JP7835995B2 - Powder packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a powder packaging device, and more particularly to a powder dispensing unit that dispensing a fixed amount of powder contained in the grooves of a powder storage member.

Conventionally, powder packaging devices are equipped with a powder dispensing device that uniformly supplies powder to a powder storage member (also called an R-disk or dispensing tray) having an annular groove with an arc-shaped cross-section, and then uses a rotating plate with a dispensing plate to dispense and remove the powder one packet at a time from the annular groove (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

In conventional powder packaging devices, as shown in Figure 16, a rotating plate 102 is lowered into the powder contained in the powder storage member 101 to cut the powder. When the scraping plate 103 of the rotating plate 102 scrapes out the first packet of powder, if the scraped-out powder has a division width S narrower than the scraping width W corresponding to the number of packets, the powder storage member 101 is reversed to scrape the powder contained in the powder storage member 101 to the opposite side of the scraping plate 103. However, as the number of packets increases, the amount scraped out also increases, resulting in the scraped-out powder spilling into the N-1 packet, causing the N-1 packet to have more and the N packet to have less, making even division impossible. Therefore, in conventional packaging devices, depending on the dimensions of the scraping width W of the scraping plate 103, the maximum number of packets that could be divided was at most 93. If the number of packets exceeded the maximum number of divisions, the required amount of powder was divided into two portions and placed in the powder container 101. For example, in the case of 100 packets, first 50 packets' worth of powder were placed in the powder container 101 and divided into 50 portions, and then the remaining 50 packets' worth of powder were placed in the powder container 101 and divided into 50 portions, which meant that the packaging process took a long time.

Patent Document 3 describes a packaging device equipped with a narrow cutting member (scraping plate) and a wide cutting member (scraping plate) on one side of a rotating member. The first package is scraped out with the narrow cutting member, and subsequent packages are scraped out with the wide cutting member. However, the packaging device in Patent Document 3 has a problem in that, after the second and subsequent packages are scraped out with the wide cutting member, the narrow cutting member raises the rotating member passing over the rotary table, resulting in a long processing time until packaging is complete.

Patent Document 4 describes a packaging device equipped with a first scraping member on the first surface of a rotating member and a second scraping member on the second surface of the rotating member, having a wider scraping width than the first scraping member. For 1 to 63 divisions, the device uses the wider second scraping member while rotating the rotary table in a first direction, and for 64 to 93 divisions, it uses the narrower first scraping member while rotating the rotary table in a second direction different from the first. In the packaging device of Patent Document 4, since the narrow scraping member is used from the first to the last division for 64 to 93 divisions, the feed amount of the rotary table decreases as the number of divisions increases. Therefore, after scraping the first division with the narrow scraping member, before scraping the second division, the wider scraping member scrapes off part of the powder in the last division. Thus, the maximum number of divisions is 93.

Patent Document 5 describes a powder/granular material dividing device equipped with a wide-width cutting member and a narrow-width cutting member on one side of the damming section for cutting powder contained in an annular groove of a table. In multi-division cases, the first cut is made with the narrow-width cutting member, and subsequent cuts are made with the wide-width cutting member. In small-division cases, the wide-width cutting member is used for cutting from the first to the final cut. In the device of Patent Document 5, since the wide-width cutting member and the narrow-width cutting member are provided on the same side of the damming section, after cutting with the wide-width cutting member, the narrow-width cutting member passes through the annular groove, and the narrow-width cutting member scrapes out the portion of the powder that was not cut out by the wide-width cutting member and has collapsed. As a result, the collapsed portion is scraped out more than necessary, leading to a problem of excessive scraping. Furthermore, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 5, when cutting out a single packet with a width wider than the width of the wide cutting member, the annular groove of the table is rotated, and the powder exceeding the width of the wide cutting member is gathered by the damming section (rotating plate) before being scraped out. However, the greater the gathered width, the greater the tendency for the powder to collapse after scraping. When the powder collapses significantly, a larger amount of the collapsed portion is scraped out when the narrow cutting member passes after the wide cutting member. Therefore, limiting the gathering width and setting a small limit for the gathering width results in an increased number of scraping cycles, leading to the problem of longer packaging times.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-179967 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-247841 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-262944 (Japanese Patent No. 5140483) Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-113551 (Japanese Patent No. 6531753) Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-177247 (Japanese Patent No. 6864351)

This invention has been made in view of the aforementioned conventional problems, and aims to provide a powder packaging device that can dispense the required number of powder packets by simply sprinkling the required amount of powder into the powder packaging member once, even when dispensing a large number of packets.

