Intelligent medicine storage system

Abstract

The present invention provides an intelligent medicine storage system, comprising: a derrick grid area; an access station, which includes a conveying mechanism, a storage box and a transfer manipulator. The conveying mechanism is used to convey the storage box to an access opening at the entrance and exit of the derrick grid area; the transfer manipulator is arranged on one side of the conveying mechanism; a medicine box, in which there are a medicine placement area and an empty bottle storage area. The medicine placement area includes a plurality of medicine storage grids with different depths; a medicine transfer station, which is arranged on one side of the transfer manipulator. Each rotating disk has a plurality of medicine storage positions, and each rotating disk can rotate under the driving action of a driving device. The medicine at the medicine storage position can be conveyed into the medicine storage grid of the medicine box through the transfer manipulator; an access robot, which includes a lifting mechanism for transferring the medicine box between the storage grid and the storage box. This system improves the intelligent level and safety of medicine storage management and reduces the workload of staff during the medicine storage process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of medicine storage, and in particular to an intelligent medicine storage system. Background Art

[0002] Pharmaceuticals are crucial tools for preventing, treating, and diagnosing diseases. Their quality directly impacts patients' health and even their lives. The stability of pharmaceuticals is not only related to their inherent properties but is also significantly affected by numerous external factors, such as temperature, humidity, light, oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air, microorganisms, storage time, and packaging. These factors can often cause pharmaceuticals to decompose, volatilize, precipitate, deliquesce, become rancid, and even grow mold. Therefore, proper storage is crucial to ensure quality.

[0003] Currently, hospitals typically store medications in bulk, often in a medicine cabinet. Staff then remove a portion of the medication from the cabinet and place it in a medicine box. The box then moves the partially filled medicine box to a warehouse for storage and subsequent use. The medicine box's structure is designed to allow different types of medication to be stored within the same box according to usage habits, facilitating medication storage and classification. Once the medicine box is stored in the warehouse, it must be manually removed from the warehouse for subsequent use. Furthermore, after the medications in the medicine box are used, they must be manually replenished and stored in the warehouse. This method requires manual operation at every step of the medication storage and retrieval process. This process is not only detrimental to medication storage but also increases staff workload, making intelligent medication storage impossible. Therefore, achieving intelligent medication storage and reducing staff workload during medication storage and retrieval is a pressing technical issue. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the present invention provides an intelligent medicine storage system to solve one or more problems existing in the prior art.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, the present invention discloses an intelligent medicine storage system, the system comprising:

[0006] a derrick grid area, the derrick grid area having a plurality of storage grids, the derrick grid area including a base surface, a horizontally arranged track layer at the top layer, and a plurality of columns, the plurality of columns being spaced apart and vertically arranged, the track layer including a first track arranged along a first direction and a second track arranged along a second direction, wherein the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other;

[0007] An access station is provided at the entrance and exit of the derrick grid area. The access station includes a conveying mechanism, a storage box, and a transfer manipulator. The conveying mechanism is used to convey the storage box to the access opening at the entrance and exit of the derrick grid area, and the transfer manipulator is arranged on one side of the conveying mechanism;

[0008] A medicine box is used to be placed in the storage box and includes a box body. The box body has a medicine placement area and an empty bottle storage area. The medicine placement area includes a plurality of medicine storage grids, and the depths of the plurality of medicine storage grids are different. Among them, the medicine storage grid with a shallower depth is used to place medicines with a relatively short expiration date, and the medicine storage grid with a deeper depth is used to place medicines with a relatively long expiration date;

[0009] A medicine transfer station is arranged on one side of the transfer manipulator. The medicine transfer station includes a housing, a multi-layer rotating disk, and a driving device. The housing has a medicine access opening. Each rotating disk has a plurality of medicine storage positions, and each rotating disk can rotate under the driving of the driving device. The medicines at the medicine storage positions can be conveyed into the medicine storage grids of the medicine box by the transfer manipulator; and

[0010] An access robot includes a chassis, a first wheel set, a second wheel set, and a lifting mechanism. The first wheel set and the second wheel set are both arranged on the chassis. The first wheel set is used to travel along the first track, the second wheel set is used to travel along the second track, and the lifting mechanism is used to transfer the medicine box between the storage grid and the storage box.

[0011] In some embodiments of the present invention, the conveying mechanism includes a conveyor belt. The access station further includes a guiding component and a limiting component. The guiding component is arranged on both sides of the conveyor belt, and the limiting component is arranged at the end of the conveying mechanism; and / or

[0012] The end of the transfer manipulator has a flexible gripper.

