Storage device

Abstract

To identify in a short time whether a medicine box stored on a storage shelf can be taken out, when an earthquake or the like occurs.SOLUTION: A storage device (1) comprises: a determination part (217) which determines whether a storage position is deviated, with respect to some storage boxes among a plurality of medicine boxes stored on one storage shelf among a plurality of storage shelves (30); and an identification part (218) which, when the determination part determines that the storage position is deviated, identifies all the medicine boxes stored on the one storage shelf, as medicine boxes which cannot be taken out.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a storage device. [Background technology]

[0002] The storage device of Patent Document 1 includes a receiving unit that receives a medicine box, and a transport unit that grasps the medicine box received by the receiving unit and placed in a predetermined area and transports it to a storage shelf. When the orientation of the medicine box stored in the storage shelf is deviated from a predetermined direction and the medicine box cannot be removed, the storage device of Patent Document 1 manages the storage position of the medicine box as a storage position where removal has failed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2022 / 224712 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Patent Document 1 does not disclose how to determine whether or not a medicine box can be removed when a phenomenon occurs, such as an earthquake, that may cause the storage positions of many medicine boxes to shift.

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure aims to realize a storage device that can quickly determine whether a medicine box stored in a storage shelf can be removed when the above-mentioned phenomenon occurs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A storage device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of storage shelves capable of storing medicine boxes containing medicines, a determination unit that determines whether there is a misalignment in the storage positions of some of a plurality of medicine boxes stored in at least one target storage shelf among the plurality of storage shelves, and an identification unit that, when the determination unit determines that there is a misalignment in the storage positions, identifies all of the medicine boxes stored in the target storage shelf as medicine boxes that cannot be removed. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to quickly determine whether a medicine box stored in a storage shelf can be removed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a medicine dispensing system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the appearance of a storage device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of a storage device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of a storage device. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a storage device. [Figure 6] 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a medicine receiving section and its surroundings. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a medicine receiving portion. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a process in which a medicine box placed on a first transport section is transported to a 3-1 transport section. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a second conveying unit. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a gripping portion. [Figure 11] A figure showing an example of operation when the second transport unit pulls out and grasps a medicine box on the third transport unit, and an example of operation when the second transport unit pushes out the medicine box it has grasped and stores it in a storage shelf. [Figure 12]13 is a diagram for explaining adjustment of the height of the placement part of the gripper relative to the height of the transport destination or removal destination. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a fifth conveying section. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process when vibration is detected. [Figure 15] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of an effective stage identification process. [Figure 16] 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining an example of setting a block that is a target for effective stage identification processing; [Figure 17] 13 is a diagram showing an example of how the determination unit determines a target medicine box to be judged in the target block. FIG. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of medicine boxes in a storage shelf. [Figure 19] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a storage state of a medicine box and a temporary storage space. FIG. [Figure 20] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process related to an initial operation after power is restored. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] <Medicine dispensing system> An overview of the medicine dispensing system 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the medicine dispensing system 100. The medicine dispensing system 100 is a system capable of dispensing medicines, and includes a storage device 1 and a drug station 2, for example, as shown in Fig. 1.

[0010] The drug station 2 is a device for storing drugs and for filling and dispensing drugs. The drug station 2 includes, for example, a main unit 201 and a picking unit 202.

[0011] The main unit 201 is a unit that stores medicines. Specifically, the main unit 201 functions as a medicine storage shelf that can store a plurality of cassettes (not shown) that store medicines. The main unit 201 can store a variety of medicines (e.g., about 1500 to 2000 types) that are expected to be used in one facility such as a hospital or a pharmacy. Examples of medicines include tablets, powders, external medicines such as ointments and eye drops, and injections. The main unit 201 may store any type of medicine, regardless of the form of a container that stores the medicine (e.g., a PTP (Press Through Package) sheet, a bottle, a tube, a bottle, etc.). Furthermore, the main unit 201 may store medicines in the form of a medicine box that stores the above-mentioned medicines.

[0012] The picking unit 202 is a device that enables an operator to handle medicines stored in the main unit 201. In order to realize dispensing of medicines, the picking unit 202 functions as a device for an operator to perform a picking operation of taking out a required number of medicines from a cassette. The picking unit 202 also functions as a device for an operator to perform a filling operation of filling a cassette stored in the main unit 201 with medicines. In other words, the picking unit 202 functions as a device for an operator to take out medicines from a cassette stored in the main unit 201 or fill the cassette with medicines.

[0013] In this embodiment, the picking unit 202 is provided on the front side of the main unit 201 along the width direction (±X-axis direction) of the main unit 201. This is not limiting, and one picking unit 202 may be provided, or three or more picking units 202 may be provided.

[0014] Based on, for example, prescription data, the drug station 2 sequentially transfers the cassettes stored in the main unit 201 to the picking unit 202. An operator at the drug station 2 takes out the medicines from the cassettes transferred to the picking unit 202 and places them on a transport tray (not shown). The medicines stored on the transport tray are subject to visual inspection by a medical professional such as a pharmacist.

[0015] The storage device 1 is a device that stores medicine boxes containing medicines. In this embodiment, the storage device 1 stores medicine boxes that an operator of the storage device 1 has put into a medicine receiving section 11 (receiving section).

[0016] The storage device 1 stores, for example, a medicine box containing medicine that can be handled at the drug station 2. For example, when a certain type of medicine is out of stock at the drug station 2, the storage device 1 sends the medicine box containing the medicine stored in the storage device 1 to the drug station 2.

[0017] The storage device 1 includes a fifth conveying section 19 that conveys the stored medicine boxes to the drug station 2. The fifth conveying section 19 is, for example, a belt conveyor. The fifth conveying section 19 includes a discharge conveying section 192. The discharge conveying section 192 is a conveying section that discharges the medicine boxes stored in the storage device 1 from the storage device 1. The storage device 1 also includes an input box 40 into which the medicine boxes conveyed by the fifth conveying section 19 are input. In this embodiment, the discharge conveying section 192 and the input box 40 are provided on the front side of the main unit 201 and above the picking unit 202. The input box 40 is provided below the discharge conveying section 192.

[0018] In this embodiment, the drop boxes 40 are provided corresponding to each picking unit 202. The medicine box transported by the discharge transport unit 192 is transported to the designated drop box 40 and drops into the designated drop box 40. The drop box 40 to which the medicine box is to be transported is designated, for example, by the drug station 2, and the control unit 21 (see FIG. 5) of the storage device 1 causes the discharge transport unit 192 to transport the medicine box to the designated drop box 40 in accordance with an instruction from the drug station 2. The destination of the medicine box may be input via the touch panel 20.

[0019] This allows the worker at drug station 2 to receive the medicine box transported from storage device 1. Then, the worker at drug station 2 can fill drug station 2 with the received medicine box or the medicine contained in the medicine box in picking unit 202. Also, the worker at drug station 2 can store the medicine contained in the received medicine box in a transport tray (not shown) in picking unit 202 as medicine to be dispensed from drug station 2.

[0020] The operator of the drug station 2 and the storage device 1 is an unqualified person who retrieves drugs from the drug station 2 and does not have qualifications such as a pharmacist, nurse, or doctor. However, the operator may also be a qualified person who has the relevant qualifications.

[0021] <Storage device overview> An overview of the storage device 1 will be described with reference to Figs. 2 to 4. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of the storage device 1. Reference numeral 2001 in Fig. 2 indicates an example of the appearance of the storage device 1 when the first door 51 and the second door 52 are in a closed state, and reference numeral 2002 indicates an example of the appearance of the storage device 1 when the first door 51 and the second door 52 are in an open state. Figs. 3 and 4 are diagrams showing an example of the internal structure of the storage device 1.

[0022] 2, the storage device 1 includes a touch panel 20, a first door 51, and a second door 52. The touch panel 20 is a display device that displays various information related to the storage device 1, and also functions as an input device that accepts input operations by an operator.

[0023] The first door 51 is a door capable of blocking an operator's access to the medicine receiving part 11. In this embodiment, the first door 51 is a shutter capable of sliding vertically upward (in the +Z axis direction).

[0024] The second door 52 is a door that allows an operator to access the inside of the storage device 1. In this embodiment, the second door 52 is a shutter that is slidable vertically downward (in the -Z axis direction).

[0025] As shown in FIG. 3, storage device 1 includes medicine receiving section 11, third transport section 15, fifth transport section 19, and storage shelf 30.

[0026] Medicine receiving section 11 is a section that receives medicine boxes inserted by an operator. Medicine receiving section 11 is provided with first transport section 112 and shutter 114. First transport section 112 transports the medicine box received by medicine receiving section 11 to shutter 114 while it is placed thereon. Shutter 114 prevents the movement of the medicine box being transported by first transport section 112 to the second transport section 17 (see FIG. 9 ).

[0027] The storage shelf 30 is a shelf for storing medicine boxes. A plurality of medicine boxes can be stored in the storage shelf 30. The storage device 1 includes a storage cabinet 31 in which a plurality of storage shelves 30 can be installed. In this embodiment, at least one storage shelf 30 can be installed in the first storage cabinet 31A provided on the front side of the storage device 1 and the second storage cabinet 31B provided on the back side of the storage device 1 as the storage cabinet 31. The first storage cabinet 31A is provided above the fifth transport section 19 and below the medicine receiving section 11 and the third transport section 15. The second storage cabinet 31B is provided on one surface on the back side of the storage device 1. Note that FIG. 3 illustrates only a case in which one storage shelf 30 is provided above the fifth transport section 19 and one below the medicine receiving section 11 and the third transport section 15, but the first storage cabinet 31A and the second storage cabinet 31B can be provided with a plurality of storage shelves 30.

[0028] In addition, a plurality of medicine boxes may be arranged in the storage shelf 30 in the depth direction (±Y-axis direction) of the storage device 1. In this case, at least two of the plurality of medicine boxes may be medicine boxes of the same type or different types. The number of medicine boxes stored in a state of being arranged in the depth direction of the storage device 1 may be determined according to the length of the storage shelf 30 in the depth direction and the length of the medicine box.

[0029] When the shutter 114 is in an open state, the medicine box put into the medicine receiving section 11 is transported to the third transport section 15 by the first transport section 112. The third transport section 15 sequentially receives the medicine boxes transported from the first transport section 112 and transports the received medicine boxes with a predetermined distance between them. Then, the second transport section 17 grasps the medicine box placed on the third transport section 15 and transports it to the storage shelf 30. This allows the medicine box put into the medicine receiving section 11 to be stored in the storage shelf 30. In addition, the second transport section 17 grasps the medicine box stored in the storage shelf 30 and transports it to the fifth transport section 19. This allows the medicine box stored in the storage shelf 30 to be transported from the storage device 1 to another device (in this embodiment, the drug station 2).

[0030] As shown in Fig. 4, the storage device 1 is also provided with a vibration isolating member 50. In this embodiment, the vibration isolating member 50 is connected to a frame FR that constitutes the framework of the storage device 1 and to a bottom wall and a side wall of the storage vault 31. Fig. 4 shows a configuration in which the vibration isolating member 50 is provided in the first storage vault 31A, but the second storage vault 31B may also be provided with a vibration isolating member 50 similar to the first storage vault 31A. By installing the vibration isolating member 50, it is possible to absorb vibrations of the storage vault 31 caused by earthquakes, etc.

[0031] Furthermore, as the frame FR constituting the framework of the storage device 1, a first frame connected to the storage 31 and a second frame connected to the second transport unit 17 may be provided separately. A vibration isolating member 50 may be provided between the first frame and the second frame. By configuring the frame FR as a separate body, it is possible to absorb the vibration of the storage 31 caused by the movement of the second transport unit 17.

[0032] Furthermore, the storage device 1 includes a vibration detector 60 (see FIG. 5). When the vibration detector 60 detects vibration of a predetermined value or more, it notifies the control unit 21 that vibration has been detected. The predetermined value may be set to a value that causes a deviation in the storage position of the medicine box stored in the storage cabinet 31, for example, through an experiment or the like.

[0033] The operations of the first conveyor 112, the shutter 114, the third conveyor 15, the second conveyor 17, and the fifth conveyor 19 will be described in detail later.

[0034] ≪Specific configuration of storage device≫ The specific configuration of the storage device 1 will be described below. Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the storage device 1. In Fig. 5, the white arrows indicate the flow from when the medicine box is received by the medicine receiving unit 11 until it is stored in the storage shelf 30, and the flow from when the medicine box is stored in the storage shelf 30 until it is discharged into the input box 40. Fig. 5 shows only the main configuration for explaining the flow of the medicine box.

[0035] As shown in Fig. 5, the storage device 1 includes a transport device 10 that transports the medicine box in the storage device 1. The transport device 10 includes, for example, a medicine receiving unit 11, a width detection unit 13, a third transport unit 15, a second transport unit 17, a fifth transport unit 19, a control unit 21, and a memory unit 23. Specific configurations other than the control unit 21 and the memory unit 23 will be described with reference to figures other than Fig. 5.

[0036] <Control unit and storage unit> The control unit 21 performs overall control of the storage device 1 (specifically, the transport device 10). The storage unit 23 stores information required for controlling the storage device 1 (specifically, the transport device 10).

[0037] The control unit 21 includes, for example, a transport control unit 211, a shutter control unit 212, a direction specifying unit 213, a storage position management unit 214, and a touch panel control unit 215.

[0038] The transport control unit 211 controls the operations of the first transport unit 112, the third transport unit 15, the second transport unit 17, and the fifth transport unit 19. The shutter control unit 212 controls the opening and closing operation of the shutter 114. The touch panel control unit 215 controls the display of the touch panel 20.

[0039] The direction specifying unit 213 specifies the orientation of the medicine box based on the detection result of the first detection unit 113. In this embodiment, the direction specifying unit 213 specifies the orientation of the medicine box based on the detection result of the first detection unit 113 and the medicine identification information read by the reading unit 111. The direction specifying unit 213 also determines whether the orientation of the medicine box faces a predetermined direction. In this embodiment, the direction specifying unit 213 determines whether the longitudinal direction of the medicine box faces the depth direction of the storage device 1. When the transport control unit 211 determines that the orientation of the medicine box specified by the direction specifying unit 213 does not face the predetermined direction, the transport control unit 211 operates the first transport unit 112 for a predetermined time with the shutter 114 in a closed state.

[0040] The medicine identification information is information attached to the surface of the medicine box for identifying the medicine contained in the medicine box (e.g., information indicating the type of medicine). The medicine identification information is, for example, an example of information contained in the GS1 code, and is attached to the surface of the medicine box in the form of a barcode. However, the medicine identification information may be any information capable of identifying the medicine contained in the medicine box, and may be realized by information other than the GS1 code. Furthermore, the medicine identification information may be in a format readable by the reading unit 111, and may be attached in a format other than a barcode. The information attached to the surface of the medicine box may include, in addition to the medicine identification information indicating the type of medicine, information indicating the expiration date, lot number, and number of medicines contained in the medicine box. The expiration date may also be referred to as the expiration date.

[0041] The longitudinal direction of the medicine box is the direction along the longest side of the sides that define the medicine box, and the transverse direction of the medicine box is the direction along the shortest side of the sides that define the medicine box. In this embodiment, the shape of the medicine box is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped.

[0042] The storage position management unit 214 manages the storage position of the medicine box received by the medicine receiving unit 11 in the storage shelf 30. For example, a coordinate system is set in advance in each storage shelf 30, and the storage position management unit 214 may determine the coordinates (e.g., coordinates of the four corners) indicating the area in which the medicine box is stored in the coordinate system as the storage position of the medicine box.

[0043] Storage position management unit 214 determines a storage position based on the size of the medicine box to be stored in storage shelf 30. Storage position management unit 214 specifies the size of the medicine box received by medicine receiving unit 11 by referring to the medicine database stored in memory unit 23, for example, based on the medicine identification information read by reading unit 111. Storage position management unit 214 determines the storage position of the medicine box in storage shelf 30 based on the specified size of the medicine box and the storage position information stored in memory unit 23.

[0044] The medicine database, for example, manages information on a plurality of types of medicine. The medicine database, for example, manages information indicating the size (e.g., length, width, and height) of the medicine box that contains the medicine, in association with each of the plurality of types of medicine. The storage position information is information indicating the storage position of the medicine (specifically, the medicine box) in the storage shelf 30. The storage position management unit 214 can identify an empty space in the storage shelf 30 by referring to the storage position information. This allows the second transport unit 17 to store the medicine box in an empty space in the storage shelf 30 where the storage position is not determined by a physical partition.

[0045] Furthermore, the storage location management unit 214 updates the storage location information, for example, when the storage location of the medicine box is determined and when an instruction to remove the medicine box is received. When the storage location management unit 214 determines the storage location of the medicine box, the storage location management unit 214 may update the storage location information to include the storage location of the medicine box. When an instruction to remove the medicine box is received, the storage location management unit 214 may update the storage location information to delete the storage location of the medicine box (to make it an empty area).

