An automated dispensing device for injectable drugs

Abstract

This invention discloses an automated dispensing device for injectable drugs, belonging to the field of medical device automation technology. The device includes a pluggable drug storage compartment and a dispensing base. A bottle guide ramp and a conical multi-position screw feeder work together to achieve self-alignment and precise bottle pickup. A dynamic locking mechanism automatically locks / unlocks the transmission system during insertion and removal to ensure safety. An RFID system verifies the drug type to prevent errors. Electromechanical dual overload protection prevents damage to the equipment and bottles. Photoelectric closed-loop counting and intelligent empty detection ensure accurate and continuous dispensing. This invention offers accurate and reliable dispensing, safe operation, and a high degree of intelligence.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of medical device automation technology, specifically to an automated dispensing device for injectable drugs. Background Technology

[0002] With the continuous improvement of medical informatization, the automation and intelligentization of hospital pharmacy management has become an important direction for the development of modern medical systems. In the field of injectable drug management, the traditional manual dispensing model suffers from problems such as low efficiency, susceptibility to human error, and inability to monitor inventory in real time. To address these challenges, intelligent drug management cabinets have emerged. However, existing intelligent drug management cabinets with automated dispensing devices for injectable drugs have the following shortcomings:

[0003] (1) Problems with loss of control and jamming of medicine bottle posture

[0004] Non-uniform cylindrical medicine bottles (such as ampoules and vials with a heavier tail) are prone to problems such as loss of posture and mutual jamming during transportation because their center of mass deviates from the geometric center. Especially on horizontal or simply inclined tracks, the medicine bottles will naturally roll due to the heavier tail, making it impossible for them to enter the pick-up station with a uniform posture, which in turn causes the pick-up mechanism to jam and dispensing failure.

[0005] (2) Problems of lack of safety protection

[0006] During the insertion and removal of the drug storage compartment, the synchronous pulley and the connected rotary advance mechanism are in a free state. Without an effective locking mechanism, the synchronous pulley may be manually turned by unauthorized personnel, leading to the illegal removal of injectable drugs from the storage compartment. The loss of injectable drugs, especially anesthetics, can have a significant negative impact, posing a security risk to equipment operation and access control.

[0007] (3) Problem of insufficient protection against medicine bottle clamping

[0008] During medication dispensing, the medicine bottle may become stuck between the feeder and the fixed component due to improper posture or foreign objects in the channel, a phenomenon known as "bottle jamming." Existing transmission systems are mostly rigid designs, and jamming can instantly generate excessive resistance torque. This torque is directly transmitted to the motor and transmission components, easily leading to bottle breakage, resulting in glass shards and medication contamination, or damage to the delicate transmission mechanism, such as motor overload and burnout, synchronous belt breakage, or gear tooth chipping.

[0009] (4) Counting accuracy and lag in empty warehouse identification

[0010] Due to factors such as bottle swinging, repeated obstruction, or dust interference, automated dispensing devices are prone to miscounting or undercounting. Furthermore, determining the empty dispenser status typically relies on comparing the accumulated count with the preset capacity, which cannot effectively address discrepancies caused by unsuccessful bottle pickup (empty dispenser) or counting errors. This lag in recognition affects the continuity of dispensing tasks, leading to interruptions in medication orders and requiring frequent manual intervention to confirm inventory.

[0011] The aforementioned technical problems have seriously affected the reliability and service life of automated dispensing devices, and have also hindered the improvement of the level of fully automated management in hospital pharmacies. Summary of the Invention

[0012] In view of the above-mentioned defects or deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides an automatic dispensing device for injectable drugs, which can solve the above-mentioned technical problems mentioned in the background art.

[0013] One aspect of the present invention provides an automated dispensing device for injectable drugs, comprising:

[0014] The dispensing machine base and the medicine storage compartment are detachably plugged in and plugged in. The dispensing machine base is equipped with a transmission mechanism, and the medicine storage compartment is equipped with a medicine bottle feeding mechanism and a dynamic locking mechanism.

[0015] The medicine bottle feeding mechanism includes: a medicine bottle guide ramp, a conical multi-position screw feeder, and a synchronous wheel. The medicine bottle guide ramp has a principal slope angle extending in the medicine bottle feeding direction and a side tilt angle extending perpendicular to the medicine bottle feeding direction. The principal slope angle is used to provide sliding force for the medicine bottle, and the side tilt angle is used to guide the medicine bottle to roll to one side. The conical multi-position screw feeder is provided with circumferentially uniformly arranged receiving grooves for picking up medicine bottles. The spatial orientation of the receiving grooves matches the spatial orientation of the medicine bottle guide ramp. The synchronous wheel is used to drive the conical multi-position screw feeder to rotate under the drive of the transmission mechanism to pick up medicine bottles and release them to the medicine outlet.

