Medicine pouch arranging device

Abstract

Disclosed is a medicine pouch arranging device capable of uniformly spreading tablets of medicine packed in a medicine pouch, enabling inspection to determine whether a correct medicine has been packed in a series of medicine pouches which have been automatically packed on a per dose basis and successively discharged from an automatic medicine packing machine. The medicine pouch arranging device includes a transfer roller to transfer the medicine pouches, a guide plate to support the medicine pouches that are being transferred thereon, the guide plate having at least one opening, a vibrator to vibrate each of the medicine pouches that are being transferred on the guide plate by applying shock or vibration to the medicine pouch, and a sponge roller arranged above the guide plate to press each of the medicine pouches so that some vertically or obliquely erected tablets of medicine packed in the medicine pouch are laid flat.

1 . A medicine pouch arranging device to uniformly spread tablets of medicine packed in a series of medicine pouches, which have been automatically packed on a per dose basis and successively discharged from an automatic medicine packing machine, so as to inspect whether a correct medicine is packed in each of the medicine pouches, the medicine pouch arranging device comprising:
 a transfer roller to transfer the medicine pouches discharged from the automatic medicine packing machine;   a guide plate to support the medicine pouches that are being transferred thereon, the guide plate having at least one opening;   a vibrator to vibrate each of the medicine pouches that are being transferred on the guide plate by applying shock or vibration to the medicine pouch; and   a sponge roller arranged above the guide plate to press each of the medicine pouches so that some vertically or obliquely erected tablets of medicine packed in the medicine pouch are laid flat.   
   
   
       2 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the vibrator includes a cam member having an elliptical cross section and adapted to be rotated upon receiving driving force; and   the cam member passes through the opening of the guide plate along a major axis thereof while being rotated, vibrating the medicine pouch by coming into direct contact with the medicine pouch.   
   
   
       3 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the vibrator includes:   an air cylinder adapted to be reciprocally driven up and down; and   a pivoting member adapted to be pivoted about a pivoting shaft by the air cylinder; and   one end of the pivoting member is connected to the air cylinder, and the other end of the pivoting member is formed with a boss to come into direct contact with the medicine pouch so as to vibrate the medicine pouch.   
   
   
       4 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the vibrator includes an air nozzle to successively eject air toward the medicine pouch at a predetermined pressure or to vary an ejection pressure of air in a predetermined pattern under control; and   the sponge roller is located downstream of the air nozzle to lay down the vertically or obliquely erected tablets of medicine by pressure of the air ejected from the air nozzle.   
   
   
       5 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the guide plate includes at least one vertically vibrating plate adapted to be vertically pivoted about a pivoting shaft;   the vibrator is used to vibrate the vertically vibrating plate and includes a cam member arranged to come into close contact with a lower surface of the vertically vibrating plate and adapted to be rotated about a horizontally extending rotating shaft, the cam member having a logarithmic spiral cross section a radius of which gradually increases; and   an elastic member is provided around the pivoting shaft.   
   
   
       6 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the guide plate includes at least one horizontally vibrating plate adapted to be pivoted leftward and rightward about a pivoting shaft in a transfer direction of the medicine pouch;   the vibrator is used to vibrate the horizontally vibrating plate and includes a cam member arranged to come into close contact with a side surface of the horizontally vibrating plate and adapted to be rotated about a vertically extending rotating shaft, the cam member having a logarithmic spiral cross section a radius of which gradually increases; and   an elastic member is provided around the pivoting shaft.   
   
   
       7 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the guide plate includes a horizontally vibrating plate adapted to be horizontally vibrated leftward and rightward; and   the vibrator is used to vibrate the horizontally vibrating plate and includes a motor as a drive source, a rotating member adapted to be rotated by the motor, and a link member to connect the rotating member and the horizontally vibrating plate to each other.   
   
   
       8 . The device according to  claim 7 , wherein one end of the link member is rotatably connected to the rotating member via a first connecting shaft and the other end of the link member is rotatably connected to the horizontally vibrating plate via a second connecting shaft. 
   
   
       9 . The device according to  claim 7 , wherein:
 a horizontally vibrating member is arranged below the horizontally vibrating plate and is integrally coupled with the horizontally vibrating plate; and   one end of the link member is rotatably connected to the rotating member via a first connecting shaft and the other end of the link member is rotatably connected to the horizontally vibrating member via a second connecting shaft.   
   
   
       10 . The device according to  claim 9 , wherein:
 the horizontally vibrating plate is horizontally vibrated leftward and rightward about a fixed shaft coupled to a frame; and   the horizontally vibrating member has one or more bosses formed in a longitudinal direction thereof, and the frame has one or more arc-shaped recesses into which the bosses are inserted.   
   
   
       11 . The device according to  claim 7 , wherein the horizontally vibrating plate is formed at an upper surface thereof with a projection, so that the tablets of medicine packed in the medicine pouch are collected into a given direction by passing over the projection. 
   
   
       12 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein the guide plate includes a rolling vibrating plate to perform a rolling motion by the vibrator so as to be tilted leftward and rightward in the transfer direction of the medicine pouch. 
   
   
       13 . The device according to  claim 12 , wherein the vibrator includes a motor as a drive source, a rotating member adapted to be rotated by the motor, and a link member to connect the rotating member and the rolling vibrating plate to each other. 
   
   
       14 . The device according to  claim 13 , wherein:
 one end of the link member is connected to the rotating member via a boss, and the other end of the link member is fixed to the rolling vibrating plate; and   the link member is pivotable about a fixed shaft and an elongated hole is formed in one end of the link member so that the boss is slidably inserted into the elongated hole.   
   
   
       15 . The device according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the guide plate includes a horizontally swinging plate adapted to be horizontally vibrated leftward and rightward by the vibrator; and   the vibrator includes:   a rotation unit adapted to be rotated by a drive motor and penetrating through a hole formed in the horizontally swinging plate; and   a vibration applying unit adapted to be rotated by the drive motor so as to vibrate the horizontally swinging plate.   
   
   
       16 . The device according to  claim 15 , wherein the rotation unit includes:
 a pinion adapted to be engaged and rotated with a center gear provided at a rotating shaft of the drive motor; and   a rotating plate coupled to a rotating shaft of the pinion and located at a lower end of the medicine pouch moving on the horizontally swinging plate, the rotating plate being formed at an upper surface thereof with a boss to press the tablets of medicine packed in the medicine pouch.   
   
   
       17 . The device according to  claim 15 , wherein the vibration applying unit includes:
 a drive shaft coupled to the rotating shaft of the drive motor and having a protruding shaft protruding upward therefrom at a position offset from a center of the rotating shaft;   an intermediate block having a front portion rotatably coupled to the protruding shaft and a rear portion formed with a rotation hole, the intermediate block being coupled at an upper surface thereof to the guide plate; and   a slider rotatably coupled to the rotation hole and adapted to be freely rectilinearly moved in a direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the medicine pouch in the same plane as the guide plate.