[0013] In some embodiments of the present invention, the system further includes a vision system. The vision system includes an industrial camera, and the industrial camera is used to monitor the storage status of the medicines in the medicine box.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present invention, the number of rotating disks of the medicine transfer station is four, and the sizes of the four rotating disks gradually decrease from bottom to top. The plurality of medicine storage positions on each rotating disk are circumferentially and uniformly arranged along the outer circumference of the rotating disk.

[0015] In some embodiments of the present invention, the number of medicine access openings is two. The first medicine access opening is a through hole for the transfer manipulator to take out or put in medicines, and the second medicine access opening is a through hole for manual taking out or putting in medicines.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present invention, the four rotating disks are supported on the same support shaft, the support shaft is vertically arranged, and the support shaft has a plurality of shaft segments.

[0017] In some embodiments of the present invention, the four rotating disks are driven to rotate by the same driving device, and a shifting device is provided between the driving device and the rotating disks.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present invention, the shifting device includes four groups of gear transmission mechanisms, the driving gears of the four groups of gear transmission mechanisms are all connected to the output shaft of the driving device, and the driven gears of the four groups of gear transmission mechanisms are respectively connected to the four rotating disks.

[0019] In some embodiments of the present invention, each rotating disk includes a disk body and a connecting sleeve, the connecting sleeve is located between the disk body and the corresponding driven gear, and two ends of the connecting sleeve are respectively connected to the disk body and the corresponding driven gear, and the disk body, the connecting sleeve, the driven gear and the support shaft are coaxially arranged.

[0020] In some embodiments of the present invention, the shifting device further includes a lifting mechanism, the driving gears of the four groups of gear transmission mechanisms are driven to lift synchronously by the lifting mechanism to achieve shifting, and in each gear state, one of the four groups of gear transmission mechanisms is in a meshing state, and the other three groups are in a disengaged state.

[0021] The intelligent pharmacy storage system disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention transfers the drugs in the drug transfer station to the medicine box based on the transfer manipulator, and the medicine box is further transported to the storage grid in the derrick grid area through the conveying mechanism and the access robot. This system realizes the intelligent storage of drugs, thereby reducing the work intensity of the staff and improving the safety and efficiency of drug storage.

[0022] In addition to the above, a drug placement area and an empty bottle storage area are provided in the medicine box of the intelligent pharmacy storage system of the present invention, so as to realize the separate storage of drugs and empty bottles. In addition, the depths of the multiple drug storage grids in the drug placement area are different, so that the drug storage grids with shallower depths are used to place drugs with relatively short expiration dates, and the drug storage grids with deeper depths are used to place drugs with relatively long expiration dates. Thus, based on the height of the top end face of the drugs in the drug storage grid, the drugs with approaching expiration dates can be quickly identified, reducing the occurrence of waste caused by expired drugs.

[0023] Additional advantages, objects, and features of the present invention will be partly set forth in the description that follows, and will partly become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after study of the following, or may be learned by practice of the present invention. The objects and other advantages of the present invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

[0024] Those skilled in the art will understand that the objects and advantages that can be achieved by the present invention are not limited to those specifically described above, and the above and other objects that the present invention can achieve will be more clearly understood according to the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The drawings described herein are for purposes of providing a further understanding of the present invention, form a part of this application, and do not limit the present invention. The components in the drawings are not drawn to scale, but are only for showing the principles of the present invention. For the purpose of facilitating the illustration and description of some parts of the present invention, the corresponding parts in the drawings may be enlarged, that is, may become larger relative to other components in an exemplary device actually manufactured according to the present invention. In the drawings:

[0026] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an intelligent pharmacy storage system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a top view of the shown intelligent pharmacy storage system.

[0028] Figure 3 is Figure 2 a partially enlarged schematic view of the shown intelligent pharmacy storage system.

[0029] Figure 4 is Figure 1 a partially enlarged schematic view of the shown intelligent pharmacy storage system.

[0030] Figure 5 is a schematic internal structure diagram of a drug transfer station.

[0031] Figure 6a is a schematic view of the state when the first rotating disk in the drug transfer station is rotated.

[0032] Figure 6b is a schematic view of the state when the second rotating disk in the drug transfer station is rotated.

[0033] Figure 6c is a schematic view of the state when the third rotating disk in the drug transfer station is rotated.

[0034] Figure 6d is a schematic view of the state when the fourth rotating disk in the drug transfer station is rotated.

