JP7580686B2 - Tablet splitting device - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a tablet dividing device that cuts a tablet and divides it into several tablet pieces (cut tablet pieces).

Apart from manual tablet splitting devices, those that are automated to a certain extent (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 6) are equipped with a cutting mechanism for cutting a single tablet into two half tablets, etc., as well as a tablet feeder that randomly stores and sequentially discharges a large number of tablets, and by linking the tablet feeder with the cutting mechanism, the required cut tablet pieces are supplied at the appropriate time. They may be mounted on a drug packaging machine (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 6), or may be used independently of the drug packaging machine (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 to 5).

When looking at how such tablet feeders and cutting mechanisms are combined, particularly when the tablet feeder is made up of a feeder base (base portion) including a driving member such as an electric motor, and a detachable tablet cassette made up of passive members, and tablets are discharged with the tablet cassette placed on the base portion, in the independent type (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 to 5), the feeder base and cutting mechanism are incorporated into the main body of the tablet splitting device, and when the tablet cassette is attached to the main body, tablets drop one by one from the tablet cassette and pass through the feeder base before falling to the cutting mechanism.

In contrast, the types equipped with drug packaging machines (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 6) include what is called an add-on type in which a cutting mechanism is added to a normal tablet feeder (see, for example, Patent Document 1), and what is called a replacement type in which the normal tablet feeder is replaced with a new tablet feeder and cutting mechanism (see, for example, Patent Document 6). In either type, that is, the add-on type or the replacement type, tablets are sent out one by one from the tablet cassette, dropped to the cutting position and cut by the cutting mechanism, and the cut tablet pieces are then dropped and discharged.

In the former add-on type (see, for example, Patent Document 1), the tablet cassette and feeder base are both from the tablet feeder normally installed in the medicine packaging machine. The cutting mechanism is a separate unit that is installed in the medicine packaging machine and stored directly below the tablet feeder storage or in the empty space after other tablet feeders have been removed from the tablet feeder storage. The cutting mechanism is connected to a corresponding upstream tablet feeder by a tablet guide pipe, so that the tablets to be divided are supplied one by one from the tablet cassette to the cutting mechanism.

In the latter replacement type among the types mounted on a medicine packaging machine (see, for example, Patent Document 6), the feeder base can be the same as the tablet feeder normally mounted on the medicine packaging machine, but two adjacent feeder bases are repurposed. In addition, the tablet cassette is made smaller, and a cutting mechanism is placed between the lower feeder base and the upper tablet cassette. As a result, the tablet cassette capacity is reduced, but there is a high degree of freedom in placement when mounted on the medicine packaging machine, and the burden of modifying the medicine packaging machine on which it is mounted is small, so it can be easily introduced not only when a new medicine packaging machine is installed, but also by modifying an existing medicine packaging machine.

Regarding the tablet introduction path that guides the undivided tablets one by one to the cutting position, there are various types, such as a path that allows the tablets to fall under their own weight through a hollow path that extends vertically (see, for example, Patent Documents 1, 2, and 5), a path that is inclined to slow the falling speed (see, for example, Patent Document 4), and a path that transports the tablets up and down or back and forth in an arc while regulating the position and speed with a rotating body (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 and 6).
Regarding the cutting means, some use a single blade (see, for example, Patent Document 1) and some use a rotary blade (see, for example, Patent Document 3), but most use opposing blades (see, for example, Patent Documents 2, 4, 5, and 6).

When cutting with a rotary blade, the tablet is cut as it is being transported (see, for example, Patent Document 3), but when a single blade or opposing blade is used (see, for example, Patent Documents 1, 2, 4-6), the tablet is placed on a tablet holding member advanced into the tablet introduction path, and then the blade tip is advanced and retreated toward the tablet to cut it. With the latter advancing and retreating blade method, the advance and retreat drive can be easily realized with a cam mechanism or the like (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 4), and not only can a tablet be divided into two half tablets, but also into three or more cut pieces in a single operation (see, for example, Patent Document 4).

Furthermore, in such advancing and retracting blade systems that further divide tablets into upper and lower halves (see, for example, Patent Documents 1, 2, 4 and 6), the lower half tablet can be dropped first by retracting the tablet holding member while keeping the blade tip advanced, and then the upper half tablet can be dropped afterwards by retracting the blade tip.
Therefore, it is possible and easy to arbitrarily control the timing at which the upper and lower half tablets fall.

Regarding the so-called cut piece discharge path in which cut pieces such as half tablets are dropped and discharged, some allow the pieces to pass through a horizontally extending straight groove before dropping (see, for example, Patent Document 1), but many allow the pieces to drop by their own weight down a vertical hollow passage without any horizontal movement (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 to 6).
Furthermore, some devices are equipped with a cleaning mechanism that sucks up and removes excess half tablets and fragments (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-226089 JP 2011-83357 A JP 2011-97969 A JP 2012-29800 A JP 2013-39236 A JP 2018-108312 A

However, providing such a suction and discharge type cleaning mechanism (see, for example, Patent Document 1) inevitably increases costs, and therefore its adoption tends to be limited.
In contrast, providing a horizontal portion in the cut piece discharge path (see, for example, Patent Document 1) keeps the increase in costs to a minimum, but because the path through which the tablet scraps (such as scraps from tablets) pass completely overlaps with the path through which the cut piece half-tablets are discharged, the tablet scraps are also dragged along with the half-tablets and, although there is a certain time delay, are ultimately discharged together with the half-tablets.

