JPH0710105A - Medicine feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a medicine feeder for detecting in advance whether or not medicine can be discharged by providing a detecting member for detecting existence of the medicine before a medicine supply port of a rotating/arranging disk in a cassette for receiving numerous kinds of medicine. CONSTITUTION:A medicine feeder comprises a cassette 1 like a hollow container for receiving numerous kinds of medicine and a base (driver) 2 for removably mounting the cassette 1. At a predetermined position of a bottom plate 5 of the cassette 1, a cylinder 7 approximately inscribing with a through hole 6 extending downward in a cylindrical shape as the center is made to stand upward. Numerous recesses 16, 16... for arranging medicine tablets one by one are formed around an arranging part 11 of an arranging disk 10. If no tablet is housed in a recess 16 at a position immediately before a supply port 22, a light path of a photo interrupter 35 is not shielded so that no tablet is detected. Since another tip 33 of a working member 27 shields a light path of a photo interrupter 36 irrespective of existence of the tablet in the recess 16, the cassette being mounted is detected.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drug feeder for accommodating a large number of drugs and sequentially discharging them as needed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a drug feeder of this type in which a cassette for accommodating a large number of drugs and a drive device for rotating an arraying plate of the drugs arranged in the cassette are detachably constructed. .

In order to operate such a drug feeder, it is only necessary to send an appropriate drug discharge signal to the drive device, and when the drug discharge signal is transmitted, the drive device rotates the alignment plate to move the inside of the cassette. The medicines are sequentially discharged from the supply port.

For this reason, the drive unit is fixedly installed on a predetermined support, while when the medicine is supplied to the feeder,
Only the cassette is removed from the drive device to perform the replenishment work, and when the replenishment is completed, the cassette is reattached to the drive device.

[0005]

However, such a conventional drug feeder cannot detect whether or not the cassette is mounted on the driving device, and therefore, for example, the cassette is not mounted on the driving device after replenishment of the drug. In such a case, the drug cannot be ejected even if the drug ejection signal is sent to the drive device. Moreover, in the case where the drug cannot be ejected due to the unattached cassette, the drug ejection signal is sent to the drive device. It cannot be discovered unless it is confirmed that the drug has not been discharged after sending it.Furthermore, even if a drug discharge signal is sent to the drive device and it is confirmed that the drug is not discharged, the drug discharge impossible state is Is not installed, or is simply due to lack of drug in the cassette, or any other source. Or in which the due had problems etc. is completely unknown.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems of the above conventional ones and to provide a drug feeder capable of detecting in advance whether or not a drug can be discharged.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has an array board of medicines arranged in a cassette containing a large number of medicines, and when the array board is rotated, the medicines are sequentially discharged from a supply port. In the medicine feeder configured as described above, a detection member for detecting the presence or absence of the medicine is provided in front of the supply port.

[0008]

According to the present invention, by adopting the above means, whether or not the medicine can be discharged is detected in advance.

[0009]

1 to 5 show an embodiment of a drug feeder according to the present invention, which is a hollow container-shaped cassette 1 for storing a large number of drugs and a cassette 1 on which the cassette 1 is detachably mounted. 2 (that is, a driving device).

The cassette 1 is provided with a rectangular bottom plate 5 around which a frame plate 4 which is fitted and positioned with the step portion 3 of the base 2 when placed on the base 2 is formed. A through hole 6 extending downward in a cylindrical shape is formed at a predetermined position of the bottom plate 5, and a cylindrical portion 7 of a size substantially inscribed in the bottom plate 5 about the through hole 6 is provided upright on the bottom plate 5. Therefore, the bottom surface of the cylindrical portion 7 is constituted by the bottom plate 5. Cylindrical part 7
An enlarged portion 8 having a cross-sectional area approximately equal to the size of the bottom plate 5 is continuously provided above the base plate. The bottom plate 5 is provided with a handle 9 which is used when the cassette 1 is attached to and detached from the base 2 for replenishment of medicines.
Is provided.

The aligning board 10 arranged in the cylindrical portion 7 has an aligning portion 11 and an inserting portion 12 integrally formed of synthetic resin. The upper surface of the aligning portion 11 has a downward slope from the center 13 of the aligning portion 11, is divided into three in the circumferential direction, and is inclined in the same direction along the circumferential direction 14, 14, 14.
However, the recesses 16 are formed between each other through the steps 15, and the recesses 16 around which the medicines are aligned and housed,
A large number of 16, ... Are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction with partition walls 17, 17 ,.

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

Then, the insertion portion 12 is inserted into the through hole 6 from above, and the alignment portion 11 is arranged in the cylindrical portion 7.
With the lower surface of the washer 20 in contact with the bottom plate 5 of the cylindrical portion 7, the washer 20 is loosely fitted in the insertion portion 12 protruding downward from the through hole 6 and the elastic ring 21 is fitted in the groove 19.
The aligning board 10 is attached to the cassette 1 so as not to rattle and to be rotatable.

