Medicine dispensing apparatus

• US 9,493,253 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2010
• Issued: 11/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tosho, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tosho, Inc.
• Inventors: Omura, Yoshihito, Ohgaya, Syunji
• Primary Examiner(s): Long, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ahmed, Mobeen
• Application Number:
  US13/582,471
• Publication Number:
  US 20120324829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,330 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 5/02 Cleaning by the force of jets, e.g. blowing-out cavities airguns or nozzles per se B05B1/005
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 9/00 Cleaning hollow articles by methods or apparatus specially adapted thereto B08B6/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 1/28 Controlling escape of air or dust from containers or receptacles during filling
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 2210/08 Cleaning nozzles, funnels or guides through which articles are introduced into containers or wrappers
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 31/00 Packaging articles or materials under special atmospheric or gaseous conditions; Adding propellants to aerosol containers
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/103 for packaging pills or tablets
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 9/02 Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material between opposed webs
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/44 in which magazines the articles are stored in bulk
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00

Abstract

A medicine guide assembly is disposed between paired adjacent medicine feeder storage units. Each medicine guide assembly guides the medicines, which have been ejected from the medicine feeders included in the paired medicine feeder storage units, to an outlet port located downward. The medicine guide assembly includes a first divided guide member and a second divided guide member which are combined with each other when the paired medicine feeder storage units are accommodated in the housing and which are separated from each other when one of the paired medicine feeder storage units is drawn out from the housing. Further, air cleaning devices are provided so as to be operable to take in air, clean the air, and supply the cleaned air to an interior of the housing.

Claims

1. A medicine dispensing apparatus comprising:

a housing;

a plurality of medicine feeder storage units juxtaposed inside the housing such that each unit can be drawn out from the housing, each unit including a plurality of medicine feeders operable to contain medicines and sequentially eject medicines and a medicine feeder casing configured to store the plurality of medicine feeders;

one or more medicine guide assemblies each disposed between paired adjacent medicine feeder storage units among the plurality of medicine feeder storage units, and each configured to guide the medicines, which have been ejected from the medicine feeders included in the paired medicine feeder storage units, to an outlet port located downward;

a medicine collecting assembly disposed downward of the plurality of medicine feeder storage units and configured to collect the medicines ejected from the one or more medicine guide assemblies;

a packing device disposed downward of the medicine collecting assembly and located in a lower space inside the housing, and operable to separately pack the collected medicines ejected from the medicine collecting assembly;

an air cleaning device operable to take in air from outside of the housing, clean the air, and supply the cleaned air to an interior of the housing to provide a positive pressure environment inside the housing;

an air supply chamber provided below the air cleaning device and operable to temporarily pool cleaned air discharged from the air cleaning device;

a flow path for cleaned air that delivers at least a part of the cleaned air into the medicine guide assemblies such that the cleaned air flows downward inside the medicine guide assemblies; and

a branch flow path for cleaned air configured to branch the cleaned air supplied from the air cleaning device and delivers the branched cleaned air directly to the packing device such that the branched cleaned air does not pass through the flow path for cleaned air and the medicine collecting assembly,

wherein;

the medicine guide assemblies each include a first divided guide member and a second divided guide member which are combined with each other when the paired medicine feeder storage units are accommodated in the housing and which are separated from each other when one of the paired medicine feeder storage units is drawn out from the housing;

the first divided guide member is fixed to the medicine feeder casing of one of the paired medicine feeder storage units and the second divided guide member is fixed to the medicine feeder casing of the other medicine feeder storage unit;

the air cleaning device is located upward of the plurality of medicine feeder storage units;

internal spaces of the respective medicine guide assemblies communicate with the air supply chamber and form the flow path for cleaned air such that the cleaned air, which has been supplied from the air supply chamber into the internal spaces, flows downward along a medicine falling path; and

one or more air supply pipes each formed of a upright duct are disposed in a rear portion of the housing so as to communicate the air supply chamber with the lower space inside the housing, and the one or more air supply pipes form the branch flow path for cleaned air.

