# US 2019/0167528 A1 · Medicine feeder and tablet splitting apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0167528 A1 - Document ID: US20190167528A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/324,012 - Filed: 2017-08-01 - Published: 2019-06-06 - Earliest claimed: 2016-08-19 - Assignees: Tosho, Inc. - Applicants: Tosho, Inc. - Inventors: Yoshihito OMURA - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190167528A1 ## CPC - A61J 7/0007: {Pill breaking or crushing devices} - A61J 3/00: Devices or methods specially adapted for bringing pharmaceutical products into particular physical or administering forms - A61J 7/0076: {Medicament distribution means (with pill counting devices A61J7/02; with time indication A61J7/04; containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents B65D83/00)} - B65G 47/14: arranging or orientating the articles by mechanical or pneumatic means during feeding (during transit by conveyor B65G47/24, B65G47/26) - B65G 47/1428: {rotating movement} - B65G 47/1457: {Rotating movement in the plane of the rotating part} - B65G 2201/027: Tablets, capsules, pills or the like - A61J: CONTAINERS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR MEDICAL OR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES; DEVICES OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR BRINGING PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS INTO PARTICULAR PHYSICAL OR ADMINISTERING FORMS; DEVICES FOR ADMINISTERING FOOD OR MEDICINES ORALLY; BABY COMFORTERS; DEVICES FOR RECEIVING SPITTLE - B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D) ## Abstract An object is to modify, for example, an aligning mechanism such that in a disk rotation type medicine feeder and a tablet splitting apparatus, tablets are successively fed at appropriate Intervals which are not too sparse and not too dense. A turntable is divided into an inner part (50) and an outer part (40). The angular speed of a large-diameter turntable 40 is made higher than the angular speed of a small-diameter turntable 50, and a tablet transfer path 32 of a straightening guide 30 is configured to be a spiral path extending from an inner end portion 32a to an outer end portion 32b. This enables tablets to be successively fed at appropriate intervals. Additionally, a tablet contact, portion (64) of a tablet holding mechanism is reciprocated with respect to a temporary holding area 62 located before the outer end portion 32b. A tablet is temporarily held in the temporary holding area (62) and when a long narrow blade insertion slit 43 in the large-diameter turntable 40 reaches the temporary holding area (62), a tablet cutting blade of a tablet cutting mechanism is reciprocated with respect to the temporary holding area and a blade insertion notch (62, 63) to split the tablet. The resulting cutting dust is dropped from the blade insertion slit 43 or small holes 42 to be separated from the split tablets. The split tablets are then dropped from a discharge port 61. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A medicine feeder comprising a circular or annular turntable having a flat upper surface; a driving unit configured to rotate the turntable in a plane; and a fixed straightening guide disposed directly above the turntable and configured to define a transfer path for transferring medicines on the turntable, wherein the turntable includes a small-diameter turntable on an inner side and a large-diameter turntable on an outer side; the driving unit makes an angular speed of the large-diameter turntable higher than an angular speed of the small-diameter turntable; and the transfer path of the straightening guide is a spiral path extending continuously over the upper surface of the small-diameter turntable and the upper surface of the large-diameter turntable, from a point off a rotation center to a point outside the large-diameter turntable. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The medicine feeder according to claim 1, wherein the large-diameter turntable has many small holes vertically passing therethrough. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The medicine feeder according to claim 1, further comprising a medicine cassette removably mounted above the straightening guide and configured to drop and feed medicines onto an inner end portion of the transfer path, wherein the medicine cassette includes a container portion configured to accommodate and randomly hold many medicines, and a closing portion configured to close an opening of the container portion, the closing portion being attached to the container portion in such a manner as to be capable of being axially rotated relative to the container portion; an interior space of the container portion is divided into a plurality of compartments annularly arranged side by side; the compartments are each configured to accommodate and randomly hold a plurality of medicines; the closing portion has a drop port passing therethrough, the drop port being narrower than the compartments; and when the container portion and the closing portion are relatively axially rotated, with the closing portion attached to the container portion, the drop port moves sequentially from one compartment to another of the container portion. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) A tablet splitting apparatus comprising the medicine feeder according to claim 1; a tablet holding mechanism configured to reciprocate a tablet contact portion with respect to a temporary holding area in the transfer path, the temporary holding area being located above the large-diameter turntable; and a tablet cutting mechanism configured to reciprocate a tablet cutting blade with respect to the temporary holding area. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The tablet splitting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the large-diameter turntable has a long narrow slit passing therethrough, the slit being configured to allow the tablet cutting blade to be loosely inserted therein. ### Claim 6 A medicine feeder comprising: a circular small-diameter turntable having a flat upper surface; a large-diameter turntable having an annular upper surface and disposed outside an outer periphery of the small-diameter turntable; a driving unit configured to cause the small-diameter turntable and the large-diameter turntable to coaxially rotate in a plane; and a straightening guide having a spiral guide portion configured to guide medicines on the small-diameter turntable and/or large-diameter turntable, the straightening guide being disposed to allow the upper surfaces of the small-diameter turntable and large-diameter turntable to form a floor of the guide portion, wherein the driving unit makes an angular speed of the large-diameter turntable higher than an angular speed of the small-diameter turntable; and the guide portion and the upper surfaces of the small-diameter turntable and large-diameter turntable form a transfer path in such a manner as to connect an inner end portion formed off a center of the in-plane rotation to an outer end portion formed outside an outer periphery of the large-diameter turntable, the transfer path being a path for transferring the tablets. