APPAREIL DE CHARGEMENT DE PLAQUETTES ALVEOLEES AVEC MOYENS D'EVITEMENT DE REBONDISSEMENT

BLISTER SHEET LOADING APPARATUS WITH BOUNCE PREVENTION MEANS

Abrégé français

Cette invention concerne un appareil de chargement de doses de médicament (4') dans une cavité (15') d'une plaquette alvéolée (12') faite d'une matière plastique souple. Ledit appareil est doté d'un certain nombre de contenants agencés horizontalement dont un exemple est représenté par le numéro de référence (6'). Chaque contenant peut être actionné pour libérer une dose d'un médicament sous forme solide (4') dans une cavité (15') d'une plaquette sélectionnée. La plaquette alvéolée dont les cavités doivent être chargées de doses de médicament est supportée horizontalement sur une table disposée en dessous des contenants (6') et espacée de ceux-ci. Une plaque horizontale épaisse (1) est disposée entre le niveau des contenants et le niveau de la table et une série d'alésages (2') inclinés et parallèles dans le sens axial, est formée à travers la plaque. Les extrémités supérieures de l'alésage associé à chaque cavité de plaquette peuvent être disposées en dessous du contenant qui doit libérer une dose dans la cavité. Ainsi, une dose libérée qui traverse l'alésage va heurter un côté de celui-ci, son parcours en sera dévié et, par conséquent, la quantité de son mouvement vertical est réduite. La dose est libérée à partir de l'extrémité inférieure de l'alésage et elle heurte la paroi interne supérieure de la cavité. Le risque d'endommagement par impact mutuel des doses libérées dans la cavité est réduit et le risque de rebondissement d'une dose hors de la cavité par impact contre le fond élastique de celle-ci est éliminé.

Abrégé anglais

Apparatus for loading medication doses (4') into a cavity (15') of a blister sheet (12') made from a resilient plastics material, is provided with a number of horizontally- arranged containers one of which is shown at (6'). Each container can be operated to release a solid medication dose (4') into a cavity (15') of a selected blister. The blister sheet to have its cavities loaded with medication doses is supported horizontally on a table spaced beneath the level at which the containers (6') are located. A thick horizontal plate (1) is disposed between the level of the containers and the level of the table, and an array of inclined and axially-parallel bores (2') are formed through the plate. The upper ends of the bore associated with each blister cavity can be located beneath the container which is to deliver a dose to the cavity so that a released dose travels down the bore and impacts against one side of the bore which acts to deflect the dose and thus reduce its vertical momentum. The dose is released from the lower end of the bore and impacts against the inside upper, wall of the cavity. The risk of damage by impact of released doses with one another in the cavity is reduced and the risk of a dose bouncing back out of the cavity through impacting on its resilient floor is avoided.

Revendications

8
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege
is
claimed are defined as follows:
1. Apparatus for loading individual cavities of a blister sheet with doses
that are
formed by small hard objects released into the cavities from above, including:
dose-storage containers and first means for locating the individual dose-
storage
containers holding the objects at a level above the position of a blister
cavity to be
loaded;
second means for releasing an object from the respective dose-storage
container
so that it falls down a path leading downwards towards the cavity; and
third means located in the path of descent of the object and configured to
retard
its rate of descent to an acceptable level before it. reaches the cavity,
wherein an acceptable level is a level at which the object will not bounce
back out
of the cavity, the third means including deflectors provided by the internal
surfaces of
respective axially parallel cylindrical bores formed through a horizontal
plate located
between the level of the blister sheet and the level of the dose-discharge
position of the
containers, wherein the fall height and the deflectors are configured with
respect to the
objects such that a falling object is deflected by the respective deflector
laterally towards
a side-wall of the selected blister such that it impacts the side wall.
2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the lower end-portion of the
bore
opposite its side first struck by a descending dose, is formed with a rebate.
3. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, including an indexing mechanism
for
traversing the deflectors and table horizontally to bring the cavity of a
selected blister to
be loaded together with its associated deflector, to a position beneath the
dose-discharge
position of the dose-storage containers.

Description

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1
BLISTER SHEET LOADING APPARATUS
= WITH BOUNCE PREVENTION MEANS
Field of the invention
THIS INVENTION relates to the prevention of bounce occurring when small
objects are
loaded into pockets into which they may be subsequently sealed. The invention
is
particularly well-suited, although not exclusively so, to preventing -solid
medication
doses, such as tablets, from bouncing when falling into a pocket formed by the
cavity of a
. blister of a blister sheet.
For convenience and ease of understanding, the description of the invention
which
follows has been limited to its use in loading medication doses into blister
cavities of a
blister sheet but it is to be understood that the invention is applicable to a
much wider
= range of usage than this particular activity.
State of the Art
The provision of prescribed medication to a patient by means of a pre-loaded
blister
package is commonly used to enable the patient to carry several days supply of
prescribed doses of medication. The doses are prescribed by a doctor and
appropriately
packaged by a pharmacist to provide the patient with a sealed blister sheet
having
individual blisters marked with the days and times at which the doses in each
blister are
to be administered to the patient. =
'It is convenient to mechanize the loading of the blister sheet with the
prescribed doses to =
save time and apparatus to achieve this has been devised which relies on a
large number
of storage containers having bottom openings from which tablets are released
into the
cavities of blisters in accordance with a computerized program. The program
determines
which blister of the blister sheet is to be loaded at a particular moment with
a particular
prescribed medication. The blister. sheet is normally loaded while inverted
and has its
blisters extending downwardly into respective openings provided in a
horizontal support
table. The table can be indexed horizontally in its own plane by a mechanism
to bring

