Apparatus and method for preventing irregular packaging for automatic medicine packing machine

• US 7,641,073 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2007
• Issued: 01/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JVM Company Limited
• Original Assignee: JVM Company Limited
• Inventors: Kim, Jun Ho
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford; Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): Waggoner; Timothy R
• Application Number:
  US11/624,012
• Publication Number:
  US 20080104929A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,084 Days
• Field of Search: 221/171, 221/173, 221/174, 221/200
• US Class Current: 221/171
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/103 for packaging pills or tablets

Abstract

A method for preventing irregular packaging for automatic medicine packing machine having a last hopper that contains the tablet just before the tablet is packed, includes steps of sensing whether a tablet is received in the last hopper, sensing and deciding whether the tablet stands vertical inside the last hopper, vibrating a shutter if it is decided that the tablet stands vertical whereby the vertical standing tablet falls down, and checking non-standing of the tablet after completion of shutter vibration. The apparatus performing the method includes a shutter vibrating unit and a standing sensor that is installed on the last hopper and senses whether the tablet received in the last hopper stands vertical. The standing sensor includes a horizontal slot that is formed horizontally at a side of the last hopper at a position corresponding to a vertical height of a tablet and a photo sensor.

Claims

1. A method for preventing irregular packaging for automatic medicine packing machine that comprises a last hopper that receives a tablet discharged from a tablet cassette and contains the tablet just before the tablet is packed, wherein the last hopper comprises a shutter, the method comprises the steps of:

a) sensing whether a tablet is received in the last hopper;

b) sensing and deciding whether the tablet stands vertical inside the last hopper; and

c) vibrating the shutter for a predetermined period of time if it is decided that the tablet stands vertical whereby the vertical standing tablet falls down.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of checking non-standing of the tablet, in which checking vertical standing of the tablet is performed with a standing sensor after completion of shutter vibration.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein in the step of sensing and deciding whether the tablet stands vertical, a photo sensor that is provided on the last hopper performs sensing standing status of the tablet.

4. A method for preventing irregular packaging for automatic medicine packing machine that comprises a last hopper that receives a tablet discharged from a tablet cassette and contains the tablet just before the tablet is packed, wherein the last hopper comprises a shutter, the method comprises the steps of:

a) sensing whether a tablet was discharged from the tablet cassette into the last hopper and stays inside the last hopper;

b) extracting size information of the tablet that is input into the last hopper from medicine data that is stored in a controller in advance;

c) comparing the extracted size of the tablet with a reference tablet size that is preset by an operator of the automatic medicine packing machine; and

d) vibrating the shutter for a predetermined period of time if it is decided that the extracted size exceeds the reference tablet size.

5. An apparatus for preventing irregular packaging for automatic medicine packing machine that comprises a last hopper that receives a tablet discharged from a tablet cassette and contains the tablet just before the tablet is packed, wherein the last hopper comprises a shutter and a shutter drive unit that actuates the shutter to discharge the tablet, the apparatus comprising:

a shutter vibrating unit that is provided on an outer surface of the shutter and vibrates the shutter to prevent vertical standing of a tablet received in the last hopper.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the shutter vibrating unit comprises:

a) a vibration motor that is provided on the outer surface of the shutter and generates vibration; and

b) a fixing frame that fixes the vibration motor to the outer surface of the shutter so that the vibration motor is in close contact with the outer surface.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a standing sensor that is installed on the last hopper and senses whether the tablet received in the last hopper stands vertical.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the standing sensor comprises a horizontal slot that is formed horizontally at a side of the last hopper at a position corresponding to a vertical height of a tablet and a photo sensor that is horizontally arranged in the horizontal slot and senses vertical standing of the tablet.