As a means to solve the above problems, the powdered drug packaging apparatus of the present invention is
A rotatable powder container having a groove with a circular arc cross-section,
A powder packaging device comprising a rotating plate that is rotatable in contact with the groove and is provided to be vertically movable relative to the groove, and which is equipped with a scraping plate for scraping out the powder contained in the powder storage member,
The scraping plate comprises a first scraping plate provided on the first surface of the rotating plate and a second scraping plate provided on the second surface of the rotating plate, having a smaller scraping width than the first scraping plate.
The device is characterized by being configured to allow switching between a case where the powder is scraped out using only the first scraping plate, and a case where the powder is scraped out using both the first and second scraping plates, depending on the number of packets of powder contained in the powder storage member .
If the number of packets is less than or equal to a predetermined number, the powder is scraped out using only the first scraping plate.
Preferably, if the number of packets exceeds a predetermined number, the second scraping plate scrapes out the first packet of powder in a predetermined division width, moves the powder-containing member from the second side to the first side of the rotating plate, and then the first scraping plate scrapes out the second and subsequent packets of powder in a predetermined division width.

In the aforementioned powder packaging device, when the first packet is scraped out by the narrow second scraping plate, the powder container is moved from the second side to the first side to scrape the powder contained in the container to the side opposite the second scraping plate, so that the powder is scraped out in a division width corresponding to the number of packets. However, because the scraping width of the second scraping plate is small, the amount scraped out is small. Therefore, even if there are many packets, the powder scraped out to the side opposite the second scraping plate will fit within the division width of the second packet and will be scraped out when the second packet is scraped out by the first scraping plate.

It is preferable that the powder-containing member is moved from the first side to the second side after the second scraping plate has finished scraping the first packet of powder, and before the first scraping plate begins scraping the second packet of powder.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the first scraping plate scrapes out the powder, the powder-containing member moves from the first side to the second side, and then the second scraping plate enters the powder-containing member.

Preferably, the first scraping plate and the second scraping plate are positioned equally around the central axis of the rotating plate.

Preferably, two of the first scraping plates and one of the second scraping plates are provided.

It is preferable that the powder-containing member is moved from the first surface side to the second surface side after the first scraping plate has finished scraping the powder and before the second first scraping plate begins scraping the powder.
In this case, it is preferable that the configuration is such that the first scraping plate scrapes out the powder, and after the second first scraping plate scrapes out the powder, the second scraping plate enters the powder-containing member before the first scraping plate enters the powder-containing member.

The program according to the present invention is
The control device for controlling the powdered drug packaging apparatus, the powdered drug containing member and the rotating plate,
The steps include: scraping out the first packet of powdered medicine in predetermined division widths using the second scraping plate;
After moving the powder-containing member from the second side to the first side of the rotating plate, the first scraping plate scrapes out the second packet of powder in a predetermined division width,
This program causes the powder-containing member to be moved from the second side to the first side of the rotating plate, and then the first scraping plate to scrape out the third and subsequent packets of powder in predetermined division widths.

The medium according to the present invention is
This is a computer-readable recording medium on which the aforementioned program is recorded.

According to this invention, when the first packet is scraped out by the narrow second scraping plate, the powder container is moved from the second side to the first side to scrape the powder contained in the container to the side opposite the second scraping plate, so that the powder is scraped out in a division width corresponding to the number of packets. However, because the scraping width of the second scraping plate is small, the amount scraped out is small. Therefore, even if there are many packets, the powder scraped out to the side opposite the second scraping plate will fit within the division width of the second packet and will be scraped out when the second packet is scraped out by the first scraping plate. As a result, the required number of packets of powder can be scraped out by simply sprinkling the required amount of powder into the powder container once.