[0035] Figure 7 The structural schematic diagram of an access station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 8 The structural schematic diagram of a medicine box according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed implementation manners

[0037] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer and more understandable, the embodiments of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Herein, the illustrative embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention, but not to limit the present invention.

[0038] Herein, it should be noted that in order to avoid obscuring the present invention due to unnecessary details, only the structures and / or processing steps closely related to the solutions of the present invention are shown in the drawings, while other details less related to the present invention are omitted.

[0039] It should be emphasized that the term "comprising / including / having" when used herein refers to the presence of features, elements, steps or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, steps or components.

[0040] In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals represent the same or similar components, or the same or similar steps.

[0041] Figure 1 The structural schematic diagram of an intelligent medicine storage system according to an embodiment of the present invention, as Figure 1 shown, the intelligent medicine storage system at least includes a derrick grid area 100, an access station 200, a medicine box 300, a medicine transfer station 400 and an access robot 500. The medicine box 300 is used to store part of the medicines taken out from the medicine transfer station 400; and the access robot 500 is used to transport the medicine box 300 storing medicines to the storage grid 110 of the derrick grid area 100, or take out the medicine box 300 from the storage grid 110 of the derrick grid area 100.

[0042] The derrick grid area 100 has a plurality of storage grids 110. The derrick grid area 100 includes a base surface, a horizontally arranged track layer at the top layer and a plurality of columns. The plurality of columns are arranged at intervals and vertically. The track layer includes a first track arranged along a first direction and a second track arranged along a second direction, and the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other.

[0043] Refer to Figure 2, multiple storage grids 110 are arranged regularly. The storage grids 110 are used to store the medicine boxes 300. In this embodiment, the size of the storage grids 110 can be set according to the size of the medicine boxes 300 to be stored. And in this embodiment, each storage grid 110 can be determined by the first track, the second track and the columns of the corresponding track layer.

[0044] The access station 200 is arranged at the entrance and exit of the derrick grid area 100. The access station 200 includes: a conveying mechanism 210, a storage box 220 and a transfer manipulator 230. The conveying mechanism 210 is used to convey the storage box 220 to the access port at the entrance and exit of the derrick grid area 100. The transfer manipulator 230 is arranged on one side of the conveying mechanism 210.

[0045] In another embodiment, the conveying mechanism 210 can also convey the access robot 500 from the storage grid 110 and convey the medicine box 300 at the entrance and exit of the derrick grid area 100 to the outside of the derrick grid area 100 to realize the outbound operation of the medicine box. The storage box 220 is used to carry the medicine box 300. That is, under the conveying action of the conveying mechanism 210, the medicine box 300 and the storage box 220 move synchronously. In this embodiment, the storage box 220 is set for the medicine box 300 to prevent collision during the inbound and outbound processes, and medicine boxes 300 of different specifications can be stored through the same specification of storage box 220. Furthermore, medicine boxes 300 of different specifications can be stored on the storage grid 110. It can be understood that the specification size of the storage box 220 can be set based on the size of the medicine box 300.

[0046] The medicine box 300 is placed in the storage box 220, including a box body. The box body has a medicine placement area 310 and an empty bottle storage area 320. The medicine placement area 310 includes multiple medicine storage grids, and the depths of the multiple medicine storage grids are different. Among them, the medicine storage grids with shallower depths are used to place medicines with relatively short expiration dates, and the medicine storage grids with deeper depths are used to place medicines with relatively long expiration dates.

[0047] Figure 8 is a schematic structural diagram of the medicine box 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Refer to Figure 8, the overall structure of the medicine chest 300 can be square. At this time, there are multiple medicine placement areas 310 with different specifications inside the medicine chest 300, and each medicine placement area 310 has multiple medicine storage compartments. Among the multiple medicine storage compartments of each medicine placement area 310, some medicine storage compartments are shallower. When storing multiple medicines of the same specification in multiple medicine storage compartments with different depths, for the medicines in the shallower medicine storage compartments, their tops are higher than those in the deeper medicine storage compartments. In this embodiment, for the medicine placement area 310 with multiple medicine storage compartments, the same medicines with approaching expiration dates are preferentially placed in the shallower medicine storage compartments, making them prominent for the staff to monitor the expiration dates of the medicines, so as to consume the medicines with approaching expiration dates as soon as possible, thus avoiding waste caused by unused expired medicines. Similarly, the empty bottle storage area 320 can also have multiple empty bottle storage compartments, and the empty bottle storage compartments can specifically be square slots, which are used to store the medicine bottles after the medicines are used up.