[0046] The storage position management unit 214 may update the storage position information when it is determined that the medicine box has been stored in the storage shelf 30 by the second transport unit 17, and when it is determined that the medicine box has been removed from the storage shelf 30 by the second transport unit 17. For example, when the storage position management unit 214 receives a detection signal indicating that the medicine box has been detected from the passage detection unit 1751 (see FIG. 10) provided in the gripper 171 of the second transport unit 17, the storage position management unit 214 determines whether the medicine box has been stored or removed by referring to the storage position information. The storage position management unit 214 may update the storage position information based on this determination result.

[0047] 5, the control unit 21 also includes a decision unit 216, a judgment unit 217, and an identification unit 218. The decision unit 216, the judgment unit 217, and the identification unit 218 will be described later.

[0048] <Drug receiving section and surrounding structure> Reference numerals 5001 and 5002 in Fig. 6 are perspective views showing an example of the configuration of medicine receiving section 11 and its periphery. The arrow in reference numeral 5001 in Fig. 6 indicates the conveying direction of the medicine box in third conveying section 15. Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of medicine receiving section 11.

[0049] 6 and 7, the medicine receiving section 11 is a space formed by a first side wall section 116, a second side wall section 117, a shutter 114, a first conveying section 112, and a top surface section 118. In addition, an opening for receiving the medicine box into the medicine receiving section 11 is formed by the first side wall section 116, the shutter 114, the first conveying section 112, and the top surface section 118.

[0050] The first side wall 116 is a side wall facing the shutter 114. The second side wall 117 is a side wall facing the opening. The shutter 114 functions as a part of the side wall of the medicine receiving section 11, and the first transport section 112 functions as the bottom of the medicine receiving section 11.

[0051] Further, inside the medicine receiving section 11, there is provided a reading section 111 that reads the medicine identification information attached to the surface of the medicine box. In this embodiment, the medicine identification information is attached to the surface of the medicine box in the form of a barcode. Therefore, in this embodiment, the reading section 111 is a barcode reader. The reading section 111 may be any device that can read the medicine identification information attached to the surface of the medicine box. The reading section 111 transmits the read medicine identification information to the control section 21.

[0052] When the reading unit 111 reads the medicine identification information, the control unit 21 causes an alarm unit (not shown) to output a sound (e.g., a BEEP sound). That is, the control unit 21 causes the alarm unit to notify that the reading unit 111 has read the medicine identification information. This allows the operator to recognize that the reading unit 111 has read the medicine identification information. Therefore, the operator can insert the next medicine box into the medicine receiving unit 11 and cause the reading unit 111 to read the medicine identification information attached to that medicine box. That is, the storage device 1 can continuously receive medicine boxes in the medicine receiving unit 11.

[0053] When the control unit 21 receives an input of manual refilling via the touch panel 20, the control unit 21 may drive the reading unit 111.

[0054] Further, a plurality of reading units 111 are provided inside the medicine receiving unit 11. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, reading units 111A to 111C are provided as the reading unit 111. Reading unit 111A is provided on the first side wall 116 so that the reading direction of the medicine identifying information is a direction substantially perpendicular to the second side wall 117. Reading unit 111B is provided on the second side wall 117 so that the reading direction of the medicine identifying information is a direction substantially perpendicular to the first side wall 116. Reading unit 111C is provided on the top surface 118 so that the reading direction of the medicine identifying information is a direction substantially perpendicular to the top surface 118.

[0055] Since a plurality of reading units 111 are provided inside the medicine receiving unit 11, the operator can cause the reading unit 111 to read the medicine identification information by simply inserting a medicine box into the medicine receiving unit 11 or by simply rotating the medicine box by a maximum of 180° inside the medicine receiving unit 11. Also, as described above, the operator can confirm whether or not the medicine identification information has been read.

[0056] The first conveying unit 112 conveys the medicine box received by the medicine receiving unit 11 to the shutter 114 under the control of the conveying control unit 211. In this embodiment, the first conveying unit 112 is a belt conveyor. For example, the conveying control unit 211 causes the first conveying unit 112 to advance forward after receiving the medicine identification information read by the reading unit 111. Forcing the first conveying unit 112 to advance forward refers to operating the conveying belt of the first conveying unit 112 to convey the placed medicine box toward the shutter 114 side (+X axis direction). Note that the act of the conveying control unit 211 operating the conveying belt of the first conveying unit 112 to convey the placed medicine box toward the first side wall unit 116 side (-X axis direction) is also referred to as reversely feeding the first conveying unit 112.

[0057] The shutter 114 is provided between the first transport section 112 and the third transport section 15, and opens and closes under the control of the shutter control section 212. The shutter 114 is in a closed state when the medicine receiving section 11 is capable of receiving the medicine box. In addition, when in the closed state, the shutter 114 prevents the movement of the medicine box being transported by the first transport section 112 toward the third transport section 15 side.

[0058] In the closed state, shutter 114 functions as a side contact portion having side 1141 (contact surface) with which one side of the medicine box being transported by first transport unit 112 comes into contact. That is, in this embodiment, first transport unit 112 transports the medicine box received by medicine receiving unit 11, thereby bringing one side of the medicine box into contact with side 1141.

[0059] In this embodiment, the shutter 114 opens and closes in the vertical direction (±Z axis direction).

[0060] The first detection unit 113 is a detection unit that detects a medicine box in contact with or close to the shutter 114. The first detection unit 113 includes a plurality of sensors 1131 that detect the presence or absence of an object by outputting light. In this embodiment, the plurality of sensors 1131 are provided along one side that is included in the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 and can contact the first conveying unit 112, as shown by reference numeral 5001 in FIG. 6. That is, the plurality of sensors 1131 are provided along the ±Y-axis direction at the lower end of the side surface 1141. The plurality of sensors 1131 are provided on the side surface 1141 so as to emit light in a direction approximately perpendicular to the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. In this embodiment, the sensor 1131 is a reflective sensor that includes an emission unit that emits light and a light receiving unit that receives reflected light after the emitted light is reflected by the object.

[0061] The first detection unit 113 transmits a detection signal indicating that the medicine box has been detected to the control unit 21. The first detection unit 113 also transmits information indicating which sensor 1131 of the multiple sensors 1131 has detected the medicine box, including the detection signal, to the control unit 21. This allows the control unit 21 to determine whether the medicine box has been detected. The direction identification unit 213 also compares the arrangement position of the sensor 1131 that detected the medicine box with the size of the medicine box acquired by referring to the medicine database based on the medicine identification information read by the reading unit 111. This allows the direction identification unit 213 to identify which surface of the medicine box is in proximity to or in contact with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. Therefore, the direction identification unit 213 can identify whether the orientation of the medicine box in proximity to or in contact with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 is facing a predetermined direction.

[0062] The first detection unit 113 may be any unit capable of identifying how the medicine box is in contact with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. For example, the multiple sensors 1131 may be arranged in multiple rows, or may emit electromagnetic waves other than light, or sound waves (e.g., ultrasonic waves). The first detection unit 113 may be an imaging unit provided on the top surface 118 adjacent to the shutter 114. In this case, the direction identification unit 213 can identify the orientation of the medicine box by analyzing the image of the medicine box captured by the imaging unit. That is, the direction identification unit 213 can identify the orientation of the medicine box based on the detection result of the first detection unit 113 as the imaging unit.

[0063] The entry / exit detection unit 115 is provided in the medicine receiving unit 11 on the front side of the first transport unit 112 (the side that receives the medicine box). The entry / exit detection unit 115 includes a plurality of sensors that detect the presence or absence of an object by outputting light. In this embodiment, the plurality of sensors are provided in a row in the ±X axis directions. In this embodiment, the sensors are reflective sensors.

[0064] When the sensor detects an object, it transmits a detection signal indicating that the object has been detected to the control unit 21. This enables the control unit 21 to determine whether the operator's hand and arm are inserted into the medicine receiving unit 11 or not.

[0065] The third transport unit 15 is provided adjacent to the first transport unit 112 via the shutter 114 so that the third transport unit 15 can sequentially receive the medicine boxes transported from the first transport unit 112 when the shutter 114 is open under the control of the transport control unit 211. In this embodiment, the third transport unit 15 is a belt conveyor.

[0066] In this embodiment, the third conveying section 15 includes a 3-1 conveying section 15A and a 3-2 conveying section 15B. The 3-1 conveying section 15A conveys the medicine box received from the first conveying section 112 with a predetermined distance between them. The 3-1 conveying section 15A is provided adjacent to the first conveying section 112 via a shutter 114 so that the medicine box conveyed from the first conveying section 112 can be received in sequence. The 3-2 conveying section 15B conveys the medicine box received from the 3-1 conveying section 15A with a predetermined distance between them. The 3-2 conveying section 15B is provided adjacent to the 3-1 conveying section 15A in the depth direction (±Y-axis direction) of the storage device 1, and conveys the medicine box in the opposite direction to the 3-1 conveying section 15A.

[0067] At the end of the 3-1 transporting section 15A opposite the drug receiving section 11, there is provided a drug moving section 151 which moves the drug box between (1) that end of the 3-1 transporting section 15A and (2) the end of the 3-2 transporting section 15B which faces the end of the 3-1 transporting section 15A.

[0068] The drug moving unit 151 includes a push plate 1511, a timing belt 1512, and a drive unit 1513. The push plate 1511 is fixed to a part of the timing belt 1512, and the timing belt 1512 is attached to two drive shafts. One of the drive shafts is connected to the drive unit 1513. The transport control unit 211 can operate the timing belt 1512 by driving the drive unit 1513, and can move the push plate 1511 in the ±Y-axis directions in response to this operation.

[0069] That is, the pushing plate 1511 pushes the medicine box that has reached the end of the 3-1 conveying section 15A to the 3-2 conveying section 15B, so that the medicine moving section 151 can move the medicine box from the 3-1 conveying section 15A to the 3-2 conveying section 15B. The conveying control section 211 controls the driving section 1513 to move the medicine box to the 3-2 conveying section 15B, and then moves the pushing plate 1511 to the 3-1 conveying section 15A side. This allows the medicine moving section 151 to move the medicine box sequentially from the 3-1 conveying section 15A to the 3-2 conveying section 15B.

[0070] In addition, in order to adjust the orientation of the medicine box transported to the 3-2 transport unit 15B in the ±Y axis direction, the transport control unit 211 may move the placement surface of the 3-2 transport unit 15B toward the pusher plate 1511 after the 3-2 transport unit 15B receives the medicine box from the 3-1 transport unit 15A. That is, the transport control unit 211 may move the placement surface of the 3-2 transport unit 15B in the opposite direction to the arrow direction shown in FIG. 6 after the 3-2 transport unit 15B receives the medicine box from the 3-1 transport unit 15A. Thereby, the orientation of the medicine box can be adjusted by abutting the medicine box against a housing provided with the timing belt 1512.

[0071] For example, after the shutter control unit 212 opens the shutter 114, the transport control unit 211 causes the first transport unit 112 and the third transport unit 15 to move forward. The term "moving the third transport unit 15 forward" refers to operating the transport belt of the 3-1 transport unit 15A to transport the placed medicine box in a direction (+X axis direction) away from the shutter 114. The term "moving the third transport unit 15 forward" refers to operating the transport belt of the 3-2 transport unit 15B to transport the placed medicine box in a direction (-X axis direction) approaching the shutter 114.

[0072] The transport control unit 211 stops the third transport unit 15 after operating it for a predetermined time. This allows the third transport unit 15 to transport the medicine boxes while keeping them apart by a predetermined width. That is, the predetermined time for operating the third transport unit 15 is set to a time that allows adjacent medicine boxes to be separated by a predetermined width. The predetermined width may be set to a width that does not allow the gripping unit 171 of the second transport unit 17 to contact the medicine box to be gripped with the adjacent medicine box when gripping the medicine box. In this embodiment, it is set to, for example, 15 mm. The transport control unit 211 may stop the first transport unit 112 when the third transport unit 15 is stopped.

[0073] For example, the transport control unit 211 may control the second transport unit 17 to transport the medicine boxes placed on the third transport unit 15 sequentially to the storage position determined by the storage position management unit 214. For example, when the transport control unit 211 receives an input for completing the refilling operation via a touch panel, or when it determines that the input number of refilled medicine boxes has been reached, the transport control unit 211 may control the second transport unit 17 to transport the medicine boxes to the storage position.

[0074] Also, for example, when the number of medicine boxes on the third transport unit 15 matches the maximum number of medicine boxes that can be placed on the third transport unit 15, the transport control unit 211 may control the second transport unit 17 to transport the medicine boxes to the storage position determined by the storage position management unit 214, starting from the first medicine box. In this case, the transport control unit 211 may sequentially forward the medicine boxes on the third transport unit 15 in accordance with the timing of gripping the medicine boxes by the second transport unit 17. Thereby, even if the medicine box whose medicine identification information has been read by the reading unit 111 is placed on the first transport unit 112 when the maximum number of medicine boxes is placed on the third transport unit 15, the control unit 21 can transport the medicine box onto the third transport unit 15. That is, after the medicine box is gripped by the second transport unit 17, the shutter control unit 212 opens the shutter 114. Thereafter, the transport control unit 211 drives the first transport unit 112 and the third transport unit 15, so that the medicine box on the first transport unit 112 can be placed on the third transport unit 15.

[0075] The control unit 21 can count the number of medicine boxes placed on the third transport unit 15, for example, by detecting the medicine boxes using the width detection unit 13. The memory unit 23 also stores information indicating the maximum number of medicine boxes that can be placed on the third transport unit 15. The gripping position of the medicine box by the second transport unit 17 may be specified on the third transport unit 15. In this case, the number of medicine boxes that can be placed on the third transport unit 15 between the shutter 114 and the gripping position is the maximum number.

[0076] The width detection unit 13 detects the width of the medicine box. The width detection unit 13 is, for example, a reflective sensor. The width detection unit 13 detects the medicine box passing in front of the width detection unit 13. In this embodiment, the width detection unit 13 is provided in the vicinity of the 3-1 transport unit 15A and the shutter 114, and in a position where the detection direction of the medicine box (light emission direction) is approximately perpendicular to the transport direction of the medicine box by the 3-1 transport unit 15A.

[0077] In this embodiment, the orientation of the medicine box is adjusted by the first conveying unit 112 and the shutter 114 so that the longitudinal direction of the medicine box coincides with the depth direction of the storage device 1. Therefore, the medicine box passes in front of the width detection unit 13 so that the side perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the medicine box faces the width detection unit 13. The conveying control unit 211 can calculate the width of the medicine box (the width along the ±X-axis direction when placed on the 3-1 conveying unit 15A) based on, for example, the detection time of the medicine box by the width detection unit 13 and the moving speed of the conveying belt of the 3-1 conveying unit 15A (the conveying speed of the medicine box). Therefore, when the gripping unit 171 of the second conveying unit 17 grips the medicine box, the conveying control unit 211 can open the gripping unit 171 in the ±X-axis direction larger than the calculated width of the medicine box.

[0078] The width detection unit 13 may be provided so as to be able to identify the passage of the medicine box. For example, the width detection unit 13 may be realized as a transmission type sensor, or may emit electromagnetic waves other than light or sound waves (e.g., ultrasonic waves). The width detection unit 13 may be realized as an imaging unit. In this specification, the detection unit that detects the object may be a reflection type or transmission type sensor, may emit electromagnetic waves or sound waves, or may be an imaging unit, unless otherwise specified.

[0079] <Example of receiving medicine boxes into the storage device> An example of the operation of receiving a medicine box into the storage device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 8. In this embodiment, the medicine box is placed on the storage shelf 30 so that the longitudinal direction of the medicine box coincides with the depth direction (±Y axis direction) of the storage device 1. The second transport unit 17 stores the medicine box placed on the third transport unit 15 in the storage shelf 30 either as is or after rotating it 180 degrees. The orientation of the medicine box is not changed during transport by the third transport unit 15. Therefore, in order to enable the medicine box to be stored in the storage shelf 30 as described above, the medicine receiving unit 11 adjusts the longitudinal direction of the medicine box to face the ±Y axis direction.

[0080] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a process in which the medicine box MB1 placed on the first transport section 112 is transported to the 3-1 transport section 15A. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a process in which the orientation of the medicine box MB1 received by the medicine receiving section 11 is adjusted.

[0081] First, the operator holds the medicine box MB1 and inserts it into the medicine receiving unit 11. At this time, the entry / exit detection unit 115 transmits a detection signal indicating that an object (the operator's hand or arm) has been detected to the control unit 21. When the control unit 21 receives the detection signal, it operates the reading unit 111 to make it possible to read the medicine identification information.