[0016] The dynamic locking mechanism is used to lock the medicine bottle feeding mechanism when the medicine storage compartment is removed from the dispensing machine base, and to unlock the medicine bottle feeding mechanism after the medicine storage compartment is inserted into the dispensing machine base.

[0017] Furthermore, the dynamic locking mechanism includes: a valve core limiting lock, a lifting locking valve core, a traction spring, and a valve core protective cover; the lifting locking valve core is provided with a lifting sliding member, locking teeth, and a top foot. The lifting sliding member is slidably connected to a slide rail on the valve core protective cover. When the lifting locking valve core slides to the locked position, the locking teeth block the rotation of the synchronous wheel. When the lifting locking valve core slides to the unlocked position, the locking teeth release the constraint on the synchronous wheel. The valve core limiting lock is fixed on the lifting locking valve core. The valve core limiting lock has a locking tongue and a locking hole. The valve core protective cover is provided with a limiting part that matches the locking tongue. When the locking tongue is penetrated by a key passing through the locking hole... When the key is turned to the limiting part, the valve core limiting lock restricts the lifting and lowering movement of the lifting and lowering valve core; when the locking tongue moves out from the limiting part, the valve core limiting lock releases the lifting and lowering restriction of the lifting and lowering valve core; the traction spring is set on both sides of the lifting and lowering valve core, the lower end of the traction spring is connected to the valve core protective cover, and the upper end is connected to the lifting and lowering valve core; when the medicine storage chamber is pulled out from the dispensing machine base, the traction spring applies a downward pulling force to the lifting and lowering valve core, causing the lifting and lowering valve core to the locked position; when the medicine storage chamber is inserted into the dispensing machine base, the top plate of the dispensing machine base abuts against the top foot of the lifting and lowering valve core, and pushes the lifting and lowering valve core upward to the unlocked position.

[0018] Furthermore, the medicine storage compartment is also equipped with RFID tags, and the types of medicines stored in the medicine storage compartment are mapped to the IDs of the RFID tags; the dispensing machine base is also equipped with an RFID reader, which is used to read the IDs of the RFID tags in the medicine storage compartment and upload the reading results to the host computer; the host computer is used to determine whether the types of medicines stored in the medicine storage compartment are consistent with the types of medicines pre-allocated by the system based on the reading results, and if they are inconsistent, an alarm is triggered.

[0019] Furthermore, the transmission mechanism of the dispensing machine base includes a drive motor, a drive wheel, a driven wheel, and a synchronous belt. The synchronous belt and the synchronous wheel of the medicine bottle feeding mechanism are configured such that when the load torque of the drive motor exceeds a safety threshold, the synchronous belt slips and skips teeth relative to the synchronous wheel to reduce the load applied to the medicine bottle.

[0020] Furthermore, it also includes a motor current monitoring unit, which is used to collect the operating current of the drive motor in real time and trigger the motor to stop when the current value exceeds a preset overload threshold.

[0021] Furthermore, it also includes: a photoelectric sensor, deployed on the path of the medicine bottle falling from the dispensing port of the medicine storage compartment; a counting unit, used to accumulate counts based on the obstruction signal generated by the photoelectric sensor; and a control unit, used to compare the counting result of the counting unit with the number of dispensing instructions to verify the number of medicines dispensed, and to detect whether the photoelectric sensor generates an obstruction signal within a single medicine bottle dispensing cycle of the conical multi-position screw feeder. If no obstruction signal is generated, the medicine storage compartment is determined to be empty, and an early warning is triggered.

[0022] Furthermore, the single-vial dispensing cycle of the conical multi-position screwdriver is the sum of the single-turn rotation time and the redundant time of the conical multi-position screwdriver.

[0023] Furthermore, the valve core protective cover is a sealed housing with an internal dustproof and moisture-proof coating.

[0024] Furthermore, the dispensing machine base and the medicine storage compartment are fixed together by snap fasteners.

[0025] Furthermore, the medicine storage compartment is inserted into the dispensing machine base via a guide and limiting mechanism.