[0048] The medicine transfer station 400 is arranged on one side of the transfer manipulator 230. The medicine transfer station 400 includes a housing 410, a multi-layer rotating disk 420 and a driving device. The housing 410 has a medicine access port 411. Each rotating disk 420 has multiple medicine storage positions 421, and each rotating disk 420 can rotate under the driving of the driving device. The medicines at the medicine storage positions 421 can be transferred to the medicine storage compartments of the medicine chest 300 by the transfer manipulator 230.

[0049] In this embodiment, the medicine transfer station 400 is used to store the medicines that have not been warehoused and can be regarded as a medicine storage cabinet. For the intelligent medicine storage system of the present invention, when a large number of medicines are received in the hospital, the medicines are first stored in the medicine transfer station 400, and further, based on the transfer manipulator 230, the medicines in the medicine transfer station 400 are respectively packed in different medicine chests 300, so that each medicine chest 300 is further warehoused and stored in the derrick grid area 100.

[0050] The access robot 500 includes a chassis, a first wheel set, a second wheel set and a lifting mechanism. The first wheel set and the second wheel set are both arranged on the chassis. The first wheel set is used to travel along the first track, the second wheel set is used to travel along the second track, and the lifting mechanism is used to transfer the medicine chest 300 between the storage grid 110 and the storage box 220.

[0051] Figure 3 and Figure 4 is a partial enlarged schematic diagram of the intelligent medicine storage system. From Figure 3 and Figure 4As can be seen, the transfer manipulator 230 is located between the conveying mechanism 210 and the drug transfer station 400, and the medicine box 300 is located inside the storage box 220. The conveying mechanism 210 moves the storage box 220 back and forth to complete the storage and retrieval of the medicine box 300.

[0052] In one embodiment, the conveying mechanism 210 includes a conveyor belt 213. The access station 200 further includes a guiding component 211 and a limiting component 212. Refer to Figure 7 , the guiding component 211 is arranged on both sides of the conveyor belt 213, and the limiting component 212 is arranged at the end of the conveying mechanism. In this embodiment, the storage box 220 and the medicine box 300 are conveyed by the conveyor belt. It can be understood that the conveying mechanism 210 can be other conveying lines in addition to the conveyor belt; and in order to drive the conveyor belt 213, the conveying mechanism 210 correspondingly should have a driving device. Exemplarily, the driving device includes a motor and a controller. The rotational movement of the motor can drive the conveyor belt to achieve reciprocating linear motion. The controller is used to control the rotational direction of the output end of the motor, so as to control the conveying direction of the conveyor belt. For example, when the drug is stored, the controller controls the motor to rotate reversely, and when the drug is retrieved, the controller controls the motor to rotate forward. In addition, the guiding component 211 plays a guiding role during the movement of the storage box 220. Specifically, the guiding component 211 can include two guiding blocks, and the two guiding blocks are respectively arranged on both sides of the conveyor belt 213. When the conveyor belt 213 conveys the storage box 220 to move, the storage box 220 can be straightened by the guiding blocks located on both sides of the conveyor belt 213, so as to facilitate the stable handling of the subsequent access robot 500.

[0053] The limiting component 212 is specifically arranged at the end of the conveying mechanism, and the end of the conveying mechanism refers to the end of the conveying mechanism close to the derrick grid area 100. The limiting component 212 is arranged at the end of the conveying mechanism to ensure that the storage box 220 can be accurately stopped at the access port, so as to facilitate the access robot 500 to carry the storage box 220. Further, in order to facilitate the transfer manipulator 230 to grab the drug, the end of the transfer manipulator 230 has a flexible gripper, and the structure of the flexible gripper can be designed according to the shape of the drug to be stored.

[0054] In addition to the above, the system may further include a vision system, which includes an industrial camera 600 for monitoring the storage status of drugs in the medicine box 300. Exemplarily, the vision system may be fixed on the conveying mechanism 210 and is specifically located at the front end of the conveying mechanism 210. When the medicine box 300 is conveyed to the front end of the conveying mechanism 210 by the conveyor belt 213 and the drugs are put into or taken out of the medicine box 300 by the transfer manipulator 230, the industrial camera 600 in the vision system can monitor the storage status of drugs in the medicine box 300 in real time.

[0055] In one embodiment, the number of the rotating disks 420 of the drug transfer station 400 is four, and the sizes of the four rotating disks 420 gradually decrease from bottom to top. A plurality of the drug storage positions 421 on each of the rotating disks 420 are circumferentially and uniformly arranged along the outer circumference of the rotating disk 420.