Overall perspective view of a powder packaging device. Schematic diagram of a powder packaging device. Figure (a) shows the control panel of a powder packaging device, and Figure (b) shows the state of a conventional touch panel when adjusting the feeder speed. Figure (a) shows the state of the touch panel in one embodiment when adjusting the feeder speed, and Figure (b) shows the state of the touch panel in another embodiment. Perspective view of the powder container and the powder scraping device. An exploded perspective view of the rotating member from the first side (a), and a perspective view of the rotating plate from the second side (b). A side view (a) and a front view (b) of the rotating member on the first side. A diagram illustrating an automated cleaning system. Plan view and cross-sectional view showing the state of the vacuum cleaner when the paper bag is installed (a, b) and when it is being replaced (c, d). A diagram illustrating the cleaning procedure using an automated cleaning system. A diagram showing the configuration of the control device. A flowchart illustrating the process of dispensing powdered medicine. A diagram showing the process of scooping out powdered medicine in quantities of 93 packets or less. A cross-sectional view showing the state of scraping out the powdered medicine in Figure 12. A diagram showing the process of scooping out more than 94 packets of powdered medicine. A cross-sectional view showing the state of scraping out the powdered medicine in Figure 14. A cross-sectional view showing the conventional method of scraping out powdered medicine.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a powder packaging device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This powder packaging device 1 dispenses powdered medicine, which is fed in through a powder input unit 2, into a powder scraping unit 3, one packet at a time, and then packages it using a packaging unit 4. The powder packaging device 1 also includes a tablet dispensing unit 5 for manually dispensing tablets one packet at a time and supplying them to the packaging unit 4.

As shown in Figure 2, the powder dispensing unit 2 comprises an input hopper 6 and a powder dispensing feeder 7. The powder dispensing unit is fed from the input hopper 6 to the powder dispensing feeder 7, and the vibration of the powder dispensing feeder 7 supplies the powder dispensing unit 3 to the powder dispensing container 10.

The supply speed of the powder feeder 7 can be increased or decreased using the control panel 8 located on the top of the powder packaging device 1. As shown in Figure 3(a), the control panel 8 is equipped with 16 bar-shaped touch panels 9 for adjusting the feeder speed of the two powder input sections 2, A and B, in 16 steps. When the power is turned on, the default setting is 8 steps, and the touch panels 9 from step 1 to step 8 on the left are lit yellow (shown as hatching in the figure). To increase the feeder speed, swipe your fingertip to the right from step 8; to decrease it, swipe your fingertip to the left from step 8. For example, as shown in Figure 3(b), to increase the feeder speed to step 14, swipe your fingertip to the right from step 8 to step 14. This causes the touch panels 9 from step 8 to step 14 to light up, indicating the set feeder speed.

When swiping the touch panel 9, if the entire range of the touch panel 9 from the start to the end of the swipe is illuminated, it becomes impossible to determine the starting point of the swipe and thus the extent to which the feeder speed has changed. To enable recognition of the change in feeder speed from the start to the end of the swipe, the touch panel 9 from the point where the finger first touched to the touch panel 9 at the end of the swipe is made to blink, as shown in Figure 4(a), or the illumination color is changed from that of the swipe start position, as shown in Figure 4(b). This allows for visual recognition of the change in feeder speed.

As shown in Figure 2, the powder dispensing unit 3 comprises a powder containing member 10 and a powder dispensing device 11.

The powder container 10 consists of a perforated disc with an annular groove 10a with an arc-shaped cross-section formed on its upper outer circumference, and rotates under the drive of the motor 12. The powder introduced from the powder input section 2 is uniformly contained within the annular groove 10a.

As shown in Figure 5, the powder dispensing device 11 comprises a base 13, an arm 14, and a rotating member 15.

The base 13 is positioned inside the powder container 10 and has a rotary motor 16 and a lifting motor 17. The rotary motor 16 transmits power from its motor gear (not shown) to the pulley 19 of the drive shaft 18 via an intermediate gear 16a and a drive gear 16b. The lifting motor 17 rotates the lifting gear 17b via the motor gear 17a, and raises and lowers the lifting platform 20 via a pin 17c provided on the lifting gear 17b.

The arm 14 is rotatably mounted at one end to the drive shaft 18 of the base 13, and the other end is attached to a rotating shaft 23, which will be described later. A belt 22 is stretched between the pulley 19 of the drive shaft 18 and the pulley 21 of the rotating shaft 23, so that the rotational force of the drive shaft 18 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 23. The arm 14 is also supported by a lifting platform 20, and as the lifting platform 20 is raised and lowered, it rotates around the drive shaft 18 at a predetermined angle between the scraping position and the retracted position.

As shown in Figure 6, the rotating member 15 consists of a rotating shaft 23, a mounting base plate 24, and a rotating plate 25.

As mentioned above, the rotating shaft 23 is rotatably attached to the tip of the arm 14.

The mounting base plate 24 consists of a stainless steel disc and is integrally rotatably attached to one end of the rotating shaft 23. A triangular pyramidal projection 26 is attached to the rotating plate side of the mounting base plate 24. Conical mounting pins 27 are attached to symmetrical positions on both sides of the projection 26. The mounting pins 27 are radially slidable and biased radially outward by a spring (not shown).