[0026] The present invention provides an automatic dispensing device for injectable drugs, which has the following beneficial effects:

[0027] (1) Precise and reliable drug dispensing

[0028] By coordinating the spatial attitude design of the medicine bottle guide ramp and the conical screw feeder, the problem of jamming of non-uniform medicine bottles is solved, and the success rate of dispensing medicine is greatly improved. Combined with optical closed-loop counting, zero-error verification of the number of medicines dispensed is achieved.

[0029] (2) Operation is safe and controllable

[0030] The dynamic locking mechanism automatically locks the synchronous pulley when the medicine storage compartment is removed and automatically unlocks it when it is inserted back, effectively preventing unauthorized operations and greatly improving the efficiency of access control.

[0031] (3) Dual safety of equipment and medicines

[0032] The sliding tooth and motor overcurrent monitoring form a dual-redundant overload protection system, which can instantly unload or cut off the power when the medicine bottle is stuck, greatly improving the protection success rate and completely avoiding medicine bottle breakage and equipment damage.

[0033] (4) Intelligent identification and early warning

[0034] Based on the "rotation cycle timeout" empty logic, it can identify empty and virtual warehouse status in a timely and accurate manner, greatly shorten the response time and trigger an early warning. At the same time, RFID verification fundamentally eliminates the risk of mixed drug delivery.

[0035] (5) Easy to use and highly adaptable to the environment

[0036] The quick-plug structure and fully enclosed protective design of the medicine storage compartment simplify the medicine replenishment process, improve adaptability to the complex environment of the hospital, and significantly reduce operation and maintenance costs. Attached Figure Description

[0037] Other features, objects, and advantages of this application will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0038] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of an automatic dispensing device for injectable drugs provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 2 This is a front view of an automated dispensing device for injectable drugs provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 3 This is a perspective view of a dispensing machine base provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 4 This is a perspective view of a drug storage compartment provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 5 This is an internal structural diagram of a drug storage compartment provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0043] Figure 6 This is an internal structural diagram of a dynamic locking mechanism provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0044] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the installation position of a photoelectric sensor provided in one embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0045] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0046] The terminology used in the embodiments of this invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” used in the embodiments of this invention are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0047] It should be noted that the directional terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" used in the embodiments of the present invention are used to describe the angles shown in the accompanying drawings and should not be construed as limiting the embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, in the context, it should be understood that when it is mentioned that an element is formed "upper" or "lower" of another element, it can not only be formed directly "upper" or "lower" of the other element, but also indirectly "upper" or "lower" of the other element through an intermediate element.

[0048] This application presents a modular automated dispensing device for injectable medications in an intelligent medicine management cabinet, primarily targeting the automatic dispensing of vials, ampoules, and other injectable drugs. The technical solution utilizes a pluggable structure between the storage compartment and the dispensing base, combined with a dual-angle design of the bottle guide ramp to achieve posture self-regulation. A dynamic locking mechanism enables access control of the transmission system, and the system integrates RFID verification, electromechanical dual-redundancy overload protection, and a photoelectric closed-loop counting system. These features collectively achieve precise bottle delivery, safety protection, and intelligent verification, comprehensively improving the accuracy, safety, and reliability of dispensing.

[0049] See Figure 1-2 One example of this application provides an automated dispensing device for injectable drugs, comprising:

[0050] The dispensing machine base 110 and the medicine storage compartment 120 are detachably pluggable. For example, the medicine storage compartment 120 is inserted into the dispensing machine base 110 via a guide and limiting mechanism. Specifically, the bottom of the medicine storage compartment 120 is provided with a guide groove (or guide rail), and the dispensing machine base 110 is correspondingly provided with a guide rail (or guide groove). The cross-sections of the guide groove and the guide rail adopt a trapezoidal or wedge-shaped design to form a progressive fit. Initially, there is a large fitting gap (approximately 0.5 mm) for rapid insertion; later, it becomes a precision fit (gap ≤ 0.1 mm) to achieve accurate radial and circumferential positioning. After the medicine storage compartment 120 is inserted into place, the medicine dispensing machine base 110 and the medicine storage compartment 120 are fixed together by the buckle 130. The buckle 130 uses the lever principle and the inclined plane self-locking principle to automatically engage when inserted into place, firmly fixing the medicine storage compartment 120 to the medicine dispensing machine base 110. Its locking force is precisely calculated to ensure reliable connection and facilitate manual unlocking.