[0056] The outer shell 410 of the drug transfer station 400 may specifically be a circular cylinder structure. At this time, the rotating disks 420 are all located inside the circular cylinder. The rotating disks 420 are specifically circular disks, and each rotating disk 420 and the circular cylinder are coaxially arranged. In order to store drugs in the drug transfer station 400 and convey drugs between the medicine box 300 and the drug transfer station 400 by the transfer manipulator 230, a drug access port 411 is correspondingly opened on the side wall of the outer shell 410. The position and size of the drug access port 411 are set according to the position of the rotating disk 420, that is, it is ensured that the size of the drug access port 411 on the outer shell 410 can facilitate the putting in or taking out of drugs. It is easy to understand that since the drugs are stored on the rotating disks 420, increasing the number of the rotating disks 420 can increase the number of drugs stored in the drug transfer station 400, and the diameters of the rotating disks 420 and the outer shell 410 also affect the number of drugs stored in the drug transfer station 400. Therefore, in actual use, the size of the outer shell 410, the number and diameter of the rotating disks 420 can be correspondingly changed based on the space size and the number of drugs to be stored. In Figures 6a to 6d In the state diagram shown, the number of the rotating disks of the drug transfer station 400 is four, and the sizes of the four rotating disks 420 gradually decrease from bottom to top.

[0057] In this embodiment, the top end face of the medicine access port 411 on the outer shell 410 is located above the uppermost rotating disk 420, and the bottom end face of the medicine access port 411 is located below the lowermost rotating disk 420. Additionally, the rotating disk 420 can perform a rotating motion under the driving effect of the rotation driving component. At this time, medicines at any position on the rotating disk 420 can be obtained through the medicine access port 411. Moreover, the shapes and structures of the medicine storage positions 421 on each rotating disk 420 can be set based on the outer shapes of the medicines. In order to facilitate the taking and placing of medicines, multiple medicine storage positions 421 are uniformly arranged along the outer circumference of each rotating disk 420. In addition, in order to control the rotation states of each rotating disk 420, when the number of rotating disks 420 is four, four buttons can be correspondingly arranged on one side of the medicine access port 411, and these four buttons are respectively used to control the rotation and stop of the corresponding rotating disk 420.

[0058] In an embodiment of the present invention, the number of medicine access ports 411 can be two. The first medicine access port is a through-hole for the transfer manipulator to take out or put in medicines, and the second medicine access port is a through-hole for manual taking out or putting in medicines. Refer to Figure 4 , two medicine access ports 411 are provided on the outer shell 410 of the circular cylinder structure. The first medicine access port is arranged close to the transfer manipulator 230, and the second medicine access port is located on one side of the outer shell 410 of the circular cylinder structure away from the derrick grid area 100, and four buttons for controlling the rotation of the rotating disk 420 are arranged on one side of the second medicine access port.

[0059] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the medicine transfer station 400. As Figure 5 shown, in addition to including the outer shell 410 and the rotating disk 420, the medicine transfer station 400 further includes a support shaft, and this support shaft is used to support the rotating disk 420. In this embodiment, since the number of rotating disks 420 is four, the four rotating disks 420 are supported on the same support shaft. This support shaft is vertically arranged, and there are multiple shaft segments on the support shaft. Each rotating disk 420 is correspondingly supported on each shaft segment of the support shaft. In order to reduce the friction between the rotating disk 420 and the support shaft, bearings can be provided between each rotating disk 420 and the support shaft, and the axial positioning of each rotating disk 420 can be achieved through shaft shoulders. In this embodiment, when the rotating disk 420 rotates, the support shaft remains stationary.

[0060] Further, the four rotating disks 420 are driven to rotate by the same driving device, and a shifting device is provided between the driving device and the rotating disks 420. In this embodiment, the driving device specifically includes a motor. At this time, when the motor rotates, one of the four rotating disks 420 makes a rotating motion. In order to control the motion states of the rotating disks 420, a shifting device is provided between the motor and the rotating disks 420, and the motion states of the rotating disks 420 can be controlled through this shifting device.

[0061] Exemplarily, when there are four rotating disks 420, the shifting device includes four sets of gear transmission mechanisms, and the driving gears 431 of the four sets of gear transmission mechanisms are all connected to the output shaft of the driving device, and the driven gears 432 of the four sets of gear transmission mechanisms are respectively connected to the four rotating disks 420. In this embodiment, the four driving gears 431 are fixed on the same shaft. When the four rotating disks 420 are supported on the same support shaft, the four driven gears 432 are correspondingly arranged on the same shaft. Specifically, the four driven gears 432 and the four rotating disks 420 are supported by the same support shaft, and the four rotating disks 420 respectively rotate synchronously with the four driven gears 432.