Therefore, in a situation where cleaning work to remove tablet waste is required, the cleaning work must be performed frequently, which imposes a heavy burden on the operator.
In tablet dividing devices that do not have a horizontal portion in the cut piece discharge path (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 to 6), the frequency of cleaning work increases, making the cleaning work even heavier.
Therefore, the first technical objective is to realize a tablet dividing device that can separate and remove tablet waste from tablet cut pieces using simple means.

In addition, it is desirable to suppress the generation of tablet waste in the first place, and for that purpose, various types of cutting mechanisms have been developed, within the range where an increase in costs is acceptable, such as adopting a rotating blade in the cutting mechanism (see, for example, Patent Document 3), adopting an opposing blade in the cutting mechanism (see, for example, Patent Documents 2, 4 to 6), and further, in which both blades of the opposing blade are moved forward and backward (see, for example, Patent Documents 2, 4 and 5), or combining a fixed blade and a movable blade (see, for example, Patent Document 6).
Furthermore, in order to suppress the generation of tablet waste, there are also devices in which the tablet introduction path is inclined (see, for example, Patent Document 4) or the tablets are transported in an arc (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 and 6).

Among these, those that employ a fixed blade and a movable blade facing each other in the cutting mechanism and have a tablet introduction path that is vertical or at most inclined are becoming more popular due to their good cost performance.
However, there is a demand for improving not only the amount of tablet waste generated but also the accuracy of tablet division while suppressing increases in costs through the adoption of such cutting mechanisms and tablet introduction paths.
Therefore, the second technical objective is to realize a tablet dividing device that can divide tablets accurately using simple means and generates little tablet waste.

The tablet dividing device of the present invention (Solution Means 1) has been invented to solve the first technical problem described above,
A tablet dividing device comprising: a tablet introducing mechanism that receives a dropped tablet and guides it to a cutting position; a cutting mechanism that cuts the tablet at the cutting position; a drive mechanism that drives the cutting mechanism; a cut piece discharge mechanism that guides the cut tablet pieces that have dropped from the cutting position to a discharge position; and a box that contains the cutting mechanism and the cut piece discharge mechanism.
A vertical hole for receiving the cut tablet pieces is formed through the cut tablet piece discharge mechanism, and the cut tablet piece discharge mechanism moves the vertical hole laterally from the receiving position for the cut tablet pieces to the discharge position. A tablet scrap collection member having a recess formed on its upper surface is provided, and when the tablet scrap collection member is attached to the box body below the cut tablet piece discharge mechanism, a gap is secured between the vertical hole of the cut tablet piece discharge mechanism and the recess of the tablet scrap collection member which allows tablet scraps to pass but not the cut tablet pieces to pass.

The tablet dividing device of the present invention (Solution 2) is the tablet dividing device of Solution 1 above, characterized in that the tablet scrap collection member can be pulled out and removed from the box body.

Furthermore, the tablet dividing device of the present invention (Solution 3) has been invented to solve the second technical problem in addition to the first technical problem described above,
The tablet dividing device of solutions 1 and 2 above is characterized in that the cutting mechanism comprises a movable blade that moves forward and backward to the cutting position to cut the tablet there into upper and lower parts, a lower advancing and retreating member that supports and holds the tablet and drops and discharges it there by moving forward and backward below the cutting position, and an upper advancing and retreating member that holds the tablet there by moving forward and backward above the cutting position.

In addition, the tablet dividing device of the present invention (Solution 4) is invented to solve the second technical problem described above,
A tablet dividing device comprising: a tablet introducing mechanism that receives a dropped tablet and guides it to a cutting position; a cutting mechanism that cuts the tablet at the cutting position; a drive mechanism that drives the cutting mechanism; a cut piece discharge mechanism that guides the cut tablet pieces that have dropped from the cutting position to a discharge position; and a box that contains the cutting mechanism and the cut piece discharge mechanism.
The cutting mechanism is characterized by comprising a movable blade which moves to and from the cutting position to cut the tablet there into upper and lower parts, a lower advancing/retracting member which moves to and from below the cutting position to support and hold the tablet and drop and discharge it, and an upper advancing/retracting member which moves to and from above the cutting position to hold down the tablet there.

The tablet dividing device of the present invention (Solution 5) is the tablet dividing device of Solutions 3 and 4 above, characterized in that the fixed blade opposing the movable blade is attached to the outer plate portion of the box body, and the outer plate portion is transparent.

In such a tablet dividing device of the present invention (Solution 1), the cut piece discharge path is realized by a simple means combining a cut piece discharge mechanism that moves laterally through a vertical through hole and a tablet scrap collection member having a shallow recess formed on its upper surface.
The cut tablet pieces produced by cutting the tablets fall from the cutting position, enter the vertical hole of the cut tablet piece discharge mechanism, come into contact with the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member, stop falling, and remain in the vertical hole of the cut tablet piece discharge mechanism. When the vertical hole is then moved laterally in an arc from the tablet scrap receiving position to the discharge position, the cut tablet pieces also move from the receiving position to the discharge position along with the vertical hole. At that time, the cut tablet pieces move along the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member to the discharge position, and finally come off the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member and fall to be discharged.

