Dosing support device

Abstract

To take out medicine packs laminated in storage means by stably absorbing without disorder with respect to a dosing support device.SOLUTION: A dosing support device 200 includes: a cartridge 10 for storing medicine packs 2 or the like; a carriage 50 having an absorption part 51 for taking out the specific medicine pack 2 from the cartridge 10; a guide member 59 for changing an attitude of the absorption part 51; a transfer part 90 for moving the carriage 50; and a control part 150 for controlling an operation of taking out the medicine packs 2 of the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50. When taking out the medicine pack is failed in a first taking-out position by a rise amount of the absorption part 51 to the medicine packs 2 of the cartridge 10, the taking-out operation is performed in a second taking-out position in which a rise amount of the absorption part 51 is more increased than in the first taking-out position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 19

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a medication support device. [Background technology]

[0002] A technique is known for a medication support device in which the posture of the suction part is variable and the position of the suction part is changed after suction failure to perform the suction operation again in order to remove a medicine pack that has failed to be suctioned (see Patent Document 1). Also, a technique is known for a medication support device in which the suction part height (position in the direction of the suction object) is changed according to the type of the suction object in order to remove medicines of various sizes from a storage container and the suction operation is performed (see Patent Document 2). Also, a technique is known for a medication support device in which a push-up rod is provided below the storage container in order to change the posture of the medicine in the storage container (see Patent Document 3). Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] The invention described in Patent Document 1 is certainly similar to the present invention in that the attitude of the suction part is variable and the position of the suction part is changed to perform a retry operation. However, since the retry operation is performed without changing the amount of movement (push) of the suction part in the direction of the object to be suctioned, the problem of being unable to suction when one end of the drug packs stacked in the cartridge gets caught and tilted has not been resolved.

[0004] The invention described in Patent Document 2 is certainly similar to the present invention in that the removal operation is performed by changing the amount of pressing of the suction part. However, since the removal operation involves changing only the amount of pressure applied without changing the posture of the suction part, if the same type of medicine (medicine packs) are stacked in the cartridge and tilted, the relative angle between the medicine and the suction part becomes large, causing air to leak out and making it impossible to adsorb the medicine, and the problem has not been solved.

[0005] The invention described in Patent Document 3 is certainly similar to the present invention in that when adsorption fails, the drug in the storage container is pushed up and its position is changed before the drug is removed again. However, the problem of the medicines not being able to be taken out in the correct order because the medicines are placed in a random manner inside the storage container and their positions are changed has not been solved.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to stably adsorb and remove drug packs stacked in a storage means in an orderly manner in a medication support device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a medication support device comprising a storage means for storing drug packs, a removal means having an adsorption portion for removing a specific drug pack from the storage means, an adsorption portion guide member for changing the posture of the adsorption portion, a moving means for moving the removal means, and a control means for controlling the removal operation of the specific drug pack from the storage means by the removal means, wherein when the amount of lift of the adsorption portion relative to the drug pack of the storage means fails to remove the drug pack at a first removal position, the removal operation is performed at a second removal position in which the amount of lift of the adsorption portion is increased more than that at the first removal position. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, the medicine packs stacked in the storage means can be stably adsorbed and removed without any disorder. In other words, by changing the amount of pressure applied to the medicine packs in the storage means by raising the adsorption part and performing the removal operation again, it is possible to adsorb and remove even medicine packs that have become stuck and tilted in the storage means. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1A is a front view of the entire medication support device to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. [Diagram 2](a) is a plan view showing the general shape of a single unitary drug pack, (b) is a side view of the unitary drug pack of (a) as viewed from the direction of arrow A, (c) is a side view of a combined unitary drug pack as viewed from the direction of arrow B, and (d) is a diagram showing the general shape of a pack continuum. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is an external perspective view showing an example of a medication distribution tray when using a subdivision box. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is an external perspective view showing an example of a medication distribution tray when no subdivision box is used. [Diagram 5] 1A is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cartridge, and FIG. [Figure 6] 4 is a plan sectional view of a main part showing a cartridge mounting / dismounting mechanism. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating an identification configuration of the cartridge. [Figure 8] FIG. 1A is a front view showing the configuration of the carriage, and FIG. [Figure 9] 4 is an enlarged view of a guide groove of a guide member provided on the carriage. FIG. [Figure 10] 11(a) to 11(d) are diagrams showing the transition of the attitude change operation of the suction part. [Figure 11] 11A to 11C are front views showing the progress of a pick-out operation of the carriage. [Figure 12] 12 is a front view of the pick-out operation sequence continuing from FIG. 11. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart of a pick-out operation flow of a carriage. [Figure 14] 11A to 11C are front views showing the transition of a placing operation of the carriage. [Figure 15] 13 is a diagram for explaining a state in which the leading end of the pack is caught on a side surface of the cartridge. FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 1A is a front view showing the main configuration of the transfer section, and FIG. [Figure 17] 2 is a control block diagram showing a main control configuration of the medication support device of FIG. 1. [Figure 18]18 is a control block diagram showing the main control configuration of the medication support device from a different perspective than that of FIG. 17. [Figure 19] FIG. 4 is a front view showing the progress of a pick-out operation in the first embodiment. [Figure 20] 19A to 19C are front views showing the progress of the pick-out operation in the first embodiment following FIG. [Figure 21] 1 is a flowchart of a pick-out operation in the first embodiment. [Figure 22] 13 is a flowchart of a pick-out operation according to a modified example of the first embodiment. [Diagram 23] FIG. 11 is a front view showing the progress of a pick-out operation in the second embodiment. [Figure 24] 24 is a front view showing the progress of the pick-out operation in the second embodiment following FIG. 23. [Diagram 25] 13 is a flowchart of a pick-out operation in the second embodiment. [Figure 26] FIG. 13 is a front view showing the progress of a retry operation after a pickup failure in the pick-out operation of the third embodiment. [Figure 27] 13 is a flowchart of a pick-out operation in the third embodiment. [Figure 28] FIG. 13 is a front view showing the progress of a retry operation after a pickup failure in the pick-out operation of the fourth embodiment. [Figure 29] 29 is a front view showing the progress of the pick-out operation in the fourth embodiment following FIG. 28. [Diagram 30] 13 is a flowchart of a pick-out operation in the fourth embodiment. [Diagram 31] 13A and 13B are front views showing the configuration and operation of a carriage according to a fifth embodiment. [Diagram 32] FIG. 13 is a front view showing the progress of a retry operation after a suction failure in the pick-out operation of the fifth embodiment. [Diagram 33] 13 is a flowchart of a pick-out operation in the fifth embodiment. [Diagram 34] FIG. 23 is a front view showing the progress of a retry operation after a suction failure in the pick-out operation of the sixth embodiment. [Diagram 35]35 is a front view showing the progress of the pick-out operation of the sixth embodiment following FIG. 34. [Diagram 36] 23 is a flowchart of a pick-out operation in the sixth embodiment. [Figure 37] FIG. 13 is a front view showing the configuration of a carriage according to a seventh embodiment. [Figure 38] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a control configuration of the seventh embodiment. [Figure 39] FIG. 23 is a front view showing the progress of a retry operation after a pickup failure in the pick-out operation of the seventh embodiment. [Diagram 40] FIG. 40 is a front view showing the progress of the pick-out operation in the seventh embodiment following FIG. 39. [Diagram 41] 13 is a flowchart of a pick-out operation in the seventh embodiment. [Diagram 42] 13 is a flowchart of a pick-out operation in the eighth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, each example, etc., components (members and components) having the same function, shape, etc. will be denoted by the same reference numerals after being described once, unless there is a risk of confusion, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0011] The main components of the entire medication support device as one embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1(a) is a front view showing the main components of the entire medication support device to which the present invention is applied, and Fig. 1(b) is a side view showing the side configuration of Fig. 1(a). As shown in FIG. 1, a medication support device 200, which is one embodiment of the present invention, includes a cartridge 10, also called a storage section, a medication distribution tray 30, a carriage 50, also called an extraction section, a transport section 90, and a first entrance / exit section 41 to a fourth entrance / exit section 44. In FIG. 1, the left-right or horizontal direction (also the width direction) of medication support device 200 is the X direction, the front-back or depth direction is the Y direction, and the up-down or vertical direction (also the vertical direction) is the Z direction.

[0012] The cartridge 10 functions as a first storage means for storing, in a stacked manner, single-package drug packs (hereinafter simply referred to as "packs" or "drug packs") in which drugs are packaged together and which are included as drug packs as described below. A plurality of cartridges 10 are arranged at the upper and lower parts of a main body frame 199, which serves as the device main body of the medication support device 200. Here, "storing in a stacked manner" means storing the packs in a substantially horizontal state or in a flat-stacked state.

[0013] A plurality of cartridges 10 are arranged in drawer sections 21 provided at the bottom and center of a main body frame 199 as the device main body of the medication support device 200. In the example of Fig. 1, 4 x 5 = 20 cartridges 10 are placed and held in one drawer section 21 (see Fig. 7). The drawer section 21 functions as a second storage means for placing and holding at least one cartridge 10. Each of the multiple cartridges 10 is placed and stored within a lattice-like partitioned side wall and bottom wall of the drawer section 21. The bottom wall of the drawer section 21 corresponding to each cartridge 10 is formed with a rectangular through-opening 21a (see FIG. 7) for removing a pack from below the cartridge 10 by utilizing elastic deformation of the pack, as described in the operation below.

[0014] The medication distribution tray 30 functions as a medication distribution means or medication distribution table for arranging a specific pack transferred by the transfer section 90. In the example shown in Fig. 1, two medication distribution trays 30 having 4 x 5 compartments are arranged on the top of the cartridge 10 arranged at the top inside the main body frame 199. Hereinafter, the installation site of the medication distribution tray 30 (meaning the location where the packs are handed over to the medication distribution tray 30 for automatic medication distribution) is referred to as the medication distribution section 29.