The bottom plate 5 of the cassette 1 is formed with a supply port 22 which communicates with the recess 16 at a predetermined position. Further, a plurality of slits 23, 2 are provided on the side surface from the cylindrical portion 7 to the enlarged portion 8 at a position directly above the supply port 22.
3, ... Are formed at intervals in the vertical direction, and the partition plate 24 is inserted and screwed into the slit 23 having a height suitable for the size of the medicine to be handled, whereby the partition plate 24 is supplied to the supply port. Recess 16 at a position corresponding to 22
The upper end of the container is covered with a lid to prevent the unaligned drug, which is above the drug in the recess 16, from being discharged together with the drug in the recess 16.

An appropriate motor 25 is attached to the base 2, a spline shaft 26 is fixed to the rotation shaft of the motor 25, and when the cassette 1 is positioned and placed on the base 2, the spline of the alignment board 10 is placed. 18 is a spline shaft 26
To be engaged with. Then, when the motor 25 is driven in this state, the alignment plate 10 rotates by one pitch along the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 of the recesses 16, 16, ..., As the alignment plate 10 rotates, The medicine in the cassette 1 is pushed upward by the inclined surfaces 14, 14 and 14 while being stirred in one direction, and the recesses 16, 16,
The medicines are arranged and accommodated in the inside of the partition plate, and the medicines that have reached the position directly below the partition plate 24 are sequentially dropped through the supply port 22 and discharged one by one.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the bottom plate 5 of the cassette 1, an intermediate portion of a bent operating member 27 is pivotally attached by a support shaft 28. Actuating member 2 arranged above the bottom plate 5
The one side piece 7 extends from the support shaft 28 to the opposite side of the supply port 22 from the support shaft 28 through a long groove 29 formed on the side surface of the cylindrical portion 7 below the lowest slit 23. The front end portion 30 of the rear surface of the aligning plate 10 is located at the position immediately before the supply port 22 in the rotating direction of the aligning plate 10.
It is designed to break into. Further, the alignment board 10 is formed with grooves 31, 31, ... At the intermediate height of the partition walls 17, 17, ..

On the other hand, a spring 32 is attached between the other side piece of the operating member 27 extending from the support shaft 28 through the bottom plate 5 and extending along the back surface of the operating member 27 to support the operating member 27. It is biased to rotate counterclockwise around the shaft 28, and its tip portion 33 penetrates into a slot 34 provided in the base 2 when the cassette 1 is mounted in the base 2. It is like this. Then, in the slot 34, a photointerrupter 35 that detects the tip portion 33 of the actuating member 27 only when the tip portion 33 of the operating member 27 is located in a part of the slot 34, and the slot 33 operates at any position in the slot 34. A photo interrupter 36 for detecting the tip 33 of the member 27 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, the drug is not stored in the recess 16 in the position immediately before the supply port 22, so that one tip 30 of the actuating member 27 is depressed by the biasing force of the spring 32. When entering the groove 31, the other tip portion 33 is in the groove hole 34 and does not block the optical path of the photointerrupter 35, and as shown in FIG. When the medicine is stored in the place 16, so that when one tip portion 30 of the actuating member 27 rides on the medicine in the recess 16 and is displaced outward,
The other tip 33 displaces in the slot 34 to block the optical path of the photo interrupter 35, thereby preventing the photo interrupter 35 from accommodating the drug in the recess 16 immediately before the supply port 22. It is designed to detect.

4 and 5, the other end 33 of the actuating member 27 shields the optical path of the photo interrupter 36, so that the photo interrupter 36 and the cassette 1 are mounted on the base 2. Is detected.

Next, the operation of the medicine feeder configured as described above will be described. First, when the cassette 1 containing a large number of medicines is positioned and placed on the base 2, the other tip portion 33 of the actuating member 27 is fixed to the photo interrupter 36.
The light interrupter 36 detects that the cassette 1 is mounted on the base 2 in order to block the optical path.

In this state, when the motor 25 is actuated by sending an appropriate drug discharge signal, the aligning plate 10 rotates, and as the aligning plate 10 rotates, the drug in the cassette 1 is inclined by the inclined surface 14, While being pushed upward by 14 and 14 and being stirred in one direction, they are aligned and accommodated in the recesses 16, 16.

When the medicine is contained in the recess 16 located just before the supply port 22 as the aligning board 10 rotates, one tip portion 30 of the actuating member 27 rides on the medicine and moves outside. Is displaced toward one side, the other tip 33
Intercepts the optical path of the photo interrupter 35, so that the photo interrupter 35 detects that the drug is contained in the recess 16 in the position immediately before the supply port 22, and therefore the rotation of the alignment plate 10 causes the photo interrupter 35 to detect the drug. It will be confirmed in advance that the medicine reaches the position directly below the partition plate 24 and is discharged from the supply port 22.

