portion 61. Moreover, by incorporating the coil spring 88 in a compressed state below the lower link 86, the lower link 86 is constantly pushed up by the repulsive force of the coil spring 88, and the lower left link 84 and the lower right link 85 connected to the lower link 86 are combined. Since a force is applied to the left and right support shaft frames 58 and 68 in a direction to widen the separation distance, an urging force for extending the lateral width following mechanism 80 and the aligned storage portion 50 to the left and right acts. Due to this urging force, the width of the width following mechanism 80 and the alignment storage unit 50 is regulated and regulated by the lower width expansion / contraction mechanism 70, so that the upper and lower sides are kept the same or slightly opened. .. In this way, in addition to moving the installation destination of the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism to the aligned storage unit and eventually to the sequential discharge mechanism below the side plate and the width tracking mechanism, the side plates are the elastic member of the width tracking mechanism 80, the coil spring 88. By urging the plates in a direction that separates them to the left and right by the elastic force, the factors for maintaining the upward spread state of both side plates are reduced to the minimum of two, the lower sequential discharge mechanism 40 and the upper width tracking mechanism 80. Therefore, the spread state of both side plates is stably maintained.
Further, the parallelism between the width-following mechanism 80 and the left side plate portion 51 is enhanced by the upper left parallel link 82 intervening in them, and the parallelism between the width-following mechanism 80 and the right side plate portion 61 intervenes in them. Each is enhanced by 83. Therefore, even when the elastic repulsive force of the coil spring 88 of the lateral width following mechanism 80 fluctuates, the upward spreading state of both side plates is maintained in a substantially constant state close to perfect parallelism.

The usage mode and operation of the chemical storage device 100 provided with the PTP cassette 30 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 4, prior to the use of the PTP cassette 30, a required number of bases 20 to be attached / detached are arranged in rows on the upper surface 12 of the row shelves 10. At the time of attachment to the row shelf 10, the feeder line is already connected to the motor 25 and the signal line is connected to the passage sensor 27 so that the operation can be controlled by the controller 102 or the like.
First, the PTP cassette 30 alone adjusts the width of the drug storage space to be compatible with the PTP packaging agent 5 to be handled, and also adjusts the front-rear length of the drug storage space to be compatible with the PTP packaging agent 5 to be handled. back. Further, the height of the discharge port 34 is also adapted to the PTP packaging agent 5.

Specifically, the width of the drug storage space is adjusted so that the distance between the lower ends of the left side plate 51 and the right side plate 61 is slightly wider than the measured value after measuring the width of the PTP packaging agent 5. By operating the operation unit 72 of the width expansion / contraction mechanism 70 as shown in FIGS. 8 to 13, the width of the specific PTP packaging agent 5 can be adapted. Further, after putting one or a small number of PTP packaging agents 5 into the drug storage space, the operation unit 72 of the width expansion / contraction mechanism 70 is operated so that the PTP packaging agent 5 keeps a slight gap and fits in the bottom of the drug storage space. By doing so, it can be easily and quickly and accurately adapted.
At that time, the distance between the lower ends of the left side plate 51 and the right side plate 61 and the width of the bottom of the medicine storage space are determined by the elastic repulsion of the coil spring 88, so that the width of the medicine storage space moves up and down. This is in consideration of the fact that the opening is constant or slightly upward.

To adjust the front-rear length of the drug storage space, use your fingertips to adjust the front-rear length of the lateral center maintenance member 81 of the width-following mechanism 80 and the front plate elevating mechanism 32 held in the middle by the left and right support shaft frames 58 and 68 shown in FIG. It can be easily performed by a simple manual operation such as picking and moving it back and forth. Moreover, at that time, unless the lateral center maintaining member 81 or the like is forcibly tilted, the convex portion 58a at the upper end of the support shaft frame 58 naturally fits into any of the appropriate punched holes 57 of the left side plate portion 51. Of the plurality of punched holes 67 at the upper end of the right side plate portion 61, the convex portion 68a at the upper end of the support shaft frame 68 fits into the punched hole 67 at a position facing the punched hole 57, so that the lateral center maintaining member 81 As a result, the front plate 31 maintains an appropriate posture.