[0015] The carriage 50 functions as an ejection means for ejecting a specific pack from the cartridge 10 . The transport section 90 functions as a transport means for transporting the pack removed from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50 .

[0016] The first entrance / exit section 41 and the second entrance / exit section 42 function as entrance / exit means for the storage means for passing the cartridge 10 into and out of the main body frame 199. The cartridge 10 is inserted and set into the main body frame 199 through the first entrance / exit section 41 and the second entrance / exit section 42, respectively. The doors of the first entrance / exit section 41 and the second entrance / exit section 42 are opened, and the drawer section 21 in which the cartridge 10 is set is pulled out toward the front to attach or detach the cartridge 10.

[0017] The third entrance / exit section 43 and the fourth entrance / exit section 44 function as entrance / exit means for medication means that allows each of the two medication distribution trays 30 arranged side by side on the top level of the medication support device 200 to pass in and out of the main body frame 199. The third entrance / exit section 43 and the fourth entrance / exit section 44 are provided so that a pack can be removed immediately after being placed in the medication distribution tray 30 (hereinafter also referred to as "set" or "inserted").

[0018] In the medication support device 200, as shown in FIG. 1(a), two medication trays 30 are arranged, one for each medication timing, such as morning, midday, evening, and before bedtime. Since a third entrance / exit section 43 and a fourth entrance / exit section 44 for the medication distribution tray are also provided for each medication distribution tray, it is possible to remove another medication distribution tray even while a medication distribution operation is being performed on another medication distribution tray.

[0019] 1, the drawers 21 of the cartridge 10 are arranged in two places, one above the other, below the topmost medicine distribution tray 30, but the arrangement is not limited thereto, and they may be arranged in the upper or lower parts. Depending on the number of people in the care facility, the cartridges 10 may be arranged in three stages to obtain the same effect.

[0020] The outline of the drug pack will be explained with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2(a) is a plan view showing a general form of a single drug package pack, Fig. 2(b) is a side view of the drug package pack of Fig. 2(a) seen from the direction of arrow A, Fig. 2(c) is a side view of a drug package pack combination in which multiple drug package packs are combined seen from the direction of arrow B, and Fig. 2(d) is a diagram showing a general form of a pack continuum. Note that Fig. 2(b) and Fig. 2(c) are somewhat schematic diagrams, with the drugs omitted.

[0021] The form of the drug pack includes a single packaged drug pack 2 and a combined packaged drug pack 2A (hereinafter also simply referred to as "combined pack 2A") in which a plurality of packaged drug packs 2 (two in FIG. 2(c)) are stacked in the stacking direction and joined, for example, with staples 40. In figures other than FIG. 2 etc., the pack 2 is mainly illustrated as a representative, but it goes without saying that the combined pack 2A is also included. As shown in FIG. 2(a), one single-dose drug pack 2 is formed, for example, from a resin film, and contains small portions of drug 3, such as capsules or tablets, packed in bags. The single-dose drug pack 2 has a bag portion 2a that covers the drug 3, and a crimped portion 4, which is indicated by hatching and has three sides crimped or welded. The side on the bag portion 2a side is usually folded in half, with the drug 3 sandwiched between them, and the crimped portion 4 forms a leak prevention portion that prevents the drug 3 from leaking from the bag portion 2a. The drug 3 in one single-dose drug pack 2 is usually a unit for one dose for a patient.

[0022] The single-dose drug packs 2 are made (packaged) by a drug packaging machine installed in a pharmacy or the like. The packaging paper (packaging sheet) used for packaging is a long rolled sheet that is rolled in a folded state, and the drug 3 to be taken is sandwiched between the sheets. The three sides other than the folds around the drug 3 are sealed and divided into multiple doses by a crimping part 4, and are formed into a continuous sheet for the required number of doses. This continuous sheet-like single-dose drug pack is called a "continuous pack." The continuous pack 1 shown in Figure 2(d) is a state in which multiple single-dose drug packs 2 (three doses in the example shown in the figure) are connected in a belt-like shape. The continuous pack 1 is a general form that is usually provided and sold to users at pharmacies and the like (a concept that includes people who actually take the drug in the single-dose drug pack, caregivers who assist and support the administration, as well as staff of various nursing care facilities and medical facilities (pharmacists, nurses, caregivers, or drug administration supporters)). For the sake of simplicity, the following description illustrates a pack containing medications of the same form (capsules, tablets, etc.), but it goes without saying that a pack may contain different medications depending on the user's use and purpose.

[0023] In the example shown in Figure 2, the single-dose drug pack 2 has a rectangular shape when viewed from above. The packaging method in which three sides are crimped and sealed, as in this example, is generally called three-sided packaging, and most drug packaging machines on the market create packs using this method.

[0024] The pressure-bonded portion 4 has a band-like width of approximately 10 to 15 mm, and is more rigid than the transparent or semi-transparent film-like bag portion 2a through which the drug 3 can be seen. A boundary portion 2b with a perforation 5 is formed in the center of the pressure-bonded portion 4 of the single-dose drug packs 2, where the multiple single-dose drug packs 2 constituting the pack continuum 1 are adjacent to each other in a continuous manner from the upstream side to the downstream side. A user who has good dexterity can tear the single-dose drug pack 2 by hand at the perforation 5, or cut it near the perforation 5 with scissors or a dedicated cutter, to obtain one single-dose drug pack 2.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 2(c), a pack assembly 2A may also be used. The pack assembly 2A is formed by fastening the central portions of the compression sections 4 on three sides of a plurality of (two are shown in Fig. 2(c)) single-dose drug packs 2 together with a staple 40 or the like.

[0026] The medicine distribution tray will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 is an external perspective view showing an example of a medicine distribution tray when a subdivision box is used, and Figure 4 is an external perspective view showing an example of a medicine distribution tray in which a specific pack is distributed to a compartment without using a subdivision box. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the medicine distribution tray 30 has partition walls 31, which are partition members as a plurality of partitions for arranging specific packs, and is divided by four erected partition walls 31. The 20 compartments 33 formed in the medicine distribution tray 30 can be expressed as components of a matrix consisting of five columns in the X direction (row feed direction) and four rows in the Y direction (character feed direction). As a result, each of the 20 compartments 33 in the medicine distribution tray 30 can be uniquely positioned by the components and addresses of the matrix of five columns and four rows. Furthermore, the medicine distribution tray 30 has a bottom wall 32 on which the arranged packs 2 are placed. In this way, the medicine distribution tray 30 is configured such that a specific pack (not shown) arranged in a specific compartment 33 is reliably arranged in the specific compartment 33 by the multiple (four) partition walls 31 and the common bottom wall 32 so that the specific pack (not shown) arranged in the specific compartment 33 is not mixed with the packs (not shown) in the other compartments 33 or falls off the bottom wall 32.

[0027] The medication distribution tray 30 shown in Figure 3 shows a case in which a removable dispensing box 34 is used in each compartment 33, and shows an example of the state in which medication distribution is completed after packs are repeatedly removed from the cartridge and dispensed into the dispensing box 34. The subdivision box 34 holds packs 2 each containing medicine to be taken after lunch for, for example, 20 people, including Mr. A through Mr. T, who are residents of a care facility or the like. That is, the medication distribution tray 30 shown in the figure is used when specific packs are placed, via the subdivision box 34, in a predetermined (specific) section 33 separated by a plurality of partitions.

[0028] 4, if the trays are divided according to the timing of taking the medicine and the resident, the packs 2 may be directly distributed to the compartments 33 of the tray 30. The operation of placing the packs 2 on the tray 30 may be explained later using a subdivision box 34.

[0029] In each compartment 33 of the medication tray 30, the set or insertion position is determined for each recipient according to the pack to be taken. In other words, multiple compartments 33 in the medication tray 30 may be assigned to multiple recipients at the same medication timing. In addition, if a specific recipient does not take medicine at a specific medication timing, it is also possible to prevent a pack from being placed for the specific recipient at the specific medication timing.

[0030] Not limited to the above-mentioned medicine distribution tray 30, the medicine distribution tray 30 may have a plurality of compartments 33 allocated for each timing of taking medicine by each recipient. Specifically, the plurality of compartments 33 may be allocated for each timing of taking the pack 2 in the morning, midday, evening, and before going to bed, and for each recipient. In the medicine distribution tray 30 of such an example, the medicine distribution tray 30 can be managed for each floor or room in which multiple recipients reside, and the packs 2 for that day (or several days) can be distributed in advance to the medicine distribution tray 30.

[0031] According to the above example, each section is assigned to a medication timing, such as morning, afternoon, evening, before bedtime, etc., so that the timing of taking the medicine for each patient can be prevented. There are various possible combinations of the patient and the timing of taking the medicine, not limited to the above-mentioned configuration example of the medication distribution tray 30, but since this goes beyond the scope of the present disclosure, the above description will be omitted.

[0032] The medicine distribution tray 30 is identified and managed in the same manner as the cartridge 10 described later. Methods for identifying and managing the medicine distribution tray 30 include bar codes, QR codes (registered trademark), character recognition, and the like.

[0033] An example of a cartridge will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5(a) is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cartridge, and Fig. 5(b) is a bottom view of the cartridge of Fig. 5(a). In the vertical cross-sectional view of Fig. 5(a), in order to simplify the drawing, the crimping portion 4 of the pack 2 stored in the cartridge 10 is intentionally omitted, and the pack 2 is shown in an exaggerated and enlarged manner. For the same purpose, cross-sectional hatching of the support portions (right support portion 12, left support portion 13, etc.) is also omitted.

[0034] The cartridge 10 is mainly composed of a case portion 11, a lid portion 14, a pack removal opening 17, a movable plate 16, a pack orientation maintaining portion 15, and a right support portion 12 and a left support portion 13 serving as supports. The case portion 11 has a function of storing a plurality of packs 2 and a pack combination 2A (hereinafter, the pack 2 will be described as a representative example). The case portion 11 is formed integrally or separately using, for example, resin. The lid portion 14 has a function of enabling the pack 2 to be inserted and removed. The pack removal opening 17 is formed in the lower or bottom part of the case portion 11 and is an opening for removing the pack 2 from the cartridge 10, and has the function of passing the pack 2 removed from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50 (see Figure 1, etc.).