[0082] When the reading unit 111 reads the medicine identification information attached to the medicine box MB1 put into the medicine receiving unit 11, the control unit 21 outputs a sound from the notification unit to notify that the medicine identification information has been read. When the reading unit 111 reads the medicine identification information, the transport control unit 211 operates the first transport unit 112 to forward the first transport unit 112, as shown by reference numeral 7001 in FIG. 8. As a result, the medicine box MB1 is transported to the shutter 114, as shown by reference numeral 7002 in FIG.

[0083] Thereafter, the first detection unit 113 provided on the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 detects the medicine box MB1. When the transport control unit 211 receives a detection signal indicating that the medicine box MB1 has been detected from the first detection unit 113, the transport control unit 211 temporarily stops the transport of the medicine box MB1 by the first transport unit 112.

[0084] The direction identification unit 213 determines whether or not the medicine box MB1 detected by the first detection unit 113 faces a direction (±Y axis direction) along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114, based on the detection result of the first detection unit 113. In this embodiment, the direction identification unit 213 determines whether or not the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB1 faces the ±Y axis direction.

[0085] The memory unit 23 stores information indicating the arrangement positions of the multiple sensors 1131 in the shutter 114. The first detection unit 113 also includes information indicating which sensor 1131 detected the medicine box in the detection signal. Furthermore, the control unit 21 can acquire information indicating the size of the medicine box by referring to the medicine database based on the medicine identification information read by the reading unit 111. Therefore, the control unit 21 can specify the size of the medicine box in the direction along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 based on this information. That is, the direction specification unit 213 can determine whether the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB1 faces the direction along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 and is close to or in contact with the shutter 114 based on this information.

[0086] In the state of reference numeral 7002, the direction identification unit 213 determines that the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB1 is oriented along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. At this time, the shutter control unit 212 determines whether or not a detection signal indicating that an object (the operator's hand or arm) has been detected has been received from the entry / exit detection unit 115. When the shutter control unit 212 determines that the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB1 is oriented along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 and determines that a detection signal has not been received from the entry / exit detection unit 115, the shutter control unit 212 sets the shutter 114 to an open state. That is, when the operator's hand or arm is not inserted into the medicine receiving unit 11, the shutter control unit 212 starts the operation of opening the shutter 114.

[0087] Here, the multiple sensors 1131 of the first detection unit 113 provided on the shutter 114 are provided along one side of the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 that can come into contact with the first conveying unit 112, as described above. In addition, the multiple sensors 1131 emit light in a direction approximately perpendicular to the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. Therefore, when the shutter 114 moves vertically upward and passes the upper end of the medicine box placed on the first conveying unit 112, the multiple sensors 1131 cannot detect the medicine box. The shutter control unit 212 may stop the operation of the shutter 114 after a predetermined distance operation or a predetermined time has elapsed since the multiple sensors 1131 can no longer detect the medicine box. In this case, it is not necessary to open the shutter 114 to the highest position of the movable range of the shutter 114 every time the shutter 114 is opened, and the shutter 114 can be opened according to the height of the medicine box.

[0088] The shutter control unit 212 determines whether the position where the shutter 114 operation is stopped, i.e., the height of the medicine box detected by the first detection unit 113, is equal to or greater than the set value set for the medicine box whose medicine identification information has been read by the reading unit 111.

[0089] The shutter control unit 212 can acquire the height of the medicine box received by the medicine receiving unit 11 by referring to the medicine database stored in the storage unit 23 based on the medicine identification information read by the reading unit 111. The height obtained by adding a predetermined value to the height of each medicine box registered in the medicine database is stored in advance in the storage unit 23 as a set value set for each medicine box. Note that the control unit 21 may calculate the set value by adding the above-mentioned predetermined value when acquiring the height of the medicine box received by the medicine receiving unit 11. The predetermined value may be set to a margin (e.g., several mm) that allows one medicine box to be transported to the 3-1 transport unit 15A when the shutter 114 is in an open state, and does not allow the medicine box to be transported to the 3-1 transport unit 15A when other medicine boxes are stacked on the medicine box.

[0090] When the shutter control unit 212 determines that the position where the shutter 114 is stopped is a position less than the set value, the transport control unit 211 restarts the transport of the medicine box MB1 by the first transport unit 112. At this time, the transport control unit 211 also forwards the third transport unit 15. As a result, as shown by the reference numeral 7003, the medicine box MB1 can be placed on the 3-1 transport unit 15A so that the interval between the adjacent medicine boxes is a predetermined width. That is, the medicine boxes MB1 to MB3 can be placed on the 3-1 transport unit 15A in a state where the interval W2 between the medicine box MB2 and the medicine box MB3 already placed on the 3-1 transport unit 15A and the interval W1 between the medicine box MB2 and the medicine box MB1 transported to the 3-1 transport unit 15A are approximately the same.

[0091] On the other hand, consider a case where the medicine box MB1 is placed on the first conveying section 112 with the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB1 not facing the direction along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. In this case, the first detection section 113 cannot detect the medicine box MB1 over the entire length of the medicine box MB1 along the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB1. Therefore, the conveying control section 211 forwards the first conveying section 112 while the shutter 114 is closed, that is, while the medicine box MB1 is in contact with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. This allows the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB1 to face the direction along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114.

[0092] During the transport of the medicine box by the first transport unit 112, the direction specification unit 213 determines whether or not the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB1 is oriented along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 based on the detection result of the first detection unit 113. When the direction specification unit 213 determines that the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB1 is oriented along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 and determines that a detection signal has not been received from the entry / exit detection unit 115, the control unit 21 controls the shutter 114, the first transport unit 112, and the third transport unit 15 as described above. That is, as shown by the reference numerals 7002 and 7003, the medicine box MB1 on the first transport unit 112 is transported onto the 3-1 transport unit 15A after the shutter 114 is opened.

[0093] In this way, regardless of the orientation of the medicine box placed on the first conveying section 112, the medicine box can be conveyed to the third conveying section 15 by the first conveying section 112 and the shutter 114 with the longitudinal direction of the medicine box facing the direction along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. Therefore, the medicine boxes received by the medicine receiving section 11 can be continuously placed on the third conveying section 15 with the orientation of the medicine boxes aligned. Therefore, the second conveying section 17 can sequentially hold the medicine boxes by a simple mechanism. Also, the medicine boxes can be stored in the storage shelf 30 with the orientation of the medicine boxes aligned. In this embodiment, the medicine boxes can be stored in the storage shelf 30 so that the longitudinal direction of the medicine box faces the depth direction of the storage device 1.

[0094] Furthermore, because shutter 114 prevents the movement of the medicine box being transported by first transport unit 112, the longitudinal direction of the medicine box received by medicine receiving unit 11 can be oriented in a direction along side surface 1141 of shutter 114. That is, with the simple configuration of first transport unit 112 and shutter 114, the orientation of the medicine box received by medicine receiving unit 11 can be adjusted to the above-mentioned direction.

[0095] In addition, since the first conveying section 112 and the third conveying section 15 are separate, the conveying control section 211 can control the first conveying section 112 and the third conveying section 15 independently. Therefore, when the longitudinal direction of the medicine box is not oriented along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114, the conveying control section 211 can stop the third conveying section 15 while forwarding the first conveying section 112 with the shutter 114 closed. Then, the conveying control section 211 drives the first conveying section 112 and the third conveying section 15 in a state in which the medicine box is at the position of the shutter 114 and the longitudinal direction of the medicine box is oriented along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. This allows multiple medicine boxes to be placed on the third conveying section 15 while maintaining a constant positional interval between the multiple medicine boxes.

[0096] In addition, since the transport control unit 211 can independently control the first transport unit 112 and the third transport unit 15, it can set the feed amount of the first transport unit 112 and the feed amount of the third transport unit 15. The feed amount is the speed at which the transport belt of the first transport unit 112 or the transport belt of the third transport unit 15 is forwarded. Therefore, for example, the positional interval between the two medicine boxes can be set arbitrarily according to the feed amount of the third transport unit 15 after transporting the medicine box from the first transport unit 112 to the third transport unit 15.

[0097] <Second conveyor section> Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the second transport section 17. In Fig. 9, the second storage cabinet 31B side is not shown.

[0098] The second transport unit 17 is a device for gripping a medicine box containing medicine and transporting the medicine box to an arbitrary position. For example, the second transport unit 17 transports the medicine box from the third transport unit 15 to a storage position determined by the storage position management unit 214, thereby storing the medicine box in the storage shelf 30. Furthermore, when the second transport unit 17 receives a medicine dispensing instruction from the drug station 2 or via the touch panel 20, the second transport unit 17 transports the medicine box containing the medicine from the storage shelf 30 to the fifth transport unit 19, thereby dispensing the medicine box to the outside.

[0099] 9, the second transport unit 17 includes a gripping unit 171 and a transport mechanism (lifter) 172. Only one second transport unit 17 may be provided in the storage device 1, or multiple second transport units 17 may be provided. For example, two second transport units 17 may be provided between the first storage cabinet 31A and the second storage cabinet 31B along the two first storage cabinets 31A and the second storage cabinet 31B provided in the storage device 1.

[0100] The transport mechanism 172 is an operating unit for moving the gripper 171 to an arbitrary position within the storage device 1. As shown in Fig. 9, the transport mechanism 172 includes an X-axis rail unit 1721, a support 1722, an X-axis timing belt 1723, a Z-axis drive unit 1724, a Z-axis timing belt 1725, an X-axis drive unit 1726, an auxiliary timing belt 1727, and a drive shaft 1728.

[0101] The X-axis rail portion 1721 is provided along the width direction (±X-axis directions) of the storage device 1, and supports the support pillar 1722 so as to be slidable in the ±X-axis directions. As shown in Fig. 9, the X-axis rail portion 1721 may be provided on both the top surface side and the floor surface side of the storage device 1. In other words, the support pillar 1722 may be supported at both ends by the X-axis rail portion 1721 so as to be slidable in the ±X-axis directions.

[0102] The support pillar 1722 is provided along the vertical direction (±Z-axis direction) and is supported by the X-axis rail portion 1721. The support pillar 1722 is slidable along the X-axis rail portion 1721 in the ±X-axis direction and supports the grip portion 171. The support pillar 1722 is connected to an X-axis timing belt 1723 arranged along the X-axis rail portion 1721. In this embodiment, the X-axis timing belt 1723 on the top surface side of the storage device 1 is connected to one end of a drive shaft 1728. The other end of the drive shaft 1728 is connected to an X-axis drive portion 1726 via an auxiliary timing belt 1727. The X-axis timing belt 1723 on the floor surface side of the storage device 1 is also connected to the X-axis drive portion 1726. This allows the X-axis timing belt 1723 to rotate according to the operation of the X-axis drive portion 1726 under the control of the transport control portion 211. Therefore, the support pillar 1722 can move along the X-axis rail portion 1721.

[0103] 10 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the gripper 171. The gripper 171 grips a medicine box and moves with the operation of the transport mechanism 172 to move the medicine box to an arbitrary position. Specifically, the support 1722 moves along the X-axis rail portion 1721, so that the gripper 171 moves together with the support 1722 in the width direction (±X-axis direction) of the storage device 1. The gripper 171 can also move in the vertical direction (±Z-axis direction) along the support 1722. The gripper 171 can move along the support 1722 by rotating a Z-axis timing belt 1725 provided on the support 1722 by the operation of the Z-axis drive portion 1724.

[0104] As indicated by reference numerals 12001 and 12002 in FIG. 10, the gripping portion 171 mainly includes a placement portion 1711 and an entrance / exit portion 1712.

[0105] The placing section 1711 is a platform for placing a medicine box. The placing section 1711 is, for example, a plate-like member larger than a medicine box that can be stored in the storage device 1. A medicine box that is held by a pair of clamping sections 1715 provided in the entrance / exit section 1712 and pulled in from the storage shelf 30 is placed on the placing section 1711. A plurality of medicine boxes may be placed on the placing section 1711 in a state lined up in the longitudinal direction of the placing section 1711 (the extension direction of the pair of clamping sections 1715; the ±X-axis direction in FIG. 10). In this case, the gripping section 171 can transport a plurality of medicine boxes simultaneously.

[0106] The entrance / exit portion 1712 is for inserting and removing the medicine box into and from the placement portion 1711. In this embodiment, the entrance / exit portion 1712 includes a pair of clamping portions 1715 and a pushing portion 1716.

[0107] The pair of clamping parts 1715 operate under the control of the transport control part 211, and grip the medicine box by clamping it. As an example, the pair of clamping parts 1715 are a pair of flat plate-like members extending along the longitudinal direction of the mounting part 1711. The pair of clamping parts 1715 operate symmetrically in the width direction of the mounting part 1711 (the ±Y-axis direction in FIG. 10) under the control of the transport control part 211. The pair of flat plate-like members can also be referred to as gripping plates 1715a and 1715b, respectively.

[0108] Specifically, the gripping portion 171 includes a Y-axis operating portion that operates the pair of clamping portions 1715 along the width direction of the mounting portion 1711 on the side opposite to the side where the medicine box enters and leaves the mounting portion 1711 (the +X-axis direction side in FIG. 10). That is, the gripping portion 171 includes a Y-axis operating portion on the side opposite to the tip end of the mounting portion 1711 (the back side of the mounting portion 1711).

[0109] In this embodiment, the Y-axis operation unit includes, for example, a gear drive unit 1731, a gear 1732, and a pair of moving bodies 1733. The gear drive unit 1731 rotates the gear 1732 and has a drive shaft along the longitudinal direction of the placement unit 1711. The gear 1732 is connected to the drive shaft of the gear drive unit 1731, and a pair of moving bodies 1733 extending along the width direction of the placement unit 1711 are connected to the gear 1732. The gear 1732 rotates according to the operation of the gear drive unit 1731 under the control of the conveyance control unit 211, and the pair of moving bodies 1733 move in opposite directions. The pair of moving bodies 1733 are connected to gripping plates 1715a and 1715b, respectively. Therefore, the pair of gripping units 1715 can be opened and closed along the width direction of the placement unit 1711 by the operation of the pair of moving bodies 1733. Alternatively, only one of the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b may be configured to move in the width direction of the placement portion 1711.

[0110] The gripping unit 171 can grip the medicine box by narrowing the gap between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b until the gap is wide enough to contact the side of the medicine box that faces the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b. Specifically, the Y-axis operating unit widens the gap between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b so that it is wider than the width of the medicine box, and then narrows the gap until it is approximately the same as the width of the medicine box, according to the control of the transport control unit 211. The transport control unit 211 can specify the width of the medicine box by referring to the medicine database based on the medicine identification information read by the reading unit 111. The transport control unit 211 may specify the width of the medicine box based on the detection result by the width detection unit 13.

[0111] Further, the pair of clamping parts 1715 operate in the longitudinal direction of the placement part 1711 (the front-rear direction of the gripping part 171; ±X-axis direction in FIG. 10) under the control of the transport control part 211. Specifically, the gripping part 171 includes an X-axis operating part that operates the pair of clamping parts 1715 along the longitudinal direction of the placement part 1711. In this embodiment, the X-axis operating part includes, for example, a clamping drive shaft 1741 and a clamping drive part 1742. The clamping drive shaft 1741 is provided in the gripping part 171, extending in the longitudinal direction of the placement part 1711. A clamping support part 1720 that supports the pair of clamping parts 1715 and the Y-axis operating part is connected to the clamping drive shaft 1741 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the placement part 1711. As a result of the clamping drive unit 1742 operating under the control of the transport control unit 211, the clamping drive shaft 1741 rotates about its axis, which is the central axis of the clamping drive shaft 1741 aligned in the extension direction of the clamping drive shaft 1741. The clamping support unit 1720 can move in the longitudinal direction of the placement unit 1711 in conjunction with this rotation. In other words, the pair of clamping units 1715 can move in the longitudinal direction of the placement unit 1711 by the rotation of the clamping drive shaft 1741.

[0112] When gripping a medicine box located outside gripping part 171 (e.g., a medicine box stored in storage shelf 30), gripping part 171 operates as follows. That is, gripping plates 1715a and 1715b in a fully open state move in a direction protruding from mounting part 1711 to the outside of mounting part 1711 (-X axis direction in FIG. 10). Thereafter, gripping plates 1715a and 1715b narrow the width so that the width is approximately the same as that of a medicine box located outside gripping part 171. This allows gripping part 171 to grip the medicine box. In addition, when gripping a medicine box, a pair of clamping parts 1715 moves in a direction from outside mounting part 1711 back to mounting part 1711 (+X axis direction in FIG. 10), so that the medicine box located outside gripping part 171 can be pulled into mounting part 1711.