The height of the discharge port 34 at the lower end of the front surface of the drug storage space can be easily adjusted by pinching and rotating the operation unit 33 with a fingertip as shown in FIGS. 18 to 20.
After adjusting the width and front-back length of the drug storage space to the height of the discharge port 34 in this way, the PTP packaging agent 5 is loaded into the drug storage space from the rear of the PTP cassette 30 (see FIG. 21). Although only one PTP packaging agent 5 is shown in order to clearly indicate the position of the forward feed member 42, a large number of PTP packaging agents 5 are usually stacked). Since there is no lateral expansion / contraction mechanism 70 or other mechanism behind or above the front plate 31 that defines the front surface of the drug storage space, the PTP packaging agent 5 can be loaded not only from the rear but also from above. By not providing the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism 70 or other mechanism behind or above the front plate 31 in this way, the loading work can be performed easily and quickly.

The user gently holds the PTP cassette 30 containing the PTP packaging agent 5 in his / her hand and carries it to the area diagonally above the rear of the base 20 to be mounted (see FIG. 5), and the front part of the sequential discharge mechanism 40 of the PTP cassette 30. Is lowered toward the rear portion of the base 20, the front portion of the lower end sliding portion 41a of the discharge mechanism 40 is inserted into the rear gap 23a of the base 20 (see FIG. 5), and the lower end sliding portion 41a is further lowered toward the base 20. It is brought into contact with the upper surface 22a of the above.
Then, when the PTP cassette 30 is advanced until the rear contact portion 41b of the ejection mechanism 40 abuts on the rear end of the side frame 22 of the base 20 while maintaining the contact state, the advance of the PTP cassette 30 is prevented. Therefore, let go of the PTP cassette 30.

Then, immediately before that, the discharge mechanism rear engaging portion 46 of the discharge mechanism 40 and the base rear engaging portion 26 of the base 20 are in the initial engagement state of the push latch device, so that the PTP cassette 30 is released. And the PTP cassette 30 is slightly retracted and then stopped to be mounted on the base 20, and the discharge mechanism rear engaging portion 46 and the base rear engaging portion 26 of the base 20 are in an engaged continuous state (Fig.). 2). In the mounted state in which the PTP cassette 30 is mounted on the base 20, the rear step portion 41c and the front step portion 41d of the frame body 41 of the sequential discharge mechanism 40 shown in FIG. 5 are accompanied by the above operation. It is inserted into the rear gap 23a and the front gap 22b. Therefore, the PTP cassette 30 is allowed to move forward from the base 20 by a slight retreat distance immediately after the above-mentioned release of the hand, but is prevented from moving in the other direction.

Further, since the external tooth gear 24 (rotational output shaft) of the base 20 and the internal tooth gear 45 (rotational driven shaft) of the sequential discharge mechanism 40 mesh with each other, if the motor 25 is operated, the external tooth gear 24 and the internal tooth gear are engaged. The forward feed member 42 sequentially advances on the upper surface of the discharge mechanism 40 via the 45, the

rotary wheels

43, 43, and the endless belt 44.
Further, since the operation portion 72 of the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism 70 of the PTP cassette 30 is loosely fitted in the through hole at the upper end portion of the base front engaging portion 28 of the base 20, erroneous operation of the operation portion 72 is prevented.

In this way, the preparation for automatically discharging the PTP packaging agent 5 from the PTP dispensing device 20 + 30 is prepared. After that, since it is the same as the conventional one, it will be briefly described. The rear end is pushed by the rear end, and the lowermost PTP packaging agent 5 advances and is further forwardly discharged from the discharge port 34, and the discharge is detected by the passage sensor 27 and notified to the controller 102. Further, since the PTP packaging agent 5 above it is blocked from advancing by the front plate 31, the PTP packaging agent 5 is discharged one by one, and each time the laminated body of the PTP packaging agent 5 is sequentially fed by one sheet. Go down. Since the width of the drug storage space is constant or slightly narrowed, the laminate of the PTP packaging agent 5 is moved toward the center of the drug storage space as it is lowered.

Then, when the drug storage space of the PTP cassette 30 becomes empty or the remaining amount is low and the PTP packaging agent should be replenished, the rear end portion of the PTP cassette 30 or the like is pushed by a hand or the like to sequentially hit the rear of the discharge mechanism 40. The PTP cassette 30 is advanced to a position where the contact portion 41b abuts on or near the rear end of the side frame 22 of the base 20. Then, the push latch device including the discharge mechanism rear engaging portion 46 and the base rear engaging portion 26 performs a latch disengagement operation, and the PTP cassette 30 is slightly pushed backward and PTP is accompanied by the disengagement. The cassette 30 can be freely moved in the front-rear direction. Then, when the PTP cassette 30 is moved backward while being held by hand, the PTP cassette 30 is smoothly separated from the base 20.
Therefore, the PTP cassette 30 can be easily and quickly attached to and detached from the base 20.