The rotating plate 25 is made of a stainless steel disc having the same radius of curvature as the arc of the annular groove 10a of the powder container member 10. An elastic edge portion 28 made of silicon or the like is integrated around the entire circumference by heat fusion. A triangular mounting hole 25a is formed in the center of the rotating plate 25, into which the projection 26 of the mounting base plate 24 engages. Positioning holes 25b, consisting of elongated holes into which the mounting pins 27 of the mounting base plate 24 engage, are formed on both sides of the mounting hole 25a. Two wide scraping plates (first scraping plates) 29a and 29b are integrally provided on the first surface (front) of the rotating plate 25, opposite the rotation axis 23. A narrow scraping plate (second scraping plate) 29c is provided on the second surface (back) on the same side as the rotation axis 23.

The two wide scraping plates 29a and 29b and the one narrow scraping plate 29c have the same shape except for their scraping widths. Therefore, the wide scraping plate 29a will be described first. The scraping plate 29a is formed by bending a plate-like body, such as stainless steel, to create a scraping portion 30 and a partition portion 31. An elastic piece 32, such as silicone, is integrated into the tip of the scraping portion 30. A portion of the outer edge of the partition portion 31 is formed in an arc shape along the annular groove 10a of the powder container member 10. As shown in Figure 7(a), the scraping width Wb of the narrow scraping plate 29c is smaller than the scraping width Wa of the wide scraping plates 29a and 29b. Also, as shown in Figure 7(b), the two wide scraping plates 29a and 29b and the one narrow scraping plate 29c are positioned at equal intervals (120° apart) around the central axis of the rotating plate 25.

Returning to Figure 2, the packaging unit 4 is configured to receive the powdered medicine scraped from the powdered medicine scraping unit 3 via the packaging hopper 42 onto the packaging paper 41, which is unwound from the paper roll 40 and folded in half. Each package is then sealed and discharged by heater rollers 43a and 43b.

Figure 8A shows the automatic cleaning system of the powdered medicine packaging device 1. As shown in Figure 11, the cleaning nozzle 50 and suction hose 51 are located on the right side of the front of the powdered medicine packaging device 1, allowing for manual cleaning of each part. The suction hose 51 is connected to a vacuum cleaner 53 located inside the powdered medicine packaging device 1 via a switching valve 52. The switching valve 52 comprises a valve body 54, four suction nozzles 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d (numbered from the first to the fourth), and one discharge nozzle 56.

The valve body 54 is cylindrical, with one end closed and the other end open, and a communication hole 54a is formed in its circumferential wall. The valve body 54 is mounted in the center of the casing 57, and is capable of forward and reverse rotation by a motor 58.

The ends of the four suction nozzles 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d, numbered 1 through 4, converge around the valve body 54, sliding in a sealed state with the valve body 54, and communicating with the communication hole 54a of the valve body 54 at a predetermined stopping position in the rotational direction of the valve body 54. The ends of the four suction nozzles 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d outside the casing 57 are connected to the respective suction sections of the powder packaging device 1. Specifically, the first suction nozzle 55a is connected to the cleaning nozzle 50, the second suction nozzle 55b is connected to the upper suction section 59 of the powder storage member (R disc) 10, the third suction nozzle 55c is connected to the suction section 60 of the powder scraping device 11 and the lower suction section 61 of the powder storage member (R disc) 10, and the fourth suction nozzle 55d is connected to the suction section 62 of the packaging hopper 42.

The end of the discharge nozzle 56 inside the casing 57 is in sealed sliding contact with and in communication with the open end of the valve body 54. The end of the discharge nozzle 56 outside the casing 57 is connected to the vacuum cleaner 53.

The casing 57 of the switching valve 52 is equipped with sensors 63a, 63b, 63c, and 63d that detect when the communication hole 54a of the valve body 54 is positioned toward the first to fourth suction nozzles 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d. The switching valve 54 is driven by a motor 58 so that it can stop when the communication hole 54a is facing any of the first to fourth suction nozzles 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d.

As shown in Figure 8B, the vacuum cleaner 53 comprises a filter 53a, a fan 53b, and a motor 53c that drives the fan 53b, and is equipped with a removable paper bag 64. The paper bag 64 is provided with a mechanism to prevent the scattering of chemicals, dirt, dust, mites, etc., inside during replacement.