In addition, tablet scraps generated by tablets falling or cutting also fall from the cutting position and enter the vertical hole in the cut piece discharge mechanism, and then fall onto the top surface of the tablet scrap collection member. However, because the tablet scraps are small, some of them pass through the gap between the recess in the tablet scrap collection member and the vertical hole in the cut piece discharge mechanism and enter the recess in the tablet scrap collection member due to the impact of the fall.
When the tablet cut pieces move laterally from the receiving position to the discharging position along with the vertical hole of the cut piece discharge mechanism, some of the tablet scraps remaining on the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member are dragged by the tablet cut pieces and some are left behind, but most of the dragged tablet scraps move and scatter irregularly, so they also pass through the gaps and enter the recesses in the tablet scrap collection member.
Therefore, when the cut tablet pieces come off from the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member, many of the tablet scraps are left behind and remain within the recesses.
Therefore, according to the present invention, a tablet dividing device can be realized that can separate and remove tablet waste from tablet cut pieces using simple means, thereby solving the first technical problem.

In addition, in the tablet splitting device of the present invention (Solution 2), the tablet scrap collection member can be pulled out and removed from the box body, making it easy and quick to dispose of the tablet scraps that have accumulated in the recesses of the tablet scrap collection member.

Furthermore, in the tablet dividing device of the present invention (Solutions 3 and 4), as a means for keeping the tablet in the cutting position when the tablet is cut into upper and lower parts with the movable blade, in addition to supporting the tablet from below using the lower advancing and retracting member, the upper advancing and retracting member is also used to press the upper side of the tablet.As a result, the tablet is held as if supported at three points above and below by the upper advancing and retracting member, the movable blade, and the lower advancing and retracting member, so that the position of the tablet is stable not only when the movable blade contacts the tablet, but also when it is cut and even when the tablet is separated into upper and lower parts, and therefore any irregularities that occur on the cut surface of the tablet are kept small.
Therefore, according to the present invention, a tablet dividing device can be realized that can divide tablets accurately using simple means and produces little tablet waste, thereby solving the second technical problem.

In addition, in the tablet dividing device of the present invention (Solution 5), a fixed blade is opposed to a movable blade, thereby improving cutting accuracy compared to a configuration with only a movable blade, and the outer plate portion of the box is made transparent, so that the operating state of the internal mechanism, including the cutting mechanism, can be visually observed from the outside. However, by attaching a fixed blade to the transparent outer plate portion, the relatively simple parts of the cutting mechanism are located on the viewing side, and few parts are hidden inside, so most of the cutting mechanism can be visually confirmed.

1A and 1B are a front view and a perspective view, respectively, showing the structure of a tablet dividing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 4A and 4B show the structure of a cutting mechanism, in which (a) is a front view, (b) is a right side view of a main part, (c) is a front view of a reciprocating member, and (d) and (e) are front views of modified examples of the reciprocating member. 1A, 1B, and 1C show the structure of the cut piece discharge mechanism and the tablet scrap collection member, in which 1A is a perspective view, 1B is an exploded perspective view, and 1C is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing the gap between the cut piece discharge mechanism and the tablet scrap collection member, and 1D to 1F are exploded perspective views showing the discharge operation of the cut pieces and the recovery of the tablet scraps. 4A to 4I show the operating state of the cutting mechanism, and are right side views of the main parts.

A specific embodiment for carrying out the tablet dividing device of the present invention will be described below with reference to Example 1.
The first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 embodies all of the above-mentioned solutions 1 to 5 (claims 1 to 5 as originally filed).
In addition, in order to simplify the illustrations, fasteners such as bolts, connectors such as hinges, details of transmission members such as cam mechanisms, electric circuits such as motor drivers, electronic circuits such as controllers, etc. are omitted, and only the parts necessary for explaining the invention or related parts are illustrated. In addition, since the explanations given in the Background Art section are common to the following examples, redundant explanations will be kept brief, and the following explanations will focus on the differences from the prior art.

The specific configuration of the tablet dividing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1(a) is a front view of the tablet dividing device 20 and the base portion 10 to which the tablet dividing device 20 is attached, and FIG. 1(b) is a perspective view of the tablet dividing device 20. FIG. 2(a) is a front view of the cutting mechanism 40, FIG. 2(b) is a right side view of the main portions 41 to 45 of the cutting mechanism 40, FIG. 2(c) is a front view of the advancing and retreating members 43 to 45, and FIG. 2(d) and (e) are front views of modified examples of the advancing and retreating members 43 to 45. FIG. 3(a) is a perspective view of the cut piece discharge mechanism 60 and the tablet scrap collection member 70, FIG. 3(b) is an exploded view thereof, and FIG. 3(c) is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the gap G between the lower surface of the disk 62 of the cut piece discharge mechanism 60 and the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member 70.

This tablet dividing device 20 (see Figure 1) is a replacement type among those mounted on a medicine packaging machine, and is designed to be mounted on the base portions 10, 10 of two adjacent tablet feeders in the medicine packaging machine (see, for example, Patent Document 6).
In the configuration of this example, the actuator is fixed to the base portions 10, 10 but is not connected to the spline shafts 11, 11. Instead, the actuator is connected to a power source and a control device (not shown) via cables via the base portions 10, 10 so as to receive the power and control signals necessary for operation.