[0035] The movable plate 16 has the function of preventing the packs 2 from falling over and of moving the lowest pack 2 near the pack removal opening 17 after the first pack of the maximum number of packs 2 that can be stored in the case section 11 has been removed. The pack orientation maintaining section 15 has a function of maintaining the orientation of the pack 2 . The right support portion 12 and the left support portion 13 also have the function of supporting or holding the pack 2 inside the case portion 11.

[0036] In this example, the portion to be removed of the pack 2 removed from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50 is located at the lower or bottom portion within the cartridge 10. That is, the portion to be removed is configured to include a right support portion 12 and a left support portion 13 as support portions or support members that support the pack 2 removed from the cartridge 10 at multiple points, and a pack removal opening 17.

[0037] When the pack 2 is removed from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50, the right support portion 12 and the left support portion 13 are configured to allow the pack 2 to pass through. On the other hand, when the pack 2 is not to be removed from the cartridge 10, the right support portion 12 and the left support portion 13 are configured to restrict the passage of the pack 2 so that a plurality of packs 2 are stored and held within the case portion 11.

[0038] As described above, the right support portion 12 and the left support portion 13 are support portions that support or hold the pack 2 in the cartridge 10, and are each provided in an immovable state so that the operation of removing the pack 2 from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50 is stable. The right support portion 12 and the left support portion 13 are fixed members respectively provided in a fixed or secured state to the bottom wall inner surface 11e of the right bottom wall end portion and the left bottom wall end portion of the pack removal opening 17. The pack removal opening 17 has the function of passing the suction pad 52, which is the air suction means or suction means of the carriage 50 shown in Figure 5 (b), in order to remove the pack 2, and also has the function of passing the removed pack 2 and the suction pad 52.

[0039] In the cartridge 10 in Figure 5 (b), the position where the suction pad 52 suctions the pack 2 stored in the cartridge 10 as shown in Figure 8 described later (hereinafter also referred to as the "suction pad position") is indicated by a circular dotted line. The right support part 12 and the left support part 13 support the pack 2 in the cartridge 10 so that the pack 2 in the cartridge 10 does not fall through the pack removal opening 17. As will be explained in the operation of the carriage 50 described later, when the lowest pack 2 in the cartridge 10 is removed while being sucked by the suction pad 52, the pack 2 is sucked by the suction pad 52 at two suction pad positions in the Y direction near both ends of the right support part 12. When the lowest pack 2 is removed from the cartridge 10 by the suction pad 52, the two suction pads 52 pass near both ends of the right support part 12 in the Y direction to suck and hold the pack 2.

[0040] As shown in Fig. 5(b), by locating suction pad positions at two locations near both ends in the Y direction of the right support portion 12, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a problem in which the suction pad 52 is unable to suck the packs 2 and to remove the packs 2. That is, since the packs 2 on both sides in the Y direction are sucked by the suction pads 52, the film bag portion 2a of the pack 2 is stretched and can withstand deformation. This makes it possible to reliably support or hold the packs 2 in the cartridge 10 while also making it easy to smoothly remove the packs 2.

[0041] 5(a), the types of packs 2 in the cartridge 10 are classified according to the timing of taking the medicine, such as 14 days' worth of medicine for Mr. A to take in the morning. Therefore, if Mr. A takes medicine in the afternoon, evening, and before going to bed in addition to the morning, a total of four cartridges 10 are required. The example is not limited to the above, and may be a single cartridge 10 set for each medication recipient (person), and the order from pack removal opening 17, which is the pack removal direction of cartridge 10, upwards may be morning → noon → evening → before bedtime on the first day → morning → noon → evening, etc.

[0042] In this embodiment, the right support portion 12 and the left support portion 13 are fixed as fixing members to the inner bottom wall 11e of the pack removal opening 17 of the case portion 11 so that the removal operation of the pack 2 from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50 is always stable. In other words, the right support part 12 and the left support part 13 are arranged in a fixed state at the pack removal opening 17 at the bottom of the cartridge 10, for holding both ends of the drug pack (pack 2 or pack combination 2A).

[0043] The end support part of the pack 2 on the side to be sucked is supported by a right support part 12, and the opposite end support part is supported by a left support part 13, so that the pack 2 stored and set in the cartridge 10 does not fall in the set state. The right support section 12 and the left support section 13 have different support lengths for supporting the packs 2, with the right support section 12 having a shorter support length. As will be described later with reference to Figure 8, when the bottommost pack 2 stored in the cartridge 10 is adsorbed by the suction pad 52 and pulled out of the cartridge 10, the drug pack is elastically bent and easily pulled out.

[0044] At this time, because the support parts (right support part 12 and left support part 13) are fixed, they can securely hold the tip of the next pack 2 and it will not fly out or fall due to being pulled by the previous pack 2. In addition, because the support parts (right support part 12 and left support part 13) do not swing or rotate, the pack 2 will not get pinched during the return movement or deformed when pushed in, and it will be held in a stable state.

[0045] The mechanism for attaching and detaching the storage section provided in the drawer and its operation will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional plan view of the essential parts showing the mechanism for attaching and detaching the storage section provided in the drawer, and Figure 7 is a schematic plan view explaining the identification configuration of the storage section provided in the drawer. As shown in Fig. 6, the drawer section 21 is configured to allow a plurality of cartridges 10 to be attached and detached. The left and right outer wall surfaces of the case section 22 of the drawer section 21 are provided with slide rails 24, respectively, and each slide rail 24 is slidable on a main body rail 28 disposed on the main body frame 199 (see Fig. 1) side. This allows the drawer section 21 to be pulled out from within the main body frame 199 (see Fig. 1) via the engagement between the slide rails 24 and the main body rails 28, for attachment and detachment.

[0046] 6, the cartridge 10 is attached to and detached from the drawer portion 21 via engagement and disengagement between a pair of protrusions 23 formed on the inner wall surface of the case portion 22 of the drawer portion 21 and protruding inward, and a pair of recesses 11c formed on the outer wall surface of the case portion 11 of the cartridge 10, and between the inner wall surface of the case portion 22 and four hemispherical protrusions 11d formed on the outer wall surface of the case portion 11. The above-described attachment and detachment configuration of the drawer portion 21 allows the attachment and detachment of multiple cartridges 10 to be performed simply and with good operability. In the above example, the attachment and detachment are achieved through the fitting and engagement of the concave and convex parts, but the present invention is not limited to this. The same effect can be achieved by providing an elastic material in the gap between the inner wall surface of case part 22 and the outer wall surface of case part 11, by using a configuration that uses magnetic force, or by using a snap-fit ​​structure.

[0047] As shown in Fig. 7, the drawer section 21 has a storage section 211 for storing 20 cartridges 10, which are arranged in four horizontal columns from A to D and five vertical rows from 1 to 5. The drawer section 21 is provided with guide display sections such as LEDs (light-emitting diodes) 25a1 to 25d5 for indicating the locations of the cartridges 10 near the handle 26 that is gripped by hand during attachment and detachment operations. This allows the user to know at a glance where the target cartridge 10 is located in the drawer section 21. In the same figure, the LED 25a1 detects the presence or absence of a cartridge 10 to be attached or detached corresponding to the storage section A1 of the drawer section 21 (representing a portion or section uniquely determined by vertical columns and horizontal rows). Similarly, LED 25a2 corresponds to the portion of storage section A2 of drawer section 21, LED 25a3 corresponds to the portion of storage section A3 of drawer section 21, LED 25a4 corresponds to the portion of storage section A4 of drawer section 21, and LED 25a5 corresponds to the portion of storage section A5 of drawer section 21. Similarly, for storage sections 1 to 5 in columns B to D, as shown in Fig. 7, LEDs are provided corresponding to each storage section, indicating the presence or absence of a cartridge 10 to be inserted or removed from each storage section. In the case of guidance display parts such as LEDs 25a1-25d5, there is a possibility that a staff member who is an operator who mounts the cartridge 10 in the storage part 211 may misread the lit up parts of the LEDs 25a1-25d5 and mount (mismount) the cartridge 10 in a storage part other than the predetermined storage part 211. Therefore, instead of guidance display parts such as LEDs 25a1-25d5, for example, a detection means such as a sensor or a switch may be provided in each storage part 211 so that the presence or absence of the cartridge 10 can be electrically (automatically) identified.

[0048] In addition, to identify each storage unit, it is advisable to provide the storage unit with a number, barcode, QR code (registered trademark), or non-contact IC tag, and have the system memorize whose medicine is in which storage unit. Then, after the drawer unit with the storage unit attached is set in the device body, the device body identifies each storage unit. This allows the device to pick the correct pack.

[0049] The structure of the carriage will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. Figure 8(a) is a front view showing the structure of the carriage, and Figure 8(b) is a plan view of Figure 8(a). As shown in FIG. 8, the carriage 50 includes a suction unit 51 as suction means for taking out and holding the pack 2 from the cartridge 10. The suction unit 51 as suction means has the functions of suctioning and peeling the pack 2. When suctioning the pack 2, it has the function of suctioning the pack 2 by using negative pressure air converted by a negative pressure generator 45 as negative pressure switching means. Also, as will be described later, when normal peeling of the pack 2 is performed, it has the function of peeling the pack 2 by using pressurized air converted by the negative pressure generator 45. In another embodiment, the suction unit 51 may be opened to the atmosphere to peel the pack 2.

[0050] 8(a), the above-mentioned suction unit 51 converts the positive pressure from an air compressor 46, which is an air compression means, into negative pressure using a negative pressure generator 45, thereby creating a negative pressure state and suctioning the packs 2. The air compressor 46 is installed outside the transfer unit 90, and is connected to the suction unit 51 via an air tank 47 and the negative pressure generator 45 by a communication member such as an air pipe 49. The air piping 49 is provided through a cable bear (registered trademark) together with a harness so that the carriage 50 is not stretched even when it moves inside the medication support device 200. That is, as shown in Fig. 1(a) and Fig. 1(b), the air piping 49 has a path of one turn each in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis. The air piping 49 is first extended from the negative pressure generator 45 along the Z-axis direction and makes one turn, then extended along the X-axis and makes one turn, and finally extended along the Y-axis and makes one turn to be connected to the suction part 51.

