This is a nationalization of PCT/DE02/01325 filed Apr. 10, 2002 and published in German.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical blister holding device with an upper part and a lower part between which the pharmaceutical blister is disposed, and with ejection openings disposed in the upper and lower parts conforming to the pattern of dragées contained therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A holding device of this type follows from DE 40 01 645 C2. Therein a pharmaceutical blister is disposed between an upper part and a lower part of the holding device. Thereon an ejection device is provided for ejecting the individual dragées contained in the pharmaceutical blister, said ejection device being displaceable and/or turnable on the upper part in such a manner that an ejection ram can be brought over the position of the dragée to be ejected from the pharmaceutical blister so that it can be guided through openings, aligned to the dragée, of the upper and lower part. A device working together with the ejection device to query and/or record the position of the ejection ram has an electromechanical position-measuring device which can be activated by the ejection device, from which electromechanical position-measuring device the linear and/or rotary movements of the ejection device are unambiguously recorded and converted into position measurement signals. In this way those locations of the pharmaceutical blister at which dragées are or have been ejected from the pharmaceutical blister can be sensed exactly.
From the German Utility Model G 98 14 297.7 an additional holding device for a pharmaceutical blister follows in which a holding device with an ejection device for the ejection of each dragée from the pharmaceutical blister is disposed so that it can be moved along a straight and/or circular interval.
The objective of the present invention consists of developing a holding device for pharmaceutical blisters with an ejection device so that a relatively simple recording of the ejection positions is possible.
This objective is realized by a holding device with an upper part and a lower part between which a pharmaceutical blister can be disposed. Conforming to the pattern of the dragées, upper ejection openings are disposed in the upper part and lower ejection openings are disposed in the lower part. An ejection device which can execute a linear movement and/or a rotary movement in relation to the upper part has an ejection ram which optionally can be guided into a certain ejection opening of the upper part to remove a corresponding dragée. The ejection device has a contact element which in the intended ejection position of the ejection ram short-circuits a pair of contact points with a contact field to display the intended ejection position. The contact field for each possible ejection position short-circuits only one pair of contact points corresponding to the intended ejection position through the contact field.
The significant advantage of the present invention consists of the fact that simple and cost-effective, technologically easily realizable recording and storing of the ejection positions at which dragées were taken from a pharmaceutical blister disposed in the holding device are possible. Display errors are advantageously reduced to a minimum therein.
Preferably the holding device, according to the invention, for pharmaceutical blisters has evaluation electronics through which, during the actuation of the ejection device, the individual ejection positions can be recorded and stored for the purposes of subsequent evaluation.
In the following the invention and its developments are explained in more detail in connection with the figures. Shown are:
a, 1b representations of a known pharmaceutical blister,
a a side view of the ejection device separated from the holding device,
b a longitudinal section through the holding device on which the ejection device is disposed,
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
According to
According to
The ejection device 4 is disposed on the upper part 3, as, for example, is the case in DE 40 01 645 C2 cited initially. The upper part 3 has upper ejection openings 6 which are disposed conforming to the pattern of the dragées 2, or tablets/pharmaceuticals, present in the pharmaceutical blister 1 to be used.
Conforming to this pattern, lower ejection openings 12 are also disposed in the lower part 20. When used, the pharmaceutical blister 1 is laid into the lower part 20 (
If in the holding device a pharmaceutical blister 1 is disposed between the lower part 20 and the upper part 3 and the lower part 20 is locked on the upper part 3, e. g. with the aid of the cited snapping element, the upper ejection openings 6 of the upper part 3 are aligned to the dragées 2 of the pharmaceutical blister 1 and to the lower ejection openings 12 of the lower part 20 on which the pharmaceutical blister 1 lies.