[0062] Further, in order to ensure that the rotating disks 420 and the corresponding driven gears 432 rotate synchronously, each of the rotating disks 420 includes a disk body and a connecting sleeve 422. The connecting sleeve 422 is located between the disk body and the corresponding driven gear 432, and both ends of the connecting sleeve 422 are respectively connected to the disk body and the corresponding driven gear 432. The disk body, the connecting sleeve 422, the driven gear 432, and the support shaft are coaxially arranged. Refer to Figures 6a to 6d As shown, there is a gap in height between two adjacent rotating disks 420. Similarly, there is also a corresponding gap in height between two adjacent driven gears 432; the four rotating disks 420 are respectively fixedly connected to the four driven gears 432 through four connecting sleeves 422, and the diameters of the four driven gears 432 gradually increase from top to bottom. At this time, when the motor used to drive the rotation of the rotating disks 420 makes a rotating motion, one of the four rotating disks can be driven to rotate based on the shifting structure.

[0063] Specifically, the motor for driving the rotation of the rotating disk 420 can be arranged on the base or the outer shell 410 of the medicine transfer station 400 through a motor bracket. The four driving gears 431 are respectively fixed on the motor output shaft. At this time, when the motor rotates, the four driving gears 431 rotate synchronously with the motor output shaft. It should be understood that the "gear shift" in the present invention refers to replacing the rotating disk 420 to be rotated as needed. For example, when the rotating disk 420 at the uppermost layer is in the process of rotation, if it is necessary to stop the rotating disk 420 at the uppermost layer and rotate the rotating disk 420 at the lowermost layer, a gear shift operation is required at this time. After the gear shift, it is ensured that the rotating disk 420 at the lowermost layer rotates, while the other rotating disks 420 stop rotating.

[0064] It should be understood that the specific number of the driving gears 431 and the driven gears 432 of the above-listed gear shift device is only an example. When the number of the rotating disks 420 is more, the number of the driving gears 431 and the driven gears 432 will also change accordingly based on the number of the rotating disks.

[0065] In an embodiment, the gear shift device further includes a lifting mechanism. The driving gears 431 of the four groups of gear transmission mechanisms are driven by the lifting mechanism to synchronously lift to achieve gear shift. And in each gear state, one of the four groups of gear transmission mechanisms is in the meshing state, and the remaining three groups are in the separated state. In this embodiment, the lifting mechanism may specifically include a lifting motor, a linear motion mechanism, etc. At this time, the moving part of the linear motion mechanism can perform a lifting motion under the driving of the lifting motor. Exemplarily, the lifting motor is fixed on the base or the outer shell 410 of the medicine transfer station 400, and the four driving gears 431 of the gear shift device are arranged on the same fixed shaft. The fixed shaft and the four driving gears 431 are combined as a whole and are fixedly connected to the moving part of the linear motion mechanism. At this time, when the lifting motor drives the moving part of the linear motion mechanism to perform a lifting motion, the corresponding four driving gears 431 also synchronously perform a lifting motion. Among them, the linear motion mechanism is exemplarily a ball screw mechanism, a gear rack mechanism, etc.

[0066] In Figure 6a it, the first driving gear and the first driven gear in the gear shift device are meshed, and at this time the first rotating disk rotates; and when the four driving gears are driven by the lifting mechanism to move upward, the first driving gear and the first driven gear are separated, and the second driving gear and the second driven gear are meshed, and then the corresponding second rotating disk rotates (as Figure 6b shown). When the four driving gears 431 are driven by the lifting mechanism to further move upward, the second driving gear and the second driven gear are separated, and the third driving gear and the third driven gear are meshed, and at this time the third rotating disk rotates (as Figure 6cAs shown). After the four driving gears 431 continue to rise driven by the lifting mechanism, the third driving gear and the third driven gear are disengaged, and the fourth driving gear and the fourth driven gear are engaged. At this time, the fourth rotating disk rotates (as Figure 6d shown).