First, the overall configuration will be explained. The tablet splitting device 20 comprises a box body 21 which holds two cassettes of the tablet feeder, a tablet cassette 23 mounted therein, a tablet introduction mechanism 30, a cutting mechanism 40, a drive mechanism 50, a cut piece discharge mechanism 60 and a tablet scrap collection member 70.
Of these, the driving member 51 of the driving mechanism 50 and the associated driving circuit (not shown) (see FIG. 1(a)) are housed in the left half of the box body 21, while the cam mechanism 52 of the driving mechanism 50 (see FIG. 2(b)) and the driven mechanisms 23, 30, 40, 60, 70 that receive the drive therefrom (see FIG. 1) are housed in the right half of the box body 21.

These driven mechanisms 23, 30, 40, 60, 70 are arranged one above the other in that order (see Figure 1), the cam mechanism 52 is disposed behind the cutting mechanism 40 (see Figure 2 (b)), a rotating shaft 61 extends upward from the center of rotation of the disk 62 of the cut piece discharge mechanism 60 (see Figure 3 (a)), and the upper end of the rotating shaft 61 is connected to the center of rotation of the alignment plate 24 of the tablet cassette 23 (not shown), so that when the drive member 51 rotates, the tablet cassette 23, the cutting mechanism 40, and the cut piece discharge mechanism 60 work together to perform a specified operation.

To explain each part in detail (see Figure 1), the tablet cassette 23 may be of a structure similar to that of a normal tablet cassette that is mounted in large numbers in the tablet feeder storage of a medicine packaging machine, with an alignment board 24 rotatably housed in the internal tablet storage space and a partition member 25 attached above the tablet drop port 26, so that as the alignment board 24 rotates, tablets are sent one by one from the large number of stored tablets into the tablet drop port 26 where they fall, but it has been made small to fit in the upper part of the box body 21, and is particularly short, so that it can store only a small number of tablets.

The uppermost lid 23a is exemplified as a swingable thin plate-like body (see FIG. 1B), but the lid 23a may be a shallow cap-like body or a removable body.
Although not shown in the figures, two or so vertical grooves (compartments) for tablet sorting formed on the periphery of the alignment plate 24 are formed to facilitate synchronization with the tablet cutting timing and the timing of discharging the cut tablet pieces. Although also not shown in the figures, while there is only one tablet drop port 26, the same number of partition members 25 as the vertical grooves are provided to prevent clogging of the vertical grooves, etc.

The tablet introduction mechanism 30 is mainly composed of a tablet drop guide path 31 whose upper end is located at or just below the lower end of the tablet drop port 26 described above and whose lower end is located at or just above the upper end of the cutting mechanism 40. It may be composed of a dedicated member or may be composed of other members, etc. In short, it is sufficient that the tablet introduction mechanism 30 utilizes the falling of the tablets 4 due to gravity to receive the tablets that have fallen from the upper tablet drop port 26 described above and guide them to the lower cutting position 41 described below.

The cutting mechanism 40 (see Figures 1 and 2) is used to cut the tablet 4 at the cutting position 41 vertically, and is equipped with a fixed blade 42, a movable blade 43, a lower advancing/retracting member 44, and an upper advancing/retracting member 45. The movable blade 43, the lower advancing/retracting member 44, and the upper advancing/retracting member 45 are driven by a cam mechanism 52 of the drive mechanism 50 to move forward and backward (see Figure 2(b)).
The movable blade 43 (see Figures 2(a) to (c)) is positioned behind the cutting position 41 with its horizontally long blade tip facing forward, and when driven, the blade tip is advanced or retreated to the middle of the forward cutting position 41, thereby cutting the tablet 4 at the cutting position 41 vertically.

The fixed blade 42 (see Figures 2(a) to (c)) is fixedly attached to the outer panel portion 22 of the box body 21, and is located just before the cutting position 41 with its horizontally elongated blade tip facing backward, and its blade tip is opposed to the movable blade 43 mentioned above.
The lower advancing/retreating member 44 (see Figures 2(a) to (c)) is positioned behind the cutting position 41 with its horizontally long receiving plate portion facing forward, and when driven forward, the receiving plate portion advances to just below the forward cutting position 41, thereby supporting the tablet 4 and holding it at the cutting position 41, and when driven backward, the receiving plate portion is withdrawn from just below the cutting position 41, thereby allowing the tablet 4 and its cut tablet pieces 5 to fall and be discharged.

The upper advancing/retracting member 45 (see Figures 2(a)-(c)) is positioned behind the cutting position 41 with its slightly shorter but still horizontally elongated pusher plate facing forward. When driven forward, the pusher plate advances to just above the cutting position 41 in front, preventing the tablet 4 from floating up and stably maintaining the tablet 4 at the cutting position 41. When driven backward, the pusher plate is withdrawn from just above the cutting position 41, allowing the next tablet 4 to drop to the cutting position 41. Since an elastic member such as a spring is interposed between the upper advancing/retracting member 45 and the cam mechanism 52, if it abuts against the upper end of the tablet 4 when advancing, it will remain at the abutment position, so that even if the tablet 4 is slightly out of position at the cutting position 41, the tablet 4 will not be damaged and will be stabilized.