Further, as the second embodiment of the present invention, another embodiment of the PTP cassette 30 provided in the chemical storage device 100 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 22, in the PTP cassette 30 shown as the second embodiment, the PTP packaging agents and the like are laid sideways in order to discharge the PTP packaging agents and the like aligned in the same order as in the first embodiment. It is equipped with an aligned storage unit 50 suitable for holding in a state of being vertically stacked and aligned and stored, and a sequential discharge mechanism 40 for advancing the lowest one of the PTP packaging agents and the like one by one. Is.
The configurations of the sequential discharge mechanism 40, the base 20, and the like may be substantially the same as or different from those of the first embodiment, and the parts where the explanations overlap are appropriately omitted.

As shown in FIG. 22, the alignment storage unit 50 is mounted on the sequential discharge mechanism 40 of the PTP cassette 30 to demarcate the PTP alignment storage space, and is above the vicinity of the left end of the upper surface of the sequential discharge mechanism 40. The left side plate portion 151 located in, the right side plate portion 161 located above the right end of the upper surface of the sequential discharge mechanism 40, and the lower end located above the center from the vicinity of the front end of the upper surface of the sequential discharge mechanism 40. It has a front plate 31 that secures a discharge port below.
The aligned storage portion 50 in the second embodiment follows the expansion / contraction of the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism 170 capable of expanding / contracting the gap between the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161 and the expansion / contraction of the gap between the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161. A width-following mechanism 180 that expands and contracts in the lateral direction and an operation unit 91 of the front plate elevating mechanism 32 that moves the front plate 31 up and down with respect to the width-following mechanism 180 are attached.

As shown in FIG. 23, the alignment storage unit 50 stands on the upper left of the sequential discharge mechanism 40, and has a left side plate portion 151 which is a left side plate defining the left side surface of the PTP alignment storage space, and PTP protruding to the right from the lower end thereof. The left bottom plate portion 152 that defines the left side portion of the bottom surface of the aligned storage space, the small slider 152a that protrudes downward from the rear end portion of the left bottom plate portion 152, and the central portion of the left side plate portion 151 are divided into upper and lower parts and are almost parallel to each other. A cover 155 that closes the upper part of the horizontally long punched holes 154 formed in the above, a support shaft frame 156 having a support shaft 157 that pivotally supports the left end portion of the width tracking mechanism 180, and a width expansion / contraction mechanism 170. It is provided with a support shaft frame 158 provided at both ends with a support shaft 159 that pivotally supports the left end portion of the above. The support shaft frame 158 is fixed laterally to the upper end portion of the left side plate portion 151 in a steady state.

The punched hole 154 has an elongated hole shape in which the upper portion is continuously connected horizontally, and substantially semicircular notches protruding downward from the hole are formed at almost equal pitches. Therefore, the support shaft frame 156 can be attached to the left side plate portion 151 in a vertically oriented state in which the support shaft frame 156 is slightly bent forward by tightening the set screw 153 through the screw portion in any appropriate notch. Further, when changing the mounting position back and forth, it can be easily performed by loosening the set screw 153, passing the set screw 153 through the upper slotted hole portion, moving the set screw 153 to another notch, and retightening it again. Once the mounting position is decided, the cover 155 is mounted on the left side plate portion 151 to close the upper part of the punched hole 154 to prevent the PTP packaging agent from squeezing out from the long hole part / continuous part of the punched hole 154. It is easy to do.

As shown in FIG. 24, the alignment storage unit 50 also stands at the upper right of the sequential discharge mechanism 40 and projects to the left from the lower end of the right plate portion 161 which is a right plate that defines the right side surface of the PTP alignment storage space. The right bottom plate portion 162 that defines the right side portion of the bottom surface of the PTP alignment storage space, the small slider 162a that protrudes downward from the rear end portion of the right bottom plate portion 162, and the central portion of the right side plate portion 161 are divided into upper and lower parts. A cover 165 that closes the upper part of the horizontally long punched holes 164 formed in parallel, and a support shaft frame 166 having a support shaft 167 that pivotally supports the right end of the width tracking mechanism 180 at both ends, and a width. It is provided with a support shaft frame 168 provided at both ends with a support shaft 169 that pivotally supports the right end portion of the expansion / contraction mechanism 170. The support shaft frame 168 is fixed laterally to the upper end portion of the right side plate portion 161 in a steady state.