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2
each blister in turn to a pre-arranged loading position at which the
appropriate medication
dose selected from one of the containers can be released into its cavity.
The blister sheet is normally made from a plastics material which has a
natural resilience,
and it is convenient to rely on gravity to transfer a dose from a selected
storage container
to the blister cavity. However the natural resilience of the blister sheet can
cause a dose to
bounce back out of the blister cavity if it is the first dose to be placed in
it, and there is
also a risk that the descending dose will impact on a dose already in the
cavity and
damage one or both doses as a consequence.
To reduce the risk of damage occurring when a dose is dropped into a blister,
the
distance through which the dose drops from the underside of the container
should be
made as small as is practical. However there is a limit to the reduction of
this distance if
there is to be no risk of a dose bouncing out of the cavity interfering with
the operation of
the indexing mechanism.
Object of the Invention
An object of this invention is to reduces the risk of problems occurring
during loading of
doses or other hard objects into a blister cavity.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention apparatus for loading individual
*cavities of a blister sheet with small hard objects released into the
cavities from above,
includes: first means for locating individual containers holding the objects
at a level
above the position of the blister cavity to be loaded; second means for
releasing an object
from the container so that it follows a path leading downwards towards the
cavity; and,
third m.!-Rns located in the path of descent of the object and acting to
retard its rate of
descent to an acceptable level (as below defined) before it reaches the
cavity. The
expression "acceptable level" referred to above, is a level at which a
released object will
not bounce back out of the cavity nor will its impact on other objects already
loaded into
for different objects to be loaded into the blister cavity.

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Preferably, the third means is formed by a deflector which is struck by the
object during
its descent to absorb part of its momentum and thus slow it down.
=
Suitably the deflector is in the form of an elongated opening such as a bore,
extending
downwardly through a plate and at an angle to the plane of the plate, the
upper end of the
opening being located beneath a bottom outlet of the container and the lower
end of the
opening being located above a loading position at which the blister cavity to
be loaded is
positioned.
Conveniently the lower end-portion of the opening is shaped to direct an
object
descending through it towards a side-wall of the blister cavity
In accordance with another aspect of the invention apparatus for loading
cavities of a
blister sheet with prescribed doses of. medication, includes: a support table
provided
. -
with means for positively locating respective blisters of the blister sheet at
a level spaced
beneath and displaced horizontally with respect to a position= at which dose-
storage
containers can be located, and a deflector positioned between the storage
containers and
the table to deflect a dose falling from the storage container laterally
towards a blister
= 'cavity intended to receive it.
Preferably the deflectors referred to immediately above, are provided by the
internal
surfaces of respective axially parallel bores formed through a relatively
thick and
horizontal plate located between the level of the blister sheet on the table,
and the level of .
the dose-discharge position of the container.

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The portion of the lower end-portion of the bore opposite the side first
struck by a
descending 'tablet may be rebated to avoid the risk of tablets stacking up
against one side
of the cavity and possibly interfering with the correct operation of the
apparatus.
=
When a particular dose is to be loaded into a selected blister cavity, an
indexing
mechanism of the table may be operated to bring the cavity of the blister to
be loaded and
its associated deflector, to a position at which the deflector is located
beneath the lower
end of a storage container from which the dose is to be released. The dose
then strikes the
deflector during its descent, and its momentum is reduced as a consequence.
The
deflection also preferably deflects the descending dose towards a side-wall of
the selected
blister. Impact with the side wall slows down the descent still further so
that the risk of
the descending dose damaging itself or other doses which may already be in the
blister is
reduced still further. =
According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus
for
loading individual cavities of a blister sheet with doses that are formed by
small hard
objects released into the cavities from above, including:
dose-storage containers and first means for locating the individual dose-
storage
containers holding the objects at a level above the position of a blister
cavity to be
loaded;
second means for releasing an object from the respective dose-storage
container
so that it falls down a path leading downwards towards the cavity; and
third means located in the path of descent of the object and configured to
retard
its rate of descent to an acceptable level before it. reaches the cavity,
wherein an acceptable level is a level at which the object will not bounce
back
out of the cavity, the third means including deflectors provided by the
internal surfaces
of respective axially parallel cylindrical bores formed through a horizontal
plate located
between the level of the blister sheet and the level of the dose-discharge
position of the
containers, wherein the fall height and the deflectors are configured with
respect to the
objects such that a falling object is deflected by the respective deflector
laterally towards
a side-wall of the selected blister such that it impacts the side wall.