In the cutting mechanism 40 equipped with such members 42 to 45, not only the blade 42 which is directly fixed, but also the other movable members 43 to 45 are indirectly attached to the outer panel portion 22 of the box body 21 located in front of the cutting mechanism 40 via support members or the like not shown.
Therefore, when necessary, such as for maintenance work, when the outer panel portion 22 is removed from the box body 21, the cutting mechanism 40 is also removed from the box body 21 together with the outer panel portion 22.
In addition, at least the portion of the outer plate portion 22 of the box body 21 that is related to the cutting position 41, but usually the outer plate portion 22 and other outer plate portions as well, are made of a transparent material such as hard acrylic, so that the tablet cutting status can be visually observed from the outside.

The operating portion located at the front end of the upper advancing/retreating member 45 is a long horizontal push plate as described above, which is easy to manufacture and is also sturdy (see Figure 2(c)), but it may also be made of multiple linear members arranged in an arc so that the tablet 4 will not roll even if it is pressed gently (see Figure 2(d)).
Furthermore, by forming side walls 43a standing on the left and right sides of the movable blade 43 (see Figure 2 (e)), it is possible to easily and accurately prevent the upper of the upper and lower tablet cut pieces 5 produced by cutting the tablet 4 from shifting position from left to right.

The drive mechanism 50 is equipped with a drive member 51 (see FIG. 1(a)) consisting of an electric motor, a reduction gear, etc., and a cam mechanism 52 (see FIG. 2(b)) that moves the movable blade 43, the lower advance/retract member 44, and the upper advance/retract member 45 of the cutting mechanism 40 in a predetermined order when driven by the drive member 51. At least the cam mechanism 52 is provided at the side of the cutting mechanism 40 and at the rear in order to drive the cutting mechanism 40. Since the advance/retract drive has already been realized using a cam mechanism or the like (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 4), detailed illustrations are omitted and the mechanism is shown as one block. Although not shown, the axial rotation drive of the above-mentioned rotating shaft 61 is also performed by the drive member 51, and these 52 and 61 operate synchronously.

The cut pieces discharge mechanism 60 (see Figures 1 and 3(a) to (c)) comprises the rotating shaft 61 and disk 62 described above in relation to the rotational drive of the alignment plate 24, and a support member 66 that holds them from below. A hole is formed in the centre of the bottom plate of the support member 66 for rotatably supporting the lower end of the rotating shaft 61 (see Figure 3(b) in particular), and a tablet cut piece discharge port 67 is formed in the rear part of the bottom plate of the support member 66, allowing the tablet cut pieces 5 to pass through. Four vertical holes 63 are formed through the disk 62, and the four vertical holes 63 change positions in sequence every time the disk 62 rotates 90° in accordance with the axial rotation of the rotating shaft 61.
The forward vertical hole 63 is located at a tablet cut piece receiving position 64, and the rearward vertical hole 63 is located at a tablet cut piece discharge position 65. Below the tablet cut piece discharge position 65, a tablet cut piece discharge port 67 of the support member 66 is located.

Each of the vertical holes 63 is large enough to allow the tablet cut pieces 5 to pass through, so that the tablet cut pieces 5 that drop from the cutting mechanism 40 to the tablet cut piece receiving position 64 enter the vertical hole 63 that is located there.
The vertical holes 63 other than the tablet cut pieces discharge position 65 have the tablet scrap collection member 70, which will be described in detail below, approaching from below and stopping the tablet cut pieces 5 from falling further, so that the tablet cut pieces 5 are retained in the hole.When the disc 62 is rotated by the driving shaft 61, it also moves laterally in an arc, sending the tablet cut pieces 5 inside to the tablet cut piece discharge position 65.

The tablet scrap collection member 70 (see Figs. 1, 3(a), and (b)) is a plate-like body that can be inserted between the disk 62 and the support member 66 of the cut piece discharge mechanism 60. When in use, it can be inserted into the cut piece discharge mechanism 60 by pushing it in through the front opening of the box body 21 (see Figs. 1(a) and 3(a)), and can be pulled out and removed from the box body 21 when cleaning, etc. (see Fig. 1(b)). The tablet scrap collection member 70 (see Figs. 1(b) and 3(b)) has a shallow recess 71 formed on the top surface of the central part except for the center and the part behind it, a shallow recess 72 is also formed on the outer edge, and a notch 73 is formed in the rear part extending from the rear end to the center.

When the tablet scrap collection member 70 is inserted into the box body 21 (see Figures 3(a) and (b)), the width of the notch 73 is wider than the diameter of the rotating shaft 61, so that the tablet scrap collection member 70 fits into the box body 21 without interfering with the rotating shaft 61, and both the recesses 71, 72 and the notch 73 of the tablet scrap collection member 70 fit between the disc 62 and the support member 66 of the cut piece discharge mechanism 60.
Moreover, in this state, the vertical hole 63 at the cut tablet piece discharge position 65, the notch 73 of the tablet scraps collecting member 70, and the cut tablet piece discharge port 67 of the support member 66 are aligned vertically.