The punched hole 164 has an elongated hole shape in which the upper portion is continuously connected horizontally, and substantially semicircular notches protruding downward from the hole are formed at almost equal pitches. Therefore, the support shaft frame 166 can be attached to the right side plate portion 161 in a vertically oriented state with a slight forward bending by tightening the set screw 163 through the threaded portion of the set screw 163 in any appropriate notch. It can be easily performed by loosening the set screw 163 and passing the set screw 163 through the slotted hole on the upper side to move the set screw 163 to another notch and then retightening it. Once the mounting position is determined, the cover 165 is mounted on the right side plate portion 161 to close the upper portion of the punched hole 164 to prevent the PTP packaging agent from squeezing out from the long hole portion / continuous portion of the punched hole 164. It is easy to do.

Both the slider 152a of the left plate portion 151 and the slider 162a of the right plate portion 161 have a cross section similar to that of the lateral groove 141c formed in the frame body 41 of the sequential discharge mechanism 40 described above, and the lower end portion thereof. Although the width of the connecting portion is narrow while the width of the cross section is wide, the size of the cross section is slightly smaller than that of the lateral groove 141c.
Therefore, both the

sliders

152a and 162a are fitted in the lateral groove 141c and can move only in the left-right direction, but are prevented from moving in other directions such as the front-back direction and the up-down direction.

By fitting the

sliders

152a and 162a into the lateral groove 141c, the face-to-face maintenance means of the second embodiment is configured, and the lower surface of the left side plate portion 151 and the lower surface of the right side plate portion 161 and the upper surface of the sequential discharge mechanism 40 are in a facing state. Will be maintained.
The left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161 are divided into left and right portions, and by standing above the discharge mechanism 40 in sequence, the left and right sides of the PTP aligned storage space are defined.
Moreover, since both the slider 152a and the slider 162a are allowed to move in the left-right direction according to the lateral groove 141c, the standing positions of the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161 are only lightly pressed in the left-right direction. But it can be changed smoothly.

As shown in FIG. 25, the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism 170 in this embodiment is an application of a mechanical pantograph jack.
Specifically, the front advancing / retreating portion 174 (front link connecting portion) located in the front, the rear advancing / retreating portion 179 (rear link connecting portion) located in the rear, and the rear screw portion screwed into the rear advancing / retreating portion 179. A horizontal bar which is a single rod-shaped body in which a front screw portion 172 screwed to the forward advance / retreat portion 174 and an operation portion 171 at the front end are formed, and one end thereof is pivotally supported by one end of the forward advance / retreat portion 174. The front left link 175 whose end is pivotally supported by the front support shaft 159 of the left plate portion 151, and one end of which is pivotally supported by the other end of the forward advancing / retreating portion 174 and the other end of which is the front support of the right plate portion 161. The front right link 176 pivotally supported by the shaft 169, and the rear left link 177 whose one end is pivotally supported by one end of the rear advance / retreat portion 179 and the other end is pivotally supported by the rear support shaft 159 of the left plate portion 151. And the rear right link 178, one end of which is pivotally supported by the other end of the rearward advancing / retreating portion 179 and the other end of which is pivotally supported by the rear support shaft 169 of the right side plate portion 161.

The operation of the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism 170 will be described.
When the operation unit 171 is operated to rotate the front screw portion 172 and the rear screw portion 173, the separation distance between the front advance / retreat portion 174 and the rear advance / retreat portion 179 changes, but the front screw portion 172 and the rear screw portion Since the 173 is a reverse screw, the relative front-rear positions of the operation portion 171 and the front screw portion 172 and the rear screw portion 173 are almost unchanged.
Further, as shown in FIG. 25, when the separation distance between the forward advancing / retreating portion 174 and the backward advancing / retreating portion 179 changes, the front left link 175 and the front right link 176, which are a plurality of links connected to the forward advancing / retreating portion 174 accordingly, The degree of inclination of the rear left link 177 and the rear right link 178, which are a plurality of links connected to the backward advance / retreat portion 179, changes. The front left link 175, the front right link 176, the rear left link 177, and the rear right link 178 are collectively referred to as a plurality of links 175 to 178. Since these multiple links 175 to 178 are arranged symmetrically in the front-back direction and symmetrically, the left and right support shaft frames 158 and 168 holding the

support shafts

159 and 169 connected to the links are in a parallel state. It is supposed to be done while maintaining.
As described above, the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism 170 is engaged with a plurality of links 175 to 178 arranged symmetrically in the front-rear direction and the front-rear advance / retreat portion 174 and the rear-end / retreat portion 179, which are the front-rear link connecting portions. It includes an operation unit 171 that expands and contracts the separation distance between the forward advancing / retreating portion 174 and the rear advancing / retreating portion 179 by rotating the shaft, a horizontal bar composed of a front screw portion 172, and a rear screw portion 173. The operation unit 171, the front screw portion 172, and the rear screw portion 173 are all in the front-rear direction of the PTP cassette 30 orthogonal to the loading direction of the PTP packaging agent 5, in other words, in the moving direction when the PTP packaging agent 5 is dispensed. It is an integral rod that extends along.
Further, in order for the plurality of links 175 to 178 to maintain symmetry in the front-back direction and left-right symmetry, the left-right position of the horizontal bar composed of the operation portion 171, the front screw portion 172, and the rear screw portion 173 is set to the left and right support shaft frames. It also stays in the center of 158 and 168.

