Medicine supply device

Abstract

To reduce a waiting time when performing maintenance of a storage part for storing medicine.SOLUTION: A medicine supply device includes a rotation unit and a control unit. The rotation unit includes a plurality of storage parts for storing medicine. The plurality of storage parts are arranged along a cylindrical surface with an axis line as a center. The rotation unit can be rotated with an axis line as a center. The control unit controls supply of medicine from the storage parts and the rotation of the rotation unit. The control unit executes rotation of the rotation unit for moving the storage parts for storing medicine to be supplied to a maintenance position during the processing for supplying medicine from the storage parts.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 14

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to drug delivery devices. [Background technology]

[0002] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 9-216601 (Patent Document 1) discloses a drug storage and removal device. The drug storage and removal device is equipped with a drum. A plurality of drug feeders are provided around the outer periphery of the drum in the circumferential and vertical directions. When a drug feeder becomes empty due to removal of drugs, or when the amount of drugs stored in the drug feeder becomes small, the drug storage case of the drug feeder is removed from around the drum and drugs are replenished inside. In this case, the drum is rotated by the operation of a drive device and stopped at a predetermined position, and the drug storage case is attached and detached from one point around the drum. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-216601 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It may become impossible to remove the medicine from the storage unit due to reasons such as the storage unit becoming empty, the inside of the storage unit becoming clogged with medicine, or a malfunction occurring in the drive mechanism that generates the drive force to discharge the medicine from the storage unit. In such cases, maintenance of the storage unit is performed by removing the storage unit from the drum and refilling the medicine, clearing the drug clog, or replacing the storage unit. The storage unit to be maintained is moved to a predetermined maintenance position by rotating the drum. A waiting time may occur until the storage unit reaches the maintenance position.

[0005] The present disclosure provides a medicine supplying device that can reduce the waiting time required for maintenance of a storage unit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The drug supply device according to the present disclosure includes a rotating unit and a control unit. The rotating unit includes a plurality of storage units that store drugs. The plurality of storage units are arranged along a cylindrical surface centered on an axis. The rotating unit is rotatable about the axis. The control unit controls the supply of drugs from the storage units and the rotation of the rotating unit. During the process of supplying drugs from the storage units, the control unit executes the rotation of the rotating unit to move the storage unit that stores the drug to be supplied to a maintenance position.

[0007] In the above medicine supplying device, the control unit may determine whether or not the medicine can be supplied from the container, and the control unit may execute rotation of the rotation unit before it is determined that the medicine cannot be supplied from the container.

[0008] In the above-described medicine supplying device, the control unit may determine that the medicine cannot be supplied from the container when the medicine is not supplied from the container even after a predetermined operation for supplying the medicine from the container is performed.

[0009] In the above-mentioned drug supply device, the control unit stores the remaining amount of drug contained in the storage unit and is capable of setting a remaining amount threshold for each drug, and may move to a maintenance position any storage unit that contains the drug to be supplied and has a remaining amount of drug less than the remaining amount threshold.

[0010] In the above-mentioned medicine supply device, the control unit may store the remaining amount of medicine contained in the storage units, and move the storage unit with the smallest remaining amount of medicine among the storage units that store the medicine to be supplied, to a maintenance position.

[0011] In the above-mentioned medicine supply device, the control unit may determine the arrangement of the storage units based on the medicine supply history from each of the multiple storage units so that storage units that store multiple types of medicine to be supplied as a group are arranged nearby.

[0012] In the medicine supplying device, the control unit may move an intermediate position of the rotation range of the rotation unit to a maintenance position. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the medicine supplying device of the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the waiting time required for maintenance of the container. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a medicine supply device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the medicine supply device with one door open. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the medicine supply device. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the vicinity of the hopper member during operation. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a drum. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the medicine container with the lid open. [Figure 8] 8 is a plan view of the medicine container shown in FIG. 7, seen from the direction of arrow VIII. [Figure 9] 8 is a bottom view of the medicine container shown in FIG. 7, as viewed from the direction of arrow IX. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a medicine container with a part cut away. [Figure 11] 4 is a side view showing the positional relationship between a rotor and a partition portion. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a partition portion attached to a partial peripheral wall. [Figure 13] 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the medicine supply device. FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a first diagram showing an example of control of the medicine supply device. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a second diagram showing an example of control of the medicine supply device. [Figure 16]FIG. 11 is a third diagram showing an example of control of the medicine supply device. [Figure 17] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of control of the medicine supply device in the second embodiment. [Figure 18] 1 is a table showing dispensing history. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a first example of the arrangement of a medicine containing section. [Figure 20] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a second example of the arrangement of the medicine containing section. [Figure 21] 13 is a table showing an example of the remaining amount of each of a plurality of types of medicine. [Figure 22] FIG. 4 is a first schematic diagram illustrating a rotation range of the drum. [Diagram 23] FIG. 11 is a second schematic diagram illustrating the rotation range of the drum. [Figure 24] FIG. 11 is a third schematic diagram illustrating the rotation range of the drum. [Diagram 25] FIG. 4 is a fourth schematic diagram illustrating the rotation range of the drum. [Figure 26] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the middle position of the rotation range of the drum is disposed at a maintenance position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts and components are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed descriptions thereof will not be repeated. It is also intended from the beginning that any configuration may be extracted from the embodiments and that they may be combined in any desired manner.

[0016] [First embodiment] (Overall configuration of medicine supply device 101) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a medicine supplying device 101. The medicine supplying device 101 supplies medicine based on a prescription. A doctor issues the prescription to a patient. The prescription contains prescription information. The prescription information includes medicine information. The medicine information includes the name of the medicine, the amount, the usage and the dosage. The medicine supplying device 101 supplies a solid medicine as the medicine. Examples of solid medicine include tablets, pills, capsules, etc.

[0017] The medicine supplying device 101 includes a packaging unit 81 and a supplying unit 82. In the medicine supplying device 101, the packaging unit 81 is disposed on the lower side, and the supplying unit 82 is disposed on the upper side. The packaging unit 81 includes doors 7a, 7b, and 7c. The supplying unit 82 includes doors 6a and 6b. The door 6a includes a handle 8a. The door 6b includes a handle 8b. A user of the medicine supplying device 101 can hold the handle 8a to open and close the door 6a, and can hold the handle 8b to open and close the door 6b.

[0018] The medicine supplying device 101 includes a housing 2. Doors 7a, 7b, and 7c of the packaging unit 81 and doors 6a and 6b of the supplying unit 82 form part of the front surface of the housing 2.

[0019] The medicine supplying device 101 has an operation unit 51 at the center of the front surface of the housing 2. A user of the medicine supplying device 101 can input various instructions to the medicine supplying device 101 by operating the operation unit 51. The operation unit 51 may be realized by a touch panel. In this case, the operation unit 51 also serves as a display, and the user can check various states of the medicine supplying device 101 by looking at the display.

[0020] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of drug supply device 101 with one door 6a open. Drug supply device 101, more specifically supply unit 82, has a cylindrical drum 20 therein. In Fig. 2, door 6a is open, so that drum 20 can be seen through opening 3. Drum 20 is provided with a plurality of detachable drug containing sections, each of which contains a drug. The configuration of drum 20 will be described in detail later.