[0051] See Figure 2 and Figure 3 The dispensing machine base 110 is equipped with a transmission mechanism, which includes a drive motor 111, a drive wheel 112, a driven wheel 113, and a synchronous belt 114. The synchronous belt 114 is used to drive the medicine bottle feeding mechanism on the medicine storage chamber 120 to realize the automatic dispensing of medicine bottles.

[0052] See Figure 4 and Figure 5The medicine storage compartment 120 includes a medicine bottle feeding mechanism. The medicine bottle feeding mechanism includes a medicine bottle guide ramp 121, a conical multi-position screw feeder 122, and a synchronous pulley 123. The synchronous pulley 123 is used to drive the conical multi-position screw feeder 122 to rotate under the drive of the transmission mechanism of the dispensing machine base 110, so as to pick up medicine bottles and release medicine bottles to the dispensing port 124.

[0053] One of the core technical problems this application aims to solve is the issue of conveying jams and picking failures caused by uncontrolled bottle posture when handling non-uniform cylindrical medicine bottles such as ampoules in existing automatic dispensing devices. This is because the center of mass of non-uniform cylindrical medicine bottles deviates from the geometric center, causing them to roll randomly in traditional horizontal or simply inclined tracks, failing to reach and enter the picking station of the actuator in a uniform and correct posture. To solve the above technical problem, this embodiment achieves precise control of medicine bottles from random stacking to orderly picking through a collaborative structure of pre-regulating the spatial posture of the medicine bottles and matching the spiral feeder.

[0054] Specifically, in this embodiment, the bottle guide ramp 121 is configured with a main slope angle extending in the bottle feeding direction and a side tilt angle extending perpendicular to the bottle feeding direction. The main slope angle extends along the bottle feeding direction, and its angle is precisely calculated, preferably 15°±5°, to ensure that the component of the gravity acting on the bottle along the ramp is sufficient to overcome the static friction between the bottle and the ramp, thereby providing stable and controllable automatic sliding force. The side tilt angle extends perpendicular to the bottle feeding direction, and its tilt angle is preferably 5°±2°. The side tilt angle artificially creates a defined low side, which provides a unified and clear target position for the center of mass of all bottles. That is, the natural tendency of the bottle's center of mass to find the lowest point during rolling is guided and reinforced by the side tilt angle, thereby unifying and standardizing the chaotic and random rolling of all bottles into a consistent directional rolling towards the low side of the ramp. Therefore, under the combined effect of the main slope angle and the side tilt angle, the medicine bottle simultaneously completes axial transport and circumferential posture regularization during its sliding towards the conical multi-position screw feeder 122, ultimately arriving at the pickup position with a uniform posture. It should be noted that although symmetrical cylindrical medicine bottles do not have the top-light and bottom-heavy structure of vials or ampoules, they will still roll to the pickup position with a uniform posture under the guidance of the medicine bottle guide ramp 121, just like asymmetrical cylindrical medicine bottles. That is, the medicine bottle guide ramp 121 in this embodiment is compatible with both symmetrical and asymmetrical cylindrical medicine bottles.

[0055] The conical multi-position screw feeder 122 is provided with circumferentially evenly arranged receiving grooves 1221 for picking up medicine bottles. Through rotational movement, the receiving grooves 1221 finally feed the picked-up medicine bottles to the medicine outlet 124. However, since the medicine bottle guide ramp 121 in this embodiment has an inclination angle in two directions, if the conical multi-position screw feeder 122 still adopts the cylindrical regular shape of the prior art, and the receiving grooves 1221 are still evenly and parallelly distributed on the cylindrical screw feeder, the medicine bottle will collide with the receiving groove 1221 at a certain angle after moving to the picking position. This will lead to unsmooth picking, or even picking failure. To overcome the aforementioned problems, this embodiment designs the screw feeder 122 as a conical or frustum shape, and precisely matches the spatial orientation (including opening direction and depth profile) of each receiving slot 1221 with the spatial orientation of the bottle guide ramp 121. This ensures that the bottle, after being properly positioned, can slide or scoop into the receiving slot smoothly and without impact, rather than being impacted, thus preventing the posture from being disrupted at the moment of pickup. In addition, the conical structure of the multi-position conical screw feeder 122 generates a beneficial centrifugal force during rotation, helping to stabilize the bottle within the receiving slot 1221. Continuous rotational motion enables continuous, intermittent feeding of the bottle. While one pickup station releases a bottle, the subsequent station is already preparing to pick it up, greatly improving dispensing efficiency.