Further, as described above, the left support shaft frame 158 is fixed to the portion near the upper end of the left plate portion 151, and the left bottom plate portion 152 can be sequentially moved left and right on the discharge mechanism 40 to the right. The support shaft frame 168 is fixed to a portion near the upper end of the right side plate portion 161 and the right bottom plate portion 162 can be sequentially moved left and right on the discharge mechanism 40.
Therefore, the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism 170 is provided in the facing gap between the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161 without losing the standing position of the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161 standing above the discharge mechanism 40, and thus in the PTP alignment storage space. The width can be expanded or contracted.

As shown in FIGS. 27 to 29 in this embodiment, the lateral width following mechanism 180 is arranged between the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161.
The width tracking mechanism 180 has either a downward advancing / retreating portion 183 (lower link connecting portion), an upward advancing / retreating portion 188 (upper link connecting portion), or a downward advancing / retreating portion 183 or an upward advancing / retreating portion 188. It also has a vertical bar 182 that is slidable by engaging with a sliding pair. Since the longitudinal direction of the rod-shaped body is formed along the longitudinal direction of the PTP aligned storage space, that is, the loading direction of the PTP packaging agent 5, the vertical bar 182 is referred to as a "vertical bar". As is clear from FIG. 27, the vertical bar 182 is engaged with the downward advancing / retreating portion 183 and the upward advancing / retreating portion 188 at their respective central points.
In the lateral width following mechanism 180, one end is pivotally supported by one end of the downward advancing / retreating portion 183, and the other end is pivotally supported by the lower supporting shaft 157 of the left plate portion 151, and one end is a downward advancing / retreating portion. The lower right link 184 is pivotally supported by the other end of the 183 and the other end is pivotally supported by the lower support shaft 167 of the right side plate 161 and one end is pivotally supported by one end of the upward retreat 188 and the other end. Is pivotally supported by the upper left support shaft 157 of the left plate portion 151, and one end is pivotally supported by the other end of the upward advance and retreat portion 188, and the other end is the upper support shaft 167 of the right side plate portion 161. It is equipped with an axially supported upper right link 187.
The plurality of links 184 to 187 are collectively referred to as the lower right link 184, the lower left link 185, the upper left link 186, and the upper right link 187. These plurality of links 184 to 187 are arranged vertically and symmetrically. Further, the upward advancing / retreating portion 188 and the downward advancing / retreating portion 183 are attached to these plurality of links 184 to 187 in a vertically symmetrical manner.

The lateral width following mechanism 180 includes a lateral center maintaining member 181 that holds the front plate elevating mechanism and thus the front plate 31, and a coil spring 183a (lower elastic body) disposed between the lateral center maintaining member 181 and the downward advancing / retreating portion 183. A coil spring 188a (upper elastic body) disposed between the lateral center maintaining member 181 and the upward moving / retreating portion 188 is provided.
Of these, the horizontal center maintaining member 181 is fixed to the vertical bar 182, but the upper and

lower coil springs

183a and 188a are all mounted on the vertical bar 182 with a loose outer fit, and the shaft of the vertical bar 182 is attached. It is movable in the direction and can be expanded and contracted in the vertical direction. Therefore, the lateral center maintaining member 181 continues to be located at the central portion in the lateral direction in the lateral width following mechanism 180 together with the vertical bar 182.

Since the

coil springs

183a and 188a are both incorporated between the lateral center maintaining member 181 and the upward advancing / retreating portion 188 and the downward advancing / retreating portion 183 in a compressed state, the lateral center maintaining member 181 is based on the balance of the repulsive forces of both. The vertical position of is determined.
In this embodiment, both

coil springs

183a and 188a are further designed and selected so that the spring sensitivities of both

coil springs

183a and 188a are as equal as possible. The position of 181 has little fluctuation not only in the lateral position but also in the vertical position.