[0021] (Internal configuration of medicine supply device 101) 3 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the internal configuration of the medicine supply device 101. A pair of drums 20a, 20b are arranged inside the supply unit 82. Each drum 20a, 20b is a cylindrical drum having a plurality of medicine containers arranged therein and supported so as to be rotatable. The medicines contained in each medicine container are discharged from each of the plurality of medicine containers provided in each drum 20a, 20b. The discharged medicines fall by gravity.

[0022] A hopper chute 11 is disposed below the drums 20a, 20b. The hopper chute 11 is disposed above the packaging unit 81. The hopper chute 11 receives the medicines that are discharged from the medicine storage section and fall by gravity. The hopper chute 11 has an outlet 11b at its lower end. The medicines received by the hopper chute 11 pass through the outlet 11b and fall downward from the hopper chute 11.

[0023] A hopper member 12 is disposed inside the packaging unit 81. The hopper member 12 is disposed below the hopper chute 11. The medicines that have passed through the hopper chute 11 fall into the hopper member 12. In FIG. 3, the lower end of the hopper chute 11 is inserted into the upper part of the hopper member 12, but this is not essential, and any configuration may be used as long as the medicines that fall from the outlet 11b of the hopper chute 11 can be received by the hopper member 12.

[0024] A roll 13 of packaging sheet 10 is also rotatably supported inside packaging unit 81. Packaging sheet 10 is pulled out from roll 13 as shown by arrow 91, guided by a guide member (not shown) or the like, and sent to sealing mechanism 14 as shown by arrow 92. Packaging sheet 10 advances to a first side 93.

[0025] The packaging sheet 10 may be a so-called packaging paper. The packaging sheet 10 has a two-layer structure of a material that can be fused by heating and a material that cannot be fused. The packaging sheet 10 may have a two-layer structure of, for example, a layer mainly made of polyethylene and a layer mainly made of cellophane.

[0026] 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the vicinity of the hopper member 12 during operation. The packaging sheet 10 is folded in half so that the layer of fusible material is on the inside. The bottom 10c is the fold. The fold of the packaging sheet 10 is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the packaging sheet 10. The fold of the packaging sheet 10 is parallel to the traveling direction of the packaging sheet 10.

[0027] The packaging sheet 10 is fed toward the first side 93. The packaging sheet 10 includes a left side portion 10a located on the left side when moving toward the first side 93, and a right side portion 10b located on the right side. The left side portion 10a and the right side portion 10b are connected via a bottom portion 10c. The packaging sheet 10 may be a single sheet folded in half. The packaging sheet 10 may be a V-shaped sheet formed by overlapping two separate sheets and joining the sides corresponding to the bottom portion 10c by any method such as heat fusion.

[0028] The hopper member 12 has an inlet 12a at the upper end and an outlet 12b at the lower end. The inlet 12a opens at the upper end of the hopper member 12. The outlet 12b opens at the lower end of the hopper member 12. The hopper member 12 is roughly cylindrical in shape, with a cross-sectional area that decreases from top to bottom. The lower end of the hopper member 12, including the outlet 12b, is disposed inside the packaging sheet 10 and is sandwiched between the left side portion 10a and the right side portion 10b.

[0029] The inlet 12a is an opening for receiving the medicine 1 guided to the hopper member 12 by the hopper chute 11. The outlet 12b faces downward. The outlet 12b is an opening for discharging the medicine 1 toward the inside of the packaging sheet 10. The hopper member 12 receives the medicine 1 dropping from above and guides the medicine 1 between the left side portion 10a and the right side portion 10b of the packaging sheet 10.

[0030] The feed roll 16 advances the packaging sheet 10 as indicated by the arrow 92, and sends the packaging sheet 10 to a first side 93. A sealing mechanism 14 is disposed downstream of the hopper member 12 in the conveying direction of the packaging sheet 10. The sealing mechanism 14 has a structure that sandwiches the packaging sheet 10 from both sides. The sealing mechanism 14 applies pressure and heat to the packaging sheet 10, thereby thermally fusing the fusible material of the packaging sheet 10 and sealing the portion that contains the drug 1.

[0031] Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the drum 20. As shown in Fig. 5, one drum 20 is formed into a hollow cylindrical shape by combining four arc-shaped divided bodies 30. The drum 20 is supported in a supply unit 82 so as to be rotatable in both directions about a center line CL extending in the vertical direction. The drum 20 corresponds to an example of a rotating part. The center line CL corresponds to an example of an axis of the drum 20.

[0032] The drum 20 shown in FIG. 5 is a combination of four divided bodies 30 spaced apart by 90°, but is not limited to this example, and the drum 20 may be a combination of n divided bodies (n is an integer equal to or greater than 2). The central angle of each divided body 30 varies according to the value of n. The central angle of each divided body 30 may be, for example, an angle obtained by dividing 360° into n equal parts. The drum 20 includes n divided bodies 30, and may further include a mechanism for connecting these divided bodies 30 to each other or a mechanism for holding these divided bodies 30.

[0033] Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a divided body 30. The divided body 30 shown in Fig. 6 is one divided body 30 constituting the drum 20 shown in Fig. 5. The axial direction Z shown in Fig. 6 is a direction extending parallel to the center line CL (Fig. 5) of the drum 20. The circumferential direction θ shown in Fig. 6 is a circumferential direction centered on the center line CL of the drum 20.

[0034] The divided body 30 has an upper part 34 and a lower part 35. The medicine containing sections 31 are arranged between the upper part 34 and the lower part 35. The medicine containing sections 31 are lined up in the axial direction Z and also lined up in the circumferential direction θ. The medicine containing sections 31 are arranged along a cylindrical surface centered on the center line CL. The medicine containing sections 31 are each positioned and supported by the support sections 32. The divided body 30 has a plurality of medicine containing sections 31 and the same number of support sections 32 as the medicine containing sections 31.

[0035] Each of the multiple medicine containing sections 31 contains multiple medicines 1. When the medicine 1 is a tablet, the medicine containing section 31 contains multiple tablets. When focusing on any one of the multiple medicine containing sections 31, the one medicine containing section 31 basically contains only the same type of medicine 1. Different medicine containing sections 31 basically contain different types of medicine 1, but a medicine 1 that is used frequently may be contained in multiple medicine containing sections 31.

[0036] Each of the medicine containers 31 can appropriately discharge the medicine 1 contained therein. The medicine supply device 101 of the embodiment is a device that packs one or more types of medicine 1 discharged from the medicine containers 31 in a packaging unit 81 and supplies the divided medicines.

[0037] Each of the support parts 32 is formed in a plate shape. The support parts 32 are arranged at intervals from each other in the axial direction Z and the circumferential direction θ. The medicine containing parts 31 are detachably attached between the upper and lower support parts 32. Each of the medicine containing parts 31 is provided as a cassette that can be attached to and detached from the support parts 32.