[0051] The suction unit 51 also has a suction pad 52 that suctions the pack 2, and a suction duct 53 connected to the suction pad 52. The negative pressure generator 45 is also called a vacuum ejector valve, and is connected to the suction duct 53 via an air pipe 49. The suction pad 52 functions as an air suction means or suction member that suctions and removes the pack 2 from the cartridge 10. One end of the suction pad 52, the upper end in FIG. 8(a), is disposed to suction the pack 2 as described above. The other end of the suction pad 52, the lower end in FIG. 8(a), is attached and fixed to one end of the suction duct 53, the upper end in FIG. 8(a). The other end of the suction duct 53, the lower end in FIG. 8(a), is attached and fixed to a suction pad support member 54. The suction pad 52 and the suction duct 53 are provided as a pair in the Y direction.

[0052] The carriage 50 also has a position changing means for changing the position of the pack 2 removed from the cartridge 10 to a substantially vertical position. The position changing means in the carriage 50 mainly includes a suction pad support member 54 connected to the suction portion base member 57 via a rotation shaft 55, a guide member 59 serving as a suction portion guide member in which a guide groove 59b having a unique guide shape is formed, a guide shaft 56 which is always fitted into the guide groove 59b of the guide member 59 to guide the suction pad support member 54, and an suction portion vertical movement portion. The suction pad support member 54 is connected to the suction unit base member 57 via a rotation shaft 55. The suction pad support member 54 may be provided so as to be rotatable (i.e. swingable) within a predetermined angle range around the rotation shaft 55 fixed to the suction pad support member 54, or may be provided so as to be swingable around the rotation shaft 55 fixed to the suction unit base member 57. That is, in Fig. 8, the distance connecting the center of the rotation shaft 55 and the center of a guide rod 58 (described later) in the X direction is set so as to be always kept constant when the suction unit base member 57 moves in the vertical direction Z along the guide rod 58.

[0053] The suction unit vertical movement part has a pair of guide rods 58 provided in the Y direction to guide the suction unit base member 57 in the Z direction, an endless belt 62 wound around a drive pulley 60 and a driven pulley 61, and a drive motor 63 connected to the drive pulley 60 via a drive transmission member such as a gear or a belt. The drive motor 63 is a drive means or drive source of the suction unit vertical movement part.

[0054] The suction portion base member 57 is connected and fixed to a belt 62 by a belt gripping portion 62 a fixed to the right end portion of the suction portion base member 57 . The guide rods 58 extend in the Z direction and are provided as a pair in the Y direction. The lower ends of the guide rods 58 are fixed to a bottom frame 50 b of a carriage frame 50 a provided on the carriage 50 . A guided hole 57a into which a guide rod 58 is inserted is formed on the right end side of the suction portion base member 57. The drive pulley 60 and the driven pulley 61 have pulley shafts (not shown) rotatably supported by a stationary member on the carriage frame 50a side. The drive motor 63 is fixed to a stationary member on the carriage frame 50a side of the carriage 50. The drive motor 63 is a controlled drive member of the suction unit vertical movement unit.

[0055] When the suction portion base member 57 moves up and down due to operation of the drive motor 63, the suction portion base member 57 moves in the Z direction along each guide rod 58, making it possible to maintain the posture of the suction portion base member 57 in the XY plane in a constant, approximately horizontal state. The suction unit vertical movement unit is not limited to the above-mentioned belt-driven vertical reciprocating mechanism, but may be a reciprocating linear motion mechanism using a rack and pinion or the like.

[0056] The guide members 59 are provided as a pair on either side of the suction portion 51 in the Y direction with the suction pad support member 54 interposed therebetween, and their lower ends are fixed to the bottom frame 50b. The guide shafts 56 are provided to protrude from both ends of the suction pad support member 54 in the Y direction, and are provided to always fit into guide grooves 59b of the guide member 59 to guide the suction pad support member 54. As shown in Fig. 8(a), the guide shafts 56 are provided below the rotation shaft 55 of the suction pad support member 54 in the Z direction, at a certain distance from the rotation shaft 55.

[0057] When the suction unit base member 57 moves in the Z direction by operating the drive motor 63, the posture of the suction unit base member 57 in the XY plane is kept constant in an approximately horizontal state, and the guide shaft 56 of the suction pad support member 54 moves in the Z direction along the uniquely shaped guide groove 59b, so that the posture of the suction pad 52 can be rotated approximately 90 degrees (in FIG. 8(a) the state when the suction unit 51 is rotated approximately 90 degrees is shown by a thick dashed line). Here, the approximately horizontal state includes the horizontal state, and also means being within a predetermined angle tolerance range with respect to the horizontal.

[0058] Here, an explanation will be given with reference to an enlarged view of the guide groove of the guide member shown in Fig. 9. The guide groove 59b having a specific shape formed in the guide member 59 is formed so that the guide shaft 56 is guided by the first guide groove 59a1, the second guide groove 59a2, and the third guide groove 59a3, thereby maintaining the posture of the suction pad 52 in a predetermined direction via the suction pad support member 54, as shown in Fig. 8(a). The guide groove 59b is made up of a first guide groove 59a1 portion that allows the suction portion base member 57 to move while remaining substantially horizontal when the suction pad 52 moves from the standby position to the pack suction position, and a second guide groove 59a2 portion that communicates with and connects to the first guide groove 59a1, moves gradually to the right as it moves downward, and rotates the attitudes of the suction pad support member 54 and the suction pad 52 by approximately 90 degrees. In addition, the guide groove 59b is made up of a third guide groove 59a3 portion that communicates with and connects to the upper end of the first guide groove 59a1, moves gradually to the right as it moves upward, and rotates the attitudes of the suction pad support member 54 and the suction pad 52 to the left.

[0059] The first guide groove 59a1 and the second guide groove 59a2 formed in the guide member 59 are configured similarly to a posture changing means that changes the posture of the pack 2 removed from the storage section 10 from an approximately horizontal state (the thickness of the pack 2 is approximately vertical) to an approximately vertical state. The third guide groove 59a3 in the guide groove 59b of a specific shape formed in the guide member 59 and the guide shaft 56 constitute an angle variable mechanism that changes the angle of the suction pad 52 in a predetermined direction with respect to the pack 2 when the suction pad 52 is in contact with the pack 2 located at the bottom of the storage section 10. The angle variable mechanism is configured so that when the suction pad 52 adsorbs the pack 2, the suction pad 52 adsorbs the pack 2 in accordance with the inclination of the pack 2 located at the bottom of the storage section 10. Furthermore, as will be explained in detail in the operation described below, when the suction pad 52 rises toward the lower part of the storage section 10, the suction pad 52 (its suction holding surface 52a) enters the lower part of the storage section 10 at an approximately horizontal angle, and then the angle of the suction pad 52 relative to the lowermost pack 2 is changed in accordance with the amount of penetration of the suction pad 52.

[0060] The angle variable mechanism is composed of a link and a slide guide. That is, the angle variable mechanism is composed of a kind of link (the suction pad support member 54 (follower) connected to the suction unit base member 57 (driver) that moves up and down via the rotation shaft 55, and the link member portion of the suction pad support member 54 that connects the guide shaft 56 that is always fitted into the guide groove 59b to guide the suction pad support member 54 and the rotation shaft 55) and a slide guide (the guide groove 59b of the guide member 59 having the third guide groove 59a3).

[0061] The carriage 50 is also provided with an adsorption section 51 that uses air as an extraction means, as shown in Figures 1 and 8(a), and is equipped with an air tank 47, an air compressor 46, and a negative pressure generator 45 for air adsorption, which are connected by air piping 49, piping joints, etc. Medication support device 200 can perform vacuum breaking. By switching to negative pressure in negative pressure generator 45 and generating negative pressure using air compressed by air compressor 46, the pack in close contact with suction pad 52 of suction section 51 can be sucked and adsorbed to hold the pack. Conversely, negative pressure generator 45 can generate pressure to send air to suction pad 52 of suction section 51, and the air can be sprayed onto suction holding surface 52a of suction pad 52 to release the held state of the pack.

[0062] Due to the axial distance between the rotating shaft 55 and the guide shaft 56 formed as described above and the relationship with the guide groove 59b, the suction pad 52 can take various postures (including a posture in which the posture of the suction pad 52 is rotated approximately 90 degrees) with the rotating shaft 55 as a fulcrum.

[0063] The carriage 50 also has a position changing means for changing the position of the pack 2 removed from the cartridge 10 to a substantially vertical position. The position changing means in the carriage 50 mainly includes a suction pad support member 54 connected to the suction portion base member 57 via a rotation shaft 55, a guide member 59 serving as a suction portion guide member in which a guide groove 59b having a unique guide shape is formed, a guide shaft 56 which is always fitted into the guide groove 59b of the guide member 59 to guide the suction pad support member 54, and an suction portion vertical movement portion. The suction pad support member 54 is connected to the suction unit base member 57 via a rotation shaft 55. The suction pad support member 54 may be provided so as to be rotatable (i.e. swingable) within a predetermined angle range around the rotation shaft 55 fixed to the suction pad support member 54, or may be provided so as to be swingable around the rotation shaft 55 fixed to the suction unit base member 57. That is, in Fig. 8, the distance connecting the center of the rotation shaft 55 and the center of a guide rod 58 (described later) in the X direction is set so as to be always kept constant when the suction unit base member 57 moves in the vertical direction Z along the guide rod 58.