[0056] Through actual testing, the medicine bottle feeding mechanism of this embodiment has improved the consistency of the posture of medicine bottles arriving at the pickup point from 65% in traditional devices to over 98%, greatly reducing the phenomenon of conveying jams and pickup failures.

[0057] Another core technical problem that this application aims to solve is that the clamping of the medicine bottle will generate an excessively large resistance torque in an instant. This torque is directly transmitted to the motor and transmission components, which can easily cause the medicine bottle to break, resulting in glass fragments and drug contamination, or damage to the precision transmission mechanism.

[0058] To address this issue, this embodiment employs a slippage design between transmission mechanisms to limit transmission torque. See also... Figure 2 and Figure 3The drive motor 111, drive wheel 112, driven wheel 113, synchronous belt 114, and synchronous pulley 123 are configured such that when the load torque of the drive motor 111 exceeds a safety threshold, the synchronous belt 114 slips relative to the synchronous pulley 123, instantly cutting off or limiting the transmission of excessive torque to the execution end to reduce the load applied to the medicine bottle. More preferably, a motor current monitoring unit is added as a redundant protection measure based on the above design. The motor current monitoring unit collects the operating current of the drive motor 111 in real time and triggers the motor to stop when the current value exceeds a preset overload threshold. Thus, this dual redundant protection system allows the mechanical slippage design to absorb and dissipate the initial impact, while the current monitoring handles the subsequent complete shutdown; the combination of both ensures foolproof system protection.

[0059] Another core technical problem that this application aims to solve is that during the insertion and removal of the drug storage compartment 120, the synchronous pulley 123 and the conical multi-position screw advanceer 122 connected to it are in a free state. Existing technology lacks an effective locking mechanism for this, and in unauthorized circumstances, the synchronous pulley 123 may be manually rotated by unauthorized personnel, leading to the illegal removal of injectable drugs from the drug storage compartment 120.

[0060] To solve this problem, see Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 6 In this embodiment, a dynamic locking mechanism 125 is provided on the medicine storage compartment 120. The dynamic locking mechanism 125 can ensure that when the medicine storage compartment 120 is pulled out from the dispensing machine base 110, the synchronous wheel 123 is automatically locked, so that unauthorized personnel cannot remove the medicine bottle by manually rotating the synchronous wheel 123 and the conical multi-position screw feeder 122. When the medicine storage compartment 120 is inserted back into the dispensing machine base 110, the synchronous wheel 123 is automatically unlocked, so that the synchronous wheel 123 and the conical multi-position screw feeder 122 return to the free state, and thus the medicine can be dispensed normally.

[0061] Specifically, the dynamic locking mechanism 125 includes a valve core limit lock 1251, a lifting locking valve core 1252, a traction spring 1253, and a valve core protective cover 1254, wherein:

[0062] The lifting locking valve core 1252 is provided with a lifting sliding component, a locking tooth 12521 and a top foot 12522. The lifting sliding component is slidably connected to the slide rail on the valve core protective cover 1254. When the lifting locking valve core 1252 slides to the locked position, the locking tooth 12521 blocks the rotation of the synchronous wheel 123. When the lifting locking valve core 1252 slides to the unlocked position, the locking tooth 12521 releases the constraint on the synchronous wheel 123.

[0063] The valve core limit lock 1251 is fixed on the lifting and locking valve core 1252. The valve core limit lock 1251 has a lock tongue 12511 and a lock hole 12512. The valve core protective cover 1254 is provided with a limiting part 12541 that matches the lock tongue 12511. When the lock tongue 12511 is turned to the limiting part 12541 by a key passing through the lock hole, the valve core limit lock 1251 restricts the lifting and lowering movement of the lifting and locking valve core 1252. When the lock tongue 12511 moves out of the limiting part 12541, the valve core limit lock 1251 releases the lifting and lowering restriction of the lifting and locking valve core 1252.

[0064] Traction springs 1253 are located on both sides of the lifting locking valve core 1252. The lower end of the traction spring 1253 is connected to the valve core protective cover 1254, and the upper end is connected to the lifting locking valve core 1252. When the medicine storage chamber 120 is pulled out from the dispensing machine base 110, the traction spring 1253 applies a downward pulling force to the lifting locking valve core 1252, causing the lifting locking valve core 1252 to descend to the locked position. When the medicine storage chamber 120 is inserted into the dispensing machine base 110, the top plate 126 of the dispensing machine base 110 abuts against the top foot 12522 of the lifting locking valve core 1252, and pushes the lifting locking valve core 1252 upward to the unlocked position.