[0113] In addition, when the placement unit 1711 is viewed from above, the pair of clamping parts 1715 are inclined inward from the connection side with the clamping support part 1720 to the tip part (towards the -X axis direction in FIG. 10). In other words, the distance between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b is narrower on the tip side than on the connection side with the clamping support part 1720. In other words, the pair of clamping parts 1715 are inclined inward from the back side to the front side of the placement unit 1711 (from the rear to the front of the placement unit 1711). For example, when multiple medicine boxes are stored in the storage shelf 30 in a row in the longitudinal direction of the storage device 1, the pair of clamping parts 1715 grip the medicine box furthest from the gripping part 171 and pull the multiple medicine boxes into the placement unit 1711. At this time, if the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b are provided at an incline as described above, the plurality of medicine boxes can be easily pulled into the placement portion 1711.

[0114] The pushing part 1716 is a member for pushing out the medicine box from the gripping part 171. As an example, as shown in FIG. 10, the pushing part 1716 is a rod-shaped member that can move in the longitudinal direction of the placement part 1711 (±X-axis direction in FIG. 10). The pushing part 1716 moves in the longitudinal direction of the placement part 1711 by the operation of an operation part (not shown) under the control of the transport control part 211. In a state where a medicine box is placed on the placement part 1711, the pushing part 1716 moves in a direction protruding from the placement part 1711 to the outside of the placement part 1711 (−X-axis direction in FIG. 10), thereby moving the medicine box out of the placement part 1711. Note that when the pushing part 1716 pushes out the medicine box placed on the placement part 1711, the pair of clamping parts 1715 also function as a guide when pushing out the medicine box to a target position.

[0115] In this manner, the entrance / exit portion 1712 pulls the medicine box into the mounting portion 1711 from the front of the mounting portion 1711 (−X axis direction in FIG. 10) and pushes the medicine box placed on the mounting portion 1711 forward of the mounting portion 1711.

[0116] In this embodiment, the pushing unit 1716 pushes the medicine box placed on the placing unit 1711 out of the placing unit 1711. However, the medicine box placed on the placing unit 1711 may be transported out of the placing unit 1711 by performing the reverse operation of the pair of clamping units 1715 when pulling the medicine box into the placing unit 1711.

[0117] As shown in FIG. 10, the grip portion 171 includes a grip detection portion 1714 and a passage detection portion 1751.

[0118] The gripping detection unit 1714 is a sensor disposed outside the pair of gripping units 1715 in the width direction of the placement unit 1711 (±Y-axis direction in FIG. 10). Specifically, the gripping detection unit 1714 is provided on each of the pair of moving bodies 1733, and is provided outside each of the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b. As an example, the gripping detection unit 1714 may be a reflective sensor having an emission unit that emits light toward the front of the gripping unit 171 approximately parallel to the long sides of the pair of gripping units 1715, and a light receiving unit that receives reflected light of the emitted light reflected by an object. The gripping detection unit 1714 detects, for example, a medicine box present in front of the gripping unit 171. The gripping detection unit 1714 transmits a detection signal indicating that the medicine box has been detected to the control unit 21, whereby the transport control unit 211 can determine whether or not the pair of gripping units 1715 can move.

[0119] For example, when the medicine box to be removed is placed on the third transport section 15 or the storage shelf 30 so that the longitudinal direction of the medicine box is approximately parallel to the depth direction (±Y axis direction) of the storage device 1, the gripping detection section 1714 does not detect the medicine box. In this case, the transport control section 211 can grip the medicine box by moving the pair of clamping sections 1715 forward of the placement section 1711 (−X axis direction in FIG. 10).

[0120] On the other hand, for example, in the third transport section 15 or the storage shelf 30, when the medicine box to be removed is placed at an angle to the depth direction of the storage device 1, the gripping detection section 1714 detects the medicine box. In this case, when the pair of clamping sections 1715 move forward of the placement section 1711, the tip of the pair of clamping sections 1715 may collide with the medicine box. Therefore, when the gripping detection section 1714 detects the medicine box, the transport control section 211 slightly widens the gap between the pair of clamping sections 1715 (i.e., the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b) (for example, by several mm). The transport control section 211 repeatedly executes this operation until the gripping detection section 1714 no longer detects the medicine box. When the gripping detection section 1714 no longer detects the medicine box, the transport control section 211 moves the pair of clamping sections 1715 forward of the placement section 1711. This allows the pair of clamping portions 1715 to grip the medicine box.

[0121] However, even if the pair of clamping portions 1715 are opened to their maximum extent, if the gripping detection portion 1714 detects a medicine box, the control portion 21 may use the touch panel 20 or a lighting member (not shown) to notify the user that the medicine box cannot be gripped.

[0122] Furthermore, when the control unit 21 determines that the gripping unit 171 cannot remove the medicine box from the storage shelf 30, for example by the gripping detection unit 1714 detecting the medicine box, the control unit 21 may specify the row in which the medicine box exists as a row in which the medicine box cannot be removed or stored. In other words, the control unit 21 can remove or store the medicine box in an area of ​​the storage shelf 30 in which the medicine box that cannot be removed is stored, other than the row in which the medicine box is stored.

[0123] For example, consider a case where a plurality of medicine boxes are stored in a row, and one of the medicine boxes (for example, the medicine box stored in the position closest to the gripping portion 171) is misaligned in storage position. In this case, the control unit 21 may identify the other medicine boxes stored in the same row as the medicine box as medicine boxes that cannot be taken out. Even if there is an empty area in the row, the control unit 21 may identify the empty area as an area that cannot be stored.

[0124] The passage detection unit 1751 detects a medicine box being pulled into the placement unit 1711 or a medicine box being pushed out from the placement unit 1711. As an example, the passage detection unit 1751 may be a reflective sensor having an emission unit that emits light vertically upward and a light receiving unit that receives light reflected by an object from the emitted light. The passage detection unit 1751 is provided below the placement unit 1711 on the tip side of the placement unit 1711 (the -X axis direction side in FIG. 10). The passage detection unit 1751 transmits a detection signal indicating that the medicine box has been detected to the control unit 21, so that the control unit 21 can identify the passage status of the medicine box on the tip side of the placement unit 1711. That is, the control unit 21 can specify whether the gripper 171 has pulled in and gripped the medicine box, or whether the gripper 171 has pushed the medicine box out of the gripper 171, based on the detection result of the passage detection unit 1751. In other words, the control unit 21 can specify the transfer of the medicine box between the gripper 171 and the outside of the gripper 171, based on the detection result of the passage detection unit 1751. The control unit 21 may also calculate the longitudinal width of the medicine box (width along the ±Y-axis direction) based on, for example, the detection time of the medicine box by the passage detection unit 1751 and the movement speed (medicine box conveying speed) of the pair of clamping units 1715. Thereby, the control unit 21 may specify whether the object to be transferred by the gripper 171 is the desired medicine box.

[0125] 10, the gripper 171 includes a rotation drive unit 1755 that rotates the gripper 171 around the vertical direction (specifically, around the rotation axis Ax1 of the rotation drive unit 1755). In this embodiment, the rotation drive unit 1755 is provided below the placement unit 1711. The rotation drive unit 1755 operates according to the control of the transport control unit 211, thereby allowing the tip sides of the pair of grippers 1715 to face the third transport unit 15, the storage shelf 30 of the first storage 31A, the storage shelf 30 of the second storage 31B, and the fifth transport unit 19, respectively.

[0126] <Storage operation> Hereinafter, the operation of the second transport unit 17 when storing the medicine box MB1 transported from the first transport unit 112 to the third transport unit 15 in the storage shelf 30 will be described with reference to Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the operation when the second transport unit 17 pulls out and grips the medicine box MB1 on the third transport unit 15, and an example of the operation when the second transport unit 17 pushes out the gripped medicine box and stores it in the storage shelf 30.

[0127] 11, figures marked with the reference character A, such as 13001A, show the gripping portion 171 as viewed from the side (the +Y-axis direction in FIG. 10). Figures marked with the reference character B, such as 13001B, show the gripping portion 171 as viewed from the front (the -X-axis direction in FIG. 10). When collectively referring to the figures marked with the reference character A and the figures marked with the reference character B, they will be referred to only by the numerals, such as "13001," not shown.

[0128] First, the transport control unit 211 operates the second transport unit 17 in a state where the medicine box is placed on the third transport unit 15. Specifically, as shown by reference numeral 13001 in FIG. 11, the transport control unit 211 moves the gripper 171 so that the gripper 171 is positioned opposite the medicine box MB1 placed on the third transport unit 15. The transport control unit 211 moves the support 1722 along the X-axis rail unit 1721 to align the gripper 171 and the medicine box MB1 in the width direction of the storage device 1. The transport control unit 211 also moves the gripper 171 along the support 1722 to align the gripper 171 and the medicine box MB1 in the Z-axis direction.

[0129] 11, the transport control unit 211 opens the pair of clamping units 1715 (i.e., gripping plates 1715a and 1715b) so that the gap between the pair of clamping units 1715 is wider than the width of the medicine box MB1 to be transported. After that, as shown by reference numeral 13003 in FIG. 11, the transport control unit 211 moves the pair of clamping units 1715 toward the third transport unit 15.

[0130] After moving the pair of clamping parts 1715 to the third conveying part 15 side, the conveying control part 211 narrows the gap between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b as shown by reference numeral 13004 in FIG. 11. Specifically, the conveying control part 211 operates the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b so that the gap between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b is approximately equal to or slightly narrower than the width of the medicine box MB1. The width of the medicine box MB1 may be specified based on the size of the medicine box MB1 stored in the memory part 23 or the width detected by the width detection part 13. As a result, the medicine box MB1 is gripped by the gripping part 171.

[0131] 11, the transport control unit 211 moves the pair of clamping units 1715 toward the placement unit 1711. As a result, the medicine box MB1 is drawn out of the third transport unit 15 and placed on the placement unit 1711.

[0132] The transport control unit 211 may move the gripper 171 to a position facing another medicine box MB1, and then repeat the above operation to cause the gripper 171 to grip a plurality of medicine boxes MB1.

[0133] Furthermore, the transport control unit 211 causes the second transport unit 17 to grip the medicine box MB1 and then dispenses it at a target position. Specifically, the transport control unit 211 moves the gripping unit 171 gripping the medicine box MB1 to a storage position in the storage shelf 30 where the medicine box MB1 is stored. The storage position is, for example, a position specified by the storage position management unit 214. The method of moving the gripping unit 171 to the storage position is the same as when the gripping unit 171 is moved to a position facing the medicine box MB1.

[0134] After moving the gripper 171 to the storage position, the transport control unit 211 slightly widens the pair of clamping units 1715. Thereafter, the transport control unit 211 moves the gripper 171 to the storage shelf 30 side, and then protrudes the pusher 1716. As a result, the medicine box MB1 placed on the placement unit 1711 is moved to the storage shelf 30.

[0135] The transport control unit 211 may protrude the pushing unit 1716 while moving the pair of clamping units 1715 toward the storage shelf 30. It is only necessary to move the medicine box MB1 so that the tip of the pair of clamping units 1715 is located on the moving direction side of the pair of clamping units 1715 or the pushing unit 1716 from the center of gravity position of the medicine box MB1 pushed by the pushing unit 1716. This allows the pair of clamping units 1715 to function as a guide that guides the medicine box MB1 to a target position when moving the medicine box MB1 from the gripping unit 171 to the outside of the gripping unit 171.

[0136] After placing the medicine box MB1 on the storage shelf 30, the transport control unit 211 moves the pair of clamping units 1715 to the placement unit 1711 side, and then moves the pushing unit 1716 to the placement unit 1711 side, as shown by reference numeral 13006 in FIG. 11. In this case, while the pair of clamping units 1715 is being moved to the placement unit 1711 side, the position of the medicine box MB1 placed on the storage shelf 30 can be fixed by the pushing unit 1716. Therefore, the pair of clamping units 1715 can reduce the possibility of contacting the medicine box MB1 during the movement, causing the medicine box MB1 to be displaced.

[0137] In addition, when storing the medicine box in the storage shelf 30, the transport control unit 211 may clamp the medicine box placed on the placement unit 1711 between the pair of clamping units 1715, and then move the pair of clamping units 1715 clamping the medicine box to the storage shelf 30. In addition, the transport control unit 211 may control the opening and closing of the pair of clamping units 1715 after storing the medicine box in the storage shelf 30. Specifically, the transport control unit 211 may open the pair of clamping units 1715 that stored the medicine box in the storage shelf 30, then close them once, and then open them again. Here, in the closing operation, it is preferable to operate the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b so that the interval between the pair of clamping units 1715 is slightly narrower than the width of the medicine box MB1. By the opening and closing operation of the pair of clamping units 1715, the orientation of the medicine box stored in the storage shelf 30 can be adjusted to the ±Y axis direction. The speed of the opening and closing operation performed to adjust the orientation of the medicine box may be slower than the speed of the initial opening operation. In this case, the orientation of the medicine box caused by the storage operation in the storage shelf 30 (a deviation in the ±Y-axis direction) can be prevented or reduced.

[0138] In addition, when the medicine box MB1 is removed from the storage shelf 30, the same operation as that described with reference numerals 13001 to 13005 may be performed. In addition, when the medicine box MB1 removed from the storage shelf 30 is dispensed to the fifth transport section 19, the same operation as that described with reference numeral 13006 may be performed.

[0139] <Example of taking medicine from multiple medicine boxes stored in a row> Consider a case where multiple medicine boxes are stored in a row on storage shelf 30, and gripper 171 removes a medicine box on the front side of storage shelf 30, and a medicine box wider than the front side of storage shelf 30 is stored on the back side of storage shelf 30. "The front side of storage shelf 30" refers to the side of storage shelf 30 that is closer to second transport section 17. "The back side of storage shelf 30" refers to the side of storage shelf 30 that is farther from second transport section 17.

[0140] When the medicine box on the near side is the medicine box to be removed, the transport control unit 211 widens the distance between the gripping plates 1715a, 1715b so that the pair of gripping units 1715 can grip the medicine box on the near side. However, even if the distance between the gripping plates 1715a, 1715b is widened to the extent that the pair of gripping units 1715 can grip the medicine box on the near side, the gripping detection unit 1714 may detect the medicine box on the far side depending on the width of the medicine box on the far side.

[0141] Even in such a case, the transport control unit 211 may move the pair of clamping units 1715 to the front of the placement unit 1711 in order to remove the medicine box on the near side.

[0142] The gripping detection unit 1714 may function as a distance measuring sensor. In this case, the transport control unit 211 can measure the distance to the medicine box placed at the transport destination or removal destination based on the detection result of the gripping detection unit 1714. Examples of the transport destination and removal destination of the medicine box by the second transport unit 17 include the third transport unit 15, the storage shelf 30, and the receiving transport unit 191 of the fifth transport unit 19.

[0143] By measuring the distance, the transport control unit 211 can reduce the possibility that the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b collide with the transport or removal destination medicine box even if a medicine box is present in front of the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b. Therefore, as described above, when a medicine box wider than the medicine box on the front side is stored on the back side, even if the pair of gripping parts 1715 is moved to remove the medicine box on the front side, the possibility that the pair of gripping parts 1715 will collide with the medicine box on the back side can be reduced.

[0144] <Adjusting the grip height when handing over or taking out the medicine box> Fig. 12 is a diagram for explaining adjustment of the height of the placement part 1711 of the grip part 171 relative to the height of the transport destination or removal destination. Reference numeral 10011 in Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram when the grip part 171 delivers the medicine box MB placed on the placement part 1711 to the transport destination. Reference numeral 10012 in Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram when the grip part 171 removes the medicine box MB from the removal destination.

[0145] Consider a case where the medicine box MB placed on the placement portion 1711 is handed over to the destination. In this case, as shown by reference numeral 10011 in Fig. 12, the control portion 21 adjusts the height of the grip portion 171 so that the placement surface 1711A of the medicine box MB on the placement portion 1711 is higher than the placement surface SF1 of the destination by a predetermined distance. On the other hand, as shown by reference numeral 10012 in Fig. 12, when the medicine box MB placed at the destination is to be taken out from the destination, the control portion 21 adjusts the height of the grip portion 171 so that the placement surface 1711A is lower than the placement surface SF2 of the destination by a predetermined distance.

[0146] The predetermined distance for transferring the medicine box MB to the destination may be set by experiment, etc., taking into consideration the ease of transferring the medicine box MB to the destination. The predetermined distance for removing the medicine box MB from the destination may also be set by experiment, etc., taking into consideration the ease of pulling the medicine box MB from the destination.

[0147] <5th conveyor section> FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the fifth transport section 19. FIG. 13 shows only a portion of the fifth transport section 19 that is provided inside the storage device 1. The fifth transport section 19 is a transport section for dispensing medicine boxes from the storage device 1 to the outside. In this embodiment, the fifth transport section 19 dispenses medicine boxes from the storage device 1 to an external device (e.g., drug station 2). As shown in FIG. 13, the fifth transport section 19 includes a receiving transport section 191 and a discharging transport section 192.

[0148] The receiving transport section 191 is a transport section that receives the medicine box that has been taken out from the storage shelf 30 and transported by the second transport section 17, and transports it toward the discharge transport section 192. For example, the receiving transport section 191 is a belt conveyor that can transport the medicine box placed on the receiving transport section 191 from the second transport section 17 side toward the discharge transport section 192 side, in other words, in the -Y axis direction.