Furthermore, in this state (see Figs. 3(a) and (b)), the other vertical holes 63, 63, 63 except for the vertical hole 63 at the tablet cut pieces discharge position 65 are located above the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member 70, and are basically not above the recesses 71, 72, and even at the closest point, they are only slightly above. Specifically (see Fig. 3(c)), by ensuring a small gap G between the lower surface of the disk 62 and the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member 70, a gap G that allows tablet scraps to pass but does not allow tablet cut pieces to pass is simply and reliably ensured between the recesses 71, 72 and the vertical hole 63.

The use and operation of the tablet dividing device 20 of this embodiment 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 4 shows the operating state of the cutting mechanism 40, and (a) to (i) are right side views of the main parts 41 to 45.
3(d) to (f) are exploded perspective views of the cut piece discharge mechanism 60 and the tablet scraps collection member 70, showing the discharge operation of the cut tablet pieces 5 and the collection state of the tablet scraps 6. FIG.

When the tablet splitting device 20 of this example is mounted on a medicine packaging machine and used (see Figure 1 (a)), the tablet splitting device 20 is a replacement type among the types mounted on a medicine packaging machine, so two adjacent base parts 10, 10 in the tablet feeder storage are reserved for one tablet splitting device 20, and the tablet splitting device 20 is placed on them (see Figure 1 (a)), and power supply lines and signal lines are connected to the drive mechanism 50 using the base part 10.
In this case, if the only candidate adjacent base portion is located inside the warehouse, a placement location for the tablet dividing device 20 is selected from there (see, for example, Patent Document 6).

On the other hand, if the candidate adjacent base part is located in a place that is easy to see, such as the front of the storage part (see, for example, JP 2016-73518 A, JP 2018-196709 A, and JP 2019-118657 A), that place is given priority in selecting the placement destination of the tablet dividing device 20. If it cannot be selected from the front, as a second best measure, the placement destination of the tablet dividing device 20 is selected from a place where the tablet feeder can be relatively easily exposed by opening and closing, etc.
If the tablet dividing device 20 is mounted on the front of the medicine packaging machine, the operating state, such as the tablet cutting status, can be visually confirmed at any time through the outer plate portion 22, etc.

When the tablet dividing device 20 is mounted on the medicine packaging machine, whether inside the storage unit or on the front side of the storage unit, it is ready to operate according to the instructions of the control device of the medicine packaging machine. Furthermore, when the lid 23a is opened and closed and an appropriate number of tablets 4 to be divided are inserted into the tablet cassette 23, the tablet dividing device 20 is ready to start.
Then, when the control device issues an instruction to eject or prepare to eject the tablet cut pieces 5 to the tablet splitting device 20, the cutting position 41 in the tablet splitting device 20 is initially empty and its bottom is open (see Figure 4(a)), so first the lower advancing/retreating member 44 advances to close the bottom of the cutting position 41 (see Figure 4(b)), and the cutting position 41 is ready to receive the tablet 4.

In addition, in the tablet cassette 23, the alignment plate 24 rotates, and one tablet 4 separated by the partition member 25 falls from the tablet drop port 26 and further falls along the tablet drop guide path 31 until it reaches the cutting position 41, where it is stopped by the lower advancing/retreating member 44 (see Figures 1(a), 2(a), and 4(c)).
Then, the movable blade 43 and the upper advancing/retreating member 45 advance forward, and at the same time or slightly after the upper advancing/retreating member 45 presses the upper end of the tablet 4, the movable blade 43 abuts against the tablet 4 (see Figure 4(d)), and the tablet 4 is firmly clamped from the side by the fixed blade 42 and the movable blade 43, and is lightly held down from the top and bottom by the upper advancing/retreating member 45 and the lower advancing/retreating member 44 (see Figure 4(e)).

As the movable blade 43 advances further, the cutting edge of the movable blade 43 bites into the tablet cut piece 5 (see Figure 4 (f)), and then as the movable blade 43 advances further while the lower advancing/retreating member 44 retracts (see Figure 4 (g)), the tablet 4 is cut and separated into upper and lower tablet cut pieces 5, 5, with the upper tablet cut piece 5 remaining on the movable blade 43 but the lower tablet cut piece 5 falling first.
In addition, in synchronization with the timing of the fall, one of the vertical holes 63 of the disk 62, which was rotating together with the alignment plate 24 by the rotating shaft 61, moves laterally to the tablet cut piece receiving position 64 (see Figure 3 (d)), so that the tablet cut piece 5 that fell earlier enters the vertical hole 63 at the tablet cut piece receiving position 64.

The tablet cut pieces 5 then pass through the vertical hole 63 and stop when their bottom reaches the top surface of the tablet scrap collection member 70 (see Figure 3 (e) ; note that the tablet cut pieces 5 depicted in the vertical hole 63 at the tablet cut piece receiving position 64 and in the front part of the top surface of the tablet scrap collection member 70 in the same figure are in fact a single piece, but are shown overlapping when the member is unfolded).
Most of the tablet scraps 6 generated by cutting the tablet cut pieces 5, etc. also fall onto the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member 70 in the same manner, but because the tablet scraps 6 are small and tend to scatter around the tablet cut pieces 5, some of the tablet scraps 6 immediately pass through the gap G from the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member 70 (see Figure 3 (c)) and enter the recesses 71, 72.