[0065] The following details the specific operation and action of the dynamic locking mechanism 125.

[0066] (1) Drug storage compartment pull-out and transmission system locking

[0067] This procedure is performed when medication needs to be replaced or replenished, and is designed to securely lock the transmission system and timing pulleys.

[0068] Step 1: Liquidation Operation

[0069] The operator manually releases the latch between the dispensing machine base 110 and the medicine storage chamber 120, and then smoothly pulls the medicine storage chamber 120 out of the dispensing machine base 110.

[0070] Step 2: Automatically trigger the lock

[0071] As the medicine storage compartment 120 is pulled out, the top plate 126 of the dispensing machine base 110 separates from the top foot 12522 of the lifting locking valve core 1252. Under the downward pulling force of the traction springs 1253 on both sides, the lifting locking valve core 1252 automatically slides downward along the slide rail on the valve core protective cover 1254.

[0072] Step 3: Complete the mechanical locking

[0073] When the lifting locking valve core 1252 slides down to the limit position (locked position), the locking tooth 12521 at its lower end fully meshes with the tooth groove of the synchronous wheel 123, forming a rigid connection, thereby blocking the rotational freedom of the synchronous wheel 123 and fixing the entire medicine bottle feeding mechanism.

[0074] Step 4: Enhance Locking Security

[0075] For scenarios requiring a higher level of security, operators can insert a special key into the lock hole 12512 of the valve core limit lock 1251 and rotate it, driving the locking tongue 12511 to engage with the limiting part 12541 on the valve core protective cover 1254. This operation mechanically completely restricts the lifting and lowering movement of the lifting and locking valve core 1252, achieving double insurance and preventing unlocking due to accidents or unauthorized personnel during transportation and storage.

[0076] (2) Insertion of drug storage compartment and unlocking process of transmission system

[0077] This process is performed during the installation of the drug storage compartment 120, and aims to restore power transmission to the drive system and synchronizer pulley.

[0078] Step 1: Perform the unlocking operation

[0079] If the valve core limit lock 1251 has been locked with a key before, the operator must first use the key to turn the locking tongue 12511 to disengage it from the limit part and release the movement restriction on the lifting lock valve core 1252.

[0080] Step 2: Perform the stock insertion operation

[0081] The operator guides the medicine storage compartment 120 through the guide and limit mechanism, initially aligns it, and begins to insert it into the dispensing machine base 110.

[0082] Step 3: Automatic Lifting and Unlocking

[0083] In the final stage of the insertion process, the top plate 126 of the dispensing machine base 110 contacts the top foot 12522 of the lifting locking valve core 1252, and pushes the top foot 12522 upward as the insertion continues. This pushing force overcomes the tension of the traction spring 1253, pushing the entire lifting locking valve core 1252 to slide upward along the slide rail.

[0084] Step 4: Restore power transmission

[0085] When the lifting locking valve core 1252 rises to its limit position (unlocked position), the locking tooth 12521 at its lower end completely separates from the tooth groove of the synchronous pulley 123. At this time, the synchronous pulley 123 regains its ability to rotate freely, and the medicine bottle feeding mechanism is unlocked.

[0086] Another core technical problem this application aims to solve is that automatic dispensing devices are prone to miscounting or undercounting due to factors such as bottle swinging, repeated obstruction, or dust interference. Furthermore, determining the empty dispenser status typically relies on comparing the accumulated count with the preset capacity within the dispenser, which cannot effectively address deviations caused by unsuccessful bottle pickup (virtual dispenser) or counting errors. To address this issue, this embodiment replaces the traditional, single-function counting and empty-dispensing logic by constructing a "signal-time" dual-modal sensing and decision-making system. This system not only focuses on whether a bottle has fallen but also on whether it fell at the correct time, thus intelligently distinguishing between actual dispensing, abnormal situations, and empty dispenser status.