[0064] The suction unit vertical movement part has a pair of guide rods 58 provided in the Y direction to guide the suction unit base member 57 in the Z direction, an endless belt 62 wound around a drive pulley 60 and a driven pulley 61, and a drive motor 63 connected to the drive pulley 60 via a drive transmission member such as a gear or a belt. The drive motor 63 is a drive means or drive source of the suction unit vertical movement part.

[0065] The transition of the attitude changing operation by the attitude changing means of the suction part will be described with reference to Fig. 10. As shown in Fig. 10(a), when the pack 2 is removed from below the cartridge 10 shown in Fig. 5(a), the suction duct 53 of the suction part 51 enters the cartridge 10 in a substantially vertically upward direction so that the suction holding surface 52a of the suction pad 52 is in a substantially horizontal state. At this time, the guide shaft 56 is in the first guide groove 59a1. 10(b), the belt 62 is raised by the rotation of a drive motor (not shown), which lifts the suction unit base member 57 and raises the suction pad support member 54. As a result, when the attitude of the suction unit 51 is further changed, the guide shaft 56 moves upward along the third guide groove 59a3, causing the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 to assume an attitude inclined slightly leftward. In this attitude, it becomes possible to suck and remove a pack (not shown) from below the cartridge (not shown).

[0066] Next, as shown in FIG. 10(c), when the pack (not shown) has been removed from below the cartridge (not shown), the belt 62 descends due to the reverse rotation of a drive motor (not shown), causing the suction portion base member 57 to descend while the suction pad support member 54 rotates counterclockwise in the figure around the suction portion base member 57, centering on the rotation axis 55. 10(d), the suction part base member 57 further descends, and the suction pad support member 54 further rotates counterclockwise around the rotation axis 55 of the suction part base member 57. Then, the guide shaft 56 rotates counterclockwise around the rotation axis 55 together with the suction part base member 57 while being guided vertically downward along the second guide groove 59a2, and the suction holding surface 52a of the suction pad 52 occupies a position rotated approximately 90 degrees counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. 10(a) while maintaining the state in which the rotation axis 55 and the guide shaft 56 are aligned on a horizontal straight line. At this time, the guide shaft 56 moves vertically downward along the second guide groove 59a2, thereby rotating the suction part 51 approximately 90 degrees, and by releasing the suction holding of the pack in this position, the medicine can be distributed to the subdivision box 34 (see FIG. 3).

[0067] A series of movements (a) to (e) of the carriage will be described with reference to Figures 11 to 12. Figures 11 to 12 are front views showing a series of movements of the carriage. Figure 13 is a flow chart showing a series of movements of the carriage. 11 to 13, the flow of the operation of removing the pack 2 from the cartridge 10 (hereinafter also referred to as the pick-out operation) will be described. The shape and state of the pack 2 stored in the cartridge 10 are shown diagrammatically with the crimping portion 4 and the like omitted, as in the case of FIG. 5(a). Also, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the suction position of the pack 2 at the bottom of the cartridge 10 by the suction pad 52 is as indicated by the two-dot chain line.

[0068] In order to simplify the explanation and make it easier to understand, it is assumed that the carriage 50 is located below the cartridge 10 in the drawer section 21 located in the center of the main body frame 199 in Fig. 1 by the operation of the transport section 90 in Fig. 1. After the suction pad 52 of the carriage 50 sucks and pulls out the lowest pack in the cartridge 10, the carriage 50 is moved above the medicine distribution tray 30 located at the top in Fig. 1 by the operation of the transport section 90, and the pack is dropped and inserted (medication distributed) into the subdivision box 34 located in a predetermined section of the medicine distribution tray 30. In addition, in order to simplify the drawings, the cartridge 10 is assumed to be the one described in Fig. 8, and the right support portion 12 and the left support portion 13 formed on the bottom including the case portion 11 of the cartridge 10 are integrally formed from an appropriate resin as shown by the black cross-sectional pattern. Furthermore, in order to make the drawings easier to see, in Figs. 11 and 12, the rotating shaft 55 is shown by a gray solid line, and the guide shaft 56 is shown by a dashed line. The storage section tray (cartridge tray) of the drawer portion 21 is omitted from the drawings, as described above.

[0069] When the medicine dispensing operation starts, under the control command of the CPU constituting the control unit 150 shown in Fig. 17 described later, the carriage 50 moves to the lower side of the cartridge 10 to take out the target pack 2 by the moving operation of the transport unit 90 in Fig. 1 based on the identification management information given to the cartridge 10, stops moving, and enters a standby state. At this time, the drive motor 63 is stopped, and the suction holding surface 52a of the suction pad 52 is in a substantially vertical position, but this standby state is not shown in the drawing. 11(a), the drive motor 63 starts to drive, and the suction unit base member 57, which moves linearly, and the suction pad support member 54, which moves linearly and rotationally, are connected to each other, so that the suction unit base member 57 and the suction pad 52 move linearly upward (step S1). At this time, the suction pad 52 changes its posture from a substantially vertical state to a substantially parallel state, and then the suction pad 52 enters through the pack removal opening 17 between the right support portion 12 and the left support portion 13. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10(b), the drive motor 63 is controlled to temporarily stop the suction unit 51 and the suction pad 52 in a posture inclined obliquely to the left (see the first removal position in step S2). When the suction unit 51 is temporarily stopped, the negative pressure generator 45 (see FIG. 8) is driven and is in a state where it can perform a suction operation. At the same time that the suction pad 52 comes into contact with the pack 2, the pack 2 is sucked by the negative pressure generated by the negative pressure generator 45 shown in FIG. 8 (step S3).

[0070] Next, the process proceeds to step S4, where it is determined whether or not the suction has been successful. Specifically, it is checked whether or not the negative pressure generated by the negative pressure generator 45 is an appropriate value for removing the pack 2 from the cartridge 10 by the suction pad 52 holding the pack 2 at a negative pressure. As shown in FIG. 8, this check is performed by the CPU of the control unit 150 shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, which will be described later, determining whether or not the detected value is a pressure sensor 71 disposed in the air piping 49 between the suction pad 52 and the negative pressure generator 45 or a pressure sensor 70 disposed in the negative pressure generator 45. In this way, it is determined whether or not the suction of the pack 2 has been successful, and if the suction has been successful, the suction unit 51 is lowered by the reverse operation of the drive motor 63 while holding the pack 2 at a negative pressure by the suction pad 52 (see FIG. 12(c), step S5). The tip side (meaning the side suctioned by the suction pad 52, the same applies below) of the pack 2 is pulled out from the cartridge 10. In this case, the operation of pulling out the front end of the pack 2 from the pack removal opening 17 of the cartridge 10 can be performed without any problem because the pack 2 is, so to speak, free to deform.

[0071] Next, as shown in FIG. 12(d), the carriage 50 is moved horizontally in the X direction, which is the lateral-horizontal direction, by the operation of the transfer unit 90 (see FIG. 1), and the rear end side of the pack 2 is pulled out and taken out from the cartridge 10 (see step S6). After that, as shown in FIG. 12(e), the drive motor 63 rotates the substantially horizontal posture of the pack 2 sucked and held by the suction pad 52 by approximately 90 degrees, changing it to a substantially vertical state (hereinafter also referred to as a substantially vertical state) from the substantially horizontal state. At this time, when the suction unit base member 57 is driven by the drive motor 63 to perform a linear movement downward along the guide rod 58, the guide shaft 56 moves along the shape of the guide groove 59b of the guide member 59, and the relative positional relationship between the rotation shaft 55 and the guide shaft 56 changes, so that the posture of the pack 2 can be changed from the substantially horizontal state to a substantially vertical state (the pack 2 is vertical, and the thickness direction of the pack 2 is substantially horizontal). That is, the suction pad 52 is rotated approximately 90 degrees by moving the guide shaft 56 along the shape of the guide groove 59b of the guide member 59 away from the path through which the rotating shaft 55 passes by an axial distance between the rotating shaft 55 and the guide shaft 56 (see step S9). The driving source at this time can be a series of operations of the single driving motor 63.

[0072] On the other hand, if the suction pad 52 fails to adsorb the pack 2 in step S4, the negative pressure and suction by the negative pressure generator 45 are stopped, and a predetermined error process (such as processing the pack 2 that could not be removed from the cartridge 10 or investigating the cause) is performed by the user (including a nurse or caregiver) (see steps S8 to S9), and then the process ends.

[0073] The operation of distributing the pack 2 to the subdivision box 34 of the medicine distribution tray 30 (hereinafter, also referred to as the placing operation) will be described with reference to Fig. 14. Fig. 14 shows a case where the medicine distribution state is completed by the placing operation of distributing the pack 2 to a specific subdivision box 34 of the medicine distribution tray 30, for example, as shown in Fig. 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the medicine distribution state may be completed by the placing operation of distributing a specific pack 2 to a specific section 33 of the medicine distribution tray 30 without using a subdivision box, for example, as shown in Fig. 4. After the above pick-out operation is completed and the suction pad 52 is holding the pack 2 vertically, the carriage 50 is moved by the transport unit 90 (see FIG. 1) to above the subdivision box 34 arranged in a predetermined section, which is a predetermined position on the medication tray 30 (see FIG. 14(a)). During the above movement, the position of the carriage 50 in the Z direction (height direction) is set so that the lower end of the pack 2 held by the suction pad 52 does not come into contact with the subdivision box 34.

[0074] At this time, as shown in FIG. 14(b), it is desirable to lower the suction unit base member 57, the suction pad support member 54, and the suction pad 52 in their entirety in conjunction with the above operation so that the lower end of the pack 2 is inserted into the subdivision box 34. By releasing the holding state with the lower end of the pack 2 inserted into the subdivision box 34 by the placing operation, it is possible to prevent the pack 2 from being dispensed to a box other than the specified subdivision box 34 when it rotates or is bounced off when dropped. If the amount of insertion into the subdivision box 34 is small, the lower end of the pack 2 may get caught on the upper end of the subdivision box 34 when the pack 2 falls, and the pack 2 may not be dispensed into the subdivision box 34. Therefore, it is desirable to hold the pack 2 close to its upper end by suction when picking it out. As shown in Figures 14(b) to 14(c), when pressurized air is sent to suction pad 52 for a predetermined time by driving negative pressure generator 45 (see Figure 8) to release the pack 2 from its held state, pack 2 falls by its own weight. Incidentally, the operation of sending pressurized air (positive pressure) to suction pad 52, which is holding pack 2 by air suction, to release the suction-held state is called vacuum breaking. When pack 2 fits into subdivision box 34, the dispensing operation (placement operation) is completed, and the next operation begins.