[0038] (Detailed configuration of medicine container 31) Next, the medicine containing unit 31, which is a cassette, will be described. Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the medicine containing unit 31 with the cover 130 open. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the medicine containing unit 31 in Fig. 7 as viewed from the direction of arrow VIII. Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the medicine containing unit 31 in Fig. 7 as viewed from the direction of arrow IX. Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing a part of the medicine containing unit 31 in a cutaway view. Fig. 10 shows a see-through view of the inside of the medicine containing unit 31 with the cover 130 removed.

[0039] The medicine containing section 31 includes a containing section main body 110, a rotor 120, and a drive shaft 150. The medicine containing section 31 further includes a lid section 130 and a partition section 140.

[0040] The container body 110 has a peripheral wall 111 and an outlet 112, and stores the drug 1 in a hollow space inside the peripheral wall 111 and discharges the drug 1 from the outlet 112. The inner surface of the peripheral wall 111 is cylindrical. The outlet 112 is formed on the bottom surface of the container body 110. The outlet 112 is formed radially inward from the inner surface of the peripheral wall 111.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 9, a circular opening 113 is formed on the bottom surface of the housing body 110 at a position on the central axis of the peripheral wall 111. A drive shaft 150 is inserted into the opening 113. The drive shaft 150 is disposed inside the peripheral wall 111. The drive shaft 150 is connected to a drive motor (not shown) and can rotate relative to the housing body 110 by receiving a rotational driving force of the drive motor. The drive shaft 150 is disposed coaxially with the rotor 120. The rotor 120 is detachable from the drive shaft 150 in the axial direction of the drive shaft 150. The drive shaft 150 drives and rotates the attached rotor 120. Each of the rotor 120 and the drive shaft 150 may be made of resin.

[0042] The rotor 120 is provided inside the container body 110. The rotor 120 is disposed inside the peripheral wall 111 of the container body 110. The rotor 120 is disposed on the bottom surface of the hollow space inside the container body 110. When the rotor 120 rotates, the drug 1 contained in the hollow space inside the container body 110 is transported toward the outlet 112. The rotor 120 is configured to be capable of both forward rotation, which rotates toward one side in the circumferential direction of the rotor 120 (clockwise direction in FIG. 8), as indicated by arrow A in FIG. 8, and reverse rotation, which rotates toward the other side in the circumferential direction of the rotor 120 (counterclockwise direction in FIG. 8), as indicated by arrow B in FIG. 3.

[0043] The lid 130 is rotatably attached to the housing body 110 so as to open and close the hollow space inside the housing body 110 .

[0044] 11 is a side view showing the positional relationship between the rotor 120 and the partition portion 140. In FIG. 11, the rotor 120 is shown attached to the drive shaft 150.

[0045] The rotor 120 has a top surface 126 that is inclined convexly upward, and a peripheral surface 121 that is connected to the periphery of the top surface 126. A plurality of grooves 127 are provided radially in the top surface 126. A cylindrical central protrusion 128 protrudes from the center of the top surface 126. A cap portion 160 is attached to the upper end of the central protrusion 128. The cap portion 160 when the rotor 120 is attached to the drive shaft 150 and the lid portion 130 when closed face each other with a gap therebetween.

[0046] 10 and 11, a plurality of first protrusions 122 and a plurality of second protrusions 123 are provided on the lower part of the peripheral surface 121. The first protrusions 122 and the second protrusions 123 are arranged alternately in the circumferential direction of the rotor 120 with gaps 125 between them. Each of the plurality of first protrusions 122 and the plurality of second protrusions 123 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed in the radial direction of the rotor 120. The tip ends of each of the plurality of first protrusions 122 and the plurality of second protrusions 123 in the radial direction of the rotor 120 face the inner surface of the peripheral wall 111 with a small gap therebetween.

[0047] The gap 125 communicates with the discharge port 112. Each of the multiple first protrusions 122 and the multiple second protrusions 123 is formed so as to be able to press the drug 1 contained in the gap 125 and transport the drug 1 in the circumferential direction of the rotor 120 to the discharge port 112 when the rotor 120 rotates. Specifically, the drug 1 contained in the gap 125 is transported in the circumferential direction of the rotor 120 while being pressed by the first protrusions 122 or the second protrusions 123 as the rotor 120 rotates, and falls into the discharge port 112.

[0048] At least two third protrusions 124 are further provided on the peripheral surface 121. As shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11, one third protrusion 124 is disposed above each of the second protrusions 123. A tip of each of the third protrusions 124 in the radial direction of the rotor 120 faces the inner surface of the peripheral wall 111 with a small gap therebetween.

[0049] As shown in Fig. 11, a passage through which the partition 140 passes when the rotor 120 rotates is provided between the second protrusion 123 and the third protrusion 124, which are positioned next to each other in the vertical direction. The vertical dimension of this passage is slightly larger than the vertical dimension of the partition 140. The third protrusion 124 is formed so as to be movable from above the partition 140 by pressing the drug 1 located on the partition 140 when the rotor 120 rotates. The partition 140 is made of a flexible member. The flexible member is made of, for example, a soft synthetic resin.

[0050] 11, a portion of the upper surface of each of the plurality of first protrusions 122 protrudes upward. The entire upper surface of each of the plurality of second protrusions 123 is a flat surface.

[0051] The partition 140 extends from the inner surface of the peripheral wall 111 toward a position above the multiple first protrusions 122 and the multiple second protrusions 123 on the peripheral surface 121 of the rotor 120. As shown in Fig. 8, the partition 140 is disposed above the outlet 112. The gap 125 is covered from above by the partition 140, and the drug 1 is prevented from entering the gap 125 from above.

[0052] Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing the partition 140 attached to the partial peripheral wall 111a. The partition 140 is configured by joining a plurality of flexible members at intervals along an arc of a circular arc-shaped base material 141. The partition 140 is not limited to being brush-shaped as shown in Fig. 12, and may be plate-shaped.

[0053] The partial peripheral wall 111a constitutes a part of the peripheral wall 111 of the housing body 110. A hole is formed in the partial peripheral wall 111a. The base material 141 is attached to the hole in the partial peripheral wall 111a. As shown in FIG. 12, the partial peripheral wall 111a may be detachably connected to the remainder of the peripheral wall 111. Specifically, the partial peripheral wall 111a may be attached to the housing body 110 by a snap-fit ​​structure.

[0054] An example of the operation of the medicine container 31 will be described. With the medicine 1 contained in the container body 110, the rotor 120 rotates forward as indicated by arrow A or reversely as indicated by arrow B. The medicine 1 located on the top surface 126 of the rotor 120 moves toward the space between the inner surface of the peripheral wall 111 of the container body 110 and the peripheral surface 121 of the rotor 120. A plurality of grooves 127 formed on the top surface 126 agitate the medicine 1 located on the top surface 126 as the rotor 120 rotates, thereby facilitating the movement of the medicine 1 into the space.

[0055] Some of the drugs 1 that have moved to the space are accommodated in the gaps 125, one at a time. As the rotor 120 rotates, the drugs 1 accommodated in the gaps 125 are transported in the circumferential direction of the rotor 120 while being pressed by the first protruding portion 122 or the second protruding portion 123. The drugs 1 accommodated in the gaps 125 that are located above the discharge port 112 and communicate with the discharge port 112 drop from the gaps 125 into the discharge port 112 and are discharged from the discharge port 112.