[0067] The products stored using the intelligent medicine storage system disclosed in the present invention are medicine boxes containing a fixed quantity and types of medicines. Therefore, when the system is used for the first time, the medicines need to be stored in the medicine transfer station, and the medicines are divided and packed into the medicine boxes as required. During specific storage, the operator first stores a large number of received medicines in the medicine transfer station 400, that is, the operator unseals the medicines and places the unsealed medicines on the medicine storage positions of the rotating disk through the medicine access openings on the medicine transfer station. At the same time, the system records all information of the placed medicines, including name, manufacturer, expiration date, and position information, etc. In order to complete the preparation of the medicine boxes (each medicine box is filled with medicines), the operator should store sufficient types and quantities of medicines in the medicine transfer station. The medicine storage positions on the four-layer rotating disk are used to store different types and size specifications of medicines respectively. For example, the glass bottled medicines are divided into three specifications with different thicknesses, and the boxed medicines are of a single specification. When medicines of different specifications are put into storage, the operator only needs to press the button corresponding to the rotating disk of the corresponding specification, and the system will control the shifting device to make the rotating disk of the corresponding specification in an engaged state. The driving mechanism drives the rotating disk to rotate, and the control device aligns the empty medicine storage position with the medicine access opening. The operator then places the medicines through the medicine access opening on the medicine storage position at the corresponding position, and presses the button again to indicate that the warehousing of the current medicine has been completed. Further, the transfer manipulator 230 sequentially transfers specific types and quantities of medicines in the medicine transfer station 400 into the corresponding medicine boxes 300, and transfers them from the medicine transfer station to the empty storage box that has been prepared at the waiting position through the mechanical arm with flexible jaws. The empty storage box already contains the prepared empty medicine boxes inside. At this time, the medicine box 300 is placed inside the storage box 220, and the medicine box 300 filled with medicines and the storage box 220 are synchronously conveyed by the conveying mechanism 210 to the access opening. At this time, the lifting mechanism of the access robot 500 located on the derrick grid area 100 lifts the storage box 220 and further transports it to the corresponding storage grid, thus realizing the initial warehousing of the complete medicine box 300. When the staff needs to use the medicine box, a request for the out-of-warehouse of the complete medicine box is required. During out-of-warehouse, first, the access robot 500 transports the storage box 220 and the medicine box 300 on the storage grid to the access opening, and then the conveying mechanism 210 further synchronously conveys the storage box 220 and the medicine box 300 to the front end of the conveying mechanism 210, so that the staff can take the medicine box 300 out of the storage box 220. After the medicine box 300 is taken away, the empty storage box is transported back to the access opening, and the robot grabs and transports the storage box into the storage system.

[0068] In another embodiment, the intelligent medicine storage system may further include an item access and storage subsystem. At this time, the access station 200 serves as a part of the item access and storage subsystem. In addition to the access station 200, the item access and storage subsystem may further include a robotic arm, which is used to carry the medicine box 300 in the storage box 220 into or out of the storage box 220. In addition, in addition to the box body, the medicine box 300 may also have a box cover, and the box cover of the medicine box 300 in this embodiment can also be automatically opened or closed. For example, a control device for controlling the opening or closing of the box cover is provided between the box cover and the box body, and the control device includes a cylinder, a hydraulic rod, etc. In this embodiment, the vision system can monitor the usage of the medicines in the medicine box 300. When it is monitored that the medicines in the medicine box 300 need to be replenished, the empty medicines in the empty bottle placement area in the medicine box 300 are taken out and placed into the recycling box, and further, the corresponding medicines in the medicine transfer station 400 are stored into the medicine box 300. When all the medicine storage grids in the medicine box 300 are filled with medicines, the box cover is further controlled to close by the box cover control device. In another embodiment, the access robot 500 includes wheel seat boxes respectively arranged at the four corners of the chassis. Each wheel seat box includes a first wheel seat for installing the first wheel in the first wheel set and a second wheel seat for installing the second wheel in the second wheel set. The first wheel seat and the second wheel seat are respectively connected to the chassis and form a combined wheel seat box.

[0069] Through the above embodiments, it can be found that the intelligent medicine storage system of the present invention transfers the medicines in the medicine transfer station to the medicine box based on the transfer manipulator, and the medicine box is further transported to the storage grid in the derrick grid area through the conveying mechanism and the access robot. This system realizes the intelligent storage of medicines, thus reducing the work intensity of the staff, improving the safety of medicine storage, and improving the efficiency of medicine in and out of the warehouse.

[0070] In addition to the above, the medicine box of the intelligent medicine storage system of the present invention is provided with a medicine placement area and an empty bottle storage area, so as to realize the separate storage of medicines and empty bottles. In addition, the depths of the multiple medicine storage grids in the medicine placement area are different, so that the medicine storage grids with shallower depths are used to place medicines with relatively shorter expiration dates, and the medicine storage grids with deeper depths are used to place medicines with relatively longer expiration dates, so as to give special reminders for the expiration dates of each medicine and prevent the occurrence of medicine expiration.