[0149] As shown in FIG. 13, in this embodiment, a plurality of receiving conveying sections 191 are provided as the receiving conveying section 191. Specifically, a first receiving conveying section 191A, a second receiving conveying section 191B, a third receiving conveying section 191C, and a fourth receiving conveying section 191D are provided as the receiving conveying section 191. In the first receiving conveying section 191A, two belt conveyors are arranged adjacent to each other. The second receiving conveying section 191B, the third receiving conveying section 191C, and the fourth receiving conveying section 191D are each composed of one belt conveyor. However, the number of receiving conveying sections 191 may be determined according to the scale of the storage device 1, and may be one. In addition, the number of belt conveyors in the first receiving conveying sections 191A to 191D may be determined by an experiment or the like to confirm the transport of the medicine box to the discharge conveying section 192.

[0150] The discharge conveying section 192 is, for example, a belt conveyor located downstream in the forward feed direction of the receiving conveying section 191. The forward feed direction of the receiving conveying section 191 refers to operating the conveying belt of the receiving conveying section 191 to convey the placed medicine box toward the discharge conveying section 192 side (-Y axis direction). The forward feed direction of the discharge conveying section 192 refers to operating the conveying belt of the discharge conveying section 192 to convey the placed medicine box to the outside of the storage device 1 (+X axis direction).

[0151] The discharge conveying section 192 further conveys the medicine box conveyed from the receiving conveying section 191 and discharges it outside the storage device 1. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the discharge conveying section 192 extends to a picking unit 202 located outside the storage device 1 and located distally from the storage device 1. In this embodiment, an input box 40 into which the medicine box conveyed from the discharge conveying section 192 is input is provided below the discharge conveying section 192 at a position of the discharge conveying section 192 corresponding to the picking unit 202. The medicine box conveyed by the discharge conveying section 192 falls into the input box 40. This allows the worker to collect the medicine box from the input box 40.

[0152] The discharge conveying section 192 is provided with a guide section 1921 that guides the medicine box conveyed from the first receiving conveying section 191A in the +X-axis direction. The guide section 1921, together with the outer wall 1911 of the first receiving conveying section 191A and the outer wall 1922 of the discharge conveying section 192, constitutes the outer wall of the fifth conveying section 19. The guide section 1921 connects the outer wall 1911 extending in the ±Y-axis direction and the outer wall 1922 extending in the ±X-axis direction. The guide section 1921 has a curved shape when the fifth conveying section is viewed from above. This allows the medicine box conveyed from the first receiving conveying section 191A to be smoothly conveyed to the discharge conveying section 192.

[0153] Of the two belt conveyors constituting the first receiving conveying section 191A, the first receiving belt conveyor 191Aa has a forward speed faster than the second receiving belt conveyor 191Ab. The first receiving belt conveyor 191Aa is a belt conveyor located on the outer periphery in the conveying direction of the medicine box, and the second receiving belt conveyor 191Ab is a belt conveyor located on the inner periphery in the conveying direction of the medicine box. The outer periphery in the conveying direction indicates the outer position with respect to the central axis when the medicine box turns along the guide section 1921 when being conveyed from the receiving conveying section 191 to the discharge conveying section 192, and the inner periphery in the conveying direction indicates the inner position with respect to the central axis.

[0154] By making the forward speed of the first receiving belt conveyor 191Aa faster than the forward speed of the second receiving belt conveyor 191Ab, the transport of the medicine boxes from the first receiving transport section 191A to the discharging transport section 192 can be made smooth.

[0155] In this embodiment, the diameter of the pulley that rotates the conveyor belt of the first receiving belt conveyor 191Aa is larger than the diameter of the pulley that rotates the conveyor belt of the second receiving belt conveyor 191Ab. This allows the forward speed (rotation speed of the conveyor belt) of the first receiving belt conveyor 191Aa to be faster than the forward speed of the second receiving belt conveyor 191Ab with a simple configuration in which both pulleys are connected coaxially and driven by one drive unit (not shown).

[0156] <Control of drug box transport to receiving and transporting section> 13, the width (length in the X-axis direction) of first receiving and conveying section 191A is greater than the width (length in the X-axis direction) of each of second receiving and conveying section 191B, third receiving and conveying section 191C, and fourth receiving and conveying section 191D. Therefore, the conveying control section 211 may determine whether to convey the medicine box to first receiving and conveying section 191A or to any of second receiving and conveying section 191B to fourth receiving and conveying section 191D depending on the width of the medicine box dispensed to receiving and conveying section 191.

[0157] For example, the transport control unit 211 may determine whether the width of the medicine box dispensed to the receiving transport unit 191 is smaller than the width of the second receiving transport unit 191B. The second receiving transport unit 191B, the third receiving transport unit 191C, and the fourth receiving transport unit 191D have approximately the same width.

[0158] When the transport control unit 211 determines that the width of the medicine box to be dispensed to the receiving transport unit 191 is smaller than the width of the second receiving transport unit 191B, it controls the second transport unit 17 to transport the medicine box to an available receiving transport unit 191 among the second receiving transport unit 191B to the fourth receiving transport unit 191D. On the other hand, when the transport control unit 211 determines that the width of the medicine box to be dispensed to the receiving transport unit 191 is equal to or larger than the width of the second receiving transport unit 191B, it controls the second transport unit 17 to transport the medicine box to the first receiving transport unit 191A.

[0159] Consider a case where the width of the medicine box to be dispensed to receiving transport section 191 is smaller than the width of second receiving transport section 191B and there is no vacant space in second receiving transport section 191B to fourth receiving transport section 191D. In this case, when first receiving transport section 191A is vacant, transport control section 211 controls second transport section 17 to transport the medicine box to be dispensed to receiving transport section 191 to first receiving transport section 191A.

[0160] For example, by receiving an instruction to change the dispensing order, the transport control unit 211 may need to preferentially dispense the medicine box to be dispensed to the receiving transport unit 191 over the medicine boxes placed on the second receiving transport unit 191B to the fourth receiving transport unit 191D. For example, even in such a case, the transport control unit 211 may control the second transport unit 17 to transport the medicine box having a width smaller than the width of the second receiving transport unit 191B to the first receiving transport unit 191A.

[0161] However, the transport control unit 211 may control the second transport unit 17 to temporarily return any of the medicine boxes placed on the second receiving transport unit 191B to the fourth receiving transport unit 191D to an empty area of ​​the storage shelf 30. Thereafter, the transport control unit 211 may control the second transport unit 17 to transport the medicine box to be dispensed to the receiving transport unit 191 to any of the second receiving transport unit 191B to the fourth receiving transport unit 191D that has become empty.

[0162] Also, consider a case where the width of the medicine box dispensed to the receiving and conveying section 191 is equal to or larger than the width of the second receiving and conveying section 191B, and there is no space in the first receiving and conveying section 191A. The conveying control section 211 may need to dispense the medicine box dispensed to the receiving and conveying section 191 in preference to the medicine box placed on the first receiving and conveying section 191A, for example, by receiving an instruction to change the dispensing order. In this case, the conveying control section 211 controls the second conveying section 17 to temporarily return the medicine box placed on the first receiving and conveying section 191A to an empty area of ​​the storage shelf 30. Thereafter, the conveying control section 211 controls the second conveying section 17 to convey the medicine box dispensed to the receiving and conveying section 191 to the first receiving and conveying section 191A that has become empty.

[0163] <Example of processing when vibration is detected> Fig. 14 is a flow chart showing an example of processing when vibration is detected. As shown in Fig. 14, the control unit 21 judges whether the vibration detector 60 has detected a vibration of a predetermined value or more due to an earthquake or the like during operation of the storage device 1 (S1). The control unit 21 waits to receive a notification that the vibration detector 60 has detected the vibration of a predetermined value or more (NO in S1).

[0164] When the control unit 21 receives a notification from the vibration detector 60 that vibration equal to or greater than a predetermined value has been detected (YES in S1), the touch panel control unit 215 notifies the touch panel 20 that it will determine whether or not the medicine box is misaligned in its storage position. The control unit 21 may instruct the drug station 2 to make the notification via the touch panel provided in the drug station 2.

[0165] Furthermore, if the answer is YES in S1, the control unit 21 deletes the record of the medicine dispensing instruction (the instruction to remove the medicine box) that has already been accepted (S3) and stops accepting medicine dispensing instructions (S4). Furthermore, if the answer is YES in S1, the control unit 21 executes an effective stage determination process. The effective stage determination process will be described later with reference to FIG. 15. The processes of S3 to S5 do not have to be performed in the order shown in FIG. 14, and may be performed in parallel, for example. The process of S2 may be performed before or during the process of S5.

[0166] After the process of S5, the touch panel control unit 215 notifies, via the touch panel 20, that the effective stage identification process has ended (S6). The touch panel control unit 215 may display, on the touch panel 20, the storage shelves 30 from which the medicine boxes can be removed and / or the storage shelves 30 from which the medicine boxes cannot be removed. The touch panel control unit 215 may also display, on the touch panel 20, the storage positions of the medicine boxes that can be removed and / or the storage positions of the medicine boxes that cannot be removed. The control unit 21 may instruct the drug station 2 to provide, for example, a notification of whether the storage device 1 can be used or not, via the touch panel provided in the drug station 2, or may instruct the drug station 2 to provide the same notification content as that on the touch panel 20.

[0167] After the process of S5, if the storage device 1 can continue to be used, for example, if there is a storage shelf 30 from which a medicine box can be removed, the control unit 21 resumes accepting instructions to dispense medicines (S7). The processes of S6 and S7 do not have to be performed in the order shown in FIG. 14, and may be performed in parallel, for example.

[0168] <Effective stage identification process> Fig. 15 is a flow chart showing an example of the effective stage identification process. The effective stage identification process is a process for identifying a storage shelf 30 from which a medicine box can be removed (effective storage shelf 30) after vibration of a predetermined value or more is detected. As shown in Fig. 5, the control unit 21 includes a determination unit 216, a judgment unit 217, and an identification unit 218. The determination unit 216, the judgment unit 217, and the identification unit 218 are functional blocks for executing the effective stage identification process.

[0169] In this embodiment, a plurality of storage shelves 30 are divided into blocks (groups) in advance. Specifically, the blocks of storage shelves 30 are set by dividing a plurality of storage shelves 30 arranged along the vertical direction into blocks each including a predetermined number of storage shelves 30. In this embodiment, the control unit 21 performs an effective tier identification process for each of the previously set blocks of storage shelves 30. Fig. 16 is a diagram for explaining an example of setting blocks that are targets for the effective tier identification process.

[0170] Fig. 16 shows an example in which blocks are divided so that one block includes five storage shelves 30. Fig. 16 shows an example in which blocks are set starting from the bottommost storage shelf 30.

[0171] 16, when there is a space (a missing row 30SP) where a storage shelf 30 can be placed but where no storage shelf 30 is placed, a block is set assuming that a storage shelf 30 is placed in the missing row 30SP as well. Also, when there are objects (e.g. the third transport section 15, the fifth transport section 19) between vertically adjacent storage shelves 30, the block is set ignoring the presence of the objects.

[0172] 16, blocks 32A to 32D are set in order from the bottom block. For the final block set last, the number of storage shelves 30 does not need to reach the predetermined number (here, five).

[0173] As shown in Fig. 15, first, the determination unit 216 determines a target block for performing the effective stage identification process (a block to be determined by the determination unit 217) from a plurality of preset blocks. In this embodiment, the control unit 21 first determines the block at the bottom stage as the target block (S11). In the example of Fig. 16, the control unit 21 first determines the block 32A at the bottom stage as the target block.

[0174] After the process of S1, the determination unit 216 determines a target medicine box MBT in the bottom block that is to be determined by the determination unit 217 (S12). The target medicine box MBT is determined, for example, as follows. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of determining a target medicine box MBT in a target block. FIG. 17 shows an example in which multiple storage shelves 30A to 30D are arranged on one level included in the target block.

[0175] The determination unit 216 determines, as the target medicine box MBT, the medicine box stored on the end side of the entire target storage shelf among all medicine boxes stored in the target storage shelf for which the effective stage identification process is performed. In this embodiment, a plurality of storage shelves 30 are arranged in a plurality of tiers, and a plurality of storage shelves 30 are arranged in each tier. In this state, the determination unit 216 determines, as the target medicine box MBT, the medicine box MB present on the end side of at least one storage shelf 30 arranged in the target tier for which the effective stage identification process is performed.

[0176] In this embodiment, the determination unit 216 determines, as the target medicine box MBT, two medicine boxes MB stored at the furthest positions along the movement direction (±X-axis direction) of the gripper 171 in the multiple storage shelves 30 arranged on the first storage cabinet 31A side included in the target tier. The determination unit 216 also determines, as the target medicine box MBT, two medicine boxes MB stored at the furthest positions along the movement direction (±X-axis direction) of the gripper 171 in the multiple storage shelves 30 arranged on the second storage cabinet 31B side included in the target tier.

[0177] When a plurality of medicine boxes MB are arranged in a row in the depth direction of the storage device 1, the determination unit 216 may determine, for example, the medicine box MB closest to the movement path of the gripper 171 as the target medicine box MBT. However, the determination unit 216 may determine any one of the plurality of medicine boxes MB as the target medicine box MB. The determination unit 216 may determine two or more medicine boxes MB of the plurality of medicine boxes MB as the target medicine boxes MB.

[0178] As shown by reference numeral 10021 in Fig. 17, it is assumed that medicine boxes MB are stored in each of storage shelves 30A to 30D. Storage shelves 30A and 30B are two storage shelves 30 that are included in the target stage in second storage cabinet 31B and adjacent to each other along the movement direction (±X-axis direction) of gripper 171. Storage shelves 30C and 30D are two storage shelves 30 that are included in the target stage in first storage cabinet 31A and adjacent to each other along the movement direction (±X-axis direction) of gripper 171.

[0179] In the example of reference numeral 10021 in Fig. 17, the determination unit 216 determines target medicine boxes MBT1 to MBT4 for each of the storage shelves 30A to 30D. Of the two end sides along the movement direction (±X-axis direction) of the gripper 171 in the entire storage shelves 30C and 30D, a plurality of medicine boxes MB are stored in a row in the depth direction of the storage device 1 at the end side of the storage shelf 30C. Therefore, the determination unit 216 determines the medicine box MB closest to the movement path of the gripper 171 among the plurality of medicine boxes MB as the target medicine box MBT3.

[0180] As shown by reference numeral 10022 in Fig. 17, it is assumed that medicine boxes MB are stored in each of the storage shelves 30A to 30C, but medicine boxes MB are not stored in the storage shelf 30D. In this case, the determination unit 216 determines the target medicine boxes MBT1 and MBT2 in each of the storage shelves 30A and 30B. In addition, the determination unit 216 determines the two medicine boxes MB in the storage shelf 30C that are the furthest apart along the movement direction of the gripper 171 as the target medicine boxes MBT3 and MBT4.

[0181] In the storage shelf 30C, a plurality of medicine boxes MB are stored in a line in the depth direction of the storage device 1 at each of two end sides along the movement direction (±X-axis direction) of the gripper 171. Therefore, the determination unit 216 determines, among the plurality of medicine boxes MB, the medicine box MB closest to the movement path of the gripper 171 as the target medicine boxes MBT3 and MBT4.

[0182] When only one medicine box MB is stored in storage shelf 30A and / or storage shelf 30B, the determination unit 216 determines that medicine box MB as the target medicine box MBT. When only one medicine box MB is stored in storage shelf 30C and / or storage shelf 30D, the determination unit 216 determines that medicine box MB as the target medicine box MBT. When only one medicine box MB is stored in storage shelves 30A to 30D, the determination unit 216 determines that medicine box MB as the target medicine box MBT.

[0183] As shown in FIG. 15, after the process of S2, the determination unit 217 determines whether or not there is a deviation in the storage position of the target medicine box MBT determined by the determination unit 216 in any of the storage shelves 30 of the target block (S13).

[0184] The determination unit 217 determines whether or not there is a shift in the storage position of the target medicine box MBT for at least one storage shelf 30 included in one target tier designated in advance in the target block. In this case, since only one tier in each target block is the target of determination by the determination unit 217, the control unit 21 can determine whether or not the storage device 1 can be used in a shorter time than when multiple tiers in each target block are the targets of determination. For example, the top tier of multiple tiers included in each target block may be designated as the target tier.

[0185] However, multiple target tiers may be specified as the target tiers for the judgment unit 217 in each target block. All tiers included in each target block may be specified as target tiers. In this case, for example, the judgment unit 217 may judge whether there is a deviation in the storage position of the target medicine box MBT for multiple storage shelves 30 in the target block, for example, starting from the top storage shelf 30. When multiple target tiers are specified in each target block, the judgment unit 217 may determine from which target tier in the target block the storage position of the target medicine box MBT is shifted. For example, it may be determined whether there is a deviation in the storage position of the target medicine box MBT from the bottom storage shelf 30 in the target block.