In other words, as shown in Figure 8B, the paper pack 64 consists of a rectangular opening paper 65 having a suction port 65a in the center that communicates with a discharge nozzle 56, and a bag 66 attached to the opening paper 65 that has an opening 66a communicating with the suction port 65a of the opening paper 65. The opening paper 65 can be attached by engaging it with a predetermined position on the vacuum cleaner, and after use it can be removed and replaced with a new paper pack 64. The opening paper 65 has a double-layered structure, with three sides closed and both ends of the remaining side closed, providing a notch 65b in the center. A rectangular intermediate paper 67, smaller than the opening paper 65, is slidably inserted inside the opening paper 65. The intermediate paper 67 has a tab 67a that can be pulled out from the notch 65b of the opening paper 65, and a hole 67b that is approximately the same size as the suction port 65a of the opening paper 65. When the intermediate paper 67 is inserted into the opening paper 65, the hole 67b of the intermediate paper 67 is positioned at the same location as the suction port 65a of the opening paper 65, allowing the suction port 65a of the opening paper 65 to open and draw in the aspirated chemicals, dust, mites, etc. into the bag 66. When replacing the paper pack 64, pulling the tab 67b of the intermediate paper 67 in the direction of the arrow closes the suction port 65a of the opening paper 65. Therefore, when removing the paper pack 64, the chemicals, dust, mites, etc. inside the bag 66 will not scatter.

Furthermore, the vacuum cleaner 53 is equipped with a means for detecting when the paper bag 64 is full. Conventionally, a method for detecting fullness of the paper bag 64 involves detecting a decrease in flow rate using a flow sensor installed on the discharge nozzle 56. However, the criteria for determining whether the bag is full or not based on the detected flow rate are ambiguous, making accurate fullness detection impossible. In this embodiment, an acrylic plate 53d with a strain gauge attached is installed below the paper bag 64. When the capacity or weight of the paper bag 64 increases, the acrylic plate 53d bends due to the pressure or weight, causing the strain gauge to deform. This allows the capacity or weight limit of the paper bag 64 to be measured via a bridge circuit (not shown). The output voltage of the bridge circuit can be adjusted and calibrated using a variable resistor so that it changes with the amount of strain under no load and when full (with a weight equivalent to the allowable weight placed on it). By changing the variable resistor to a digital potentiometer, measuring the voltage under no load and when full, using this as a threshold, and controlling it with software, adjustment and configuration work becomes easier.

The automatic cleaning system automatically cleans four areas: the top of the powder container (R disc) 10, the bottom of the powder container (R disc) 10, the powder scraping device 11, and the packaging hopper 42. Cleaning the top of the powder container (R disc) 10 involves rotating the powder container (R disc) 10 while a cleaner (not shown) positioned in the annular groove 10a sucks up the powder adhering to the annular groove 10a. Cleaning the bottom of the powder container (R disc) 10 involves rotating the powder container (R disc) 10 while a cleaner (not shown) positioned on the back of the powder container (R disc) 10 sucks up the powder adhering to the back surface of the powder container (R disc) 10. The powder dispensing device 11 is cleaned by rotating the rotating plate 25 and using a brush (not shown) to suck up the powder adhering to the rotating plate 25 and the dispensing plates 29a, 29b, and 29c. The packaging hopper 42 is cleaned by closing the opening of the packaging hopper 42 and sucking up the powder adhering to the inside.

After packaging one formulation, each part is automatically cleaned. However, conventionally, cleaning was performed sequentially at four locations by switching the switching valve 52, requiring a total of eight steps, including the switching of the switching valve 52. In this embodiment, in order to shorten the cleaning time and improve efficiency, cleaning of the area under the powder container (R disc) 10 and the powder scraping device 11 is performed simultaneously. That is, as shown in Figure 9, in step 1, the switching valve 52 is switched from the fourth suction nozzle 55d to the third suction nozzle 55c. In step 2, the powder container (R disc) 10 and the powder scraping device 11 are rotated simultaneously to clean the area under the powder container (R disc) 10 and the powder scraping device 11 at the same time. In step 3, the switching valve 52 is switched from the third suction nozzle 55c to the fourth suction nozzle 55d. In step 4, the packaging hopper 42 is cleaned. In step 5, the switching valve 52 is switched from the fourth suction nozzle 55d to the second suction nozzle 55b. In step 6, the powder containment member (R disc) 10 is rotated to clean the top of the powder containment member (R disc) 10. This reduces the conventional 8-step process to 6 steps, shortening the cleaning time and improving efficiency.