[0087] See Figure 7 In this embodiment, photoelectric sensors 127 are deployed along the path of the medicine bottle falling from the dispensing port of the medicine storage compartment 120. For example, a set of high-precision, narrow-beam through-beam photoelectric sensors 127 are coaxially deployed at the dispensing port. The counting unit (not shown) inside the automatic dispensing device accumulates the count based on the obstruction signal generated by the photoelectric sensors 127. The control unit (not shown) of the automatic dispensing device detects whether the photoelectric sensors 127 generate an obstruction signal within a single medicine bottle dispensing cycle of the conical multi-position screw feeder 122 (preferably the sum of the single-turn rotation time and the redundant time of the conical multi-position screw feeder). If so, the dispensing is determined to be successful, and the timer is reset to zero. Otherwise, the medicine storage compartment is determined to be in a dormant state. In this case, the control unit does not issue any alarm, because the cause of a dormant state is not necessarily that the medicine compartment is empty, but may be that the conical multi-position screw feeder 122 has failed to pick up the medicine bottle. Next, the control unit continues to detect whether the photoelectric sensor has not generated an obstruction signal during two or more consecutive single-bottle dispensing cycles of the conical multi-position screw feeder 122 (for example, if the conical multi-position screw feeder 122 has 8 pick-up stations in one revolution, then preferably 8 single-bottle dispensing cycles, i.e., one revolution of the conical multi-position screw feeder 122). If so, it can be determined that the dispenser is empty and an early warning is issued. Furthermore, the control unit compares the counting result of the counting unit with the number of dispensing instructions in real time to verify whether the dispensing quantity meets the prescription requirements.

[0088] Another technical problem this application aims to address is the risk of mixed medications and mis-dispensing due to human error or management negligence in automated dispensing devices. Traditional devices lack an effective verification mechanism to ensure that the medications in the storage compartment 120 match the predetermined positions on the dispensing base 110, potentially leading to the insertion of Class A medications into the dispensing slots for Class B medications, resulting in serious medical errors. This embodiment eliminates such risks at the source through electronic identity verification.

[0089] Specifically, the medicine storage compartment 120 is equipped with RFID tags, and the types of medicines stored in the compartment 120 are mapped to the IDs of the RFID tags. The dispensing machine base 110 is also equipped with an RFID reader to read the IDs of the RFID tags in the medicine storage compartment 120 and upload the reading results to a host computer (not shown). The host computer determines whether the types of medicines stored in the medicine storage compartment 120 are consistent with the types of medicines pre-allocated by the system based on the reading results. If they are inconsistent, an alarm is triggered. As an optional method, after the medicine storage compartment 120 is fully inserted into the dispensing machine base 110, the locking mechanism automatically or manually locks it in place. At this time, the position sensor inside the dispensing machine base 110 detects an installation ready signal, and the system immediately starts the RFID verification process. After the verification is successful, the device enters the dispensing state.

[0090] Due to the uncopyable nature of RFID tags, combined with system logs, it is possible to clearly record who, when, and what type of medication was inserted into which device, enabling refined medication circulation management and complete traceability. Simultaneously, it achieves 100% medication type verification, completely avoiding medication errors caused by human error in reading or placement, and greatly improving patient medication safety.

[0091] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of disclosure in this invention is not limited to the specific combination of the above-described technical features, but should also cover other technical solutions formed by any combination of the above-described technical features or their equivalents without departing from the above-described concept. For example, technical solutions formed by substituting the above features with (but not limited to) technical features with similar functions disclosed in this invention.

Claims

1. An automatic dispensing device for injectable drugs, characterized in that, include: The dispensing machine base and the medicine storage compartment are detachably plugged in and plugged in. The dispensing machine base is equipped with a transmission mechanism, and the medicine storage compartment is equipped with a medicine bottle feeding mechanism and a dynamic locking mechanism. The medicine bottle feeding mechanism includes: a medicine bottle guide ramp, a conical multi-position screw feeder, and a synchronous wheel. The medicine bottle guide ramp has a principal slope angle extending in the medicine bottle feeding direction and a side tilt angle extending perpendicular to the medicine bottle feeding direction. The principal slope angle is used to provide sliding force for the medicine bottle, and the side tilt angle is used to guide the medicine bottle to roll to one side. The conical multi-position screw feeder is provided with circumferentially uniformly arranged receiving grooves for picking up medicine bottles. The spatial orientation of the receiving grooves matches the spatial orientation of the medicine bottle guide ramp. The synchronous wheel is used to drive the conical multi-position screw feeder to rotate under the drive of the transmission mechanism to pick up medicine bottles and release them to the medicine outlet. The dynamic locking mechanism is used to lock the medicine bottle feeding mechanism when the medicine storage compartment is removed from the dispensing machine base, and to unlock the medicine bottle feeding mechanism after the medicine storage compartment is inserted into the dispensing machine base.