[0071] It should also be noted that the exemplary embodiments mentioned in the present invention describe some methods or systems based on a series of steps or devices. However, the present invention is not limited to the order of the above steps. That is to say, the steps can be executed in the order mentioned in the embodiment, or different from the order in the embodiment, or several steps can be executed simultaneously.

[0072] In the present invention, features described and / or illustrated for one embodiment can be used in the same way or in a similar way in one or more other embodiments, and / or combined with the features of other embodiments or replace the features of other embodiments.

[0073] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, various changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments of the present invention. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An intelligent medicine storage system, characterized in that: The system comprises: a derrick grid area, the derrick grid area having a plurality of storage grids, the derrick grid area including a base surface, a horizontally arranged track layer at the top layer, and a plurality of columns, the plurality of columns being spaced apart and vertically arranged, the track layer including a first track arranged along a first direction and a second track arranged along a second direction, wherein the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other; A storage and retrieval station is provided at the entrance and exit of the derrick grid area. The storage and retrieval station includes: a conveying mechanism, a storage box, and a transfer robot. The conveying mechanism is used to convey the storage box to the storage and retrieval port at the entrance and exit of the derrick grid area. The transfer robot is provided on one side of the conveying mechanism. A medicine box, for placement in the storage box, comprising a box body, wherein the box body has a medicine placement area and an empty bottle storage area, wherein the medicine placement area includes a plurality of medicine storage compartments, and the plurality of medicine storage compartments have different depths, wherein the medicine storage compartments with a shallower depth are used to place medicines with a relatively shorter expiration date, and the medicine storage compartments with a deeper depth are used to place medicines with a relatively longer expiration date; a medicine transfer station, arranged on one side of the transfer robot, comprising a housing, a multi-layer rotating disk, and a driving device; the housing having a medicine access port, each of the rotating disks having a plurality of medicine storage locations, and each of the rotating disks being rotatable under the driving action of the driving device; and the medicines in the medicine storage locations can be transferred to the medicine storage compartments of the medicine box by the transfer robot; and The storage and retrieval robot comprises a chassis, a first wheel set, a second wheel set, and a lifting mechanism, wherein the first wheel set and the second wheel set are both arranged on the chassis, the first wheel set is used to travel along the first track, the second wheel set is used to travel along the second track, and the lifting mechanism is used to transfer the medicine box between the storage grid and the storage box; The medicine transfer station has four rotating disks, which are supported on the same support shaft. The support shaft is vertically arranged and has multiple shaft sections. The four rotating disks are driven to rotate by the same driving device, and a shifting device is provided between the driving device and the rotating disks. The shifting device includes four sets of gear transmission mechanisms, and the driving gears of the four sets of gear transmission mechanisms are all connected to the output shaft of the driving device, and the driven gears of the four sets of gear transmission mechanisms are respectively connected to the four rotating disks; Each of the rotating discs includes a disc body and a connecting sleeve, wherein the connecting sleeve is located between the disc body and the corresponding driven gear, and the two ends of the connecting sleeve are respectively connected to the disc body and the corresponding driven gear, and the disc body, the connecting sleeve, the driven gear and the support shaft are coaxially arranged; The shifting device also includes a lifting mechanism, and the driving gears of the four groups of gear transmission mechanisms are driven to rise and fall synchronously by the lifting mechanism to achieve gear shifting. In each gear state, one of the four groups of gear transmission mechanisms is in an engaged state, and the other three groups are in a disengaged state.

2. The intelligent medicine storage system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conveying mechanism includes a conveyor belt, and the access station further includes a guide component and a limit component, the guide components are arranged on both sides of the conveyor belt, and the limit component is arranged at the end of the conveying mechanism; and / or The end of the transfer robot is provided with a flexible clamping claw.

3. The intelligent medicine storage system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The system further includes a visual system, which includes an industrial camera for monitoring the storage status of the medicines in the medicine box.

4. The intelligent medicine storage system according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are two drug access ports, and the first drug access port is a hole for the transfer robot to take out or put in drugs, and the second drug access port is a hole for manual taking out or putting in drugs.

5. The intelligent medicine storage system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sizes of the four rotating disks gradually decrease from bottom to top, and the multiple medicine storage locations on each rotating disk are evenly arranged along the circumference of the rotating disk.

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