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The medicine feeder according to claim 6, wherein the large-diameter turntable has many small holes vertically passing through the upper surface thereof. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The medicine feeder according to claim 6, further comprising a medicine cassette removably mounted above the straightening guide and configured to drop and feed medicines onto the inner end portion of the transfer path, wherein the medicine cassette includes a container portion configured to accommodate many medicines, and a closing portion configured to close an opening of the container portion, the closing portion being attached to the container portion in such a manner as to be capable of being axially rotated relative to the container portion; the container portion includes a plurality of compartments annularly arranged side by side; the closing portion has a drop port passing therethrough, the drop port being narrower than the compartments; and when the container portion and the closing portion are axially rotated, with the closing portion attached to the container portion, the drop port moves sequentially from one compartment to another of the container portion. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) A tablet splitting apparatus comprising: the medicine feeder according to claim 6; a tablet contact portion configured to stop the tablet in a temporary holding area in the guide portion, the temporary holding area being located above the large-diameter turntable; a tablet holding mechanism configured to reciprocate the tablet contact portion; and a tablet cutting mechanism including a tablet cutting blade and configured to reciprocate the tablet cutting blade with respect to the tablet held by the tablet contact portion. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The tablet splitting apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the large-diameter turntable has a slit passing therethrough, the slit being configured to allow the tablet cutting blade to be loosely inserted therein. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) The medicine feeder according to claim 2, further comprising a medicine cassette removably mounted above the straightening guide and configured to drop and feed medicines onto an inner end portion of the transfer path, wherein the medicine cassette includes a container portion configured to accommodate and randomly hold many medicines, and a closing portion configured to close an opening of the container portion, the closing portion being attached to the container portion in such a manner as to be capable of being axially rotated relative to the container portion; an interior space of the container portion is divided into a plurality of compartments annularly arranged side by side; the compartments are each configured to accommodate and randomly hold a plurality of medicines; the closing portion has a drop port passing therethrough, the drop port being narrower than the compartments; and when the container portion and the closing portion are relatively axially rotated, with the closing portion attached to the container portion, the drop port moves sequentially from one compartment to another of the container portion. ### Claim 12 (depends on 2) A tablet splitting apparatus comprising the medicine feeder according to claim 2; a tablet holding mechanism configured to reciprocate a tablet contact portion with respect to a temporary holding area in the transfer path, the temporary holding area being located above the large-diameter turntable; and a tablet cutting mechanism configured to reciprocate a tablet cutting blade with respect to the temporary holding area. ### Claim 13 (depends on 3) A tablet splitting apparatus comprising the medicine feeder according to claim 3; a tablet holding mechanism configured to reciprocate a tablet contact portion with respect to a temporary holding area in the transfer path, the temporary holding area being located above the large-diameter turntable; and a tablet cutting mechanism configured to reciprocate a tablet cutting blade with respect to the temporary holding area. ### Claim 14 (depends on 7) The medicine feeder according to claim 7, further comprising a medicine cassette removably mounted above the straightening guide and configured to drop and feed medicines onto the inner end portion of the transfer path, wherein the medicine cassette includes a container portion configured to accommodate many medicines, and a closing portion configured to close an opening of the container portion, the closing portion being attached to the container portion in such a manner as to be capable of being axially rotated relative to the container portion; the container portion includes a plurality of compartments annularly arranged side by side; the closing portion has a drop port passing therethrough, the drop port being narrower than the compartments; and when the container portion and the closing portion are axially rotated, with the closing portion attached to the container portion, the drop port moves sequentially from one compartment to another of the container portion. ### Claim 15 (depends on 7) A tablet splitting apparatus comprising: the medicine feeder according to claim 7; a tablet contact portion configured to stop the tablet in a temporary holding area in the guide portion, the temporary holding area being located above the large-diameter turntable; a tablet holding mechanism configured to reciprocate the tablet contact portion; and a tablet cutting mechanism including a tablet cutting blade and configured to reciprocate the tablet cutting blade with respect to the tablet held by the tablet contact portion. ### Claim 16 (depends on 8) A tablet splitting apparatus comprising: the medicine feeder according to claim 8; a tablet contact portion configured to stop the tablet in a temporary holding area in the guide portion, the temporary holding area being located above the large-diameter turntable; a tablet holding mechanism configured to reciprocate the tablet contact portion; and a tablet cutting mechanism including a tablet cutting blade and configured to reciprocate the tablet cutting blade with respect to the tablet held by the tablet contact portion.