On the upper part 3, as, in particular,
Through the upper sliding plate 13, which preferably is structured in the form of a circle, an axis 5 runs along the direction of a diameter of the upper sliding plate 13 transversely to the axis of the shaft 16, on which axis an elongated ejection part 48 is held in such a manner that it can be pivoted, where the ejection part 48 has, on its side opposite the sliding plate 13, an ejection ram 19 projecting in the direction of the upper part 3, where said ejection ram preferably can be pivoted about an axis 49 running parallel to the axis 5. Preferably the end of the ejection part 48 opposite the ejection ram 19 is structured in the form of a fork, where the axis 5 can be formed by projections which project out from the sliding plate 13 and engage in indentations of the fork arms. In this way it is ensured that the ejection part 48 and the ejection ram 19 can be lifted from the plane of the sliding plate 13.
The upper sliding plate 13 has the shaft 16 extending perpendicularly to its plane, said shaft 16 running through the upper part guide slot 7 of the upper part 3 and on which a lower sliding plate 14 is located at a distance from the sliding plate 13 below the upper part 3, said lower sliding plate being held in such a manner that it can slide in the longitudinal direction of the shaft 16. The sliding plates 13 and 14 are dimensioned so that they protrude by their edge areas over the corresponding edge areas of the upper part guide slot 7 so that the entire ejection device 4 on the upper housing part 3 cannot be lost and is held in such a manner that it can be displaced in the direction of the upper part guide slot 7. At its free end area the shaft 16 has a contact element 10 preferably having the form of a plate, said contact element being fixed on the shaft 16 in such a manner that it cannot be displaced in the axial direction and on which contact faces 10′ explained in more detail later are disposed on the side facing the upper part 3. A contact element energy storage device 15 is provided which is active between the lower sliding plate 14 and the contact element 10 and presses them away from one another. Preferably this contact element energy storage device 15 has the form of a helical spring encircling the shaft 16, one end of said helical spring being supported on the lower sliding plate 14 and the other end of said helical spring being supported on the contact element 10.
Due to the contact element energy storage 15 and the support of the lower sliding plate 14 on the edge area of the upper part guide slot 7 of the upper part 3, the shaft 16 and the upper sliding plate 13 fastened thereon are caused to be drawn downward with the ejection part 48 in the direction of the lower part 20. At the edge areas of the upper part guide slot 7, in the area of each upper ejection opening 6, pairs of contact points 9′, 9 are located which are connected to one another by the contact fields 10′ of the contact element 10 when the ejection ram 19 is in its ejection position, that is, when the ejection part 48 is pivoted about the axis 5 parallel to the plane of the upper part 3 and in so doing the contact plate 10 is drawn upward against the force to the contact element energy storage device 15, as is represented in
In order to make possible said movement of the shaft 16 and of the contact element 10, the ejection device 4 has a cam 18, which is represented, in particular in
Preferably a cam 18 is provided in the area of each aforementioned fork arm of the ejection part 48.
The present holding device for a pharmaceutical blister 1 has evaluation electronics 25 which preferably comprises a display 38 for displaying the information determined.
The ejection ram 19 can be moved according to
Always when the ejection ram 19 is in the parked position 11 or in an ejection position, preferably according to linear and rotary positioning of the ejection device 4, i. e. also of the contact element 10 or the contact fields 10′ of the same, two contact points 9′, 9 on the lower side of the upper part 3 are short-circuited so that individual position signals corresponding to the parked position 11 or a certain ejection position are generated and are issued to the evaluation electronics 25 in order to be stored and appropriately processed there. The parked position 11 can however also be structured so that no contacting occurs or is possible.
The evaluation electronics 25 is preferably disposed according to
According to
A power source or battery 26 is preferably assigned to the evaluation electronics 25 and the display 38, said power source or battery being expediently located in the housing 41.
On actuation of the ejection device 4 a dragée 2 according to
Preferably the striking of the contact point 9′, 9 only occurs when a dragée 2 has completely penetrated the aluminum foil of the pharmaceutical blister 1.
In the following it is explained in more detail in connection with
On moving the ejection ram 19 into the ejection position H the contact element 10 is accordingly displaced relative to the upper part guide slot 7 and accordingly turned about the shaft 16.