2. A medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the medicine feeder storage units are drawn out from the housing in a draw-out direction;

the first divided guide member is shaped like a plate, having formed a plurality of through holes therein such that the medicines ejected from the medicine feeders included in the one medicine feeder storage unit pass through the through holes of the first divided guide member;

the second divided guide member includes;

a plate portion having formed a plurality of through holes therein such that the medicines ejected from the medicine feeders included in the other medicine feeder storage unit pass through the through holes of the plate portion, the plate portion having a first edge portion located on a first side of the plate portion and a second edge portion located on a second side of the plate portion, opposite to the first edge portion, said first and second edge portions extending transverse to the draw-out direction;

a first side wall portion extending away from the first edge portion of the plate portion; and

a second side wall portion extending away from the second edge portion of the plate portion.

3. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second divided guide members are symmetrically shaped with respect to a parting plane thereof.

5. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one or more air pollution sensors operable to sense pollution of the cleaned air are disposed inside the housing.

6. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the one or more air pollution sensors are disposed in at least one location selected from inside or outside of the flow path for cleaned air, inside or at an outlet port of the branch flow path for cleaned air, inside or in the vicinity of the medicine collecting assembly, and inside or in the vicinity of the packing device.

7. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the air cleaning device has a controller operable to vary the amount of air which the air cleaning device supplies, according to the level of pollution of the cleaned air sensed by the air pollution sensor.

8. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an alarm signal generator operable to generate an alarm signal when the pollution of the cleaned air sensed by the air pollution sensor reaches or exceeds a predetermined level.

11. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the air cleaning device has a controller operable to vary the amount of air which the air cleaning device supplies, according to the level of pollution of the cleaned air sensed by the air pollution sensor.

12. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an alarm signal generator operable to generate an alarm signal when the pollution of the cleaned air sensed by the air pollution sensor reaches or exceeds a predetermined level.

4. A medicine dispensing apparatus comprising:

a housing;

a plurality of medicine feeder storage units juxtaposed inside the housing, each unit including a plurality of medicine feeders operable to contain medicines and sequentially eject medicines and a medicine feeder casing configured to store the plurality of medicine feeders;

one or more medicine guide assemblies each configured to guide the medicines, which have been ejected from the medicine feeders included in the plurality of medicine feeder storage units, to an outlet port located downward;

a medicine collecting assembly disposed downward of the plurality of medicine feeder storage units and configured to collect the medicines ejected from the one or more medicine guide assemblies;

a packing device disposed downward of the medicine collecting assembly and located in a lower space inside the housing, and operable to separately pack the collected medicines ejected from the medicine collecting assembly;

an air cleaning device operable to take in air from outside of the housing, clean the air, and supply the cleaned air to an interior of the housing to provide a positive pressure environment inside the housing;

an air supply chamber provided below the air cleaning device and operable to temporarily pool cleaned air discharged from the air cleaning device;

a flow path for cleaned air that delivers at least a part of the cleaned air into the medicine guide assemblies such that the cleaned air flows downward inside the medicine guide assemblies; and

a branch flow path for cleaned air that branches the cleaned air supplied from the air cleaning device and delivers the branched cleaned air directly to the packing device such that the branched cleaned air does not pass through the flow path for cleaned air and the medicine collecting assembly;

wherein;

the air cleaning device is located upward of the plurality of medicine feeder storage units;

internal spaces of the respective medicine guide assemblies communicate with the air supply chamber and form the flow path for cleaned air such that the cleaned air, which has been supplied from the air supply chamber into the internal spaces, flows downward along a medicine falling path; and

one or more air supply pipes each formed of a upright duct are disposed in a rear portion of the housing so as to communicate the air supply chamber with the lower space inside the housing, and the one or more air supply pipes form the branch flow path for cleaned air.

9. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein one or more air pollution sensors operable to sense pollution of the cleaned air are disposed inside the housing.

10. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the one or more air pollution sensors are disposed in at least one location selected from inside or outside of the flow path for cleaned air, inside or at an outlet port of the branch flow path for cleaned air, inside or in the vicinity of the medicine collecting assembly, and inside or in the vicinity of the packing device.

13. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the air cleaning device has a controller operable to vary the amount of air which the air cleaning device supplies, according to the level of pollution of the cleaned air sensed by the air pollution sensor.

14. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising an alarm signal generator operable to generate an alarm signal when the pollution of the cleaned air sensed by the air pollution sensor reaches or exceeds a predetermined level.

15. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the air cleaning device has a controller operable to vary the amount of air which the air cleaning device supplies, according to the level of pollution of the cleaned air sensed by the air pollution sensor.

16. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising an alarm signal generator operable to generate an alarm signal when the pollution of the cleaned air sensed by the air pollution sensor reaches or exceeds a predetermined level.