[0075] With reference to Figure 15, a state in which the tip of a pack is caught on the side of the cartridge and tilted at an angle will be described using as an example a pack that is closer to the actual shape than the pack shown typically in Figure 5 etc. As shown in Figure 15(a), packs 2 are stacked inside cartridge 10, and when the bottommost pack 2 has fallen entirely to the bottom of cartridge 10, suction pad 52 of suction portion 51 enters cartridge 10 and comes into close contact with pack 2, enabling suction.

[0076] 15(b), depending on the type and size of the medicine enclosed in the pack 2, the material and shape of the pack 2, etc., one end of the pack 2 opposite to the bag portion 2a where the medicine is collected (bag portion facing pressure bonding portion 4a facing bag portion 2a) may get caught on the inner wall surface 11e of the cartridge 10 and become tilted. In this case, even if the suction portion 51 and the suction pad 52 enter the cartridge 10, a gap is generated between the suction holding surface of the suction pad 52 and the pack 2, and the suction pad 52 cannot come into close contact with the pack 2 and cannot adsorb it. Furthermore, simply increasing the amount of penetration of the suction part 51 into the cartridge 10 may result in the pack 2 being pushed by the suction pad 52 of the suction part 51 and retreating upward, making it impossible to be suctioned, since the pack 2 is light and has low rigidity. Furthermore, in some cases, being pushed by the suction pad 52 of the suction part 51 may deteriorate the stacking state of the packs 2 inside the cartridge 10. For this reason, it is desirable that the suction part 51 and the suction pad 52 are configured to change their posture to match the inclination of the pack 2 after they have penetrated into the cartridge 10.

[0077] The configuration and operation of the transfer section 90 will be described with reference to Fig. 16. Fig. 16(a) is a front view showing the main configuration of the transfer section, and Fig. 16(b) is a side view of Fig. 16(a). 1, the cartridges 10 are arranged on a plane below the medication tray 30 in the Z direction, and the medication tray 30 is located above the lowest cartridge 10, so the carriage 50 moves in three directions, the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction. In this way, the transport unit 90 has a configuration for moving the carriage 50 in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction in order to transport the pack 2 removed from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50 to be handed over to the medication tray 30.

[0078] The configuration for moving the carriage 50 in the X direction is the X-direction transport section 91, the configuration for moving the carriage 50 in the Y direction is the Y-direction transport section 101, and the configuration for moving the carriage 50 in the Z direction is the Z-direction transport section 111, and each has a similar configuration.

[0079] The X-direction transport unit 91 has an X adapter 96 attached to the carriage 50, an X guide member 97 that guides the carriage 50 in the X direction via the X adapter 96, an endless belt 94 wound around a drive pulley 92 and a driven pulley 93, and a drive motor 95 for transport in the X direction that is connected to the drive pulley 92 via a drive force transmission member such as a gear or a belt. Three rollers 98 (two of which are hidden by the carriage 50 and cannot be seen) are attached to the X adapter 96 so as to be able to roll while clamping the X guide member 97. In addition, the X adapter 96 is connected and fixed to the endless belt 94 via a belt gripping portion (not shown).

[0080] With the above-described configuration of the X-direction transport unit 91, when the drive motor 95 is driven, the drive force is transmitted to the endless belt 94 via the drive force transmission member and the drive pulley 92, so that the endless belt 94 rotates and moves, and the carriage 50 moves in the X direction along the X guide member 97 together with the X adapter 96.

[0081] The Y-direction transport section 101 includes a Y adapter 106 attached to the carriage 50, a Y guide member 107 that guides the carriage 50 in the Y direction via the Y adapter 106, an endless belt 104 that is wound between a drive pulley 102 and a driven pulley 103, and a drive motor 105 for transport in the Y direction that is connected to the drive pulley 102 via a drive force transmission member such as a gear or belt. Three rollers 108 are rotatably attached to Y adapter 106 in a state where they sandwich Y guide member 107. Y adapter 106 is also connected and fixed to endless belt 104 via belt gripping portion 104a.

[0082] With the above-described configuration of the Y-direction transport section 101, when the drive motor 105 is driven, the drive force is transmitted to the endless belt 104 via the drive force transmission member and the drive pulley 102, causing the endless belt 104 to rotate and run, and the carriage 50 moves in the Y direction along the Y guide member 107 together with the Y adapter 106.

[0083] The Z direction transport section 111 includes a pair of Z adapters 116 attached to both ends of the X guide member 97 in the X direction, a pair of Z guide members 117 that guide the carriage 50 in the Z direction via the X guide member 97 and the pair of Z adapters 116, an endless belt 114 wound between a drive pulley 112 and a driven pulley 113, and a drive motor 115 for transport in the Z direction that is connected to the drive pulley 112 via a drive force transmission member such as a gear or a belt. In the Z direction transport section 111, a drive pulley 112, a driven pulley 113, and an endless belt 114 are provided on both sides in the X direction, but a drive motor 115 is provided only on one side, the drive pulley 112. Three rollers 118 are attached to each Z adapter 116 so as to be capable of rolling while clamping the Z guide member 117. In addition, each Z adapter 116 is fixedly coupled to each endless belt 114 via each belt gripping portion 114a.

[0084] With the above-described configuration of the Z-direction transport section 111, when the drive motor 115 is driven, the drive force is transmitted to the endless belt 114 via the drive force transmission member and the drive pulley 112, causing the endless belt 114 to rotate and move, and the carriage 50 moves in the Z direction along the Z guide member 117 together with the X guide member 97 and the Z adapter 116.

[0085] In FIG. 16, the carriage 50 moves in three axial directions, the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis. However, in a configuration in which, for example, the cartridge 10 is arranged on the upper side of the carriage 50 and the medication tray 30 is arranged on the lower side, the carriage 50 only needs to move in the X-axis and the Y-axis, thereby reducing the number of axes of movement by one.

[0086] A control configuration according to one embodiment of the medication support device 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 17. Fig. 17 is a control block diagram showing the main control configuration according to one embodiment of the medication support device to which the present invention is applied. As shown in Fig. 17, medication support device 200 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) having a function as control unit 150 serving as control means for controlling the operation of each unit of medication support device 200. The CPU includes a memory unit 152 and a timer unit 153. The CPU issues notifications to users including staff and instructions for device operation at a timing according to a program based on various inputs including those from sensors described below. Prescription information and drug information are input to memory unit 152 from the outside as external drug information.

[0087] The CPU may have a timer (timekeeping) function in addition to the calculation and control functions. The storage unit 152 includes a ROM (read only memory), a RAM (a memory that can be read and written at any time), an external memory, and the like. The ROM stores in advance programs that the CPU can read (for example, programs such as control flowcharts described later) and various data. Examples of the data include data on the relationship between the packs 2 and the sections 33 and subdivision boxes 34 of the medicine distribution tray 30 assigned to each medicine recipient, data on the relationship between the packs 2 and the sections 33 and subdivision boxes 34 of the medicine distribution tray 30 assigned to each medicine-taking timing, data on the relationship between the packs 2 and the sections 33 and subdivision boxes 34 of the medicine distribution tray 30 assigned to each medicine-taking order (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 4), and the like.

[0088] A touch panel 151 is electrically connected to the input / output port of the CPU as an example of an operation unit having an input unit and a display unit as a user interface. The touch panel 151 allows the user to input various settings, and displays the current time, the progress of pack storage, the completion time, etc. The input method and the form of the display unit are not limited to these, and may be a combination of, for example, a keyboard and an LED display unit in which the input unit and the display unit are separate.

[0089] A start switch 155 for operating the medication support device 200 is electrically connected to the input port of the CPU. When the start switch 155 is pressed, the medication distribution operation to the medication distribution tray 30 starts sequentially. The medication distribution operation to the medication distribution tray 30 can also be started at a time preset by the timer unit 153. The input port of the CPU is also electrically connected to various sensors, including a medication tray detection sensor 156 that detects the type of medication tray 30 stored in the device and the presence or absence of a medication tray 30, and a storage section detection sensor 157 that detects the presence or absence of a cartridge 10. Various sensors are also electrically connected to the input port of the CPU, including storage section entrance / exit opening / closing sensors 159a, 159b that detect the opening and closing of the first entrance / exit section 41 and the second entrance / exit section 42, and medication tray entrance / exit opening / closing sensors 160a, 160b that detect the opening and closing of the third entrance / exit section 43 and the fourth entrance / exit section 44. The medication tray detection sensor 156, the storage section detection sensor 157, the storage section entrance / exit section open / close sensors 159a and 159b, and the medication tray entrance / exit section open / close sensors 160a and 160b are shown only in FIG.

[0090] The input port of the CPU is also electrically connected to an HP sensor 99 for HP sensor X which detects the home position (hereinafter abbreviated as "HP") of the X-direction transport section 91 of the carriage 50, an HP sensor 109 for HP sensor Y which detects the HP of the Y-direction transport section 101 of the carriage 50, and an HP sensor 119 for HP sensor Z which detects the HP of the Z-direction transport section 111 of the carriage 50. An HP sensor 158 for the HP sensor P that detects the HP of the suction portion 51 (particularly the suction pad 52) of the carriage 50 is also electrically connected to the input port of the CPU. The input port of the CPU is also electrically connected to a pressure sensor 70 that detects the pressure inside the negative pressure generator 45 or inside the carriage 50. A pressure sensor 71 enclosed by a dashed line in the figure is used in the second embodiment described below.