Next, the operation of the powder dispensing unit 3 in the powder packaging device with the above configuration will be described.

In the following explanation, the side of the rotating plate 25 with the wide scraping plates 29a and 29b is referred to as the first surface or front surface, and the side of the rotating plate 25 with the narrow scraping plate 29c and the rotating shaft 23 is referred to as the second surface or back surface. Furthermore, the direction in which the powder container member 10 is rotated from the first surface side to the second surface side of the rotating plate 25 is referred to as the forward rotation direction, and the direction in which the rotating plate 25 is rotated from the second surface side to the first surface side is referred to as the reverse rotation direction.

The powder dispensing operation by the powder dispensing unit 3 is controlled by the control device 70 shown in Figure 10, which is installed in the powder packaging device 1. The central processing unit 71 of the control device 70, in cooperation with the RAM memory 73 and following a program stored in the ROM memory 72, controls the motor 12 of the powder storage member 10, the rotation motor 16 and lifting motor 17 of the powder dispensing unit 3, to store the powder specified in the prescription in the powder storage member 10, divide it into the number of packets N specified in the prescription, and dispense it into the packaging hopper 42.

As shown in Figure 11, in step 11, the motor 12 is driven to rotate the powder container 10, and the powder according to the prescription is uniformly dispensed from the powder dispensing unit 2 into the annular groove 10a of the powder container 10. The operation of the powder dispensing unit 2 and the adjustment of the feeder speed have already been explained.

In step 12, it is determined whether the number of packets is 93 or less, or 94 or more. While conventional powder dispensing devices had a maximum of 93 packets, this embodiment allows for dispensing 94 or more packets. However, the operation differs depending on whether the number of packets is 93 or less or 94 or more. This is because, in this embodiment, the dispensing width Wa of the wide dispensing plates 29a and 29b is 1/93 of the circumference at the center of the annular groove 10a of the powder dispensing container 10. The following explanation distinguishes between cases where the dispensing width is greater than or equal to the dispensing width Wa of the wide dispensing plates 29a and 29b (93 packets or less) and cases where the dispensing width is less than or equal to the dispensing width Wa of the wide dispensing plates 29a and 29b (94 packets or more).

<For 93 packets or less>
If the number of packets is 93 or less, in step 13 the rotating plate 25 is rotated and stops at the first origin position where the narrow scraping plate 29c and the wide scraping plate 29a are on the inside and outside of the powder storage member 10, as shown in Figure 12(a). Specifically, this is before the partition portion 31 of the wide scraping plate 29a enters the powder storage member 10, and after the scraping portion 30 of the narrow scraping plate 29c has exited the powder storage member 10. In step 14, when the rotating plate 25 is lowered into the annular groove 10a of the powder storage member 10, a part of the periphery of the rotating plate 25 cuts into the powder uniformly stored in the powder storage member (R disc) 10.

In step 15, the powder container (R disc) 10 is rotated in the forward direction, and as shown in Figures 12(a) and 13(b), the powder on the first side of the rotating plate 25 is scraped together, creating a region on the second side of the rotating plate 25 where there is no powder, thereby adjusting the division width S of the powder scraped out by the wide scraping plate 29a. Here, if L is the circumference of the deepest part of the annular groove 10a of the powder container 10, and N is the number of packets, then the division width S of the powder is S = L/N. Therefore, the powder container 10 is rotated forward by a displacement a, which is the division width S minus the scraping width Wa of the wide scraping plate 29a.

In step 16, the rotating plate 25 is rotated clockwise in Figure 12(a) to scrape out the first packet of powder from the powder container member 10 using the wide scraping plate 29a. As shown in Figure 12(b), after the scraping portion of the wide scraping plate 29a exits the powder container member 10, and before the partition portion of the wide scraping plate 29b enters the powder container member 10, in step 17, the powder container member (R disc) 10 is rotated forward, and as shown in Figure 13(b), the powder container member 10 is advanced by a pitch equal to the division width S.

In step 18, the rotating plate 25 is rotated clockwise in Figure 12(b) to scrape out the second packet of powder from the powder container member 10 using the wide scraping plate 29b. As shown in Figure 12(c), after the scraping portion of the wide scraping plate 29b exits the powder container member 10, and before the partition portion of the narrow scraping plate 29c enters the powder container member 10, in step 19, the powder container member (R disc) is rotated forward, and the powder container member 10 is advanced by a pitch equal to the division width S, as shown in Figure 13(c).