Such a horizontal width following mechanism 180 looks as if the above-mentioned horizontal width expansion / contraction mechanism 170 is oriented vertically, but unlike the horizontal width expansion / contraction mechanism 170, any of the vertical bar 182, the upward advancing / retreating portion 188, and the downward advancing / retreating portion 183. The engagement with the heel is held in a slidable / slidable manner instead of being screwed. That is, the shape is not fixed by the width tracking mechanism 180 alone, and it is located between the left side plate portion 151 connected via the support shaft 157 and the right side plate portion 161 connected via the support shaft 167. It expands and contracts laterally following the expansion and contraction of the gap between the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161.
Further, when the separation distances of the left and right support shaft frames 156 and 166 change with the movement of the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161, the inclination of the plurality of links 184 to 187 changes accordingly. Since the plurality of links 184 to 187 are arranged vertically and symmetrically, the support shaft frames 158 and 168 are smoothly brought into contact with each other while maintaining a parallel state together with the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161. As for the left-right position of the vertical bar 182, the influence of the movement of the support shaft frames 158 and 168 cancels each other out, so that the vertical bar 182 remains in the center of the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161. ..

The front plate 31 is attached to the central portion in the lateral direction of the lateral width following mechanism 180. Specifically, it is attached to the intermediate portion of the vertical bar 182 via the horizontal center maintaining member 181 and the front plate 31 is also attached to the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion regardless of the lateral width expansion / contraction of the PTP alignment storage space. It remains almost in the center of 161.
Moreover, a front plate elevating mechanism 32 is interposed between the lateral center maintaining member 181 and the front plate 31, and the operation unit 91 of the front plate elevating mechanism 32 can be operated from the outside on the front surface as shown in FIG. Since it protrudes like this, the front plate 31 can be easily moved up and down by picking and rotating the operation unit 91. Therefore, the height of the discharge port under the front plate 31 can be easily expanded or contracted.
Since the front plate elevating mechanism 32 may be configured as shown in the first embodiment or may be configured by a known rack and pinion or the like, complicated detailed illustration is omitted.

Each adjustment of these PTP cassettes 30 will be described in detail.
First, in adjusting the front-rear position of the front plate 31, one or a small number of PTP packaging agents or the like may be inserted into the alignment storage unit 50 from the rear, or arranged on the outer surfaces of the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161 to arrange the PTP packaging agents and the like. Comes to the rear part of the PTP aligned storage space, and grasps the position of the front end of the PTP packaging agent or the like when the PTP packaging agent or the like fits in the PTP aligned storage space up to the rear end.
Then, confirm the position of the downward notch located immediately in front of the punched

holes

154 and 164, remove the

covers

155 and 165 from the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161 and loosen the

set screws

153 and 163 before checking. Move to the position of the completed notch. After adjusting the position, the

set screws

153 and 163 are retightened, and the

respective covers

155 and 165 are reattached to the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161. Since a large number of downward notches are connected upward in the punched holes 154, it is not necessary to remove the

set screws

153 and 163, and the front-rear position adjusting work of the front plate 31 can be easily and quickly performed.

Next, adjust the width of the alignment storage unit 50. The operator inserts one or a small number of PTP packaging agents into the PTP aligned storage space from the rear, and then picks up the operation unit 171 while visually checking how the PTP packaging agents fit and overlap. Rotate. As a result, the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161 are approached and separated from each other while maintaining a parallel state by the action of the width expansion / contraction mechanism 170, so that the rough width adjustment of the PTP alignment storage space can be easily and quickly performed. ..

When the width of the PTP aligned storage space is changed in this way, the standing position of either or both of the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161 changes, and accordingly, the lateral groove of the frame body 41 of the discharge mechanism 40 sequentially. Either or both of the slider 152a of the left bottom plate portion 152 of the left side plate portion 151 and the slider 162a of the right bottom plate portion 162 of the right side plate portion 161 move in the 141c. If the

sliders

152a and 162a remain in the lateral groove 141c during movement, the PTP cassette 30 operates normally. When the left side plate portion 151 and the right side plate portion 161 are pushed from the left and right with fingertips or the like, the

sliders

152a and 162a move toward the pushed direction along the lateral groove 141c, and the aligned storage section 50 sequentially discharges the discharge mechanism 40. Since it moves to the left and right with respect to the above, the left and right position adjustment of the alignment storage unit 50 with respect to the sequential discharge mechanism 40 can be easily performed.