[0186] For example, the transport control unit 211 causes the gripping unit 171 to perform a series of operations in which the target medicine box MBT is clamped by a pair of clamping units 1715 in the target storage shelf, and then the target medicine box MBT is returned to its original position by the pushing unit 1716 after being pulled into the placement unit 1711. The determination unit 217 may determine whether or not a shift has occurred in the storage position of the target medicine box MBT through this series of operations.

[0187] For example, the transport control unit 211 controls the second transport unit 17 to position the gripper 171 in front of one target drug box MBT determined by the determination unit 216. When the storage position of the target drug box MBT is shifted such that the depth direction of the target drug box MBT is oblique to the depth direction of the storage device 1, the gripper detection unit 1714 detects the target drug box MBT. In this case, the determination unit 217 determines that a shift has occurred in the storage position of the target drug box MBT.

[0188] For example, if the storage position of the target medicine box MBT is shifted along the depth direction of the storage device 1, the pair of clamping parts 1715 may not be able to grip the target medicine box MBT. In this case, when the pair of clamping parts 1715 is moved to the original position, the passage detection part 1751 cannot detect the passage of the target medicine box MB.

[0189] Furthermore, even if the pair of clamping parts 1715 can grip the target medicine box MBT, the placement position of the target medicine box MBT on the placement part 1711 will be different from the normal position when there is no deviation in the storage position. For example, if a detection part capable of detecting the position of the target medicine box MBT on the placement part 1711 is provided, the control part 21 can determine whether the position of the target medicine box MBT on the placement part 1711 is the normal position based on the detection result of the detection part.

[0190] Therefore, when the gripper 171 performs the pull-in operation of the target medicine box MBT, if the passage detector 1751 does not detect the passage of the target medicine box MBT, the determination unit 217 may determine that the storage position of the target medicine box MB is shifted. Also, when the controller 21 performs the pull-in operation and determines that the placement position of the target medicine box MB is different from the normal position, the determination unit 217 may determine that the storage position of the target medicine box MB is shifted.

[0191] Also, consider a case where the storage position of the target medicine box MBT is shifted along the depth direction of the storage device 1, and the grip detection unit 1714 functions as a distance measurement sensor. In this case, the distance to the target medicine box MBT measured by the grip detection unit 1714 is different from the distance to the target medicine box MBT when there is no shift in the storage position. Therefore, when it is determined that these distances do not match, the determination unit 217 may determine that there is a shift in the storage position of the target medicine box MB.

[0192] When there are multiple target medicine boxes MBT in the target tier, the judgment unit 217 judges one target medicine box MBT as the judgment target, and then, if there is no deviation in the storage position of the target medicine box MBT, judges the next target medicine box MBT as the judgment target. In addition, when multiple target tiers are specified in the target block, the judgment unit 217 may make a judgment as follows. When the judgment unit 217 judges that there is no deviation in the storage position for all target medicine boxes MBT in the target tier, it may determine whether there is a deviation in the storage position of the target medicine box MBT by using another tier as the target tier. The judgment unit 217 may repeatedly execute the judgment process until it is determined that there is a deviation in the storage position in the target block.

[0193] Consider a case where the determination unit 217 determines that the storage position of the target medicine box MB is shifted in any of the storage shelves 30 in the target block (YES in S13). In this case, the identification unit 218 identifies all medicine boxes MB in the target block and in blocks above the target block as medicine boxes MB that cannot be removed (S14).

[0194] For example, consider a case where the top shelf of the target block is specified as the target shelf. In this case, if the determination unit 217 determines that the storage position of the target medicine box MB is shifted in the top storage shelf 30, the identification unit 218 identifies all medicine boxes MB in the target block and in blocks above the target block as medicine boxes MB that cannot be taken out.

[0195] In S1, when the bottom block 32A is determined as the target block, the identification unit 218 identifies all medicine boxes MB stored in the bottom block 32A and in blocks 32B to 32D above block 32A as medicine boxes MB that cannot be taken out. That is, in this case, the identification unit 218 identifies all medicine boxes MB stored in the storage device 1 as medicine boxes MB that cannot be taken out.

[0196] When the judgment unit 217 judges that there is no deviation in the storage position of the target medicine box MB in the target block (NO in S13), the decision unit 216 judges whether the target block is the top block (S15). For example, consider a case where the top shelf of the target block is specified as the target shelf. In this case, when the judgment unit 217 judges that there is no deviation in the storage position of the target medicine box MB in the top storage shelf 30, it is presumed that there is no deviation in the storage positions of all the medicine boxes MB in the target block, and the decision unit 216 performs the process of S15.

[0197] When the determination unit 216 determines that the target block is not the top block (NO in S15), it determines the next top block as the target block. When the determination unit 216 determines that the target block is the top block (YES in S15), the control unit 21 ends this process because the effective block identification process has been performed for all blocks. In this case, the identification unit 218 can identify all medicine boxes MB stored in the storage device 1 as medicine boxes MB that can be removed.

[0198] In S1, if the bottommost block 32A is determined as the target block, the determination section 216 judges NO in S15, and determines the next topmost block 32B as the target block in S16.

[0199] Thereafter, the control unit 21 performs the processes of S12 and S13 for the block 32B. If the result of S13 is YES, the identification unit 218 identifies all the medicine boxes MB in the block 32B and in the blocks 32C and 32D above the block 32B as medicine boxes that cannot be removed. On the other hand, if the result of S13 is NO, the determination unit 216 performs the process of S15.

[0200] In this manner, the control unit 21 performs the processes of S12 to S16 until it is determined in S15 that the target block on which the process of S13 has been performed is the topmost block. In the example of Fig. 16, the control unit 21 performs the processes of S12 to S16 until it is determined in S15 that the target block on which the process of S13 has been performed is the topmost block 32D.

[0201] In the example of Fig. 16, when S13 is YES for block 32C, the identification unit 218 identifies all medicine boxes MB in block 32C and in block 32D above block 32C as medicine boxes that cannot be removed. Also, when S13 is YES for block 32D, the identification unit 218 identifies all medicine boxes MB in block 32D as medicine boxes that cannot be removed.

[0202] As described above, when there is a shift in the storage position of the target medicine box MBT in a certain target block, the identification unit 218 identifies the medicine box MB stored in the target block and in a block located above the target block as medicine boxes that cannot be removed. In other words, the identification unit 218 can identify the medicine box MB stored in a block located below the target block as a medicine box that can be removed. The identification unit 218 stores information indicating that the medicine box is unremovable or removable in the memory unit 23 in association with the medicine identification information.

[0203] When an earthquake or other phenomenon occurs that may cause a shift in the storage positions of many medicine boxes MB stored in the storage cabinet 31, the control unit 21 judges whether the gripper 171 is in a state in which the medicine boxes MB can be removed in accordance with a medicine dispensing instruction. In this embodiment, the control unit 21 temporarily deletes records up until the occurrence of the phenomenon, and temporarily stops processing in the storage device 1. Then, the control unit 21 judges whether a shift in the storage positions has occurred in the effective stage judgment process, and for storage shelves 30 where a shift in the storage positions is estimated not to have occurred, the control unit 21 enables removal of the medicine boxes from the storage shelves 30.

[0204] The control unit 21 may determine whether or not there is a shift in the storage position for all medicine boxes MB stored in the storage device 1. However, if the control unit 21 determines whether or not there is a shift in the storage position for all medicine boxes MB stored in the storage device 1, it may take a long time to identify medicine boxes that cannot be removed (i.e., medicine boxes that can be removed). The more medicine boxes MB stored in the storage device 1, the longer it will take to identify them.

[0205] As described above, when the above phenomenon occurs, the determination unit 217 determines whether or not there is a shift in the storage position for some of the medicine boxes MB (target medicine boxes MBT) stored in the storage device 1. Then, the identification unit 218 identifies medicine boxes that cannot be removed based on the determination result for some of the medicine boxes MB by the determination unit 217. Therefore, after the above phenomenon occurs, the control unit 21 identifies the presence or absence of medicine boxes that can be removed based on the determination result for some of the medicine boxes MB, and can therefore quickly determine whether or not the storage device 1 can continue to be used.

[0206] In addition, when an earthquake occurs, depending on the size and weight of the medicine box MB, the medicine box MB located at the top is more likely to shift in storage position than the medicine box located at the bottom. Therefore, if there is a shift in the storage position of the target medicine box MBT in a certain target block, it can be estimated that there is a high possibility that there is a shift in the storage position of the medicine box MB in the target block and the storage position of the medicine box MB in the block located above the target block. On the other hand, it can be estimated that there is a low possibility that there is a shift in the storage position of the medicine box in the block located below the target block.

[0207] In this embodiment, the identification unit 218 can identify the medicine box MB stored in a block located below the target block in which the storage position of the target medicine box MBT is shifted as a medicine box that can be taken out. Therefore, even if the determination unit 217 only determines whether the storage position of only some medicine boxes MB is shifted, the identification unit 218 can identify only the medicine boxes that can be estimated to be unlikely to be shifted as medicine boxes that can be taken out.

[0208] However, the determination unit 216 may not determine the target block in order from the bottom block. The determination unit 216 may determine the target block in order from the top block, for example. In addition, a storage shelf 30 that is easily affected by vibration, or a storage shelf 30 on which a medicine box MB that is easily affected by vibration is placed may be specified by an experiment or the like. In this case, the determination unit 216 may determine the target block in order from the block including these storage shelves 30.

[0209] In this embodiment, the topmost level of the target block is specified as the target level. It can be estimated that the target medicine box MBT stored in the topmost level of the multiple levels included in the target block is most likely to be displaced in storage position when an earthquake occurs. Therefore, by having the determination unit 217 determine only the target medicine box MBT in the topmost level of the target block, the time required for the determination process of the determination unit 217 can be shortened and the accuracy of the determination process can be improved.

[0210] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the multiple storage shelves 30 are divided into blocks along the vertical direction, and the determination unit 217 determines whether there is a deviation in the storage position for each block determined by the determination unit 216 as the target block. Without being limited to this, the determination unit 217 may determine whether there is a deviation in the storage position for each tier on which the storage shelves 30 are arranged. The determination unit 217 may also determine whether there is a deviation in the storage position for each storage shelf 30. In these cases, it is not necessary to divide into blocks.

[0211] However, when divided into blocks, the processes of the determination unit 216, judgment unit 217, and identification unit 218 can be performed collectively for each block. Therefore, when divided into blocks, the processing load of the determination unit 216, judgment unit 217, and identification unit 218 can be reduced.

[0212] In addition, when the determination unit 217 determines that there is a shift in the storage position of the target medicine box MBT stored in the block, tier, or storage shelf 30, the identification unit 218 may identify only the medicine box MB stored in the block, tier, or storage shelf 30 as a medicine box that cannot be removed. In this case, the identification unit 218 can identify the medicine box that cannot be removed for each block, tier, or storage shelf 30.

[0213] Furthermore, when the above phenomenon such as an earthquake occurs, the medicine boxes MB stored on the outer periphery of the tier including at least one storage shelf 30 are easily affected by vibrations when viewed from above. In particular, the medicine boxes MB stored on the end side of the tier are easily affected by vibrations in the movement direction (±X-axis direction) of the gripper 171.

[0214] In this embodiment, the determination unit 216 determines, as the target medicine box MBT, the two medicine boxes MB that are the furthest apart in the movement direction (±X-axis direction) of the gripper 171 among the multiple storage shelves 30 arranged along the movement direction. Therefore, the determination unit 216 can determine, as the target medicine box MBT, the medicine box MB that is likely to have shifted in the storage position due to vibration. Therefore, even if the determination unit 217 only determines whether or not a shift has occurred in the storage position for some medicine boxes MB, the identification unit 218 can identify only the medicine boxes that can be estimated to have a low possibility of being shifted as medicine boxes that can be taken out.

[0215] However, the determination unit 216 may specify any one of a plurality of medicine boxes MB stored in at least one storage shelf 30 constituting one stage as the target medicine box MB.

[0216] <Summary> In the storage device 1, the determination unit 217 determines whether or not a shift has occurred in the storage positions of some of the medicine boxes MB among the plurality of medicine boxes MB stored in at least one target storage shelf among the plurality of storage shelves 30. When the determination unit 217 determines that a shift has occurred in the storage positions, the identification unit 218 identifies all medicine boxes MB stored in the target storage shelf as medicine boxes that cannot be removed.

[0217] In this embodiment, as described above, the determination unit 217 determines whether or not there is a shift in the storage position of some of the medicine boxes MB among the plurality of medicine boxes MB stored in any one of the storage shelves 30 (target storage shelf) among the plurality of storage shelves 30 included in the target block. When the identification unit 218 determines that there is a shift in the storage position, it identifies all medicine boxes stored in the target block as medicine boxes that cannot be taken out.

[0218] Therefore, when the above phenomenon occurs, the control unit 21 can determine whether the medicine box MB can be removed in a short time compared to when the control unit 21 determines whether there is a shift in the storage position of all medicine boxes MB stored in the storage shelves 30 and determines whether the medicine box MB can be removed.

[0219] In addition, when the determination unit 217 determines that there is a shift in the storage position, the identification unit 218 also identifies all medicine boxes MB stored in at least one storage shelf 30 located above the target storage shelf among the multiple storage shelves 30 as medicine boxes that cannot be removed.

[0220] In this embodiment, as described above, if the judgment unit 217 determines that there is a shift in the storage positions of some of the medicine boxes in the target block, the identification unit 218 also identifies all medicine boxes MB stored in blocks located above the target block as medicine boxes that cannot be removed.

[0221] Therefore, the control unit 21 can identify the medicine box MB stored in the storage shelf 30 where it is estimated that the storage position is likely to be shifted due to the earthquake as a medicine box that cannot be removed. Therefore, the control unit 21 can identify in a shorter time whether the medicine box MB stored in multiple storage shelves 30 can be removed. Even when some medicine boxes MB are to be judged, it is possible to reduce the possibility of a situation occurring in which a medicine box MB identified as being in a state where it can be removed cannot actually be removed after the operation of the storage device 1 is restored due to the above phenomenon.

[0222] <Another example of information showing the size of the medicine box> As described above, the medicine database manages, for example, information indicating the size (e.g., length, width, and height) of the medicine box that contains the medicine, in association with each of multiple types of medicine. However, such a medicine database does not have to be stored in advance in memory unit 23. Information indicating the size of the medicine box does not have to be stored in memory unit 23. For example, only information indicating the type of medicine and / or an identification code (identification number) indicated by a barcode may be stored in memory unit 23 in advance.

[0223] In this case, each time the medicine receiving unit 11 receives a medicine box, the control unit 21 acquires information indicating the type of medicine contained in the medicine box read by the reading unit 111, and also acquires information indicating the size of the medicine box acquired, for example, as shown below. If the acquired information indicating the type of medicine matches the information indicating the type of medicine stored in advance, the control unit 21 may store the acquired information indicating the size of the medicine box in association with the information indicating the type of medicine stored in advance. In addition, if the information indicating the acquired type of medicine does not exist in the information indicating the type of medicine stored in advance, the control unit 21 may store the acquired information indicating the size of the medicine box in association with the information indicating the type of medicine. In this way, the control unit 21 may build a medicine database including the information indicating the size of the acquired medicine.

[0224] When the medicine database is constructed as described above, the information indicating the size of the medicine box includes, for example, the length, width, and height of the medicine box, as well as gripping information indicating that the medicine box can be gripped. The length of the medicine box is the length in the longitudinal direction of the medicine box. The width of the medicine box is the length in the lateral direction of the medicine box.

[0225] The height of the medicine box is specified by the presence or absence of detection by the first detection unit 113 provided in the shutter 114. The shutter control unit 212 starts an operation to open the shutter 114 from the closed state when the medicine box is placed on the first transport unit 112 and the entry / exit detection unit 115 has not detected an object. The control unit 21 specifies the movement distance of the shutter 114 from the closed state to the time when the first detection unit 113 no longer detects the medicine box. The control unit 21 specifies this movement distance as the height of the medicine box.

[0226] The control unit 21 may obtain, for example, the movement distance of a belt that operates the shutter 114 as the movement distance of the shutter 114. The control unit 21 may measure the number of rotations of a motor that drives the belt when moving the belt, and calculate the movement distance of the belt from the number of rotations. The control unit 21 may also measure the time from when the shutter 114 is closed to when the first detection unit 113 no longer detects the medicine box, and may multiply the time by the movement speed of the shutter 114 to determine the movement distance of the shutter 114.

