Patents by Inventor Yoshihito Omura

Yoshihito Omura has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240016703
    Abstract: A medicine feeder capable of moderately recovering the height regulation function of a tablet height regulation mechanism in such a range that even fragile medicine pieces are not damaged and by a simple means. An alignment regulation mechanism includes a tablet height regulation mechanism including a plurality of suspended objects suspended over an annular upper end surface, and the tablet height regulation mechanism is configured to regulate heights of medicine pieces using the plurality of suspended objects. The plurality of suspended objects include at least one deformable suspended object that is deformed when a lower end portion of the deformable suspended object is pushed sideways and at least one non-deformable suspended object that is not deformed when a lower end portion of the non-deformable suspended object is pushed sideways with an upper end portion of the non-deformable suspended object being swingably supported.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2021
    Publication date: January 18, 2024
    Inventors: Yoshihito Omura, Syunji Ohgaya
  • Patent number: 11857492
    Abstract: A tablet cassette that inhibits rotation of a rotor when the tablet cassette is not mounted. A plurality of engaged portions are provided, about the axial line of a rotary shaft at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction on an annular inner surface region of a bottom wall portion located a predetermined distance away from the rotary shaft. A sliding shaft is disposed in the rotary shaft, slidable in the axial direction, such that the sliding shaft rotates together with the rotary shaft. The rotary shaft is displaced toward a rotor body when the rotary shaft is coupled to a drive shaft and the rotary shaft is displaced toward a bottom wall portion when the rotary shaft is not coupled to the drive shaft. Two or more engaging portions are provided on arm portions provided on the sliding shaft and engage with some of a plurality of engaged portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: TOSHO, INC.
    Inventor: Yoshihito Omura
  • Publication number: 20230331461
    Abstract: The rotor includes a core member rotating with a rotary shaft and a plurality of tablet receiving portions at an outer peripheral portion, and a body member including a fitting hole fitted to the core member. Retention mechanism is arranged in between the core member and the body member for determining a relative position between the core member and the body member and for retaining a fixed state between the core member and the body member. It is possible to use the rotor including various number of tablet receiving portions when the core member is a common part and the body member is replaceable. It is possible to avoid critical damage for members since a sphere as one or more engaging protrusion portions escape from one or more engaged hole portions and relative movement is caused between the core member and the body member, when the force applied to the core member exceeds a predetermined value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2021
    Publication date: October 19, 2023
    Inventor: Yoshihito Omura
  • Patent number: 11759396
    Abstract: A medicine feeder includes: an outer rotary body on the outer side to be rotated about a vertical line; an inner inclined rotary body on the inner side to be rotated about an inclined line; and a sorting mechanism and a regulating mechanism operable to align solid medicine pieces carried from the top of the inner inclined rotary body onto an annular upper end surface of the outer rotary body through rotation of the inner inclined rotary body. An upper surface inclined portion of the inner inclined rotary body includes delivery portions sloping downward toward the outer side even at an elevated position and push-up portions not sloping downward toward the outer side, the delivery portions and the push-up portions being formed alternately in the circumferential direction. The push-up portions include projecting portions. The projecting portions are extended to the inner peripheral side of the delivery portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: TOSHO, INC.
    Inventors: Yoshihito Omura, Syunji Ohgaya
  • Publication number: 20230157929
    Abstract: A tablet cassette includes a tablet container for containing tablets in a random manner and a rotor provided therein and having a plurality of tablet receiving portions, and allows tablets, which have fallen into the tablet receiving portions through axial rotation of the rotor, to successively fall down through a discharge port at the bottom portion of the tablet container. The rotor includes a circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism, a radial expansion-contraction mechanism, and a pressing member externally mounted on a rotary shaft that penetrates a bottom wall portion of the tablet container. The circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism allows the plurality of tablet receiving portions to be expanded and contracted in the circumferential direction in conjunction with each other. The radial expansion-contraction mechanism allows the tablet receiving portions to be individually expanded and contracted by individually moving a plurality of sliding members in the radial direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2021
    Publication date: May 25, 2023
    Inventor: Yoshihito Omura
  • Publication number: 20230056980
    Abstract: A medicine feeder includes: an outer rotary body on the outer side to be rotated about a vertical line; an inner inclined rotary body on the inner side to be rotated about an inclined line; and a sorting mechanism and a regulating mechanism operable to align solid medicine pieces carried from the top of the inner inclined rotary body onto an annular upper end surface of the outer rotary body through rotation of the inner inclined rotary body. An upper surface inclined portion of the inner inclined rotary body includes delivery portions sloping downward toward the outer side even at an elevated position and push-up portions not sloping downward toward the outer side, the delivery portions and the push-up portions being formed alternately in the circumferential direction. The push-up portions include projecting portions. The projecting portions are extended to the inner peripheral side of the delivery portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 28, 2021
    Publication date: February 23, 2023
    Inventors: Yoshihito Omura, Syunji Ohgaya
  • Publication number: 20220343452
    Abstract: Provided is a tablet dimension measuring program for quickly sharing the dimensions of a tablet while ensuring accuracy of the measurement method. The tablet dimension measuring program is a tablet dimension measuring program for capturing an image of a tablet by using: measuring means for measuring a dimension of the tablet; dimension display means for displaying the dimension of the tablet measured by the measuring means; and imaging means for capturing images that each include a numerical value of the dimension displayed by the dimension display means and a measurement position of the tablet, in which the imaging means is used to capture at least one dimension information image that includes the measurement position of the tablet and the numerical value of the dimension and a drug information image with which drug information of the tablet is identifiable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 14, 2020
    Publication date: October 27, 2022
    Applicant: TOSHO INC.