Returning from step 20 to step 16, when the rotating plate 25 is rotated, the narrow scraping plate 29c enters the powder container member 10 before the wide scraping plate 29a. However, at this point, the second surface of the rotating plate 25, where the narrow scraping plate 29c is located, is free of powder equivalent to two division widths S. Therefore, it passes through without disturbing the powder.

The process of scraping out the powder using the wide scraping plates 29a and 29b is repeated until the final Nth packet of powder is scraped out.

In step 20, when it is determined that the final Nth packet has been scraped out, the rotating plate 25 is raised in step 21 to end the powder scraping operation.

Furthermore, if the number of individual packets is 46 or less, the above method will result in a larger area being scraped up with the powder. Therefore, to scrape out the powder for one dose period, use the wide scraping plates 29a and 29b twice.

<For orders of 94 packets or more>
When the number of packets is 94 or more, the scraping width Wb of the narrow scraping plate 29c is 1/135 (10 mm in this example) of the circumference at the center of the annular groove 10a of the powder storage member 10. Therefore, the operation when scraping out the first packet with the narrow scraping plate 29c differs depending on whether the number of packets is 94 to 134, 135, or 136 or more.

If the number of packets is between 94 and 134, the division width (e.g., 12 mm) is greater than the scraping width Wb of the narrow scraping plate 29c. Therefore, before scraping the first packet with the narrow scraping plate 29c, the powder container 10 is rotated from the second side to the first side (2 mm in this embodiment), and the rotating plate 25 is used to scrape the powder from the second side.

When the number of packets is 135, the division width (10 mm) is the same as the scraping width Wb of the narrow scraping plate 29c, so the scraping action of the rotating plate 25 is unnecessary.

If the number of packets exceeds 136, the division width (e.g., 5 mm) is smaller than the scraping width Wb of the narrow scraping plate 29c. Therefore, before scraping the first packet with the narrow scraping plate 29c, the powder container 10 is rotated from the first side to the second side (5 mm in this example), and the rotating plate 25 is used to scrape the powder from the first side.

In all cases, the procedure after removing the first packet is the same; therefore, the following explanation will specifically focus on cases where the number of packets exceeds 136.

If the number of packets is 136 or more, in step 22 the rotating plate 25 is rotated and stops at the second origin position, as shown in Figure 14(a), with the narrow scraping plate 29c and the wide scraping plate 29b positioned inside and outside the powder container 10. Specifically, this is before the partition portion 31 of the narrow scraping plate 29c enters the powder container 10, and after the scraping portion 30 of the wide scraping plate 29b exits the powder container 10. In step 23, when the rotating plate 25 is lowered into the annular groove 10a of the powder container 10, a portion of the periphery of the rotating plate 25 cuts into the powder uniformly contained in the powder container (R disc) 10.

In step 24, the powder container (R disc) 10 is rotated in the forward direction, and as shown in Figures 14(a) and 15(a), the powder on the first side of the rotating plate 25 is scraped together, creating a region on the second side of the rotating plate 25 where there is no powder, thereby adjusting the division width S of the powder scraped out by the narrow scraping plate 29c. Here, if the circumference of the deepest part of the annular groove 10a of the powder container 10 is L and the number of packets is N, then the division width S of the powder is S = L/N. Therefore, the powder container 10 is rotated forward by a displacement b, which is the scraping width Wb of the narrow scraping plate 29c minus the division width S.

In step 25, the rotating plate 25 is rotated clockwise in Figure 14(a) to scrape out the first packet of powder from the powder container member 10 with the narrow scraping plate 29c. As shown in Figure 14(b), after the scraping portion of the narrow scraping plate 29c has left the powder container member 10, and before the partition portion of the wide scraping plate 29a enters the powder container member 10, in step 26, the powder container member (R disc) 10 is reversed to create a region on the first surface side of the rotating plate 25 where there is no powder, and the division width S of the powder scraped out by the wide scraping plate 29a is adjusted. Here, since (Wb-S) of powder has already been scraped onto the first surface side of the rotating plate 25, the actual division width Sa is Sa = S - (Wb-S) = 2S - Wb. In this case, the amount of movement c of the powder container 10 is obtained by subtracting Sa from Wa, resulting in d = Wa - (2S - Wb) = Wa + Wb - 2S.

