Medicine feeding device

• US 8,689,524 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2010
• Issued: 04/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Healthcare Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Healthcare Company Limited (PHC Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Inamura, Atsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Tawfik, Sameh
• Application Number:
  US12/828,958
• Publication Number:
  US 20100269451A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,377 Days
• Field of Search: 531/315, 531/312, 531/314, 535/50, 534/11, 534/50, 400/196, 400/621, 400/613
• US Class Current: 53/131.5
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/103 for packaging pills or tablets
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 9/06 Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, in a longitudinally-folded web, or in a web folded into a tube about the articles or quantities of material placed upon it
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/62 in which the articles are stored in compartments in fixed receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00

Abstract

There is provided a medicine feeding device which can apply uniform tension to wrapping paper wound in a roll state to wrap a medicine. The medicine feeding device comprises a tablet case which stores a medicine, and the wrapping paper wound in the roll state, wraps a medicine discharged from the tablet case in wrapping paper 72, and comprises a tension application mechanism 113 which applies predetermined tension to the continuously pulled-out wrapping paper. This tension application mechanism is constituted to freely move up-and-down, and to apply tension to the pulled-out wrapping paper by its own weight.

Claims

1. A medicine feeding device kit comprising:

a tablet case for storing a medicine;

wrapping paper wound in a roll state to wrap the medicine discharged from the tablet case;

a printer including an ink ribbon to print on the wrapping paper by thermal transfer using the ink ribbon, wherein the printer has an ink ribbon feeding side bobbin and an ink ribbon winding side bobbin; and

an ink ribbon mounting fixture to mount a feeding side of the ink ribbon onto the ink ribbon feeding side bobbin and to mount a winding side of the ink ribbon onto the ink ribbon winding side bobbin of the printer, the ink ribbon mounting fixture has a feeding side shaft and a winding side shaft arranged in a fixture main body in a positional relation corresponding to the ink ribbon feeding side bobbin and the ink ribbon winding side bobbin of the printer in a state of being opposite the printer, the feeding side of the ink ribbon being detachably attached to the feeding side shaft of the ink ribbon mounting fixture, the winding side of the ink ribbon being detachably attached to the winding side shaft of the ink ribbon mounting fixture,

wherein the ink ribbon mounting fixture is being inserted into and out of the printer to mount the ink ribbon from the ink ribbon mounting fixture to the printer.

2. The medicine feeding device kit according to claim 1, wherein the fixture main body is provided with a guide shaft on which the ink ribbon is hooked in a state where the feeding side of the ink ribbon is attached to the feeding side shaft and the winding side of the ink ribbon is attached to the winding side shaft.

3. The medicine feeding device kit according to claim 2, wherein the feeding side shaft and the winding side shaft are held by the fixture main body so as to be movable in a direction exiting from the feeding side and the winding side of the ink ribbon in a state of abutting on the ink ribbon feeding side bobbin and the ink ribbon winding side bobbin.

4. The medicine feeding device kit according to claim 1, wherein the feeding side shaft and the winding side shaft are held by the fixture main body so as to be movable in a direction exiting from the feeding side and the winding side of the ink ribbon in a state of abutting on the ink ribbon feeding side bobbin and the ink ribbon winding side bobbin.

5. An ink ribbon mounting fixture comprising:

a feeding side shaft and a winding side shaft arranged in a fixture main body in a positional relation corresponding to an ink ribbon feeding side bobbin and an ink ribbon winding side bobbin of a printer of a medicine feeding device in a state of being opposite the printer, a feeding side of an ink ribbon being detachably attached to the feeding side shaft, a winding side of the ink ribbon being detachably attached to the winding side shaft; and

a plurality of guide shafts, wherein

the ink ribbon mounting fixture is being inserted into and out of the printer of the medicine feeding device to mount the feeding side of the ink ribbon from the feeding side shaft of the ink ribbon mounting fixture to the ink ribbon feeding bobbin of the printer and to mount the winding side of the ink ribbon from the winding side shaft of the ink ribbon mounting fixture to the ink ribbon winding bobbin of the printer, and wherein

the printer comprises a plurality of guide pins which are detachably inserted into the plurality of guide shafts of the ink ribbon mounting fixture when mounting the ink ribbon.

6. The ink ribbon mounting fixture according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of guide shafts are being hooked in a state where the feeding side of the ink ribbon is attached to the feeding side shaft and the winding side of the ink ribbon is attached to the winding side shaft.

7. The ink ribbon mounting fixture according to claim 6, wherein the feeding side shaft and the winding side shaft are held by the fixture main body so as to be movable in a direction exiting from the feeding side and the winding side of the ink ribbon in a state of abutting on the ink ribbon feeding side bobbin and the ink ribbon winding side bobbin.

8. The ink ribbon mounting fixture according to claim 5, wherein the feeding side shaft and the winding side shaft are held by the fixture main body so as to be movable in a direction exiting from the feeding side and the winding side of the ink ribbon in a state of abutting on the ink ribbon feeding side bobbin and the ink ribbon winding side bobbin.