2. The automatic dispensing device for injectable drugs according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dynamic locking mechanism includes: a valve core limit lock, a lifting and locking valve core, a traction spring, and a valve core protective cover; The lifting locking valve core is provided with a lifting sliding component, a locking tooth, and a top foot. The lifting sliding component is slidably connected to the slide rail on the valve core protective cover. When the lifting locking valve core slides to the locked position, the locking tooth blocks the rotation of the synchronous wheel. When the lifting locking valve core slides to the unlocked position, the locking tooth releases the constraint on the synchronous wheel. The valve core limiting lock is fixed on the lifting and stopping valve core. The valve core limiting lock has a locking tongue and a locking hole. The valve core protective cover is provided with a limiting part that matches the locking tongue. When the locking tongue is turned to the limiting part by a key passing through the locking hole, the valve core limiting lock restricts the lifting and stopping movement of the lifting and stopping valve core. When the locking tongue moves out from the limiting part, the valve core limiting lock releases the lifting and stopping restriction of the lifting and stopping valve core. The traction springs are arranged on both sides of the lifting and locking valve core. The lower end of the traction spring is connected to the valve core protective cover, and the upper end is connected to the lifting and locking valve core. When the medicine storage compartment is pulled out from the dispensing machine base, the traction spring applies a downward pulling force to the lifting locking valve core, causing the lifting locking valve core to descend to the locked position; when the medicine storage compartment is inserted into the dispensing machine base, the top plate of the dispensing machine base abuts against the top foot of the lifting locking valve core, and pushes the lifting locking valve core upward to the unlocked position.

3. An automatic dispensing device for injectable drugs according to claim 1, characterized in that: The medicine storage compartment is also equipped with RFID tags, and there is a mapping relationship between the types of medicines stored in the medicine storage compartment and the IDs of the RFID tags; The dispensing machine base is also equipped with an RFID card reader, which is used to read the ID of the RFID tag in the medicine storage compartment and upload the reading result to the host computer; The host computer is used to determine whether the type of medicine stored in the medicine storage compartment is consistent with the type of medicine pre-allocated by the system based on the reading result. If they are inconsistent, an alarm is triggered.

4. An automatic dispensing device for injectable drugs according to claim 1, characterized in that: The transmission mechanism of the dispensing machine base includes a drive motor, a drive wheel, a driven wheel, and a synchronous belt. The synchronous belt and the synchronous wheel of the medicine bottle feeding mechanism are configured such that when the load torque of the drive motor exceeds a safety threshold, the synchronous belt slips and skips teeth relative to the synchronous wheel to reduce the load applied to the medicine bottle.

5. An automatic dispensing device for injectable drugs according to claim 4, characterized in that, Also includes: The motor current monitoring unit is used to collect the operating current of the drive motor in real time and trigger the motor to stop when the current value exceeds the preset overload threshold.

6. An automatic dispensing device for injectable drugs according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: Photoelectric sensors are installed along the path of the medicine bottles falling from the dispensing port of the medicine storage compartment; The counting unit is used to accumulate counts based on the occlusion signal generated by the photoelectric sensor. The control unit is used to detect whether the photoelectric sensor generates an obstruction signal within a single bottle dispensing cycle of the conical multi-position screw feeder. If so, the dispensing is determined to be successful, and the timer is reset to zero; otherwise, the storage compartment is determined to be in a dormant state. The control unit is also used to detect whether the photoelectric sensor does not generate an obstruction signal when the conical multi-position screw feeder rotates continuously for more than two single bottle dispensing cycles. If so, the compartment is determined to be empty, and an early warning is issued. The control unit compares the counting result of the counting unit with the number of dispensing instructions in real time to verify the number of dispensing items.

7. An automatic dispensing device for injectable drugs according to claim 6, characterized in that: The single-bottle dispensing cycle of the conical multi-position rotary advancer is the sum of the single-position rotation time and the redundant time of the conical multi-position rotary advancer.

8. An automatic dispensing device for injectable drugs according to claim 2, characterized in that, The valve core protective cover is a sealed shell with an internal dustproof and moisture-proof coating.

9. An automatic dispensing device for injectable drugs according to claim 1, characterized in that, The dispensing machine base and the medicine storage compartment are fixed together by snap fasteners.

10. An automatic dispensing device for injectable drugs according to claim 1, characterized in that, The medicine storage compartment is inserted into the dispensing machine base via a guide and limiting mechanism.

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