After the rough adjustment of the PTP cassette 30 is completed in this way, the PTP cassette 30 is mounted on the mounting base 20 as shown in FIG. 22.
The mounting of the base 20 and the PTP cassette 30 may be the same as in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Then, it is desirable to make final adjustments as much as possible. Specifically, for example, a large number of PTP packaging agents and the like are arranged and stored in the PTP cassette 30, and then the PTP cassette 30 is continuously operated in a test mode or the like. Then, while monitoring the sequential discharge state, the operation unit 171 and the operation unit 91 are appropriately operated to finely adjust the width of the PTP alignment storage space and the height of the discharge port, and the sequential discharge state of the PTP packaging agent and the like is obtained. When it is sufficiently stable, it is put into practical use. Since the left-right position of the aligned storage unit 50 with respect to the sequential discharge mechanism 40 can be easily adjusted, it is performed at any time as needed.
Since the adjusted emission status is the same as before, the illustration and explanation are omitted.

After that, when the PTP packaging agent or the like handled by the PTP cassette 30 is changed, readjustment is required, but the width adjustment of the PTP alignment storage space and the height adjustment of the discharge port are sufficient, and the PTP cassette 30 is sufficient. If the installation position of the PTP cassette 30 is visible and easily accessible, it can be dealt with only by operating the

operation units

171, 91 without removing the PTP cassette 30. On the other hand, if it is not possible to deal with it by itself, the PTP cassette 30 may be removed from the base 20 and readjusted in the reverse procedure of the mounting procedure described above.

The application of the present invention is not limited to the "PTP cassette in which the lowest one of the PTP packaging agents and the like is forwarded one by one" shown in the above embodiment, but the "bottom of the PTP packaging agents and the like". It can also be applied to "PTP cassettes that advance two pieces of things at a time".

5 ... PTP packaging agent,
10 ... row shelves, 11 ... rear end, 12 ... top surface, 13 ... front end,
20 + 30 ... PTP payout device,
20 ... Base (holding part, driving part),
21 ... bottom plate, 22 ... side frame, 22a ... top surface (sequential discharge mechanism mounting surface),
22b ... front gap, 23 ... side plate, 23a ... rear gap,
24 ... External gear (rotational output shaft), 25 ... Motor (rotational drive unit),
26 ... Base rear engaging part (strike part of push latch device),
27 ... Pass sensor, 28 ... Base front engaging part (fitting hole, outer fitting part),
30 ... PTP cassette,
31 ... Front plate, 32 ... Front plate elevating mechanism, 33 ... Operation unit, 34 ... Discharge port,
40 ... Sequential discharge mechanism (lower unit),
41 ... Frame body, 41a ... Lower end sliding portion, 41b ... Rear contact portion,
41c ... rear step portion, 41d ... front step portion, 42 ... forward feed member,
43 ... Rotating wheel, 44 ... Endless belt, 45 ... Internal tooth gear (rotary driven shaft),
46 ... Discharge mechanism rear engaging part (arm hook part of push latch device),
50 ... Alignment storage,
51 ... left side plate part, 52 ... left bottom plate part (contact end),
53 ... Rack (protruding engagement part), 54 ... Double-layered part, 55 ... Lower cutout,
56 ... Upper cutout, 57 ... Punched hole (sliding restraint part),
58 ... Support shaft frame (left side plate connecting portion), 58a ... Convex portion, 58b ... Sliding portion in the gap,
61 ... right side plate part, 62 ... right bottom plate part (contact end),
63 ... Rack (protruding engagement part), 64 ... Double-layered part,
67 ... Punched hole (sliding restraint part), 68 ... Support shaft frame (right side plate connecting part),
70 ... Width expansion / contraction mechanism,
71 ... Rod-shaped operation member, 72 ... Operation part (front end part, discharge mechanism front engaging part),
73 ... Warm (operation direction changer),
74 ... Pinion and worm gear (operation direction changer),
80 ... Width tracking mechanism,
81 ... Horizontal center maintenance member, 82 ... Upper left parallel link, 83 ... Upper right parallel link,
84 ... lower left link, 85 ... lower right link, 86 ... lower link,
87 ... hanging rod, 88 ... coil spring (elastic member)
141c ... Horizontal groove (engagement part, face-to-face maintenance means), 151 ... Left plate part, 152a ... Slider (protruding engagement part, face-to-face maintenance means), 161 ... Right plate part, 162a ... Slider (protruding engagement part, face-to-face maintenance means) Means), 170 ... Width expansion / contraction mechanism,
171 (operation part), 172 (front screw part), 173 (rear screw part) ... Horizontal bar 174 ... forward advance / retreat part (front / rear link connection part) 179 ... rear advance / retreat part (front / rear link connection part)
180 ... Horizontal tracking mechanism, 181 ... Horizontal center maintenance member 183 ... Downward advancing / retreating part (upper and lower link connecting part), 188 ... Upper advancing / retreating part (upper and lower link connecting part)