According to
By way of example, the ejection positions C, D, G, H, and the corresponding contact field arrangements C: c/9′, D: d/9′, G: d/9′, H: h/9′ are represented.
In the other ejection positions A, B, E, and F the following assignments apply: A: a/9′, B: b/9′, E: e/9′, F: f/9′.
It can be seen clearly that in each special ejection position the contact fields 10′ of the contact element 10 short-circuit only the pair of contact points 9′, a or 9′, b or 9′, c or 9′, d or 9′, e or 9′, f, or 9′, g, or 9′, h assigned to the intended ejection position. The opposite contact field 10′ of the contact element 10 always strikes only one contact point and represents no connection between a pair of contact points.
In the following a form of embodiment of the present holding device for pharmaceutical blisters is explained in connection with the
Essentially the child safety consists of a link or movable circuit board 21 mounted in such a manner that it can be displaced between the upper part 3 and the lower part 20 parallel to the planes of the same, said movable circuit board 21 preferably being mounted in a guide groove 36 which runs in the longitudinal direction of the upper part 3. The guide groove 36 is preferably formed by a wall part 42 running from the outer edge of the upper part 3 in the direction of the lower part 20 and an additional wall part 43 running parallel to the plane of the upper part 3.
In the manner that can be seen from
In the movable circuit board 21, circuit board ejection openings 27 are also arranged conforming to the pattern of the pharmaceutical blister 1 in such a manner that they, in the resting position of the movable circuit board 21, are not aligned to the upper ejection openings 6 of the upper part 3 so that an ejection of dragées 2, due to the segments 28 present between each two circuit board ejection openings 27, adjacent in the longitudinal direction of the movable circuit board 21, the ejection ram 19 cannot be brought into the ejection positions since the segments 28 at least partially cover the upper ejection openings 6.
Only when the movable circuit board 21 is moved, against the forces of the movable circuit board energy storage device 23 with the aid of the plate parts 22, into the stop position, which will be explained later, are the circuit board ejection openings 27 of the movable circuit board 21 aligned to the upper ejection openings 6 of the upper part 3 so that the ejection ram 19 can be guided through the upper ejection openings 6 and the circuit board ejections openings 27, aligned to one another, of the chosen ejection position. On the upper part 3 a switch 30 can be disposed whose contact is actuated by an area of the movable circuit board 21, preferably by a contact nose 45 of the same, when the movable circuit board 21 is in the stop position represented in
Since the movable circuit board 21 can be moved between said resting position and the stop position in the longitudinal of the holding device, a flexible connection between the movable circuit board 21 and the evaluation electronics 25 must be produced. According to
According to
a and 17b show contacting between the circuit board 44, the evaluation electronics 25, and the movable circuit board 21 with the aid of contact springs 37, which are connected in a fixed manner by their ends to the connections 47 of the circuit board 44. The other ends of contact springs 37 lie elastically on the contact faces 50 of the movable circuit board 21. They are electrically connected to the printed conductors 8 and 17 and run in the longitudinal direction of the movable circuit board 21. In this way the movable circuit board 21 can be displaced while maintaining the connections between the printed conductors 8 and 17 of the movable circuit board 21 and the connections 47 of the evaluation electronics 25 in relation to the upper part 3.
Finally,
So that in the parked position 11 of the holding device 4 the contact element energy storage device 15 remains relaxed, an indentation is preferably introduced in the upper part 3 of the pharmaceutical blister which receives the cam 18. Thereby it is achieved that the contact points 9, 9′ are not struck by the contact element 10. Such an indentation 34 is represented schematically in
The invention being thus described, it will be apparent that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be recognized by one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
101 17 907 | Apr 2001 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/DE02/01325 | 4/10/2002 | WO | 00 | 3/1/2004 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO02/083056 | 10/24/2002 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
40 01 645 | Aug 1991 | DE |
41 34 237 | Apr 1993 | DE |
4134237 | Apr 1993 | DE |
199 38 298 | Feb 2001 | DE |
1 214 924 | Jun 2002 | EP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20040129718 A1 | Jul 2004 | US |