[0056] At this time, gap 125 communicating with outlet 112 is covered from above by partition 140, preventing medicine 1 from entering gap 125 from above. As a result, medicine 1 can be dispensed one by one from outlet 112.

[0057] (System configuration of medicine supply device 101) Fig. 13 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the medicine supplying device 101. It should be noted that the block diagram shown in Fig. 13 illustrates only functional blocks of a part of the configuration of the medicine supplying device 101 related to the rotation of the drum 20 associated with the supply of the medicine 1 from the medicine containing section 31 described below, and does not illustrate functional blocks of all the configurations of the medicine supplying device 101.

[0058] The medicine supply device 101 includes a control unit 270. The control unit 270 executes various arithmetic processing and control. The control unit 270 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), and an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). The control unit 270 may be an integrated circuit such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a digital signal processor (DSP).

[0059] The control unit 270 has a storage unit 271. The storage unit 271 is a hard disk device or a solid state drive (SSD) that stores various data. The storage unit 271 stores programs for executing various operations of the medicine supplying device 101, and is provided as an area for storing necessary information. The control unit 270 controls the overall operation of the medicine supplying device 101 based on the programs and information stored in the storage unit 271. The control unit 270 has a timer 272. The timer 272 measures time.

[0060] The control unit 270 is electrically connected to each of the medicine supplying unit 220 and the medicine packaging unit 260. The control unit 270 is electrically connected to a control unit 340 of the control device 300, which will be described later.

[0061] The medicine supplying unit 220 includes a driving unit 231 that drives the medicine containing unit 31. The driving unit 231 includes a driving motor that drives the driving shaft 150 of the medicine containing unit 31. The driving motor is controlled by the control unit 270. Each of the multiple driving units 231 drives each of the multiple medicine containing units 31 attached to the drum 20. The control unit 270 drives the driving unit 231 corresponding to the medicine containing unit 31 that contains the medicine 1 to be supplied. As a result, the medicine 1 to be supplied that is contained in the medicine containing unit 31 is dispensed from the medicine containing unit 31 and put into the packaging unit 81. The control unit 270 controls the supply of the medicine 1 from the medicine containing unit 31.

[0062] The medicine supply unit 220 includes an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) reader / writer 232. An RFID tag is attached to each of the medicine containing units 31. The RFID tag stores identification information of each medicine containing unit 31. The RFID reader / writer 232 reads out information from the RFID tag attached to the medicine containing unit 31. The information read out by the RFID reader / writer 232 is input to the control unit 270.

[0063] The medicine supply unit 220 includes a drum driving unit 241. The drum driving unit 241 includes a drum driving motor that rotates the drum 20. The drum driving motor is driven and controlled by the control unit 270. The rotational driving force generated by the drum driving unit 241 is transmitted to the drum 20, causing the drum 20 to rotate in both directions about the center line CL. The control unit 270 controls the rotation of the drum 20.

[0064] The operation of the medicine packaging unit 260 is controlled by the control unit 270. The medicine packaging unit 260 appropriately drives the sealing mechanism 14 and the feed roll 16 shown in Fig. 4 to package the medicine 1 for one dose.

[0065] The control device 300 has an operation unit 310, a display unit 320, and a control unit 340. The control unit 340 is electrically connected to each of the operation unit 310 and the display unit 320. The control unit 340 has a storage unit 341.

[0066] The control unit 340 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and an EEPROM. The control unit 340 may be an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or a DSP. The storage unit 341 is a hard disk device or an SSD that stores various data.

[0067] The operation unit 310 is a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc. that accepts user operations. The operations accepted by the operation unit 310 are input to the control unit 340.

[0068] Display unit 320 is a liquid crystal monitor or the like. Display unit 320 is capable of displaying information. Display unit 320 displays a screen based on a signal from control unit 340. Information to be displayed on display unit 320 is output from control unit 340 to display unit 320. Display unit 320 may be an operation panel integrated with operation unit 310.

[0069] (Control of drug supply device 101) FIG. 14 is a first diagram showing an example of control of the medicine supplying device 101. FIG. 15 is a second diagram showing an example of control of the medicine supplying device 101. FIG. 16 is a third diagram showing an example of control of the medicine supplying device 101. Control of the first embodiment of the medicine supplying device 101 will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 16. Specifically, a process of supplying medicine 1 from medicine containing unit 31 will be described. In the first embodiment, a determination of whether medicine 1 can be supplied from medicine containing unit 31 and the rotation of drum 20 associated with the determination will be described.

[0070] The control unit 270 receives input of prescription data based on a prescription. The prescription data includes at least one type of drug 1. The drug 1 included in the prescription data input to the control unit 270 is the drug 1 to be supplied. The control unit 270 performs processing to supply the drug 1 from the drug storage unit 31 that stores the drug 1 to be supplied.

[0071] The rotor 120 of the medicine containing unit 31 is configured to be capable of rotating in the forward direction, which is the direction of the arrow A shown in Fig. 8, and rotating in the reverse direction, which is the direction of the arrow B. When starting the process of supplying the medicine 1 from the medicine containing unit 31, the rotor 120 is rotated in the forward direction first. If the medicine 1 in the medicine containing unit 31 is not discharged from the medicine containing unit 31 even when the rotor 120 is rotated in the forward direction, the rotation direction of the rotor 120 is switched and the rotor 120 is rotated in the reverse direction.

[0072] 14, first, in step S1, the control unit 270 resets the number of reverse rotations of the rotor 120 of the medicine containing unit 31 that contains the medicine 1 to be supplied. That is, in the process of step S1, the control unit 270 sets the number of reverse rotations of the rotor 120 to zero. The number of reverse rotations of the rotor 120 is stored in the memory unit 271.

[0073] In step S2, the control unit 270 starts the forward rotation of the rotor 120 of the medicine containing unit 31 containing the medicine 1 to be supplied. The control unit 270 controls the drive unit 231 to rotate the drive shaft 150 of the medicine containing unit 31 containing the medicine 1 to be supplied, thereby rotating the rotor 120 in the forward direction.

[0074] In step S3, control unit 270 sets timer 272. Control unit 270 starts measuring time by timer 272. At the time of step S3, the time measured by timer 272 is set to zero, and timer 272 measures the elapsed time from when it was set in step S3.

[0075] In step S4, the control unit 270 determines whether or not the drug 1 has fallen from the drug containing unit 31 that contains the drug 1 to be supplied. A drug detection sensor is provided at the outlet 112 of the drug containing unit 31. The drug detection sensor is capable of detecting the drug 1 falling through the outlet 112. The drug detection sensor is, for example, a photosensor. The detection result of the drug detection sensor is input to the control unit 270. The control unit 270 determines whether or not the drug 1 has fallen from the drug containing unit 31 based on the detection result of the drug detection sensor.

[0076] If the medicines 1 have fallen from the medicine containing unit 31 (determined as "YES" in step S4), in step S5, the control unit 270 stops the forward rotation of the rotor 120. The control unit 270 stores the number of medicines 1 that have fallen from the medicine containing unit 31 in the memory unit 271.

