JPH0260571B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tablet counting and filling device that counts a fixed number of tablets and fills them into a container.

As is well known, currently commercially available therapeutic or nutritional tablets such as cold medicines and vitamins are sold packaged in containers such as bottles for a fixed quantity.

Therefore, as a matter of course, there should be no shortage of contents in commercially available products, and for this reason, in the packaging process, which is the final stage of the fully automated drug manufacturing process, the products are continuously sent out from the manufacturing process. It is desired to install an automatic counting and filling device that can accurately and efficiently count a fixed amount of tablets from a large number of tablets and fill them into containers.

The present invention provides a tablet counting and filling device that can accurately and efficiently count a certain amount of tablets in response to the above requirements. An electronic counting device counts the number of tablets that are received into the numerous depressions and transported to the container to be filled, and if the number is less than a predetermined number, an attached drum for replenishing missing tablets is used. The structure is such that it operates to replenish the insufficient amount.

The present invention will be explained below with reference to Examples. FIG. 1 is a front view of a tablet counting and filling device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the device shown in FIG. 1. In this example device, a pair of counting and filling mechanisms 3, 3 having the same configuration are mounted on an underframe 1 having moving casters 2, 2, etc. at the lower end, and are arranged to move leftward with respect to the center of the underframe 1. It is located in Therefore, the following description will be made regarding the counting and filling mechanism 3 located on the left side of the drawing.

The counting and filling device 3 of this example device includes a tablet feeding chute 5 consisting of a hopper 4 having a funnel-shaped feed port 4a on its lower surface, a linear feeder 7 having a coil-shaped chute 6 at its tip, and A cylindrical counting drum 8 that rotates in contact with the drum, a tablet discharging chute 9 that opens toward the drum 8 below the drum 8, and the counting drum 8.
A counting sensor 10 is provided between the tablet feeding chute 6 and the tablet discharging chute 9 in close proximity to the circumferential surface of It consists of an electronic counting device (not shown).

As shown in more detail in FIG. 3, the counting drum 8 has a large number of depressions 12 regularly formed on its circumferential surface, and each depression 12 falls from the tablet supply chute 5. Accept one pill each.

Coil type chute 6 of chute 5 for tablet supply
is a tubular body formed by spirally winding a plastically deformable metal wire, and the chute 6 is connected to a counting drum 8.
One recess is arranged for each row of recesses 12 arranged along the circumferential direction on the circumferential surface of the recess.
Therefore, as a result of the counting drum 8 being rotated by the motor (not shown) and the rotating shaft 13 installed in the housing 11, each depression 12 is
When the tablets are sequentially aligned with the openings of the chute 6, one tablet is introduced into each recess 12 from the chute 6.

The counting sensor 10 provided close to the circumferential surface of the counting drum 8 continuously detects the presence of tablets accommodated in each recess 12 of the drum 8 as described above, and performs counting in the housing 11. The symbol is sent to a device (not shown) and the number is counted. When the total number of tablets does not reach the planned number, a driving device (not shown) for the missing tablet replenishing drum 14, which is coaxially supported with the counting drum 8 as shown in FIG. A signal is sent from the counting device, and the missing tablet replenishment drum 14 rotates by an angle corresponding to the number of missing tablets, thereby replenishing the amount of missing tablets. In addition, in this example, the missing tablet supply drum 14
, a plurality of recesses 12' are arranged in a row equiangularly and radially along the circumferential direction, and the coil chute 6 of the tablet supply chute 5 is connected to the recesses 12' with respect to the main drum 14. arranged to match.

According to this example, as shown in FIG. 4, the counting drum 8 has a large number of depressions 12 formed on its circumferential surface over a range corresponding to 2/3 of its circumference, and the remaining 1/3. No recesses 12 are formed on the circumferential surface of the tube. Therefore, in this example device, while the counting drum 8 rotates 240 degrees, the scheduled number of tablets is conveyed and counted, and while the counting drum 8 rotates the remaining 120 degrees, the missing tablet supply drum 14 replenishes the missing tablets. will be held.

A shutter 15 operated by an air cylinder (not shown) is installed in the middle of the tablet discharging chute 9.
When a predetermined number of tablets are loaded into the tablet discharging chute 9 from the counting drum 8, the shutter 15 opens the passage of the chute 9 and waits for the tablets below. Drop it into the packaging container P.