    Inventor: Yoshihito OMURA
  • Publication number: 20220280390
    Abstract: A tablet dispensing apparatus that allows the inside of tablet collecting mechanisms at the relevant locations to be cleaned altogether even if tablet feeders of a multiple tablet-compatible type are provided in a multilevel arrangement. A plurality of tablet feeder storage portions are vertically arranged in line and incorporated into a medicine storage portion of a tablet dispensing apparatus to be individually drawn out forward, and a common upper tablet collecting portion is provided on one of the two sides of the tablet feeder storage portions to be also drawn out forward. Consequently, it is possible to clean the inside of the upper tablet collecting mechanism at the relevant location altogether, even if the tablet feeders are provided in a multilevel arrangement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2020
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Inventor: Yoshihito Omura
  • Publication number: 20210308015
    Abstract: A tablet cassette that facilitates adjustment of the widths of tablet containing spaces includes a tablet container for containing tablets in a random manner, and a rotor provided in the tablet container and having a plurality of tablet receiving portions. Tablets having fallen down into the tablet receiving portions because of rotation of the rotor are allowed to consecutively fall down through a discharge port in a bottom wall portion of the tablet container. The rotor includes a circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism and a radial expansion-contraction mechanism externally mounted on an inserted portion of a rotary shaft that penetrates the bottom wall portion of the tablet container. The circumferential expansion-contraction mechanism can expand and contract the plurality of tablet receiving portions in the circumferential direction in conjunction with each other. The radial expansion-contraction mechanism can individually expand and contract the tablet receiving portions in the radial direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2021
    Publication date: October 7, 2021
    Inventor: Yoshihito Omura
  • Publication number: 20210022960
    Abstract: A tablet cassette that inhibits rotation of a rotor when the tablet cassette is not mounted. A plurality of engaged portions are provided, about the axial line of a rotary shaft at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction on an annular inner surface region of a bottom wall portion located a predetermined distance away from the rotary shaft. A sliding shaft is disposed in the rotary shaft, slidable in the axial direction, such that the sliding shaft rotates together with the rotary shaft. The rotary shaft is displaced toward a rotor body when the rotary shaft is coupled to a drive shaft and the rotary shaft is displaced toward a bottom wall portion when the rotary shaft is not coupled to the drive shaft. Two or more engaging portions are provided on arm portions provided on the sliding shaft and engage with some of a plurality of engaged portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2019
    Publication date: January 28, 2021
    Inventor: Yoshihito Omura
  • Patent number: 10828238
    Abstract: A double rotation type drug feeder having an easily cleanable, simple structure is provided. The drug feeder includes a rotatable annular first rotator 20 that has a mount surface 23 on which drugs are placed and that is rotatable about a first rotation axis, a second rotator 30 that is disposed at a fixed position on an inner side of the first rotator 20 while being rotatable about a second rotation axis, inclined with respect to the first rotation axis, the second rotator 30 transporting the drugs onto the mount surface 23, restricting members 71 and 72 that align the drugs disposed on the mount surface 23, and multiple support members 40 that support the first rotator 20 and the second rotator 30 mounted thereon from below the first rotator 20 and the second rotator 30. The multiple support members 40 include a driving member 55 that drives the first rotator 20 and the second rotator 30 to rotate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: TOSHO, INC.
    Inventor: Yoshihito Omura
  • Patent number: 10772803
    Abstract: 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. 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 and when a long narrow blade insertion slit 43 in the large-diameter turntable 40 reaches the temporary holding area, 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2020
    Assignee: TOSHO, INC.
    Inventor: Yoshihito Omura
  • Patent number: 10486889
    Abstract: Provided is a small drug feeder that includes a container that can restrict the width or height of drugs so that the feeder can handle a wide range of drugs having various different shapes or sizes and be easily adjusted so as to be adapted to individual drugs. A width restricting member that increases or decreases a width of a space over a peripheral portion is disposed so as to face a discharging mechanism that discharges drugs to the outside of a container at speed higher than that of the peripheral portion. An interval between the width restricting member and the discharging mechanism is changed in accordance with a width of a target of measurement held in a measurement chamber. The height of drugs placed on the peripheral portion is restricted by a height restricting member in accordance with the height of the target of measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2019
    Assignee: TOSHO, INC.