[0077] In step S6, the control unit 270 judges whether or not a predetermined number of drugs 1 have fallen from the drug containing unit 31. The predetermined number in this case is the amount of the target drug 1 to be supplied according to the prescription data. If the predetermined number of drugs 1 has not yet been supplied (determination in step S6 is "NO"), the process returns to step S1, and the process of rotating the rotor 120 forward to supply the drug 1 from the drug containing unit 31 is performed again.

[0078] In step S4, if the medicine has not fallen from the medicine containing section 31 (determination in step S4 is "NO"), in step S7, the control section 270 determines whether or not time T11 has elapsed. The timer 272 measures the elapsed time from when it was set in step S3. The control section 270 reads the elapsed time from the timer 272 and compares it with the time T11. The time T11 is a threshold value for the elapsed time, and is stored in the memory section 271. The time T11 is set, for example, as the time required for the rotor 120 to rotate a predetermined angle.

[0079] If the time T11 has not yet elapsed (determination in step S7 is "NO"), the process returns to step S4, and it is determined again whether or not the drug 1 has fallen from the drug containing unit 31. During this time, the rotor 120 continues to rotate in the normal direction. If the time T11 continues during which the drug 1 does not fall from the drug containing unit 31 even when the rotor 120 is rotated in the normal direction, "YES" is determined in step S7, and in step S8, the control unit 270 stops the normal rotation of the rotor 120 by stopping the drive shaft 150.

[0080] In step S9, the control unit 270 outputs an instruction to move the medicine containing unit 31 containing the medicine 1 to be supplied to a maintenance position. Specifically, the control unit 270 outputs a control signal to the drum driving unit 241 to rotate the drum 20. The maintenance position of the medicine containing unit 31 is, for example, a position facing the front surface of the housing 2. The maintenance position of the medicine containing unit 31 is, for example, a direction facing the opening 3 (FIG. 2). The maintenance position of the medicine containing unit 31 is, for example, a position that is easily accessible from the front of the medicine supply device 101 through the opening 3 with the doors 6a, 6b (FIGS. 1 and 2) open.

[0081] A user of drug supplying device 101 can easily remove drug containing unit 31 in the maintenance position from drum 20. The user can open lid 130 of drug containing unit 31 removed from drum 20 to check the internal condition of containing unit main body 110. If containing unit main body 110 is empty and does not contain drug 1, the user can replenish drug containing unit 31 with drug 1. If containing unit main body 110 is clogged with drug 1, the user can perform work to clear the clog. If rotor 120 is spinning idly or some other malfunction occurs, the user can replace containing unit 31 with a new one.

[0082] Next, in step S10, the control unit 270 determines whether the number of reverse rotations of the rotor 120 exceeds a threshold value. This threshold value is stored in the memory unit 271. The threshold value is any integer greater than zero. If the determination in step S10 is the first determination since the start of the process of supplying the drug 1, the number of reverse rotations is zero, which is less than the threshold value. Therefore, the determination in step S10 is "NO," and the process proceeds to step S11 shown in FIG. 15 via the connector (1).

[0083] In step S11, the control unit 270 starts reverse rotation of the rotor 120 of the medicine containing unit 31 containing the medicine 1 to be supplied. The control unit 270 controls the drive unit 231 to rotate the drive shaft 150 of the medicine containing unit 31 containing the medicine 1 to be supplied, thereby rotating the rotor 120 in the reverse direction.

[0084] In step S12, the control unit 270 sets the timer 272. The control unit 270 starts measuring time by the timer 272. At the point in time of step S12, the time measured by the timer 272 is set to zero, and the timer 272 measures the elapsed time from when it was set in step S12.

[0085] In step S13, the control unit 270 determines whether or not the drug 1 has fallen from the drug storage unit 31 that stores the drug 1 to be supplied, based on the detection result of the drug detection sensor. If it is determined in step S4 that the drug 1 has not fallen with the rotor 120 rotating in the normal direction, there is a possibility that the drug 1 has become clogged inside the storage unit main body 110 and the drug 1 cannot fall due to the clog. There is a possibility that the clog of the drug 1 can be resolved by changing the rotation direction of the rotor 120.

[0086] If the drugs 1 have fallen from the drug containing unit 31 in step S13 (the determination in step S13 is "YES"), it can be assumed that the blockage of the drugs 1 has been cleared by reversing the rotation of the rotor 120. In step S14, the control unit 270 stops the reverse rotation of the rotor 120. The control unit 270 stores the number of drugs 1 that have fallen from the drug containing unit 31 in the memory unit 271. The process proceeds to step S6 in FIG. 14 via the connector (2), where the amount of drugs 1 that have fallen from the drug containing unit 31 is determined.

[0087] In step S13, if the medicine has not fallen from the medicine containing section 31 (determination in step S13 is "NO"), in step S15, the control section 270 determines whether or not the time T12 has elapsed. The timer 272 measures the elapsed time since being set in step S12. The control section 270 reads the elapsed time from the timer 272 and compares it with the time T12. The time T12 is a threshold value regarding the elapsed time, and is stored in the storage section 271. The time T12 is set, for example, as the time required for the rotor 120 to rotate a predetermined angle. The time T12 may be the same as the time T11, or may be a time different from the time T11.

[0088] If the time T12 has not yet elapsed (determination in step S15 is "NO"), the process returns to step S13, and it is determined again whether or not the drug 1 has fallen from the drug containing unit 31. During this time, the rotor 120 continues to rotate reversely. If the time T12 continues during which the drug 1 does not fall from the drug containing unit 31 even when the rotor 120 is rotated reversely, "YES" is determined in step S15, and in step S16, the control unit 270 stops the reverse rotation of the rotor 120 by stopping the drive shaft 150.

[0089] In step S17, the control unit 270 increments the number of reverse rotations. That is, the control unit 270 performs a process of adding 1 to the number of reverse rotations. The control unit 270 causes the storage unit 271 to store the incremented number of reverse rotations.

[0090] The process proceeds to step S18 shown in FIG. 16 via connector (3). In step S18, control unit 270 starts the forward rotation of rotor 120. In step S19, control unit 270 sets timer 272. In step S20, control unit 270 determines whether or not drug 1 has fallen from drug containing unit 31. The processes of steps S18 to S20 are performed in the same manner as steps S2 to S4 described with reference to FIG. 14.

[0091] If drugs 1 have fallen from the drug containing unit 31 in step S20 (determination of "YES" in step S20), it can be assumed that the blockage of drugs 1 in the drug containing unit 31 has been cleared by switching the rotation direction of the rotor 120 from forward to reverse and then from reverse to forward. In step S21, the control unit 270 stops the forward rotation of the rotor 120 by stopping the drive shaft 150. The control unit 270 stores the number of drugs 1 that have fallen from the drug containing unit 31 in the memory unit 271. The process proceeds to step S6 in FIG. 14 via connector (2), where the amount of drugs 1 that have fallen from the drug containing unit 31 is determined.