In the device of this example, the counting device installed in the housing 11 can preset the unit quantity to be counted (for example, two types of 100 tablets and 1000 tablets), and also the shutter of the tablet discharging chute 9. 15 cooperates with the counting device, and when the device counts the scheduled unit quantity, the chute 9
It is configured to open the passageway for Furthermore, this example device has a blue light on the front panel of the housing 11 that displays the operating status of the device, as shown in FIG.
1. Four types of pilot lamps: green L2, yellow L3, and red L4, and a buzzer 16 that warns of missing tablets.
and a lamp L5. Blue lamp L1
means "container replacement in progress", and when the container replacement is completed, the green lamp L2 lights up.

On the other hand, if the above-mentioned "container exchange" is not completed within the predetermined time, the "yellow" lamp L3 lights up and both the left and right devices stop. Then, when the container is replaced thereafter, the "red" lamp L4 lights up, the shutter 15 opens, and the tablets are thrown into the container.
That is, the "red" lamp L4 means "the tablet is being inserted", or in other words, the "shutter is being opened".

Now, the apparatus of this example having the above configuration is operated as follows.

First, when a start button provided on the operation panel on the front side of the housing 11 is pressed, each part of the device completes preparation for operation. Therefore, after setting the unit quantity (100 tablets or 1000 tablets) to be counted by the counting device, the opening/closing timing of the shutter 15 and the number of missing tablets, and pressing the reset button on the operation panel, the tablets are transferred from the hopper 4. One piece each is sequentially inserted into each recess 12 of the rotating counting drum 8 via the feeder 7 and the coil chute 6.

The tablets loaded into each recess 12 of the drum 8 are carried by the rotation of the drum 8 and sequentially dropped into the tablet discharging chute 9 below, but in the process, the number of tablets is counted by the counting sensor 10. is counted, and it is checked whether the predetermined amount of tablets have been fed into the chute 9. If the sensor 10 detects a missing lock in the recess 12 of the counting drum 8, the missing lock replenishing drum 1 is detected by a signal from the counting device.
4 rotates, and tablets are replenished into the chute 9 according to the number of shortages.

When the counting device confirms that the planned number of tablets has been supplied,
The shutter 15 of the chute 9 is opened and the entire amount is thrown into the container P below. When the filling of the container P is completed, the container P is automatically (or manually) removed, a new container P is placed on the table in its place, and the same operation as described above is repeated until the counting drum 8 The unit number of tablets counted and placed into the tablet discharging chute 9 is filled into the container P.

Although the apparatus of the present invention has been described above using an embodiment, this is just one embodiment and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

As described above, the present invention provides a tablet counting and filling device that can accurately count a predetermined number of tablets and can efficiently package them.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a tablet counting and filling device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a partial side view of the counting drum of the device shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line, and FIG. 4 is a partial front view of the operation panel of the device shown in FIG. The meanings of the symbols in each drawing are as follows.
1: Underframe, 2: Caster, 3: Counting and filling device,
4: Hopper, 4a: 4 supply port, 5: Tablet supply chute, 6: Coil chute, 7: Straight feeder, 8: Counting drum, 9: Tablet discharge chute, 10: Counting sensor, 11: Housing,
12:8 recess, 13:8 rotating shaft, 14: missing lock supply drum, 15:9 shutter, 16: missing lock alarm buzzer, L1, L2, L3, L4, L5: pilot lamp.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A chute for supplying tablets, a counting drum that is rotatable in substantially contact with the opening surface of the chute and has a large number of depressions along the circumference, and tablets that open below the drum. a chute for dispensing, a sensor provided between the drum and the chute for discharging tablets, and a counting device linked to the sensor, rotatable coaxially with the counting drum and fractionally relative to the drum; and a missing tablet replenishing device consisting of a narrow drum equipped with a chute for supplying tablets and a chute for discharging tablets. A tablet counting and filling device characterized in that the tablet counting and filling device operates the missing tablet replenishing device according to the number of missing tablets. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the counting drum has an arcuate play portion. 3. Claim 1 or 2, in which the narrow drum of the missing lock replenishing device has a recess on the entire circumference.
Apparatus described in section.