Then, the tablet cut pieces 5 move in an arc while rubbing against the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member 70 as they are dragged along with the rotation of the disk 62. As a result, some of the tablet scraps 6 remaining on the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member 70 are dragged slightly by the tablet cut pieces 5, but most are scattered by the tablet cut pieces 5, and some enter the recesses 71, 72 from the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member 70 through the gap G (see FIG. 3(c)). The tablet scraps 6 remaining on the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member 70 that do not enter the recesses 71, 72 after being scattered once or a few times are also scattered by the succeeding tablet cut pieces 5, and eventually most of them enter the recesses 71, 72.

By the time the tablet cut pieces 5 leave the tablet cut piece receiving position 64, the movable blade 43 and upper advancing/retreating member 45 of the cutting mechanism 40 also retract (see Figure 4(h)), causing the upper tablet cut pieces 5 remaining at the cutting position 41 to fall from the cutting position 41 (see Figure 4(i)), and the cutting mechanism 40 returns to its initial state (see Figure 4(a)).
Also, since this is similar to the fall of the lower tablet cut pieces 5 described above, I will only briefly explain it, but in time with the fall of the upper tablet cut pieces 5, the adjacent vertical hole 63 moves laterally to the tablet cut piece receiving position 64, and the tablet cut pieces 5 that fell later enter there.

The tablet cut pieces 5 also reach the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member 70 while remaining in the vertical hole 63, and the tablet scraps 6 that fell along with the tablet cut pieces 5 also reach the upper surface of the tablet scrap collection member 70, but the tablet scraps 6 scatter and some of them fall into the recesses 71, 72.
If the instruction from the control device is an ejection instruction, the tablet splitting device 20 continues to operate, but if the instruction from the control device is an ejection preparation instruction, the tablet splitting device 20 temporarily stops operation in this state and waits for an ejection instruction before resuming operation.
Whether continued or restarted, the same operations as described above are repeated thereafter, and the next tablet 4 is dropped, cut, and the cut tablet pieces 5 are dropped and moved laterally.

However, in the subsequent state, the tablet cut pieces 5 that first entered the vertical hole 63 remain midway from the tablet cut piece receiving position 64 to the tablet cut piece discharge position 65, and the tablet cut pieces 5 that next entered the vertical hole 63 remain at the tablet cut piece receiving position 64. Therefore, when the lower tablet cut piece 5 created by cutting the next tablet 4 is moved laterally, the tablet cut piece 5 that was at the tablet cut piece receiving position 64 is moved laterally from the tablet cut piece receiving position 64 to a position midway to the tablet cut piece discharge position 65. The tablet cut pieces 5 that remained on the way from the tablet cut piece receiving position 64 to the tablet cut piece discharge position 65 are moved laterally to the tablet cut piece discharge position 65 (see FIG. 3(f) , in which the tablet cut piece 5 depicted at the three locations of the tablet cut piece discharge position 65, the notch 73, and the tablet cut piece discharge port 67 is actually one piece, and the tablet cut piece 5 depicted at the vertical hole 63 at the midway position and the left side of the recess 71 is also actually one piece, and both are shown overlapping due to the deployment of the components).

Then, the tablet cut pieces 5 move laterally from the intermediate position to the tablet cut piece discharge position 65, and reach the notch 73 at the end of the lateral movement, from which they drop and pass through the tablet cut piece discharge outlet 67, and are discharged from the tablet splitting device 20 and are provided for packaging in the drug packaging machine to which they are loaded.
In this way, the tablet dividing device 20 rotates the disk 62 and the aligning plate 24 by 90° each time a discharge command is received to discharge one tablet cut piece 5, and when the aligning plate 24 rotates 180° every other discharge command, it also sends the tablet 4 to the cutting position 41 and divides it into upper and lower tablet cut pieces 5, 5, so that it can supply the tablet cut pieces 5 one by one at the instructed time. Moreover, most of the tablet cut pieces 6, including the tablet cut pieces 6 that remained on the upper surface of the tablet cut piece collecting member 70 when the previous tablet cut piece 5 was supplied, are stored in the recesses 71, 72 when the subsequent tablet cut pieces 5 are supplied.

In addition, during such operation or when operation is stopped, the state of the cutting mechanism 40 is visually inspected by looking into the inside through the transparent outer panel portion 22 of the box body 21 to check for the presence or absence of abnormalities, and if any abnormalities are found, the cutting mechanism 40 is removed from the box body 21 together with the outer panel portion 22 and appropriate measures such as repair or replacement are taken.
Since it is possible to easily check the tablet cutting status visually in this manner, the tablet dividing device 20 can quickly detect any malfunctions in the cutting mechanism 40, making it possible to easily maintain tablet cutting in good condition.

Furthermore, when the tablet scrap collection member 70 is pulled out from the box body 21 at an appropriate time when the tablet dividing device 20 is stopped operating (see Figure 1(b)), the accumulation of tablet scraps 6 in the recess 71 can be visually confirmed (see Figure 3(f)). Therefore, if the recess 71 is dirty, the recess 71 etc. can be cleaned thoroughly before returning the tablet scrap collection member 70 to the box body 21 (see Figures 1(a) and 3(a)).
Since the tablet scraps 6 are efficiently collected by this type of tablet scrap collection member 70, the tablet splitting device 20 also has the effect of reducing the amount of dust that adheres to the tablet scrap detection sensor at the bottom and the tablet collection mechanism below that.