[0092] In step S20, if the medicine has not fallen from the medicine containing section 31 (determination in step S20 is "NO"), in step S22, the control section 270 determines whether or not the time T13 has elapsed. The timer 272 measures the elapsed time since the timer 272 was set in step S19. The control section 270 reads the elapsed time from the timer 272 and compares it with the time T13. The time T13 is a threshold value regarding the elapsed time, and is stored in the storage section 271. The time T13 is set, for example, as the time required for the rotor 120 to rotate a predetermined angle. The time T13 may be the same as either one or both of the times T11 and T12, or may be a time different from the times T11 and T12.

[0093] If the time T13 has not yet elapsed (determination in step S22 is "NO"), the process returns to step S20, and it is determined again whether or not the drug 1 has fallen from the drug containing unit 31. During this time, the rotor 120 continues to rotate in the normal direction. If the time T13 continues during which the drug 1 does not fall from the drug containing unit 31 even when the rotor 120 is rotated in the normal direction, "YES" is determined in step S22, and in step S23, the control unit 270 stops the normal rotation of the rotor 120 by stopping the drive shaft 150.

[0094] The process proceeds to step S10 in Fig. 14 via connector (4), where control unit 270 determines whether the number of reverse rotations after increment in step S17 exceeds a threshold value. If the number of reverse rotations after increment is smaller than the threshold value, the series of processes shown in Fig. 15 for rotating rotor 120 in the reverse direction is executed again.

[0095] If it is determined in step S10 that the number of reverse rotations of the rotor 120 exceeds the threshold value ("YES" in step S10), the control unit 270 processes the removal error in step S24. When proceeding to step S24, the rotor 120 is stopped. The control unit 270 leaves the rotor 120 stopped and notifies the user of the drug supply device 101 that the drug 1 to be supplied could not be removed from the drug containing unit 31. The notification may be a visual notification that displays information on the operation unit 51 and / or the display unit 320, which are displays, an auditory notification that emits a sound, or both.

[0096] The user, who has recognized the removal error from the notification, removes the medicine containing unit 31 containing the medicine 1 to be supplied from the drum 20. The user performs predetermined maintenance work such as refilling the medicine containing unit 31 with the medicine 1, clearing blockages of the medicine 1 in the medicine containing unit 31, and replacing the medicine containing unit 31. Because the process of step S9 has moved the medicine containing unit 31 containing the medicine 1 to be supplied to the maintenance position, it has become possible to remove the medicine containing unit 31 from the drum 20 easily and without waiting time.

[0097] After completing the maintenance work, the worker performs an input to reset the removal error, such as by pressing an error reset button. The worker may operate the operation unit 51 or the operation unit 310. When this reset input is received, the process returns to step S1 via the connector (5). Then, the rotor 120 is rotated forward to restart the process of removing the drug 1 from the drug storage unit 31.

[0098] When it is determined in step S6 that a predetermined number of medicines 1 have fallen from the medicine container 31 ("YES" in step S6), the supply of the amount of medicines 1 according to the prescription data is completed. Then, the process ends ("End" in FIG. 14).

[0099] (Action and Effects) Although some of the description herein overlaps with the above description, the characteristic configuration and effects of this embodiment can be summarized as follows.

[0100] 14 to 16, during a series of processes for supplying drug 1 from drug containing unit 31 in steps S1 to S24, control unit 270 executes rotation of drum 20 in step S9 to move drug containing unit 31 containing drug 1 to be supplied to a maintenance position. When it is determined in the first determination in steps S4 and S7 before a removal error actually occurs in step S24 that drug 1 cannot be supplied from drug containing unit 31 with the normal rotation of rotor 120, control unit 270 determines that a removal error is likely to occur and moves the target drug containing unit 31 to the maintenance position.

[0101] As a result, when a removal error actually occurs, the target medicine containing unit 31 has already moved to the maintenance position, or even if it is moving to the maintenance position, the distance to the maintenance position is shorter than before the movement started. A user of medicine supply device 101 performs maintenance on the target medicine containing unit 31 that has reached the maintenance position to resolve the removal error. The time from when a removal error actually occurs to when medicine containing unit 31 becomes available for maintenance can be shortened, ideally to zero, so that the waiting time when maintaining medicine containing unit 31 can be reduced.

[0102] Since the removal error can be resolved in a short time and the process of supplying the target medicine 1 can be quickly resumed, the overall time required for the medicine supply device 101 to supply medicines can be shortened, thereby improving the productivity of the medicine supply device 101.

[0103] 14, in step S10, the control unit 270 determines whether or not the drug 1 to be supplied can be supplied from the drug containing unit 31. In step S9 before it is determined that the drug 1 cannot be supplied from the drug containing unit 31, the control unit 270 executes rotation of the drum 20 to move the drug containing unit 31 containing the drug 1 to be supplied to the maintenance position.

[0104] In step S9, before it is determined in step S10 that the medicine cannot be supplied from the medicine containing unit 31 (determination in step S10 is "YES"), the target medicine containing unit 31 is moved to the maintenance position. This makes it possible to shorten the time from when it is determined that the medicine cannot be supplied from the medicine containing unit 31 to when the medicine containing unit 31 becomes available for maintenance, and ideally to make the time zero, thereby reducing the waiting time when maintaining the medicine containing unit 31.

[0105] 14 to 16, when the operation of rotating the rotor 120 forward and backward to supply the drug 1 from the drug containing unit 31 is performed in steps S4, S13, and S20, but the drug 1 is not supplied from the drug containing unit 31, the control unit 270 determines that the drug 1 cannot be supplied from the drug containing unit 31. This allows the control unit 270 to accurately determine that the drug cannot be supplied from the drug containing unit 31.

[0106] [Second embodiment] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of control of the medicine supplying device 101 in the second embodiment. The control of the medicine supplying device 101 in the second embodiment differs from that in the first embodiment in the order of executing the process of moving the medicine containing unit 31 containing the medicine 1 to be supplied to the maintenance position. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 17, in the second embodiment, the control unit 270 executes the process of step S09 of moving the medicine containing unit 31 containing the medicine 1 to be supplied to the maintenance position immediately after starting the process of supplying the medicine 1 from the medicine containing unit 31. That is, in the second embodiment, the medicine containing unit 31 containing the medicine 1 to be supplied is moved to the maintenance position regardless of whether it is determined that the medicine 1 cannot be supplied from the medicine containing unit 31.

[0107] By advancing the timing at which the movement of medicine containing unit 31 starts, it becomes easier to realize a situation in which, when a removal error actually occurs, the target medicine containing unit 31 has already moved to the maintenance position. When a removal error actually occurs, maintenance of medicine containing unit 31 can be performed immediately, and the waiting time for maintenance can be reliably reduced.

[0108] An example of processing when prescription data includes multiple types of drugs 1 will be described below. FIG. 18 is a table showing a dispensing history. The dispensing history shown in FIG. 18 is stored in the storage unit 271. The storage unit 271 stores a history of the drug supply by the drug supply device 101. The dispensing history shown in FIG. 18 may be a history of drug supply based on prescription data previously input to the control unit 270. Alternatively, a history of drug supply performed by another drug supply device may be input to the control unit 270 collectively and stored in the storage unit 271. When new prescription data is input to the control unit 270, the dispensing history is updated.

