Tablet supplying and packaging apparatus having turntable and tablet cassettes

• US 6,449,921 B1
• Filed: 04/16/2001
• Issued: 09/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: JV MEDI Company Limited
• Original Assignee: JV MEDI Company Limited
• Inventors: Kim, Jin S.
• Primary Examiner(s): PARADISO, JOHN ROGER
• Application Number:
  US09/835,178
• Time in Patent Office: 519 Days
• Field of Search: 221/265, 534/93, 531/54, 531/55, 532/37, 532/38, 534/45, 534/74, 531/68, 535/50
• US Class Current: 53/154
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 37/12 of centrifugal type
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/103 for packaging pills or tablets
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 9/093 the web having intermittent motion

Abstract

A tablet supplying and packaging apparatus comprises a housing, a turntable having tablet containers with plates each hingedly engaged a container portion, so tablets are either maintained in each container or downwardly discharged when said plate is released. A cassette unit has an upper hopper, a cassette stand and a row of tablet cassettes detachably mounted on the cassette stand, so tablets are released from the cassettes and guided by an upper hopper. A lower hopper below the turntable and the upper hopper guides the tablets into a tablet packaging assembly below the lower hopper for packaging the tablets selectively released from the cassettes and the tablet containers into tablet paper bags.

Claims

1. A tablet supplying and packaging apparatus, comprising:

a) a housing having an upper surface;

b) a turntable exposedly embedded in the upper surface of the housing, wherein the turntable has a center and a plurality of tablet containers disposed around the center, wherein the turntable angularly rotates on the center thereof, wherein said each tablet container is defined by side walls, a top opening and a bottom opening;

c) a plurality of plates corresponding to the plurality of tablet containers, wherein said each plate is hingedly engaged to a tablet container portion adjacent to the bottom opening of said each tablet container to releasably close the bottom opening of said each tablet container, whereby one or more tablets serving as a first tablet batch for a unit dosage are either maintained in said each tablet container when the bottom opening is closed by said plate or downwardly discharged when said plate is released;

d) a cassette unit having an upper hopper, a cassette stand and a row of tablet cassettes detachably mounted on the cassette stand, wherein the cassette stand is formed on the upper surface of the housing in adjacency to the turntable, wherein the upper hopper is formed below the cassette stand and through the upper surface of the housing, whereby one or more tablets serving as a second tablet batch for the unit dosage are released from the tablet cassettes and guided by the upper hopper;

e) a lower hopper disposed below the turntable and the upper hopper of the cassette unit to guide the first and second tablet batches; and

f) a tablet packaging assembly disposed below the lower hopper for packaging the tablet batches selectively released from said tablet cassettes and said tablet containers into a plurality of tablet paper bags.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a) a support rail having a release opening, wherein the support rail is disposed beneath the bottom openings of the tablet containers to uphold the plates, wherein when one selected from the tablet containers reaches over the release opening in accordance with the angular rotation of the turntable, the plate corresponding to the selected tablet container is lowered through the release opening so that the tablets in the selected tablet container are downwardly released through the release opening into the lower hopper;

b) a vertical shaft fixed to the center of the turntable to support and center the turntable; and

c) an operation control administering the turntable and the tablet cassettes for a tablet release operation in accordance with a data input therein.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the vertical shaft is engaged thereto by a motor to generate a force for the angular rotation of the turntable, wherein the motor is controlled by the operation control.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the angular rotation of the turntable is clockwise.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the angular rotation of the turntable is counter-clockwise.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a sensor connected to the operation control for sensing the angular rotation of the turntable in accordance with the operation control to allow the tablets to be regularly discharged from the tablet containers through the release opening into the packaging assembly.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said each tablet container has a sensing member disposed adjacent thereto to enable the sensor to detect the angular rotation of the turntable in accordance with the operation control, wherein the sensing member is magnetized.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the upper hopper is defined by a front panel, a rear panel and side panels, wherein an angle defined by the front panel and a horizontal line is larger than a corresponding angle defined by the rear panel and the horizontal line.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the packaging assembly comprises:

a) a heater to seal said tablet batches into the tablet paper bags using a packaging paper; and

b) a printer provided adjacent to the heater to print a prescription information on the packaging paper.

10. A tablet supplying and packaging apparatus, comprising:

a) a housing having an upper surface;

b) a turntable exposedly embedded in the upper surface of the housing, wherein the turntable has a center, a plurality of tablet containers disposed around the center, and a disk provided between the turntable center and the tablet containers, wherein the disk serves to identify said each container, wherein the turntable angularly rotates on the center thereof, wherein said each tablet container is defined by side walls, a top opening and a bottom opening;

c) a plurality of plates corresponding to the plurality of tablet containers, wherein said each plate is hingedly engaged to a tablet container portion adjacent to the bottom opening of said each tablet container to releasably close the bottom opening of said each tablet container, whereby one or more tablets serving as a first tablet batch for a unit dosage are either maintained in said each tablet container when the bottom opening is closed by said plate or downwardly discharged when said plate is released;

d) a cassette unit having an upper hopper, a cassette stand and a row of tablet cassettes detachably mounted on the cassette stand, wherein the cassette stand is formed on the upper surface of the housing in adjacency to the turntable, wherein the upper hopper is formed below the cassette stand and through the upper surface of the housing, whereby one or more tablets serving as a second tablet batch for the unit dosage are released from the tablet cassettes and guided by the upper hopper;

e) a lower hopper disposed below the turntable and the upper hopper of the cassette unit to guide the first and second tablet batches; and

f) a tablet packaging assembly disposed below the lower hopper for packaging the tablet batches selectively released from said tablet cassettes and said tablet containers into a plurality of tablet paper bags.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising:

a) a support rail having a release opening, wherein the support rail is disposed beneath the bottom openings of the tablet containers to uphold the plates, wherein when one selected from the tablet containers reaches over the release opening in accordance with the angular rotation of the turntable, the plate corresponding to the selected tablet container is lowered through the release opening so that the tablets in the selected tablet container are downwardly released through the release opening into the lower hopper;

b) a vertical shaft fixed to the center of the turntable to support and center the turntable; and

c) an operation control administering the turntable and the tablet cassettes for a tablet release operation in accordance with a data input therein.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the vertical shaft is engaged thereto by a motor to generate a force for the angular rotation of the turntable, wherein the motor is controlled by the operation control.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the angular rotation of the turntable is clockwise.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the angular rotation of the turntable is counter-clockwise.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising a sensor connected to the operation control for sensing the angular rotation of the turntable in accordance with the operation control to allow the tablets to be regularly discharged from the tablet containers through the release opening into the packaging assembly.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said each tablet container has a sensing member disposed adjacent thereto to enable the sensor to detect the angular rotation of the turntable in accordance with the operation control, wherein the sensing member is magnetized.

17. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the upper hopper is defined by a front panel, a rear panel and side panels, wherein an angle defined by the front panel and a horizontal line is larger than a corresponding angel defined by the rear panel and the horizontal line.

18. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the packaging assembly comprises:

a) a heater to seal said tablet batches into the tablet paper bags using a packaging paper; and

b) a printer provided adjacent to the heater to print a prescription information on the packaging paper.

19. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the disk of the turntable is rotatable either separately from the turntable or engagedly to the turntable.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the disk has a numbering system to visually gauge a tablet loading in the tablet containers.