[others]
In the above examples, a replacement type tablet splitting device has been shown that is mounted on a medicine packaging machine, but the tablet splitting device of the present invention may also be embodied as an additional type tablet splitting device that is mounted on a medicine packaging machine, or as an independent type tablet splitting device (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 6).
In the above embodiment, the tablet cassette 23 was fixedly incorporated into the box body 21 of the tablet splitting device 20, but the tablet cassette 23 may also be separate from the tablet splitting device 20 and be able to be attached and detached to the box body 21 of the tablet splitting device 20 (see, for example, Patent Document 6).

In the above embodiment, the power supply cable for the driving member 51 is directly connected to the power supply part of the base part 10 of the tablet feeder, but it may be indirectly connected. For example, if there is an unused electric wire in the cable already laid between the power source etc. and the base part 10 inside the medicine packaging machine, it can be reused or the number of electric wires can be increased by adding or replacing the cable, and the connection of usable electric wires can be established in advance between the power source etc. of the medicine packaging machine and the base part 10 on which the tablet splitting device 20 is to be mounted. Furthermore, by arranging the terminals of each usable electric wire at the upper end of the base part 10 and arranging the terminals of the electric wire for the driving member 51 at the lower end of the box body 21, etc., the driving member 51 can also be operated in conjunction with the mounting of the tablet splitting device 20 on the adjacent base parts 10, 10.

In the above embodiment, in addition to the advancing and retreating members 44, 45 of the cutting mechanism 40, the alignment plate 24 and the rotating shaft 61 and disc 62 of the cut piece discharge mechanism 60 are also driven by the drive mechanism 50 and are not connected to the spline shaft 11 of the base part 10 and are not driven by the spline shaft 11. However, with regard to the alignment plate 24, rotating shaft 61 and disc 62, which require a relatively small driving force, any of them may be driven by the spline shaft 11.

The tablet dividing device of the present invention can be incorporated into an automatic dispensing machine such as a tablet packaging machine by being placed on the base of a tablet feeder as described above (see, for example, Patent Document 6), but it can also be used by connecting a tablet introduction mechanism to a tablet drop path extending downward from a single tablet feeder, or to a tablet collection path after the tablet drop paths of multiple tablet feeders join below (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Furthermore, it can also be used as a stand-alone device (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 to 5).

4...tablets, 5...tablet shreds, 6...tablet scraps,
10: base portion (tablet feeder), 11: spline shaft,
20...tablet dividing device,
21: Box body, 22: Outer plate portion, 23: Tablet cassette (tablet feeder),
23a... lid, 24... alignment plate, 25... partition member, 26... tablet drop port,
30: tablet introduction mechanism, 31: tablet drop guide path,
40...Cutting mechanism,
41 ... cutting position, 42 ... fixed blade, 43 ... movable blade,
43a...side wall, 44...lower advancing/retracting member, 45...upper advancing/retracting member,
50... Drive mechanism,
51: driving member, 52: cam mechanism,
60...Shredded piece discharge mechanism,
61: Rotating shaft; 62: Disk; 63: Vertical hole; 64: Tablet cut piece receiving position;
65 ... tablet cut piece discharge position, 66 ... support member, 67 ... tablet cut piece discharge port,
70: tablet waste collecting member, 71: recess, 72: recess, 73: notch, G: gap

Claims (4)

A tablet dividing device comprising: a tablet introducing mechanism that receives a dropped tablet and guides it to a cutting position; a cutting mechanism that cuts the tablet at the cutting position; a drive mechanism that drives the cutting mechanism; a cut piece discharge mechanism that guides the cut tablet pieces that have dropped from the cutting position to a discharge position; and a box that contains the cutting mechanism and the cut piece discharge mechanism.
The cut piece discharge mechanism has a rotatable disk that receives the cut tablet pieces and has a vertical hole formed therethrough through which the cut tablet pieces can pass, and the vertical hole is moved from a receiving position for the cut tablet pieces to the discharge position by rotation of the disk, thereby discharging the received cut tablet pieces by free fall.
A tablet scrap collection member having a recess formed on its upper surface is provided below the disc so as to be freely attached and detached from the box body , and when the tablet scrap collection member is attached to the box body , a gap is secured between the lower surface and the upper surface of the disc which allows tablet scraps to pass through but does not allow the cut tablet pieces to pass through.This tablet splitting device is characterized by the above. The tablet splitting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the tablet scrap collection member can be pulled out and removed from the box body. The tablet dividing device as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cutting mechanism comprises a movable blade that moves forward and backward to the cutting position to cut the tablet there into upper and lower parts, a lower advancing and retreating member that supports and holds the tablet and drops and ejects it there by moving forward and backward below the cutting position, and an upper advancing and retreating member that presses the tablet there by moving forward and backward above the cutting position. 4. The tablet dividing device according to claim 3, wherein a fixed blade opposing said movable blade is attached to an outer plate portion of said box body, and said outer plate portion is transparent .

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