Claims

A drug storage space is formed in which PTP packaging agents in which drugs are separately stored in sheets or PTP packaging agents, which are equivalent sheet-like packaging agents, can be stored horizontally and vertically stacked and arranged and stored. An aligned storage unit provided with a front plate, a left side plate, and a right side plate,
A sequential discharge mechanism that defines the bottom surface of the drug storage space and forwards the lowest of the PTP packaging agents and the like to discharge from a discharge port located below the front plate.
A lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism capable of expanding / contracting the gap between the left side plate and the right side plate,
A front plate elevating mechanism that elevates and elevates the front plate, and
A width tracking mechanism that positions the front plate elevating mechanism at the center of the left side plate and the right side plate, and
PTP cassette with.
The PTP cassette according to claim 1, wherein the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism is incorporated in the sequential discharge mechanism.
The left side plate comprises an engaging portion that locally protrudes further downward from the end of contact with the upper surface of the sequential discharge mechanism.
The right side plate also has an engaging portion that locally protrudes further downward from the end of contact with the upper surface of the sequential discharge mechanism.
The sequential discharge mechanism is adapted to allow only the movement of the gap in the expansion / contraction direction by engaging the respective engaging portions of the left side plate and the right side plate erected on the upper surface. ,
The first or second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism includes an operating member that moves the left side plate and the right side plate in opposite directions by acting on the respective engaging portions. The described PTP cassette.
A lateral width tracking mechanism that is connected to both the left side plate and the right side plate and follows the expansion / contraction of the gap between the left side plate and the right side plate and expands / contracts in the lateral direction is provided.
The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the front plate is attached to the lateral center maintaining member located at the central portion in the lateral direction of the lateral width following mechanism. PTP cassette.
The PTP cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the width-following mechanism includes an elastic member that exerts an elastic force to extend the lateral width-following mechanism to the left and right.
The PTP cassette according to claim 5, wherein the width-following mechanism is provided with a parallel link at a connecting portion with the left side plate, and is also provided with a parallel link at the connecting portion with the right side plate.
A double-layered portion is formed on both the left side plate and the right side plate, and a support shaft frame that pivotally supports the width tracking mechanism from the left and right is equipped on both the left side plate and the right side plate, and is long in the front-rear direction. The claim is characterized in that a cutout is formed in an inner portion of the double-layered portion, and the support shaft frame is held by the corresponding side plate via the cutout and can slide back and forth. The PTP cassette according to any one of 1 to 6.
The seventh aspect of claim 7, wherein a plurality of sliding restraining portions for applying a load to the sliding of the support shaft frame are formed along the cutout on both the left side plate and the right side plate. PTP cassette.
The width-following mechanism includes a plurality of links arranged vertically and symmetrically, and a vertical bar engaged with the upper and lower link connecting portions at their respective central points.
The PTP cassette according to claim 4, wherein the horizontal center maintaining member is mounted on the vertical bar and is located between the upper and lower link connecting portions.
The horizontal width following mechanism includes an upper elastic body and a lower elastic body that can be expanded and contracted in the vertical direction mounted on the vertical bar, and the upper elastic body and the lower elastic body are vertically and vertically connected to the lateral center maintaining member. The PTP cassette according to claim 9, wherein the PTP cassette is divided into two parts and is located between the lateral center maintaining member and the upper and lower link connecting portions.
The PTP cassette according to any one of claims 4 or 9 or 10, wherein the front plate elevating mechanism is arranged between the lateral center maintaining member and the front plate. ..
It has a face-to-face maintenance means for maintaining a face-to-face state between the left side plate and the lower surface of the right side plate and the upper surface of the sequential discharge mechanism.
The PTP cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the face-to-face maintaining means prevents relative movement in the vertical direction and the front-back direction, but allows relative movement in the left-right direction. ..
The lateral width expansion / contraction mechanism engages with a plurality of links arranged symmetrically in the front-rear direction and left-right symmetry, and a horizontal bar that is engaged with the front-rear link connection portion and expands / contracts the separation distance of the front-rear link connection portion by axial rotation. The PTP cassette according to claim 12, wherein the PTP cassette is provided with.
The PTP cassette according to claim 13, wherein a portion of the horizontal bar that engages with the front and rear link connecting portions is a reverse screw in the front and rear.
The PTP cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 14,
It has a base that engages with the sequential ejection mechanism and holds the PTP cassette.
A PTP dispensing device for dispensing the PTP packaging agent loaded on the PTP cassette or the PTP packaging agent which is a sheet-shaped packaging agent equivalent thereto.
A chemical storage device having the PTP payout device according to claim 15.