[0109] Medicines A to F shown in Fig. 18 indicate different types of medicine. Medicines A to F are contained in different medicine containing sections 31. Fig. 18 shows the history of which medicines out of medicines A to F were packaged in the first to tenth packaging bags.

[0110] Specifically, the first, fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth packages contain one tablet of drug A and one tablet of drug B. The second, sixth, and ninth packages contain one tablet of drug C and one tablet of drug D. The third and eighth packages contain one tablet of drug E and one tablet of drug F.

[0111] In the drug supply history from each drug containing unit 31, drugs A and B, drugs C and D, and drugs E and F are supplied as a lump, respectively. The control unit 270 determines the arrangement of the drug containing units 31 based on the past drug supply history. The control unit 270 determines the arrangement of the drug containing units 31 such that the drug containing units 31 containing the multiple types of drugs 1 supplied as a lump are arranged nearby.

[0112] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a first example of the arrangement of the medicine containing section 31. In FIG. 19, a part of the drum 20 is shown. The divided body 30 shown in FIG. 7 has four medicine containing sections 31 in the circumferential direction θ and eight medicine containing sections 31 in the axial direction Z, and the drum 20 is composed of a combination of four divided bodies 30. The drum 20 actually includes 4×4=16 medicine containing sections 31 at the same height. In FIG. 19, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, eight rows of medicine containing sections 31 are arranged in the vertical direction, and four medicine containing sections 31 are arranged in the vertical direction. In FIG. 19 and the following FIG. 20, the left-right direction in the figure is the circumferential direction θ, and the up-down direction in the figure is the axial direction Z.

[0113] The hopper chute 11 is disposed below the drum 20. Therefore, the outlet 11b of the hopper chute 11 is disposed below the medicine containing portion 31.

[0114] 19 is a medicine containing section that contains medicine A. Medicine containing section 31B is a medicine containing section that contains medicine B. Medicine containing section 31C is a medicine containing section that contains medicine C. Medicine containing section 31D is a medicine containing section that contains medicine D. Medicine containing section 31E is a medicine containing section that contains medicine E. Medicine containing section 31F is a medicine containing section that contains medicine F.

[0115] Medicine containing units 31A and 31B are disposed adjacent to each other at the same height in the circumferential direction θ. Medicine containing units 31C and 31D are disposed adjacent to each other at the same height in the circumferential direction θ. Medicine containing units 31E and 31F are disposed adjacent to each other at the same height in the circumferential direction θ.

[0116] Since the medicine containing units 31 containing the multiple types of medicine 1 to be supplied as a lump are arranged next to each other, by moving one of the medicine containing units 31 containing the medicine 1 to be supplied to the maintenance position, the other medicine containing unit 31 can also be arranged at the maintenance position. In this way, when a removal error occurs for any one of the multiple types of medicine 1, the medicine containing unit 31 containing that medicine is already at the maintenance position. When a removal error actually occurs, the medicine containing unit 31 can be immediately maintained, and the waiting time for maintenance can be reliably reduced.

[0117] Fig. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a second example of the arrangement of the medicine containing units 31. In the example shown in Fig. 20, the medicine containing units 31A and 31B are arranged at the same position in the circumferential direction θ and adjacent to each other in the axial direction Z. The medicine containing units 31C and 31D are arranged at the same position in the circumferential direction θ and adjacent to each other in the axial direction Z. The medicine containing units 31E and 31F are arranged at the same position in the circumferential direction θ and adjacent to each other in the axial direction Z.

[0118] Since the drum 20 has a cylindrical shape as a whole, the multiple medicine containing units 31 lined up in the axial direction Z are arranged at the same position in the circumferential direction θ. Since the medicine containing units 31 containing multiple types of medicines 1 to be supplied as a lump are arranged at the same position in the circumferential direction θ, by moving one of the multiple medicine containing units 31 containing the medicines 1 to be supplied to the maintenance position, the other can also be reliably positioned at the maintenance position.

[0119] FIG. 21 is a table showing an example of the remaining amount of each of a plurality of types of drugs 1. The control unit 270 can calculate the remaining amount of drugs 1 contained in each drug containing unit 31 based on the past drug supply history. When drugs 1 are replenished to each drug containing unit 31, the amount of the replenished drugs 1 is manually input, or the amount of the drugs 1 is calculated by measuring the weight of the replenished drugs 1. The amount of the replenished drugs 1 is input to the control unit 270, and the control unit 270 calculates the amount of the drugs 1 contained in the drug containing unit 31 at the time when the drugs 1 are replenished. The control unit 270 stores the calculated amount of the drugs 1 contained in the drug containing unit 31 in the memory unit 271 for each drug containing unit 31.

[0120] The drug detection sensor detects the drug 1 falling from the outlet 112 of the drug containing unit 31. Every time the drug detection sensor detects the falling of the drug 1, the control unit 270 subtracts 1 from the quantity of the drug 1 contained in the drug containing unit 31. In this manner, the control unit 270 can calculate the remaining amount of the drug 1 in the drug containing unit 31. The control unit 270 stores the calculated remaining amount of the drug 1 in the memory unit 271.

[0121] Alternatively, the prescription data includes the quantity of the drug 1 to be supplied. The control unit 270 subtracts the quantity of the drug 1 included in the input prescription data from the quantity of the drug 1 contained in the drug containing unit 31. In this manner, the control unit 270 can also calculate the remaining amount of the drug 1 in the drug containing unit 31. The control unit 270 stores the calculated remaining amount of the drug 1 in the memory unit 271.

[0122] In the example shown in FIG. 21, in the past history, drugs A and B are frequently supplied as a single unit. The same prescription data frequently contains both drugs A and B. Of drugs A and B, the remaining amount of drug A is small and the remaining amount of drug B is large. Therefore, there is a high possibility that drug containing unit 31A containing drug A will become empty before drug containing unit 31B containing drug B becomes empty.

[0123] In the case where the medicine containing units 31A and 31B shown in FIG. 19 are arranged in the circumferential direction θ, the control unit 270 can execute a process of moving the medicine containing units 31 in step S09 so that the medicine containing unit 31A containing the medicine A is moved to the maintenance position in preference to the medicine containing unit 31B. By moving the medicine containing unit 31 containing a small amount of the medicine 1 to the maintenance position in advance, when the medicine containing unit 31 becomes empty and a removal error occurs, the medicine can be immediately replenished. Therefore, the waiting time when the medicine containing unit 31 is replenished with the medicine 1 can be reliably reduced. The overall time for the medicine supply device 101 to supply the medicine can be shortened, and productivity can be improved.

[0124] When the drug storage section 31 with a small remaining amount of drug 1 is moved to the maintenance position, if no removal error occurs during the process of supplying drug 1, the control section 270 may notify the user to replenish the drug after the process of supplying drug 1 is completed.

