Automatic medicine packing machine

Abstract

An automatic medicine packing machine is provided. The automatic medicine packing machine includes a main body provided with a hopper installed at the lower portion thereof to allow medicines to be dropped thereinto and a plurality of cassette supports installed therein, cassettes, each cassette being installed on any one of the cassette supports and provided with a medicine storage space and a medicine discharge port formed therein, and a controller configured to sense points of time of discharge of medicines from the cassettes, to detect the positions of the cassettes accommodating the corresponding medicines if one or more medicine selection signals are transmitted to the controller, and to vary timings of discharge of the medicines through the medicine discharge ports of the detected cassettes so that points of time of dropping of the medicines into the hopper may coincide with each other.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An automatic medicine packing machine comprising:
 a main body provided with a hopper installed at the lower portion thereof to allow medicines to be dropped thereinto and a plurality of cassette supports installed therein;   cassettes, each cassette being installed on any one of the cassette supports and provided with a medicine storage space and a medicine discharge port formed therein; and   a controller configured to sense points of time of discharge of medicines from the cassettes, to detect the positions of the cassettes accommodating the corresponding medicines if one or more medicine selection signals are transmitted to the controller, and to vary timings of discharge of the medicines through the medicine discharge ports of the detected cassettes so that points of time of dropping of the medicines into the hopper may coincide with each other.   
     
     
         2 . The automatic medicine packing machine according to  claim 1 , wherein, if the positions of selected cassettes are different, the controller first discharges medicine from the cassette located at a relatively long distance from the hopper so that timing of collection of the medicine discharged from the cassette may coincide with timing of collection of medicine discharged from the cassette located at a relatively short distance from the hopper. 
     
     
         3 . The automatic medicine packing machine according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 lower sensors to sense the points of time of dropping of the medicines into the hopper so as to open the hopper are installed in the hopper.   
     
     
         4 . The automatic medicine packing machine according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 an upper sensor to sense a point of time of discharge of the medicine and then to transmit the sensed point of time to the controller is installed on the cassette support or in the medicine discharge port of the cassette.   
     
     
         5 . The automatic medicine packing machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller predetermines reference discharge times to discharge the medicines from the respective cassettes to the hopper according to the positions of the cassettes, and controls the timings of discharge of the medicines through the medicine discharge ports based on the reference discharge times. 
     
     
         6 . The automatic medicine packing machine according to  claim 5 , wherein the reference discharge times are predetermined by the controller via a discharge test process of the medicines.