    Inventor: Yoshihito Omura
  • Publication number: 20190350813
    Abstract: A rotation transmission shaft that extends vertically to penetrate a box body is provided. When the box body is placed on a base portion of a tablet feeder mounted in a medicine dispensing apparatus, a lower end portion of the rotation transmission shaft is coupled to the base portion so as to be able to transmit rotation, and a tablet guiding mechanism is coupled to a cut tablet piece receiving portion of the base portion. When a tablet cassette configured to discharge tablets housed in a random manner, one at a time, as a rotor rotates is placed on the box body, an upper end portion of the rotation transmission shaft is coupled to the rotor to be able to transmit rotation, and the tablet guiding mechanism is coupled to a tablet discharging portion of the tablet cassette.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 5, 2018
    Publication date: November 21, 2019
    Inventor: Yoshihito Omura
  • Publication number: 20190328617
    Abstract: A double rotation type drug feeder having an easily cleanable, simple structure is provided. The drug feeder includes a rotatable annular first rotator 20 that has a mount surface 23 on which drugs are placed and that is rotatable about a first rotation axis, a second rotator 30 that is disposed at a fixed position on an inner side of the first rotator 20 while being rotatable about a second rotation axis, inclined with respect to the first rotation axis, the second rotator 30 transporting the drugs onto the mount surface 23, restricting members 71 and 72 that align the drugs disposed on the mount surface 23, and multiple support members 40 that support the first rotator 20 and the second rotator 30 mounted thereon from below the first rotator 20 and the second rotator 30. The multiple support members 40 include a driving member 55 that drives the first rotator 20 and the second rotator 30 to rotate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 26, 2017
    Publication date: October 31, 2019
    Applicant: TOSHO, INC.
    Inventor: Yoshihito OMURA
  • Patent number: 10441510
    Abstract: A tablet cassette includes: support points to support a swing member in a slit formed in a bottomed hole of a hollow rotary shaft; an engaged portion provided on a bottom wall portion of a container and spaced from the hollow rotary shaft to surround the rotary shaft; a swing member having a follower portion and an engaging portion located on different sides of the support points; and an urging member operable to move the engaging portion toward the engaged portion and move the follower portion into the bottomed hole. In a free state wherein the tablet cassette is detached from the base, the engaging portion engages with the engaged portion. When the tablet cassette is mounted to the base and the drive shaft is fitted into the bottomed hole, the follower portion is pushed out of the bottomed hole, and the engaging portion is disengaged from the engaged portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: TOSHO, INC.
    Inventor: Yoshihito Omura
  • Patent number: 10363200
    Abstract: A tablet splitting apparatus includes a guide, a catcher, and a splitting mechanism. The splitting mechanism comprises a pair of blades and a pair of blade shifters. The guide, the catcher, and the splitting mechanism are accommodated in a housing. The housing includes an opening and a support. The support and the guide each include a sliding portion. The guide disposed at the supporting position is slid along the sliding portion of the support so as to be detachable from the supporting position through the opening. The blades and the blade shifters each comprise a sliding portion. The blades and the blade shifters are in a slidable contact with each other at the sliding portions. The blades attached to the respective predetermined positions of the blade shifters are slid along the sliding portions of the blade shifters so as to be detachable from the blade shifters through the opening.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Assignee: TOSHO, INC.
    Inventors: Yoshihito Omura, Syunji Ohgaya
  • Publication number: 20190167528
    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.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2017
    Publication date: June 6, 2019
    Applicant: TOSHO, INC.
    Inventor: Yoshihito OMURA
  • Publication number: 20190021955
    Abstract: A tablet cassette includes: support points to support a swing member in a slit formed in a bottomed hole of a hollow rotary shaft; an engaged portion provided on a bottom wall portion of a container and spaced from the hollow rotary shaft to surround the rotary shaft; a swing member having a follower portion and an engaging portion located on different sides of the support points; and an urging member operable to move the engaging portion toward the engaged portion and move the follower portion into the bottomed hole. In a free state wherein the tablet cassette is detached from the base, the engaging portion engages with the engaged portion. When the tablet cassette is mounted to the base and the drive shaft is fitted into the bottomed hole, the follower portion is pushed out of the bottomed hole, and the engaging portion is disengaged from the engaged portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 20, 2017
    Publication date: January 24, 2019
    Inventor: Yoshihito Omura
  • Patent number: 10052260
    Abstract: A medicine dispensing apparatus in which a medicine guide assembly is constituted from first and second split guide members and in which substantially no dust is generated through rubbing between the first and second split guide members. The gap between a pair of guide paths of a pair of linear guide mechanisms provided for a pair of medicine feeder storing units, that is, paths along which movable slide portions slide on fixed guide portions, becomes wider in a drawing direction in which the medicine feeder storing units are drawn out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: TOSHO, INC.
    Inventors: Yoshihito Omura, Syunji Ohgaya