In step 27, the rotating plate 25 is rotated clockwise in Figure 14(b) to scrape out the second packet of powder from the powder container member 10 using the wide scraping plate 29a. As shown in Figure 14(c), after the scraping portion of the wide scraping plate 29a exits the powder container member 10, and before the partition portion of the wide scraping plate 29b enters the powder container member 10, in step 28, the powder container member (R disc) 10 is rotated forward, advancing the powder container member 10 by the division width S.

In step 29, the rotating plate 25 is rotated clockwise in Figure 14(c) to scrape out the third packet of powder from the powder container member 10 using the wide scraping plate 29b. After the scraping portion of the wide scraping plate 29b exits the powder container member 10, and before the partition portion of the narrow scraping plate 29c enters the powder container member 10, in step 30, the powder container member (R disc) is rotated forward, and the powder container member 10 is advanced by a pitch equal to the division width S, as shown in Figure 15(c).

Returning from step 31 to step 27, when the rotating plate 25 is rotated, the narrow scraping plate 29c enters the powder container member 10 before the wide scraping plate 29a. However, at this point, the second surface of the rotating plate 25, where the narrow scraping plate 29c is located, is free of powder equivalent to two division widths S. Therefore, it passes through without disturbing the powder.

The process of scraping out the powder using the wide scraping plates 29a and 29b is repeated until the final Nth packet of powder is scraped out.

In step 31, when it is determined that the final Nth packet has been scraped out, the rotating plate 25 is raised in step 21 to terminate the powder scraping operation.

In the tablet dispensing device of the above embodiment, as shown in Figure 15, when the first packet is dispensed by the narrow dispensing plate 29c, the powder containing the drug is moved from the second side to the first side to dispensing the powder contained in the drug containing

In this embodiment, when the scraping width is greater than or equal to the width of the wide scraping plate (first scraping plate) and there are 93 or fewer packets, the powdered medicine is scraped using only the wide scraping plate (first scraping plate). When the scraping width is less than or equal to the width of the wide scraping plate (first scraping plate) and there are 94 or more packets, the first packet is scraped using the narrow scraping plate (second scraping plate), and the second and subsequent packets are scraped using the wide scraping plate (first scraping plate). However, even when the scraping width is greater than or equal to the width of the wide scraping plate (first scraping plate) and there are 93 or fewer packets, it is also possible to scrape the first packet using the narrow scraping plate (second scraping plate) and the second and subsequent packets using the wide scraping plate (first scraping plate).

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and modifications and alterations are possible without changing the gist of the invention. For example, in the above embodiment, there are two first scraping plates (wide scraping plates 29a, 29b) and one second scraping plate (narrow scraping plate 29c), but there may be one first scraping plate and one second scraping plate.

1 Powder packaging device 10 Powder containing member 10a Annular groove 11 Powder scraping device 25 Rotating plate 29a, 29b Wide scraping plate (first scraping plate)
29c Narrow scraping board (second scraping board)
70 Control device

Claims (7)

A rotatable powder container having a groove with a circular arc cross-section,
A powder packaging device comprising a rotating plate that is rotatable in contact with the groove and is provided to be vertically movable relative to the groove, and which is equipped with a scraping plate for scraping out the powder contained in the powder storage member,
The scraping plate comprises a first scraping plate provided on the first surface of the rotating plate and a second scraping plate provided on the second surface of the rotating plate, having a smaller scraping width than the first scraping plate.
If the number of packets is less than or equal to a predetermined number, the powder is scraped out using only the first scraping plate.
A powder packaging device characterized in that, when the number of packets exceeds a predetermined number of packets, the second scraping plate scrapes out the first packet of powder in a predetermined division width, moves the powder containing member from the second side to the first side of the rotating plate, and then the first scraping plate scrapes out the second and subsequent packets of powder in a predetermined division width . The powder packaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that the powder containing member is moved from the first side to the second side after the second scraping plate has finished scraping the first packet of powder and before the first scraping plate begins scraping the second packet of powder. The powder packaging device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that after the first scraping plate scrapes out the powder, the powder containing member is moved from the first side to the second side, and then the second scraping plate enters the powder containing member. The powder packaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , characterized in that the first scraping plate and the second scraping plate are provided at equally spaced positions around the central axis of the rotating plate. The powder packaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , characterized in that two first scraping plates and one second scraping plate are provided. The powder packaging device according to claim 5, characterized in that the powder containing member is moved from the first side to the second side after the first scraping plate has finished scraping the powder and before the second first scraping plate begins scraping the powder. The powder packaging device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the first scraping plate scrapes out the powder, the second scraping plate enters the powder container before the first scraping plate enters the powder container.