MEDICINE PACKAGING APPARATUS

• US 20180065765A1
• Filed: 03/16/2016
• Published: 03/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yuyama Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Yuyama Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: KOIKE, Naoki
• Granted Patent: US 10,640,241 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 3/00 Devices or methods specially adapted for bringing pharmaceutical products into particular physical or administering forms
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0084 for multiple medicaments
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 1/30 Devices or methods for controlling or determining the quantity or quality or the material fed or filled
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/103 for packaging pills or tablets
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 51/10 Applying or generating heat or pressure or combinations thereof welding of plastics per se B29C65/02; closing plastic tube ends in general B29C57/10
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 51/28 Rollers for producing longitudinal and transverse seams simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 57/10 responsive to absence, presence, abnormal feed, or misplacement of articles or materials to be packaged
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 57/18 causing operation of audible or visible alarm signals
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 59/00 Arrangements to enable machines to handle articles of different sizes, to produce packages of different sizes, to vary the contents of packages , to handle different types of packaging material, or to give access for cleaning or maintenance purposes
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 9/073 the web having intermittent motion B65B9/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 9/087 the web advancing continuously

Abstract

A medicine packaging apparatus 10 has a packaging paper supplying part 42; a sealing device 50 for forming a packaging bag; a medicine introducing part 80 for introducing the medicines M from an opening portion of the packaging bag P in an unsealed-state; a detecting part 90 for detecting presence of the medicines M in an introducing path for the medicines M by the medicine introducing part 80 and a determining part which can determine that a packaging failure occurs under a condition that the presence of the medicines M is detected by the detecting part 90 within a time period after a timing of starting to seal the packaging bag P in which the medicines M have been introduced and before a timing of introducing the medicines M to be packaged in a subsequent packaging bag P through the medicine introducing part 80.

Claims

1. A medicine packaging apparatus, comprising:

a packaging paper supplying part for supplying a packaging paper for packaging medicines;

a sealing part for forming a packaging bag from the packaging paper supplied from the packaging paper supplying part;

a medicine introducing part for introducing the medicines into the packaging paper on an upper stream side of a carrying direction of the packaging paper than the sealing part,

a detecting part for detecting presence of the medicines which are inside the packaging paper and on the upper stream side of the carrying direction than the sealing part; and

a determining part for determining a packaging condition,

wherein the medicine packaging apparatus uses the detecting part to perform a sealing detection for detecting the presence of the medicines within a time period after a timing of starting to seal the packaging bag in which the medicines have been introduced and before a timing of introducing the medicines to be packaged into a subsequent packaging bag through the medicine introducing part, and

wherein an event that the presence of the medicines is not detected in the sealing detection is set as a determination condition for determining that the medicines are normally packaged.

3. The medicine packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the medicine packaging apparatus uses the detecting part to perform an introducing detection for detecting introduction of the medicines into the packaging paper by the medicine introducing part, and

wherein both of the event that the presence of the medicines is not detected in the sealing detection and an event that the introduction of the medicines is detected in the introducing detection are set as a determination condition for determining that the medicines are normally packaged.

4. The medicine packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a bonding of the packaging paper by the sealing part is interrupted within a time period after starting to seal the packaging bag in which the medicines have been introduced and before the sealing completes, and

wherein detection data which are useful for determining the presence or absence of the medicines are obtained within a time period in which the bonding of the packaging paper has been interrupted.

5. The medicine packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sealing part includes:

a horizontally sealing member which can seal the packaging paper which is in an overlapped state in a lengthwise direction of the packaging paper, and

a vertically sealing member which can seal the packaging paper in a short direction of the packaging paper,

wherein detection data which are useful for determining the presence or absence of the medicines are obtained within a time period after sealing the packaging paper in the short direction of the packaging paper between a previous packaging bag and a subsequent packaging bag which continue in the lengthwise direction of the packaging paper by using the vertically sealing member and before the medicines to be packaged into the subsequent packaging bag are introduced.

6. The medicine packaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a bonding of the packaging paper is interrupted and the detection data which are useful for determining the presence or absence of the medicines are obtained at a time when the vertically sealing member contacts with the packaging paper to form a seal between the previous packaging bag and the subsequent packaging bag.

7. The medicine packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting part includes a camera which can photograph an inside of the packaging paper on the upper stream side of the carrying direction of the packaging paper than the sealing part.

8. The medicine packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least a tip end portion of the medicine introducing part is inserted into the packaging bag which is in an unsealed-state, and

wherein the detecting part is arranged so as to be directed from a base-end side to a tip-end side of the medicine introducing part.

2. A medicine packaging apparatus, comprising:

a packaging paper supplying part for supplying a packaging paper for packaging medicines;

a sealing part for forming a packaging bag from the packaging paper supplied from the packaging paper supplying part;

a medicine introducing part for introducing the medicines into the packaging paper on an upper stream side of a carrying direction of the packaging paper than the sealing part,

a detecting part for detecting presence of the medicines which are inside the packaging paper and on the upper stream side of the carrying direction than the sealing part; and

a determining part for determining a packaging condition,

wherein the medicine packaging apparatus uses the detecting part to perform a sealing detection for detecting the presence of the medicines within a time period after a timing of starting to seal the packaging bag in which the medicines have been introduced and before a timing of introducing the medicines to be packaged into a subsequent packaging bag through the medicine introducing part, and

wherein an event that the presence of the medicines is detected in the sealing detection is set as a determination condition for determining that a packaging failure occurs.