[0125] The control unit 270 may be capable of setting a threshold value for the remaining amount of the drug 1. In this case, in step S09, the control unit 270 may move, to a maintenance position, a drug containing unit 31 in which the remaining amount of the drug 1 is less than the threshold value, among the drug containing units 31 that contain the drug 1 to be supplied. Furthermore, the control unit 270 may move the drug containing unit 31 to the maintenance position when the remaining amount of the drug 1 becomes less than the threshold value during the process of supplying the drug 1 from the drug containing unit 31.

[0126] The threshold of the remaining amount may be set to a common value, or may be set to a different value for each type of drug 1. Depending on the type of drug 1, the amount of drug 1 included in the prescription data may be large or small. In consideration of this point, it is preferable that the threshold of the remaining amount is set to a different value for each type of drug 1. For example, the threshold of the remaining amount may be set to 100 for drug 1 that is often prescribed for 90 days at one tablet once a day, and the threshold of the remaining amount may be set to 30 for drug 1 that is often prescribed for 21 days at one tablet once a day. This allows the drug container 31 that is likely to become empty to be preferentially moved to the maintenance position.

[0127] 22 to 25 are schematic diagrams illustrating the rotation range of the drum 20. In the example shown in FIGS. 22 to 25 and the following FIG. 26, similar to FIG. 5, the drum 20 is formed by combining four arc-shaped divided bodies 30. The divided bodies 30 A, B, C, and D are the first to fourth divided bodies 30, in this order, respectively. The maintenance position 21 is a position that is easily accessible from the front of the medicine supply device 101 (the lower part in the figures in FIGS. 22 to 26) through the opening 3 (FIG. 2) with the doors 6a and 6b (FIGS. 1 and 2) open.

[0128] For example, various wirings are connected to the drum 20. In such a structure, if the drum 20 rotates too much in one direction, the wirings will be twisted and excessive load will be applied to the wirings or the components around it. Therefore, in order to avoid such a situation, a limit is set on the rotation range of the drum 20. The reason for setting a limit on the rotation range may be for reasons other than twisting of the wirings.

[0129] In the state shown in Fig. 22, the first divided body 30 is in the maintenance position 21. In this state, by rotating the drum 20 90° counterclockwise around the center line CL, it is possible to transition from the state shown in Fig. 22 to the state shown in Fig. 23. In Fig. 23, the divided body B 30, which is the second divided body 30, is in the maintenance position 21.

[0130] By further rotating the drum 20 counterclockwise by 90° from the state shown in Figure 23, it is possible to transition to the state shown in Figure 24. In Figure 24, the third divided body 30, that is, divided body C, is in the maintenance position 21.

[0131] By further rotating the drum 20 counterclockwise by 90° from the state shown in Figure 24, it is possible to transition to the state shown in Figure 25. In Figure 25, the fourth divided body 30, divided body D 30, is in the maintenance position 21.

[0132] In the state of FIG. 25, it seems as if the drum 20 can be rotated further counterclockwise by 90° to transition to the state of FIG. 22, but due to the limitation of the rotation range, the drum 20 cannot rotate counterclockwise any further. When attempting to transition from the state of FIG. 25 in which the fourth divided body 30 is in the maintenance position 21 to the state of FIG. 22 in which the first divided body 30 is in the maintenance position 21, the drum 20 is not rotated counterclockwise by 90°, but is rotated clockwise by 270° around the center line CL. That is, the state of FIG. 25 can be reached through the state of FIG. 24 and the state of FIG. 23 in this order to the state of FIG. 22.

[0133] When the rotation range of the drum 20 is limited in this way, in the process of step S09 in which the medicine containing section 31 is moved to the maintenance position shown in Fig. 17, the middle position of the rotation range of the drum 20 can be moved to the maintenance position 21. Fig. 26 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the middle position of the rotation range of the drum 20 is disposed at the maintenance position. In the example described with reference to Figs. 22 to 25, the position between the second divided body 30 and the third divided body 30 is the middle position of the rotation range of the drum 20, so in Fig. 26, the position between the second divided body 30 and the third divided body 30 is disposed at the maintenance position 21.

[0134] In this way, by moving the intermediate position of the rotation range of the drum 20 to the maintenance position 21 immediately after starting the process of supplying the drug 1 from the drug containing section 31, the movement time required to move the drug containing section 31 containing the drug 1 to be supplied to the maintenance position 21 can be shortened.

[0135] That is, in the state shown in FIG. 25, when the medicine containing section 31 included in the divided body A, which is the first divided body 30, contains the medicine 1 to be supplied, if a removal error occurs for the medicine containing section 31, the drum 20 is rotated 270° clockwise to move the medicine containing section 31 to the maintenance position. By moving the middle position of the rotation range of the drum 20 to the maintenance position in advance, as shown in FIG. 26, the rotation angle of the drum 20 for moving the medicine containing section 31 containing the medicine 1 to be supplied to the maintenance position can be made smaller than 180°. The rotation angle of the drum 20 can be made smaller, and the time required to rotate the drum 20 can be shortened. Therefore, the waiting time when replenishing the medicine containing section 31 with the medicine 1 can be reliably reduced.

[0136] The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and should not be considered as limiting. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0137] 1 drug, 2 housing, 3 opening, 10 packaging sheet, 20, 20a, 20b drum, 21 maintenance position, 30 divided body, 31, 31A, 31B, 31C, 31D, 31E, 31F drug storage section (cassette), 32 support section, 51 operation section, 81 packaging unit, 82 supply unit, 101 drug packaging device, 110 storage section main body, 111 peripheral wall, 112 discharge port, 120 rotor, 150 drive shaft, 220 drug supply section, 231 drive section, 241 drum drive section, 260 drug packaging section, 270 control section, 271 memory section, 272 timer, CL center line, Z axis direction, θ circumferential direction.

Claims

1. a rotating part that includes a plurality of storage parts for storing medicines, the plurality of storage parts being arranged along a cylindrical surface having an axis as a center, and that is rotatable about the axis; A control unit that controls the supply of the medicine from the container and the rotation of the rotation unit, The control unit executes rotation of the rotating unit to move the storage unit that stores the drug to be supplied to a maintenance position during a process of supplying the drug from the storage unit.

2. The control unit determines whether the drug can be supplied from the storage unit, The medicine supplying device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit executes rotation of the rotation unit before it is determined that the medicine cannot be supplied from the container unit.

3. The drug supply device according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit determines that the drug cannot be supplied from the storage unit when the drug is not supplied from the storage unit even after a predetermined operation for supplying the drug from the storage unit is executed.

4. The drug supply device of claim 1, wherein the control unit stores the remaining amount of the drug contained in the storage unit, is capable of setting a remaining amount threshold for each drug, and moves to the maintenance position a storage unit that stores the drug to be supplied and in which the remaining amount of the drug is less than the remaining amount threshold.

5. The drug supply device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stores the remaining amount of the drug contained in the storage unit, and moves the storage unit that contains the drug to be supplied and has a small remaining amount of the drug to the maintenance position.

6. The drug supply device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit determines the arrangement of the storage units based on a drug supply history from each of the plurality of storage units such that the storage units that store multiple types of drugs to be supplied as a group are arranged nearby.

7. The medicine supply device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit moves an intermediate position of a rotation range of the rotation unit to the maintenance position.

Images