[0091] The output port of the CPU is electrically connected to a drive motor 95 of the X-direction transfer section 91, a drive motor 105 of the Y-direction transfer section 101, a drive motor 115 of the Z-direction transfer section 111, and a drive motor 63 for changing the posture of the suction pad 52 via various motor drivers X to Z and P, respectively. A negative pressure generator (ejector valve) 45, which is an actuator for a negative pressure generator, is also electrically connected to the output port of the CPU via a driver for the negative pressure generator. An alarm unit may be electrically connected to the output port of the CPU. This alarm unit notifies the state of each of the above devices and components by light such as LEDs, sounds including voice, and vibrations. It is equipped with speakers and lights to notify staff of the timing of taking medicine even when they are away from the device.

[0092] The external medicine information is also input to the CPU through the I / O, stored in the memory unit 152, and used for allocating medicines to recipients, etc. The LEDs 25a1 to 25d5 of the drawer unit 21 may be electrically connected.

[0093] When input information from the touch panel 151, various signals from the various HP sensors 99, 109, 119, 158, and various sensors (not shown) are input to the CPU, the CPU outputs the following command signals: That is, the CPU outputs instructions to the sound device and light device of the display device (including the above-mentioned notification section) of the touch panel 151, the LEDs 25a1 to 25d5, the drive motor 63, the drive motor 95, the drive motor 105, the drive motor 115, or drivers corresponding to the LEDs.

[0094] An HP sensor 158 for the HP sensor P and a drive motor 63 outputted via a motor driver P are used to drive and control the suction part vertical movement mechanism. The CPU has a function of executing various control operations described below and shown in control flowcharts.

[0095] With reference to Fig. 18, the control configuration according to one embodiment of the medication support device 200 will be supplementarily described from another perspective. Fig. 18 is a control block diagram showing the control configuration of the main parts of one embodiment of the medication support device to which the present invention is applied from another perspective. Note that in Fig. 18 showing the control configuration of the main parts, among the main control configuration of the embodiment shown in Fig. 17 and input to the CPU, signals from various sensors other than the pressure sensor 70 provided in the negative pressure generator 45 are omitted. The pressure sensor provided in the air compressor 46 shown in Fig. 18 is for maintaining the air pressure in the air compressor 46 within a certain range. As shown in Fig. 17 and Fig. 18, the medication support device 200 according to the embodiment described later includes a drive motor 95 of a drive unit (hereinafter also referred to as an X-axis drive unit) of an X-direction transport unit 91 in a transport unit 90, a drive motor 105 of a drive unit (hereinafter also referred to as a Y-axis drive unit) of a Y-direction transport unit 101, and a drive motor 115 of a drive unit (hereinafter also referred to as a Z-axis drive unit) of a Z-direction transport unit 111. In the medication support device 200, the CPU controls the drive motors 95, 105, and 115 of the transport unit 90 based on signals related to the number of the cartridge 10 and the number of the subdivision box 34 of the medication tray inputted through a touch panel 151, which is an operation unit shown in Fig. 17, and signals inputted from the HP sensors 99, 109, and 119 shown in Fig. 17, thereby moving the carriage 50 to an arbitrary location within a main body frame 199 (the same applies to each embodiment described below).

[0096] Carriage 50 of medication support device 200 is also provided with an adsorption section 51 that uses air as an extraction means, as shown in Figures 1 and 8(a), and is equipped with an air tank 47, an air compressor 46, and a negative pressure generator 45 for air adsorption, which are connected by air piping 49, piping joints, etc. As described above, in the medication support device 200 according to each embodiment, the negative pressure generator 45 is switched to negative pressure using air compressed by the air compressor 46 to generate negative pressure, thereby sucking and adsorbing the pack in close contact with the suction pad 52 of the suction part 51, and holding the pack. Conversely, the negative pressure generator 45 generates a pressurization to send air to the suction pad 52 of the suction part 51, and the air is sprayed onto the pack-contacting surface of the suction pad 52, thereby releasing the held state of the pack (vacuum break). As another method, the suction part 51 can be opened to the atmosphere to release the held state of the pack 2.

[0097] In addition to the above, the carriage 50 of the medication support device 200 according to each embodiment is provided with an adsorption unit drive unit (drive motor 63). The CPU in each embodiment controls the transport unit 90, the drive motor 63, and the negative pressure generator 45 in cooperation with each other to perform the pick-out operation and the place operation. The carriage 50 also includes an identification unit (QR code reader) that reads QR codes (registered trademark) related to the recipient and the timing of taking the medicine, which are displayed on each cartridge, the compartment of the medicine distribution tray, and the sorting box, although the description is omitted since it is beyond the scope of the disclosure of the present invention. The CPU performs control so that the correct medicine is always distributed by comparing and collating the data read by the identification unit (QR code reader) with the recipient and the timing of taking the medicine that are registered in advance.

[0098] In the medication support device 200 of each embodiment, signals from the "door opening / closing switch, tray set switch, and carriage HP position sensor" similar to the medication tray detection sensor 156, storage section detection sensor 157, storage section entrance / exit opening / closing sensors 159a, 159b, and medication tray entrance / exit opening / closing sensors 160a, 160b described in Figure 17 are input to the CPU.

[0099] Example 1 1 to 15 will be described with reference to Figs. 19 to 21. Figs. 19 and 20 are front views showing the progress of the pick-out operation by the carriage in Example 1. Fig. 21 is a flowchart of the pick-out operation by the carriage in Example 1. The basic configurations of the cartridge 10 in Examples 1 to Example 4 (described later) are similar to those shown in Fig. 5, and the basic configuration of the carriage 50 is similar to those shown in Fig. 8, so descriptions thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 21, steps S11 to S17 show the progress of the operation when the pick-out operation is performed without any problem from the start to the end of the pick-out operation. This is the same as the progress of the operation when the pick-out operation is performed without any problem, as shown in FIG. 13, from steps S1 to S7. In FIG. 13, in the control operation by the conventional control unit, as shown in steps S4, S8, and S9, when the "suction success / failure" related to the suction and removal of the pack 2 in the cartridge 10 by the suction pad 52 fails even once, suction is immediately stopped and error processing is performed. In such a conventional configuration, the order of the stacked packs 2 in the carriage 50 is disturbed, and the packs 2 cannot be stably sucked and removed without being disturbed. In the first embodiment, such a conventional problem is solved.

[0100] As shown in FIG. 19(a), the suction part 51 is raised by the drive of the drive motor 63, enters the cartridge 10, and stops at the first removal position (the amount of rise of the suction part 51 at this time is L1) (steps S11 to S12). If the suction starts and the suction pad 52 of the suction part 51 is not able to adsorb the lowest pack 2 in the cartridge 10, that is, if the suction in step S14 is unsuccessful, after suction is stopped, the suction pad 52 of the suction part 51 temporarily retreats outside the cartridge 10 so as to perform a downward movement, as shown in FIG. 19(b) and step S19 of FIG. 21. Next, as shown in FIG. 19(c), the suction pad 52 of the suction part 51 rises again (the amount of rise of the suction pad 52 at this time is L2>L1) and stops at the second removal position (steps S18 to S21). The amount of movement of the suction pad 52 at this time can be expressed in other words as the amount of pressure that the suction pad 52 presses against the lowermost pack 2 in the cartridge 10 . In other words, when the lift amount of the suction pad 52 of the suction part 51 to the lowest pack 2 in the cartridge 10 fails to suction at the first removal position shown in the vicinity of Figure 19(a), the lowest pack 2 in the cartridge 10 is again removed at the second removal position shown in Figure 19(c) where the lift amount of the suction pad 52 is increased from that at the first removal position. This makes it possible to significantly improve the probability of success when suction has failed.

[0101] The suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 again begins suction, and if suction in step S23 is successful, the suction unit 51 is lowered by reverse driving of the drive motor 63 while still holding the lowest pack 2 in the cartridge 10 by suction, and one end of the pack 2 (the right side shown in FIG. 20(d)) is pulled out of the cartridge 10 (pack pull-out position). Next, the carriage 50 moves horizontally due to a transfer operation by the transfer unit 90, and the entire pack 2 is pulled out of the cartridge 10. Then, while the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 is lowered, it rotates its position by 90 degrees to prepare for the next placing operation (steps S24 to S26). On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S23 is "unsuccessful," suction is stopped and error processing is performed in the same manner as in the conventional method.

[0102] As described above, according to the first embodiment, when the suction unit fails to pick up a pack, the movement amount of the suction unit is increased and the removal operation is performed again, thereby eliminating a pack removal error due to a suction failure.

[0103] Also, as an embodiment different from the first embodiment (a modified example of the first embodiment), an operation example of the flowchart shown in Fig. 22 may be used. In comparison with the first embodiment, the modified example of the first embodiment has the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 lowering operation as shown in Fig. 19(b) and step S19 of Fig. 21 after suction is stopped, but may be a control in which the suction unit 51 is immediately raised to the second removal position and suction is attempted again without this lowering operation. The amount of suction unit elevation in step S20 in the first embodiment is expressed as L2>L1, but the amount of suction unit elevation in step S39 in the modified example of the first embodiment is expressed as L2-L1.

[0104] According to the configuration of the first embodiment and the modified example, by starting the suction operation before the suction unit stops at the first and second take-out positions, the suction unit can be suctioned when it approaches the pack, but if a small gap occurs between the suction pad and the medicine pack, causing leakage, or if the suction pad surface is made of a soft material, the posture after suction may become significantly worse, affecting the distribution of medicine to the subdivision box. Therefore, it is preferable to start suction after the suction unit stops at the first and second take-out positions.

