Article dispensing – Progressively destroyed cellular magazine-type supply source
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-10
2003-04-01
Noland, Kenneth W. (Department: 3653)
Article dispensing
Progressively destroyed cellular magazine-type supply source
C053S374400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06540101
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a pharmaceutical tablet dispensing system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tablet dispensing and packaging system that efficiently prevents a tablet bag cutter from incurring a possible damage on the system operator.
An automatic tablet dispensing and packaging system is generally provided with a tablet packaging portion and a tablet dropping portion placed above the packaging portion. The table dropping portion includes tablet cassettes each storing therein and dropping therefrom a predetermined set of tablets. The tablet packaging portion includes heating rollers to seal tablets into a series of paper bags using a packaging paper.
A demand in the market is to include in the tablet packaging portion a cutter that performs a safety cutting of the series of tablet-sealed paper bags as well as a batch-unit cutting to improve product reliability. Also, under such a safety cutting application, there should be followed a mechanism that efficiently protects those in charge of system maintenance from safety accidents.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tablet dispensing and packaging system that incorporates a substantially improved safety environment in a tablet packaging and cutting mechanism of the system.
Another object is to substantially improve product reliability by efficiently preventing safety accidents from occurring in relation to tablet packaging, cutting and replacement of a tablet packaging paper.
To achieve the above-described objects, a tablet dispensing and packaging system according to the present invention comprises a tablet dropping unit having a hopper therebelow. A pair of heating rollers is provided to consecutively seal tablets from the hopper into a series of tablet bags using a packaging paper. The sealed tablet bags are partitioned one from another by a sealing belt perpendicular to an axis of said each heating roller. Here, the sealing belt has a median to visualize the partitioning of the sealed tablet bags.
The system further includes a safety cutter unit having a cam disk, a cam shaft eccentrically attached to the cam disk, an upper support rod, an upper blade having an upper cutting edge, a lower support rod, and a lower blade having a lower cutting edge. Each rod and blade have a front end and a rear end, wherein the rear end of the lower support rod is rotatably carried on the cam shaft, and the upper support rod has a substantially elongated through-opening adjacent to the rear end thereof.
A protrusion is extended from the rear end of the upper support rod, and the through-opening of the upper support rod is worn on the cam shaft over the lower support rod. The rear end of the upper blade is rotatably engaged to the front end of the upper support rod, wherein a fixture pin pivotably carries thereon the rear end of the lower blade and a mid rear portion adjacent to the rear end of the upper blade into a frame of the system. A mid rear portion adjacent to the rear end of the lower blade is rotatably engaged to the front end of the lower support rod.
For a preferred version, an elastic member is provided to elastically administer the cam shaft and the rear end protrusion of the upper support rod, so that the cam shaft enables the upper and lower support rods to proceed the reciprocal advance and retreat, in accordance with the cam disk rotation and the elastic member administration. Consequently, the cutting edges of the blades pivotably engaged by the fixture pin to the roller frame selectively sever a sealing belt median of the sealed tablet bags by synchronously crossing over and merging into each other.
The elastic member may be a tension spring hooked by the cam shaft and the protrusion of the upper support rod. A shear stress of the upper and lower blades may be substantially determined by a tension of the tension spring. Alternately, the elastic member is formed in a pair of tension springs each hooked by the cam shaft and the protrusion of the upper support rod.
In an embodiment, an automatic safety cutter system may be separately proved with the cam disk, cam shaft, upper and lower support rods, upper and lower blades.
The advantages of the present invention are numerous in that: (1) the tablet dispensing and packaging system according to the present invention efficiently protects an operator in charge of system maintenance from safety accidents related to tablet packaging, paper bag cutting and paper replacement by providing the safety cutting mechanism; (2) the safety cutting mechanism utilizes a correlation between a shear stress serving to sever paper bags and a spring tension determining the shear stress, thereby enabling a system operator to easily construct and adjust the safety cutting factors such as spring tensions and each length of the support rods; and (3) any alien substance such as a human finger, even if it requires a slightly stronger shear stress than the tablet packaging paper to get cut, instantly instigates the elastic member which then releases as much and subsequently keeps the blades open, thereby substantially improving product reliability.
Although the present invention is briefly summarized, the fuller understanding of the invention can be obtained by the following drawings, detailed description and appended claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 6089136 (2000-07-01), Hinojosa et al.
patent: 6164038 (2000-12-01), Kim
Noland Kenneth W.
Park John K.
Park & Sutton LLP
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