[0227] One of the vertical and horizontal lengths of the medicine box is calculated based on the detection time of the medicine box by the width detection unit 13 and the moving speed of the conveyor belt of the 3-1 conveyor unit 15A (the conveyor speed of the medicine box). The one length may be the moving distance of the conveyor belt of the 3-1 conveyor unit 15A during the detection time of the medicine box by the width detection unit 13. This allows the length of the medicine box to be detected as the length in the direction of movement when the pair of clamping units 1715 grips the medicine box.

[0228] The other of the vertical and horizontal lengths of the medicine box may be identified using the passage detection unit 1751 of the gripping unit 171. In this case, the transport control unit 211 controls the pair of clamping units 1715 to pull the medicine box placed on the third transport unit 15 to the initial position of the pushing unit 1716. The initial position of the pushing unit 1716 is the position of the pushing unit 1716 that is the farthest from the passage detection unit 1751.

[0229] When the medicine box is in contact with the pusher 1716 in the initial position, the transport control unit 211 separates the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b by a predetermined distance, and then moves the pusher 1716 toward the passage detection unit 1751. The transport control unit 211 moves the pusher 1716 toward the passage detection unit 1751 until the passage detection unit 1751 detects the medicine box.

[0230] The transport control unit 211 specifies the movement distance of the pusher unit 1716 from the initial position to the position where the passage detection unit 1751 detects the medicine box. For example, the transport control unit 211 may measure the number of rotations of a motor that drives the pusher unit 1716 and specify the movement distance of the pusher unit 1716 from the number of rotations. The transport control unit 211 specifies the other length by subtracting the specified movement distance of the pusher unit 1716 from the distance between the initial position of the pusher unit 1716 and the passage detection unit 1751.

[0231] In this example, since information indicating the size of the medicine box is not stored in advance in storage unit 23, direction identification unit 213 cannot identify the orientation of the medicine box received by medicine receiving unit 11. Therefore, in this example, the medicine box is transported to third transport unit 15 even when the medicine box is placed on first transport unit 112 with its longitudinal direction facing the depth direction of storage device 1, and even when the medicine box is placed on first transport unit 112 with its lateral direction facing the depth direction of storage device 1.

[0232] Therefore, when the medicine box is placed on the first conveyor 112 with its longitudinal direction facing the depth direction of the storage device 1, the control unit 21 uses the width detection unit 13 to identify the horizontal length of the medicine box, and uses the passage detection unit 1751 to identify the vertical length of the medicine box. On the other hand, when the medicine box is placed on the first conveyor 112 with its transverse direction facing the depth direction of the storage device 1, the control unit 21 uses the width detection unit 13 to identify the vertical length of the medicine box, and uses the passage detection unit 1751 to identify the horizontal length of the medicine box.

[0233] However, the touch panel control unit 215 may display on the touch panel 20, for example, to indicate that the medicine box should be placed on the first transport unit 112 so that the longitudinal direction of the medicine box faces the depth direction of the storage device 1. Furthermore, for the medicine box after acquiring information indicating the size of the medicine box, the direction identification unit 213 can identify the orientation of the medicine box.

[0234] The gripping information is information that specifies the distance between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b that can grip the medicine box (the distance between the pair of clamping parts 1715). This distance may be, for example, the distance at the tip of the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b (the position farthest from the clamping support part 1720).

[0235] The gripping information may be specified based on, for example, a torque detection result by the torque detection unit 176. As shown in FIG. 5, the second transport unit 17 includes a torque detection unit 176. Specifically, the torque detection unit 176 is provided in the gripping unit 171. The torque detection unit 176 detects, for example, the torque of the gear drive unit 1731. Specifically, the torque detection unit 176 detects the torque of a motor included in the gear drive unit 1731. The gear drive unit 1731 moves the pair of gripping units 1715 (grip plates 1715a, 1715b) via the pair of moving bodies 1733 along the operating direction when the pair of gripping units 1715 grips the medicine box.

[0236] The memory unit 23 may store a reference current value corresponding to a torque detected when the pair of clamping parts 1715 grips a medicine box. The reference current value is set to a distance shorter than the length of the medicine box detected by the width detection unit 13 and shorter than the actual length of the medicine box. The reference current value is set, for example, through an experiment or the like, to a current value that allows the pair of clamping parts 1715 to grip the heaviest medicine box among the medicine boxes that can be stored in the storage device 1 (medicine boxes that can be transported by the second transport unit).

[0237] The transport control unit 211 moves the pair of clamping units 1715 to the position of the medicine box placed on the third transport unit 15. The transport control unit 211 moves the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b closer to each other until the current value corresponding to the torque detected by the torque detection unit 176 becomes the reference current value while the medicine box is located between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b.

[0238] The transport control unit 211 determines that the pair of clamping units 1715 has gripped the medicine box when the current value corresponding to the torque detected by the torque detection unit 176 becomes the reference current value. The control unit 21 specifies the distance between the gripping plates 1715a, 1715b at this time, and specifies the distance as gripping information. For example, the control unit 21 may measure the number of rotations of the motor included in the gear drive unit 1731, and specify the distance between the gripping plates 1715a, 1715b from the number of rotations.

[0239] In this manner, the control unit 21 executes a first process for acquiring gripping information by narrowing the distance between the pair of gripping parts 1715 in a state in which the medicine box is located between the pair of gripping parts 1715 (between gripping plates 1715a, 1715b). The first process can also be called a measurement process for measuring the distance between the pair of gripping parts, which is the distance at which the medicine box can be gripped, by narrowing the distance.

[0240] In this embodiment, the control unit 21 executes a first process of narrowing the distance between the pair of clamping parts 1715 and acquiring, as gripping information, the distance when the pair of clamping parts 1715 clamp the medicine box. Specifically, the control unit 21 executes a first process of acquiring, as gripping information, the distance when the current value becomes a reference current value in a state where the pair of clamping parts 1715 clamp the medicine box.

[0241] The gripping information may be the distance between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b at which the medicine box can be firmly gripped. For example, when the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b grip the medicine box, the current value detected when the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b are bent by a predetermined amount (for example, about 4 mm) from the state where they are in contact with the medicine box may be stored as the reference current value. This allows the control unit 21 to acquire the distance between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b at which the medicine box can be firmly gripped (the distance when the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b are bent by the predetermined amount) as the gripping information.

[0242] The control unit 21 executes a second process in which the pair of clamping units 1715 grips the medicine box to be transported by narrowing the distance between the pair of clamping units 1715 using the gripping information acquired by the first process. Specifically, the control unit 21 acquires gripping information every time the medicine receiving unit 11 receives a medicine box, and stores the information in the storage unit 23. The medicine box for which gripping information has been acquired is stored in the storage shelf 30. The control unit 21 controls the second transport unit 17 to transport the medicine box stored in the storage shelf 30 and to grip the medicine box to be transported by the pair of clamping units 1715 using the gripping information of the medicine box. The second process may be performed after the power of the storage device 1 that executed the first process is turned off and then turned on again, or the first process and the second process may be performed while the storage device 1 is in operation.

[0243] In this way, by storing the gripping information in the memory unit 23, the control unit 21 can operate the pair of clamping units 1715 using the gripping information when gripping a medicine box stored in the storage shelf 30. Therefore, the transport control unit 211 can cause the pair of clamping units 1715 to grip the medicine box without performing an operation such as gripping the medicine box while measuring a current value flowing through a motor provided in the gear drive unit 1731 that drives the pair of clamping units 1715. Therefore, the time required for the pair of clamping units 1715 to grip the medicine box can be shortened.

[0244] Furthermore, by constructing a medicine database each time medicine receiving section 11 receives a medicine box, storage location management section 214 can refer to the medicine database to identify the size of the medicine box and determine the storage location of the medicine box.

[0245] After the gripper 171 pulls in the medicine box, the control unit 21 acquires information indicating either the vertical or horizontal length of the medicine box received by the medicine receiving unit 11. Therefore, after the gripper 171 pulls in the medicine box, the control unit 21 acquires all of the information indicating the size of the medicine box (information indicating the vertical, horizontal, and height of the medicine box, and gripping information). Therefore, when the control unit 21 is building a medicine database, the storage position management unit 214 determines the storage position of the medicine box after the gripper 171 pulls in the medicine box and acquires all of the information indicating the size of the medicine box.

[0246] As described above, each time a medicine box is received by the medicine receiving section 11, the control section 21 acquires information indicating the size of the medicine box and constructs a medicine database, so that there is no need to store information indicating the size of the medicine box in the memory section 23 in advance.

[0247] In addition, the size of the medicine box may change (packaging change). In this case, the information attached to the surface of the medicine box after the change (e.g., information attached in the form of a barcode) may be the same as the information attached to the surface of the medicine box before the change. If these pieces of information are the same, the size of the medicine box stored in the memory unit 23 in advance may differ from the actual size of the medicine box received by the medicine receiving unit 11.

[0248] The control unit 21 can obtain the size of the medicine box before and after the packaging change by acquiring information indicating the size of the medicine box and constructing a medicine database. Therefore, even if the packaging change occurs, the first transport unit 112 can transport the medicine box from the medicine receiving unit 11 to the third transport unit 15. In addition, the gripping unit 171 can grip both the medicine box before and after the packaging change. Furthermore, the storage position management unit 214 can appropriately manage the storage position of the medicine box.

[0249] Furthermore, when the drug database is stored in advance in memory unit 23, data indicating the size of the drug box containing a new drug sold after the drug database was stored is not stored in the drug database. Control unit 21 acquires information indicating the type of new drug and information indicating the size of the drug box and stores them in the drug database, so that storage device 1 can transport and store the drug box containing the new drug.

[0250] <Summary> The storage device 1 can also be described, for example, as follows.

[0251] The transport device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure (storage device 1, second transport unit 17) is A conveying device for conveying a medicine box, A pair of clamping parts (1715) that clamp the medicine box to hold the medicine box; a reading unit (111) for reading the type of medicine contained in the medicine box to be gripped by the pair of gripping units; and a control unit (21) that acquires gripping information that defines the distance between the pair of clamping parts and the distance at which the medicine box can be gripped, and stores the information in association with each type of medicine read by the reading unit.

[0252] When information indicating the size of the medicine box is stored in advance, the distance between the pair of clamping parts when the pair of clamping parts grips the medicine box is determined based on the information indicating the size of the medicine box stored in advance. On the other hand, when information indicating the size of the medicine box is not stored in advance, the pair of clamping parts may not be able to grip various medicine boxes having different sizes. By storing the gripping information as described above, the pair of clamping parts can grip the various medicine boxes to be transported.

[0253] In addition, the conveying device according to the second aspect of the present disclosure is the above-mentioned first aspect, A detection unit (width detection unit 13) is provided which detects the length of the medicine box by passing the medicine box, and the length in the operating direction when the pair of clamping units grips the medicine box, The control unit specifies a distance that is shorter than the length of the medicine box detected by the detection unit and shorter than the actual length of the medicine box as the distance indicated by the gripping information.

[0254] When information indicating the length of the medicine box is stored in advance as information indicating the size of the medicine box, the distance between the pair of clamping parts when the pair of clamping parts grip the medicine box is set to be slightly smaller than the length of the medicine box so that the pair of clamping parts can grip the medicine box. When the length of the medicine box is stored in advance, this length of the medicine box is the actual length.

[0255] On the other hand, if information indicating the length of the medicine box is not stored in advance, the transport device detects the length of the medicine box by the detection unit as described above. In this case, the medicine box may be detected as being longer than its actual length. Therefore, even if the transport device sets the distance between the pair of clamping parts to be slightly smaller than the detected length of the medicine box so that the pair of clamping parts can grip the medicine box, the set value may be set to be larger than the actual length of the medicine box. In this case, the pair of clamping parts may not be able to grip the medicine box.

[0256] By identifying the distance indicated by the gripping information as described above, the transport device can cause the pair of clamping parts to grip the medicine box even if information indicating the length of the medicine box is not stored in advance.

[0257] In addition, the conveying device according to a third aspect of the present disclosure is the above-mentioned second aspect, A gear drive unit (1731) that moves the pair of clamping units along the operating direction; a torque detector (176) for detecting the torque of the gear drive unit, The control unit identifies the grip information based on a torque detection result by the torque detection unit.

[0258] In addition, the conveying device (second conveying unit 17) according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure includes: A conveying device for conveying a medicine box, A pair of clamping parts (1715) for gripping the medicine box by clamping the medicine box; A first process of acquiring gripping information that specifies a distance between the pair of clamping parts and a distance at which the medicine box can be gripped by narrowing the distance between the pair of clamping parts while the medicine box is positioned between the pair of clamping parts; The device is also equipped with a control unit (21) that executes a second process of narrowing the distance between the pair of clamping parts using the acquired gripping information, thereby causing the pair of clamping parts to grip the medicine box to be transported.

[0259] The transport device can acquire gripping information by executing the first process. Then, the transport device can grip the medicine box to be transported by narrowing the distance between the pair of clamping parts by the distance indicated by the gripping information by executing the second process. Therefore, even if information indicating the size of the medicine box is not stored in advance, the transport device can grip various medicine boxes to be transported by executing the first process and the second process.

[0260] <Example of identifying storage location> When the control unit 21 acquires information indicating the size of the medicine box and constructs the medicine database, the information indicating the size of the medicine box includes two types of information on the width of the medicine box: information indicating the length or width of the medicine box, and gripping information. When determining the storage position of the medicine box, the storage position management unit 214 may use these two types of information as the width of the medicine box.

[0261] For example, when the medicine box to be stored is first stored in the storage shelf 30, the storage position management unit 214 may determine the width coordinate of the medicine box at the storage position using the larger value of the gripping information and the information indicating the length or width of the medicine box as the medicine box width information. Even when the medicine box to be stored is stored in a row different from the medicine boxes stored in the storage shelf 30, the storage position management unit 214 may determine the width coordinate of the medicine box at the storage position using the larger value of the information as the medicine box width information.

[0262] Also, for example, consider a case where the storage position management unit 214 stores the medicine box to be stored in the same row as the medicine box stored in the storage shelf 30. In this case, the storage position management unit 214 may determine the coordinates of the medicine box in the width direction at the storage position using the smaller value of the information indicating the length or width of the medicine box and the gripping information as the medicine box width direction information.

[0263] <Checking whether the medicine box is being held after power is restored> Consider a case where power is suddenly lost due to a power outage or the like while the pair of clamping parts 1715 is gripping a medicine box. In this case, the transport control part 211 may execute a closing operation of the pair of clamping parts 1715 after the power is restored, and determine whether the pair of clamping parts 1715 is gripping a medicine box. For example, the transport control part 211 determines whether a current value corresponding to the torque detected by the torque detection part 176 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. If the current value is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the transport control part 211 determines that the pair of clamping parts 1715 is gripping a medicine box.

[0264] This allows the transport control unit 211 to recognize that the pair of clamping units 1715 was holding the medicine box before the power was lost. The above-mentioned predetermined value may be set to a current value that allows the pair of clamping units 1715 to hold the medicine box, for example, through an experiment or the like. The predetermined value may be, for example, a reference current value.

[0265] When the transport control unit 211 determines that the pair of clamping units 1715 are holding a medicine box, it controls the second transport unit 17 to transport the medicine box held by the pair of clamping units 1715 from the storage device 1 to a position where an operator can remove it.

[0266] For example, the second transport section 17 may transport the medicine box held by the pair of gripping sections 1715 to the third transport section 15. In this case, the operator can remove the medicine box on the third transport section 15 by opening the second door 52. The transport control section 211 may control the third transport section 15 and the first transport section 112, and the shutter control section 212 may control the opening and closing operation of the shutter 114, so that the medicine box placed on the third transport section 15 may be transported to the medicine receiving section 11. In this case, the operator can remove the medicine box from the medicine receiving section 11.

[0267] <Direction of placement of medicine boxes on storage shelves> Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of medicine boxes MB in the storage shelf 30. As shown by the symbol AL1 in Fig. 18, the medicine boxes MB can be stored in the storage shelf 30 with their longitudinal direction facing the depth direction of the storage device 1. This storage method is referred to as a first storage method.

[0268] Consider a case where the direction specifying unit 213 specifies the orientation of the medicine box MB. In this case, in the present embodiment, when the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB in contact with the shutter 114 faces the depth direction of the storage device 1, the control unit 21 opens the shutter 114 and operates the first conveying unit 112. As a result, the first conveying unit 112 delivers the medicine box MB on the first conveying unit 112 to the third conveying unit 15, and the second conveying unit 17 stores the medicine box MB delivered onto the third conveying unit 15 in the storage shelf 30 so that the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB faces the depth direction of the storage device 1.

[0269] However, as shown by symbol AL2 in Fig. 18, the medicine boxes MB may be stored in the storage shelf 30 with the short side direction facing the depth direction of the storage device 1. This storage method is referred to as a second storage method. When the direction specifying unit 213 specifies the orientation of the medicine box MB, if the short side direction of the medicine box MB in contact with the shutter 114 faces the depth direction of the storage device 1, the control unit 21 may open the shutter 114 and operate the first transport unit 112.