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4a
Introduction to the drawings
The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of examples, with
reference
to accompanying partly-diagrammatic drawings, in which:
In the drawings
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view from above of a relatively thick plate
penetrated by an
array of axially-parallel bores inclined to the plane of the plate and
providing one form of
deflecting mens;
FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of the plate of figure 1;
FIGURE 3 is a side view of the plate of figure 2;
FIGURE 4 is an end view of the plate of figure 2;

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= =
FIGURE 5 shows diagrammatically, and to a greatly enlarged scale, the path of
descent
of a dose through one bore of the plate, the dose being released from a dose-
storage
container above the plate and striking against a deflecting surface provided
by the interior
wall of the bore so that the dose is deflected towards the upper internal wall
of a blister
5 cavity beneath; and,
FIGURE 6 shows a modification of figure 5 and where identical parts bear
identical
reference numerals but they are primed, and the lower end of the bore is
rebated.
Description of first example of the invention
For convenience the example of the invention now to be described is designed
to be used
in conjunction with apparatus of the general design described in United States
Patent
Specification Nos. 7,225,597 Bl; 7,426,814 B2; and, 7,510,099 B2. These
specifications
are identified to enable the reader to understand how the apparatus works and
to avoid
burdening the present specification with unnecessary detail well known in the
art. In the
first two of the above-numbered prior art patent specifications a blister
support table is
identified in Figure 1 by the reference number 'thirty' and the same reference
numeral ,
is used in figure 5 of the present specification to denote a like part. The
support table 30
of figure 5 is provided with openings 14 for the reception of respective
blisters 15 of an
inverted blister sheet 12 moulded from a resilient plastics material and
placed blistered-
side down on the table 30.
"Figures 1 to 4 show a flat thick nylon plate 1 formed with an array of
identical cylindrical
and axially-parallel bores 2 inclined at an angle to the plane of the plate of
about sixty
degrees. The plate 1 is slightly less than two centimeters thick. The diameter
of each hole
is slightly more than sixteen millimeters. None of these dimensions or angles
is critical
and are only given as one example of the invention. =
= 25 Figure 5 shows one of a number of dose-storage containers 6 located at
a level spaced
above the plate 3 and at a dose-discharge position vertically above the upper
end of a
bore 2. A mechanism (not shown) at the lower end of the container 6 and
controlled by

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6
a computerized control system (also not shown) allows a dose to be released
from the
container 6 in response to a control signal generated by the system and
controlling
operation of the apparatus.
Operation of the first example of the invention
A dose in the form of a hard solid medication tablet or pill, shown at 4 in
figure 5, is
dropped from the lower end of the container 6 into the upper end of the bore 2
immediately beneath, and descends along the fall line indicated by a broken
line in figure
5. As the axis of the bore 2 is at thirty degrees to the vertical, the dose
strikes against the
inside wall of the bore intermediate its ends, at a location 7. The distance
through which
the dose falls before strilcing the location 7 is found empirically and
ensures that the
momentum of the dose 4 is insufficient to cause damage to I when impacting on
the
location 7. This fall distance may be varied in the apparatus to achieve this
result and it
will be found empirically and changed to suit different types of dose. The
contact of the
dose with the location 7 acts to reduce the vertical momentum of the dose 4
and deflects
it down the inclined bore 2 towards its lower end. The dose leaving the lower
end still has
a horizontal component of velocity so that it impacts on the side wall of the
blister cavity
positioned beneath the lower end of the bore 2 and associated with it. _
Were the dose 4 allowed to fall vertically onto the floor of the cavity, there
would be a
risk that the -resilience of the material from which the blister sheet is
made, might bounce
the dose 4 back out of the cavity. It might then cause damage to an indexing
mechanism
used to move the table 30. There is also risk that a dose descending
vertically into the
blister cavity from the bore 2 could have sufficient momentum to impact
against, and
possibly damage itself and/doses already in the blister cavity.
First modification of described example
In the modification of figure 5 shown in figure 6, a rebate 100 is provided on
the side of
the lower portion - of the bore 2 opposite the location 7. This rebate 100
serves to
accommodate overflow of doses within the cavity of a blister being loaded, and
also to

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7
prevent doses from stacking up at one side of the blister .and possibly
blocking the lower
end of the bore 2.
Interpretation of the width of the wording used in this specification
Although the invention has been specifically described in the above examples
with
reference to medication doses being loaded into blister cavities, it is to be
understood that
its usage is not limited to this application. The invention is capable of
being used in any
apparatus where it is required to reduce the velocity of descent of hard solid
objects
which might otherwise free-fall with an undesirably high velocity. The
deflecting bores
of such apparatus may, for example, be used to reduce the velocity with which
tablets or
other solid medication doses are inserted into respective single dose
blisters, or to
orientate the dose to a desired position required for entry into a blister.
=

Dessin représentatif