Further, when the medicine is not accommodated in the recess 16 located immediately before the supply port 22 due to the rotation of the aligning board 10, one tip portion 30 of the operating member 27 does not ride on the medicine. The other tip 33 does not block the optical path of the photointerrupter 35, so that the photointerrupter 35 detects that the recess 16 in the position immediately before the supply port 22 does not contain a drug, and therefore, the following alignment board. By the rotation of 10, it will be confirmed in advance that the medicine is not discharged from the supply port 22 even if the recess 16 reaches the position directly below the partition plate 24.

Further, whether the medicine is stored in the recess 16 immediately before the supply port 22 or not, the other tip 33 of the actuating member 27 has a photo interrupter 36.
Since the optical path is blocked, the photo interrupter 36 detects that the cassette 1 is mounted on the base 2.

When the cassette 1 is removed from the base 2 for replenishment of medicines, the optical path of the photo interrupter 36 is not shielded by the tip portion 33 of the actuating member 27, whereby the photo interrupter 36 is placed on the base 2 cassette. It is detected that 1 is not attached.

In the above embodiment, the insertion portion 12 of the alignment board 10 and the motor 25 are spline-engaged with each other, but the insertion portion 12 and the motor 25 or another driving member are appropriately engaged with other than spline engagement. Alternatively, the washer 2 may be attached to the insertion portion 12 in the above embodiment.
Although the aligning plate 10 is attached to the cassette 1 by loosely fitting 0 and fitting the elastic ring 21 into the groove 19, the aligning plate 10 may be attached to the cassette 1 by other appropriate means. Well, moreover, the alignment board 1
The shapes of the inclined surfaces 14, 14, 14 of 0 and the partitions 17, 17, ... Are not limited to those in the above-described embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the operating member 27 is
It is arranged to detect whether or not the medicine is contained in the recess 16 in the position immediately before the supply port 22.
The presence or absence of the drug in the recess 16 may be detected not only in the position immediately before, but also in the appropriate position, and the actuating member 27 is not limited to the bent shape as shown in the drawing. The partition walls 17, 17, ... Are not provided with the grooves 31, 31, ... For allowing the distal end portion 30 of the actuating member 27 to pass therethrough.
The tip portion 30 may be configured to pass over the partition walls 17, 17, ... And to pass therethrough, and further, the tip portion 33 of the actuating member 27.
As the detection member for detecting the presence / absence of the medicine depending on the position of, a suitable one such as a reed switch or a hall element can be used in addition to the photo interrupter 35 as shown in the above embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the operating member 27 is
Although the function of detecting whether or not a medicine is stored in the recess 16 at the position immediately before the supply port 22 and the function of detecting whether or not the cassette 1 is mounted on the base 2 are provided, the medicine storage and detection function is provided. May be omitted, and only the mounting detection function of the cassette 1 may be configured. Further, depending on the position of the tip portion 33 of the operating member 27, the cassette 1 may be attached to the base 2.
As the detection member for detecting whether or not the reed switch is mounted, other than the photo interrupter 36 as shown in the above embodiment, a reed switch, a hall element or the like can be used. It goes without saying that various changes and modifications to the examples are possible.

[0029]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above,
It has an excellent effect such as being able to detect in advance whether a drug can be discharged.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway exploded vertical sectional view showing an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cassette.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an operation when a medicine is not stored in a recess at a predetermined position.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing an operation when a medicine is stored in a recess at a predetermined position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cassette 2 ... Base 3 ... Step part 4 ... Frame plate 5 ... Bottom plate 6 ... Through hole 7 ... Cylindrical part 8 ... Enlarged part 10 ... Aligning board 11 ... Alignment part 12 ... Insertion part 13 ... Center 14 ... Inclined surface 15 ... Step 16 ... Recess 17 ... Partition 18 ... Suffline 19 ... Groove 20 ... Washer 21 ... Elastic ring 22 ... Supply port 23 ... Slit 24 ... Partition plate 25 ... Motor 26 ... Spline shaft 27 ... Actuating member 28 ... Spindle 29 ... Long groove 30 ... Tip part 31 ... Groove 32 ... Spring 33 ... Tip part 34 ... Groove hole 35, 36 ... Photointerrupter

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A medicine feeder in which a medicine array board is arranged in a cassette containing a large number of medicines, and the medicines are sequentially discharged from the supply opening when the alignment board is rotated. A drug feeder characterized in that a detection member for detecting the presence or absence of a drug is provided in front.