[0270] In this way, in the storage device 1, the medicine box MB can be stored in either the first storage method or the second storage method. However, the control unit 21 may be capable of switching the storage method of the medicine box MB. For example, the control unit 21 may be capable of switching between a first mode that allows either the first storage method or the second storage method, and a second mode that allows only the first storage method and does not allow the second storage method.

[0271] The number of medicine boxes MB that can be stored in one row in the depth direction of the storage shelf 30 is preset. The number of medicine boxes MB is set in consideration of storing the medicine boxes MB in the first storage method in which the length of each medicine box MB in the depth direction is large. In the example of FIG. 18, the number of medicine boxes MB is three.

[0272] In this case, when a plurality of medicine boxes MB are stored in one row using the second storage method, an empty space SP is formed in the same row, as shown by symbol AL2 in Fig. 18. When the second mode is set as the storage method for the medicine boxes MB, the possibility of such an empty space SP being formed can be reduced.

[0273] Consider a case where the direction specifying unit 213 specifies the orientation of the medicine box MB. In the second mode, when the short side direction of the medicine box MB that contacts the shutter 114 faces the depth direction of the storage device 1, the control unit 21 keeps the shutter 114 in the closed state and does not need to transfer the medicine box MB on the first transport unit 112 to the third transport unit 15. In this case, the touch panel control unit 215 may cause the touch panel 20 to notify that the medicine box MB cannot be stored in the storage device 1.

[0274] Also, consider a case where control unit 21 acquires information indicating the size of the medicine box and constructs a medicine database (a case where direction identification unit 213 cannot identify the orientation of medicine box MB). In the second mode, control unit 21 may not perform a storage operation for medicine box MB when the length of one side of medicine box MB identified using width detection unit 13 is longer than the length of the other side of medicine box MB identified using passage detection unit 1751. In this case, touch panel control unit 215 may cause touch panel 20 to notify that medicine box MB cannot be stored in storage device 1.

[0275] <Log recording regarding the operating status of the second transport unit> The control unit 21 may record data (log) indicating the operating state of the second transport unit 17 in the storage unit 23. The data may be, for example, data indicating whether the second transport unit 17 is operating normally, whether the gripper 171 is holding a medicine box on the placement unit 1711, and whether the gripper 171 is accessing an access destination. The access destination may be the third transport unit 15, the fifth transport unit 19, or the storage shelf 30.

[0276] By making such a record, even if power is suddenly lost due to a power outage or the like while transporting medicine boxes, the control unit 21 can identify the operating state of the second transport unit 17 immediately before the power loss after the power is restored. In addition, the control unit 21 can identify the number of stocks in the storage device 1 immediately before the power loss after the power is restored.

[0277] <Inventory Limit Setting> For example, a first upper limit value of the number of medicine boxes that can be stored in the storage device 1 may be set in advance for each medicine type and each medicine packaging form. The first upper limit value is stored in the storage unit 23.

[0278] The information attached to the surface of the medicine box may include information indicating the medicine packaging form, such as a medicine box that contains a specified number of medicines and is the smallest packaging form.

[0279] The control unit 21 acquires medicine identification information and information indicating the medicine packaging form as information (e.g., GS1 code) attached to the surface of the medicine box in the medicine receiving unit 11. The control unit 21 can manage the number of medicine boxes in stock for each medicine type and each medicine packaging form. Furthermore, when the control unit 21 acquires the information attached to the surface of the medicine box, it can determine whether the medicine box inventory has reached a first upper limit value. If the medicine box inventory has reached the first upper limit value, the control unit 21 does not perform a storage operation of the medicine box in the storage cabinet 31.

[0280] Also, for example, a second upper limit value of the number of medicines that can be stored in the storage device 1 may be set in advance for each type of medicine. The second upper limit value is stored in the storage unit .

[0281] The control unit 21 can manage the number of medicines in stock for each type of medicine by acquiring medicine identification information and information indicating the packaging form of the medicine as information attached to the surface of the medicine box in the medicine receiving unit 11. Furthermore, the control unit 21 can determine whether the number of medicines in stock has reached a second upper limit when acquiring the information attached to the surface of the medicine box. If the number of medicines in stock in the medicine box has reached the second upper limit, the control unit 21 does not perform the operation of storing the medicine box in the storage cabinet 31.

[0282] By setting an upper limit on the number of medicine boxes or the number of medicines in this manner, the possibility that the types of medicines stored in the storage device 1 will be biased can be reduced.

[0283] <Initial operation after power recovery> An example of the initial operation after power restoration will be described with reference to Figures 4, 19, and 20. Power restoration includes (1) a case where an operator turns the power on after turning it off, and (2) a case where an operator turns the power on after an unexpected power loss occurs due to a power outage or the like, or a case where the control unit 21 automatically turns the power on. First, before describing an example of processing related to the initial operation after power restoration, a temporary placement space that is the subject of determination as to whether a medicine box is placed therein in the initial operation after power restoration will be described.

[0284] <Temporary storage space> FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a storage state of the medicine box MB and the temporary storage space TSP. As shown by reference numeral 10031 in FIG. 19, a plurality of medicine boxes MB can be arranged in a line in the depth direction of the storage device 1 in the storage shelf 30. In this state, when the medicine box MB stored at the back side of the storage shelf 30 is taken out, the medicine box MB stored at the front side of the storage shelf 30 is transported to another empty space of the storage shelf 30. In the example of FIG. 19, when the medicine box MB2 is taken out, the medicine box MB1 is transported to the empty space. Also, when the medicine box MB3 is taken out, the medicine boxes MB1 and MB2 are transported to the empty space.

[0285] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 19, a temporary storage space TSP is set in a part of the storage shelf 30. The temporary storage space TSP is a storage space for medicine boxes MB to temporarily evacuate the medicine box MB on the near side from the medicine box MB on the far side when the control unit 21 receives an instruction to remove the medicine box MB on the far side among the multiple medicine boxes MB stored along the depth direction of the storage device 1.

[0286] The temporary storage space TSP may be set in any of the storage shelves 30, or in any position of the storage shelf 30. The temporary storage space TSP may be large enough to accommodate a plurality of medicine boxes MB that have the longest short-side length or long-side length among the medicine boxes MB that can be stored in the storage device 1, in a row along the depth direction of the storage device 1. When the medicine boxes MB are stored in the storage shelf 30 so that the long-side direction of the medicine boxes MB is aligned with the depth direction of the storage device 1, the width of the temporary storage space TSP in the X-axis direction may be set to a width that allows the medicine box MB with the longest short-side length to be placed. However, the temporary storage space TSP may have a width that allows two or more rows of medicine boxes to be placed.

[0287] The temporary storage space TSP is set in advance, and its position information is stored in the storage unit 23. The temporary storage space TSP may be set in one location or in multiple locations. The temporary storage space TSP may not be set in advance. In this case, the control unit 21 may set an empty space as the temporary storage space TSP each time it receives an instruction to remove the medicine box MB at the back side. The control unit 21 may store the position information set as the temporary storage space TSP in the storage unit 23, and delete the position information of the temporary storage space TSP after the medicine box MB is removed from the temporary storage space TSP.

[0288] The control unit 21 stores placement data (log) indicating the placement state of the medicine box MB in the temporary placement space TSP in the memory unit 23. For example, the control unit 21 may store the placement data of the medicine box MB when the medicine box MB is placed in the temporary placement space TSP (for example, when the pair of clamping units 1715 releases the clamping of the medicine box MB).

[0289] For example, the control unit 21 may store information indicating the position where the medicine box MB is placed in the storage unit 23 as the placement data of the medicine box MB placed in the temporary placement space TSP in association with the medicine identification information of the medicine contained in the medicine box MB. Also, for example, the control unit 21 may store information indicating the position where the medicine box MB was stored before being placed in the temporary placement space TSP in association with the medicine identification information in the storage unit 23 as the placement data of the medicine box MB placed in the temporary placement space TSP. The control unit 21 may delete the placement data of the medicine box MB when the medicine box MB is removed from the temporary placement space TSP (for example, when the pair of clamping units 1715 clamps the medicine box MB). Alternatively, the control unit 21 may add removal information indicating that the medicine box MB has been removed to the placement data.

[0290] <Initial operation flow after power recovery> FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of a process related to an initial operation after power recovery.

[0291] After the power is restored, the transport control unit 211 determines whether the medicine box MB is placed on the placement unit 1711 of the gripper 171 (S21). For example, as described above in <<Confirmation of gripping of medicine box after power is restored>>, the transport control unit 211 executes the closing operation of the pair of clamping units 1715, and determines whether the current value corresponding to the torque detected by the torque detection unit 176 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. If the transport control unit 211 determines that the current value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, it determines that the pair of clamping units 1715 are gripping the medicine box MB. If the transport control unit 211 determines that the pair of clamping units 1715 are gripping the medicine box MB, it determines that the medicine box MB is placed on the placement unit 1711.

[0292] When the transport control unit 211 determines that the medicine box MB is placed on the placement unit 1711 (YES in S21), it controls the second transport unit 17 to transport the medicine box MB from the storage device 1 to a position where the worker can take it out (S22). For example, the second transport unit 17 transports the medicine box MB held by the pair of clamping units 1715 to the third transport unit 15.

[0293] Thereafter, the touch panel control unit 215 displays on the touch panel 20 a notification image that prompts the worker to remove the medicine box MB transported to the third transport unit 15 from the third transport unit 15 (S23). The control unit 21 may notify the notification content as a sound. This allows the worker to remove the medicine box MB on the third transport unit 15 by opening the second door 52.

[0294] In S21, when the transport control unit 211 determines that the medicine box MB is not placed on the placement unit 1711 (NO in S21), the storage position management unit 214 determines whether the placement data includes placement information indicating that the medicine box MB is placed in the temporary placement space TSP (S24). When the placement data includes information on the medicine box MB to which the removal information is not added, the storage position management unit 214 may determine that the placement data includes the placement information.

[0295] When the storage position management unit 214 determines that the placement data includes the placement information (YES in S24), the control unit 21 performs the process of S22. When YES in S24, the medicine box MB corresponding to the placement information is placed in the temporary placement space TSP. Therefore, after the transport control unit 211 transports the medicine box MB placed in the temporary placement space TSP to the third transport unit 15, the touch panel control unit 215 displays the notification image on the touch panel 20.

[0296] On the other hand, if the storage location management unit 214 determines that the placement data does not include the placement information (NO in S24), the transport control unit 211 controls the second transport unit 17 to determine whether a medicine box MB is placed in the temporary placement space TSP (S25).

[0297] When making the determination in S25, as shown in Fig. 19, the transport control unit 211 controls the second transport unit 17 to move the gripper 171 to the temporary placement space TSP. Then, the transport control unit 211 makes the gripper 171 pass in front of the temporary placement space TSP to cause the gripper detector 1714 to scan the temporary placement space TSP. As shown by reference numeral 10032 in Fig. 19, when the gripper detector 1714 detects an object as a result of scanning by the gripper detector 1714, the transport control unit 211 determines that a medicine box MB is placed in the temporary placement space TSP.

[0298] When the transport control unit 211 determines that the medicine box MB is placed in the temporary storage space TSP (YES in S25), the touch panel control unit 215 displays a notification image on the touch panel 20 to prompt the operator to remove the medicine box MB from the temporary storage space TSP (S26). The control unit 21 may notify the notification content as a sound.

[0299] It is also assumed that, due to a malfunction such as a sudden power loss, the above placement data does not include information on the medicine box MB even though the medicine box MB is placed in the temporary placement space TSP. By displaying the above-mentioned notification image for such medicine box MB, the worker can remove it from the temporary placement space TSP.

[0300] After the process of S26, the touch panel control unit 215 determines whether an input operation indicating that the worker has confirmed the notification content has been received via the touch panel 20 (S27). The touch panel control unit 215 waits until the input operation is received (NO in S27). If the input operation is received (YES in S27), the touch panel control unit 215 performs the process of S25 again.

[0301] If the medicine box MB is placed in the temporary storage space TSP but the placement data does not include information on the medicine box MB, the control unit 21 performs transport control of the medicine box MB after the power is restored, assuming that the medicine box MB is not placed in the temporary storage space TSP. Therefore, unless the worker removes the medicine box MB from the temporary storage space TSP, there is a possibility that another medicine box MB will be transported to the temporary storage space TSP while the medicine box MB is placed in the temporary storage space TSP. In this case, there is a possibility that the medicine box MB placed in the temporary storage space TSP will be crushed by the other medicine box MB.

[0302] By accepting the above input operation in S27, in a state where it is highly likely that the medicine box MB has been removed from the temporary storage space TSP, another medicine box MB can be placed in the temporary storage space TSP. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the medicine box MB placed in the temporary storage space TSP will be crushed by another medicine box MB.

[0303] After the process of S27, the control unit 21 performs the process of S25 again. As a result, even if the operator performs the above input operation without removing the medicine box MB from the temporary storage space TSP, the control unit 21 can notify the operator to remove the medicine box MB. Therefore, the possibility that the medicine box MB placed in the temporary storage space TSP will be crushed by another medicine box MB can be further reduced.

[0304] After the process of S23, and when the transport control unit 211 determines that the medicine box MB is not placed in the temporary placement space TSP (NO in S25), the process related to the initial operation after power restoration is terminated.

[0305] <Other processing methods> When S25 is YES, the control unit 21 may perform the processes of S22 and S23 instead of the process of S26. That is, when the transport control unit 211 determines in S25 that the medicine box MB is placed in the temporary placement space TSP, the transport control unit 211 may transport the medicine box MB placed in the temporary placement space TSP to the third transport unit 15. Thereafter, the touch panel control unit 215 may display the above-mentioned notification image on the touch panel 20. In addition, the control unit 21 may perform the process of S25 again after transporting the medicine box MB placed in the temporary placement space TSP to the third transport unit 15. However, the control unit 21 may not perform the process of S25 again.

[0306] The control unit 21 does not need to perform the process of S24. In this case, when the control unit 21 determines that the medicine box MB is not placed on the placement unit 1711 (NO in S21), it only needs to control the second transport unit 17 to determine whether the medicine box MB is placed in the temporary placement space TSP (S25). In addition, the control unit 21 does not need to perform the process of S27. In other words, the control unit 21 does not need to perform the process of S25 again.

[0307] In this way, the control unit 21 needs to perform at least the processes of S21 to S23 and the processes of S25 to S26 (or the processes of S22 and S23 instead of the process of S26).

[0308] [Software implementation example] The functions of the storage device 1 (hereinafter referred to as the "device") can be realized by a program for causing a computer to function as the device, and a program for causing a computer to function as each control block of the device (particularly each part included in the control unit 21).

[0309] In this case, the device includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., a memory) as hardware for executing the program. The control device and storage device execute the program to realize each function described in each of the above embodiments.

[0310] The program may be non-transitory and may be recorded in one or more computer-readable recording media. The recording media may or may not be included in the device. In the latter case, the program may be provided to the device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0311] In addition, some or all of the functions of each of the control blocks can be realized by a logic circuit. For example, an integrated circuit in which a logic circuit that functions as each of the control blocks is formed is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, the functions of each of the control blocks can be realized by, for example, a quantum computer.

[0312] Furthermore, each process described in each of the above embodiments may be executed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI ​​may be operated by the control device or may be operated by another device (for example, an edge computer or a cloud server).

[0313] [Additional Notes] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0314] 1 Storage device 30 Storage Shelves 217 Judgment section 218 Specific section MB medicine box MBT target medicine boxes (some medicine boxes)

Claims

1. Multiple storage shelves capable of storing medicine boxes containing medicines, It comprises a control unit and, The control unit, A determination unit that determines whether there is a shift in the storage position of some of the drug boxes among the multiple drug boxes stored in at least one of the target storage shelves among the multiple storage shelves, A storage device comprising: a determination unit that determines that a discrepancy has occurred in the storage position, and a determination unit that identifies all drug boxes stored in the target storage shelf as drug boxes that cannot be removed.

2. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein, when the determination unit determines that a shift has occurred in the storage position, the identifying unit identifies all drug boxes stored in at least one storage shelf located above the target storage shelf among the plurality of storage shelves as drug boxes that cannot be removed.

3. Equipped with a vibration detector, The storage device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination unit determines whether a shift has occurred in the storage position when the control unit receives notification from the vibration detector that vibration has been detected.

4. Equipped with a vibration detector, The control unit, If the vibration detector notifies that vibration has been detected, the acceptance of drug dispensing orders will be suspended. The storage device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, after stopping the acceptance of instructions for dispensing the aforementioned drug, if there is a storage shelf for storing drug boxes that were not identified as drug boxes that cannot be removed by the identification unit as a result of the determination process by the determination unit, the acceptance of instructions for dispensing the drug is resumed.

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