[0105] Example 2 The second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 23 to Fig. 25. Fig. 23 and Fig. 24 are front views showing the progress of the pick-out operation by the carriage in the second embodiment. Fig. 25 is a flowchart of the pick-out operation by the carriage in the second embodiment. 23(a), the suction part 51 is raised by the drive of the drive motor 63, enters the cartridge 10 and stops at the first removal position (the amount of rise of the suction part 51 at this time is designated as L1) (steps S51 to S52). Next, suction is started, and if the suction pad 52 of the suction part 51 is not able to adsorb the lowermost pack 2 in the cartridge 10, that is, if the suction in step S54 is unsuccessful, after suction is stopped, the suction pad 52 of the suction part 51 temporarily retreats outside the cartridge 10 so as to perform a downward movement, as shown in FIG. 23(b) and step S59 in FIG. 25. 23(c), the horizontal position of the carriage 50 relative to the cartridge 10 is changed to the center of the cartridge 10 (the side where the inclination height of the packs 2 stored in the cartridge 10 becomes smaller) by horizontal movement of the transport unit 90. In step S60 of FIG. 25, the operation of changing the horizontal position of the carriage 50 relative to the cartridge 10 to the center of the cartridge 10 is called "carriage movement" (retry position).

[0106] Next, as shown in Figure 24(d), the suction pad 52 of the suction section 51 rises again (the amount of rise of the suction pad 52 at this time is L2) and stops at the second removal position (steps S61 to S62). Suction begins again, and the suction pad 52 sucks and holds the lowermost pack 2 in the cartridge 10, as shown in Figure 24(e), and pulls out one end of the pack 2 to the outside of the cartridge 10 (pack pull-out position). Next, as shown in FIG. 24(f), the transport part 90 moves horizontally to pull out the entirety of the removed pack 2 from the cartridge 10. On the other hand, if the result of the adsorption in step S64 is failure, the operation flow is basically the same as that shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 in the first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

[0107] The movement amount of the carriage 50 in the second embodiment (the retry position in step S60 in FIG. 25: the movement amount when the horizontal position of the carriage 50 relative to the cartridge 10 is changed so as to be positioned toward the center of the cartridge 10 by the horizontal movement operation of the transport section 90) is desirably within a range of approximately 2 mm from the first removal position (first pick-out position) of the suction section 51. In the example of the flowchart in FIG. 25, if the carriage 50 fails to adsorb as a result of the retry operation to occupy the retry position in step S60, the process ends with an error (steps S63, S68 to S69). However, the control may be such that the above-mentioned retry operation is performed multiple times.

[0108] As described above, according to the second embodiment, the carriage moves to the center of the pack stored in the cartridge (the side where the inclination height of the pack 2 stored in the cartridge 10 is smaller), which enables the suction portion to approach the inclined pack within the cartridge, thereby enabling the pack to be adsorbed and removed by the suction portion.

[0109] Example 3 A third embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 26 and 27. Figure 26 is a front view showing the progress of a retry operation after suction has failed during the pick-out operation by the carriage in the third embodiment. In Figure 26, the pack withdrawal operation after successful suction in the retry operation is as described above, so a description will be omitted to avoid duplication. Figure 27 is a flowchart of the pick-out operation by the carriage in the third embodiment. As shown in Fig. 26(a), the suction part 51 is raised by the drive motor 63, enters the cartridge 10 and stops at the first removal position (the amount of rise of the suction part 51 at this time is set to L1 (steps S71 to S72)). Next, suction is started, and if the suction success or failure in step S74 is unsuccessful, after that, as shown in Fig. 26(b) and step S79 in Fig. 27, the suction pad 52 of the suction part 51 temporarily retreats outside the cartridge 10 to perform a downward movement. 23(b), the horizontal position of the carriage 50 relative to the cartridge 10 is changed to be located at the center of the cartridge 10 by horizontal movement of the transport unit 90. In step S80 of FIG. 27, the operation of changing the horizontal position of the carriage 50 relative to the cartridge 10 to be located at the center of the cartridge 10, as in the second embodiment, is referred to as "carriage movement" (retry position).

[0110] 26(c), the suction unit 51 rises again and stops at the third removal position (higher than the first removal position and lower than the second removal position in the second embodiment), and then starts suction (step S83). Thus, the third embodiment is characterized in that the removal operation is performed at the third removal position where the amount of lift of the suction unit 51 is reduced compared to the second removal position.

[0111] As described above, according to the third embodiment, the carriage moves to the center of the pack inside the cartridge, which allows the suction part to adsorb the pack with a small amount of lift. This prevents the tip of the pack from being lifted more than necessary by the suction part pushing in when adsorbing, which could cause the posture of the next pack and subsequent packs to deteriorate.

[0112] Example 4 A fourth embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 28 to 30. Figures 28 and 29 are front views showing the progress of a retry operation after suction fails during the pick-out operation by the carriage in the fourth embodiment. In Figure 30, the pack withdrawal operation after successful suction in the retry operation is as described above, so a description will be omitted to avoid duplication. Figure 30 is a flowchart of the pick-out operation by the carriage in the fourth embodiment. 28(a) and steps S91 to S94 in Fig. 30, the following describes the lifting of suction unit 51 (lifting amount: L1), the stopping of suction unit 51 (first removal position), the start of suction, and the retry operation after failure to suction pack 2 as determined by whether suction is successful or not. Note that the pack withdrawal operation after successful suction in the retry operation is omitted as it has been described above.

[0113] The process proceeds to a retry operation, and as shown in FIG. 28(b) and steps S98 to S102 in FIG. 30, the suction unit 51 rises again, stops at the second removal position, and then starts suction. Then, as shown in step S103 in FIG. 30, if suction is started but suction is not successful, suction is stopped and the suction unit 51 retreats temporarily outside the cartridge 10 (steps S107 to S108 in FIG. 28(c) and FIG. 30). Next, the carriage 50 is moved horizontally by the transfer unit 90, and the carriage 50 occupies the position shown in FIG. 29(d). Then, when the carriage 50 occupies the retry position shown in FIG. 29(d), the suction unit 51 rises again, stops at the second removal position, and starts suction (steps S110 to S112 in FIG. 30) as shown in FIG. 29(e). In this way, if the adsorption is successful in step S113 of FIG. 30 after the above retry operation, the same operations as steps S114 to S116 of FIG. 30 are carried out in the same manner as described above.

[0114] Example 5 A fifth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 31 to Fig. 33. Fig. 31(a) and Fig. 31(b) are front views showing the configuration and operation of a carriage according to the fifth embodiment, and Fig. 32 is a front view showing the progress of a retry operation after suction failure during the pick-out operation by the carriage in the fifth embodiment. Fig. 33 is a flowchart of the pick-out operation by the carriage in the fifth embodiment. The carriage 50 of the fifth embodiment shown in Fig. 31 differs from the carriage 50 of the first to fourth embodiments mainly in that it is provided with a posture correcting unit 66 having a posture correcting member 67 as a posture correcting means for correcting the posture of the pack 2 in the cartridge 10. The carriage 50 of the fifth embodiment is similar to the carriage 50 of the first to fourth embodiments except for the above-mentioned configuration differences.

[0115] The posture correction unit 66 is composed of a posture correction member 67 that moves linearly back and forth, a solenoid 68 consisting of, for example, a push-type driving means that moves a tip 67a of the posture correction member 67 linearly in the protruding direction, and a biasing member (not shown) such as a tension spring that always biases the posture correction member 67 in a pulling direction (direction to return to the original position). The posture correction member 67 is linearly moved back and forth by the solenoid 68 and the biasing member, so that the tip 67a of the posture correction member 67 comes into contact with and presses the pack 2 in the cartridge 10, thereby automatically switching between a pack pressing position (see FIG. 31(b)) where the posture of the pack 2 in the cartridge 10 is corrected (for example, as shown in Example 1 in FIG. 20, the pack 2 in the cartridge 10 is tilted upward to the right in the figure) and a retracted position (see FIG. 31(a)) where the tip 67a of the posture correction member 67 is separated from the pack 2 in the cartridge 10 and retracts into the carriage 50.

[0116] The posture correction member 67 may be shaped like a rod or a plate, but is preferably shaped so as to be able to push up the pack 2 in the cartridge 10 widely in the left-right direction (width direction) in the diagram. The posture correction unit 66 and the solenoid 68 of the fifth embodiment are as shown surrounded by dashed lines in FIGS.

[0117] The posture correction unit 66 is not limited to being configured by a combination of the above-mentioned members, and may be configured, for example, by a posture correction member (not shown) capable of reciprocating rotational movement, and a motor (not shown) for rotating the posture correction member. Even with this configuration, it is possible to automatically switch between a pack pressing position for correcting the posture of the pack 2 in the cartridge 10, and a retracted position in which the posture correction member is separated from the pack 2 in the cartridge 10 and retracts into the carriage 50.

[0118] The operation of the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 32. Note that the operation up to when the suction portion 51 enters the cartridge 10 and the pack pulling operation after successful suction in the retry operation have been described above and will not be described here. As shown by the dashed line in Fig. 32(a), the suction pad 52 fails to suction the pack 2 in the cartridge 10 by rising (amount of rise L1) (step S124 in Fig. 33), and the process proceeds to a retry operation. In the retry operation, as shown in Fig. 32(b) and steps S128 to S131 in Fig. 33, the tip 67a of the posture correction member 67 enters the cartridge 10 by turning on a solenoid (not shown), and the tip 67a assumes a pack pressing position where it contacts and pushes up the lowest pack 2 as shown by the outlined thick arrow, thereby changing the posture of the pack 2. In this posture changing operation of the pack 2, the right end side of the pack 2 tilted upward is released from the hook of the inner wall surface of the cartridge 10, and the pack 2 is pushed up so that the lower left end side of the pack 2 in the figure moves away from the bottom surface inside the cartridge 10 and hits the left inner side surface of the cartridge 10 in the figure.

[0119] 32(c) and step S131 in FIG. 33, the posture correction member 67 retreats from inside the cartridge 10 as indicated by the outlined thick arrow, and then the suction portion 51 and the suction pad 52 rise again and enter the cartridge 10. At this time, the amount of rise of the suction portion 51 and the suction pad 52 is either L1, L2 or L3 (see step S132 in FIG. 33). In the fifth embodiment, the tip 67a of the posture correction member 67 is located on the left side in the drawing near the suction portion 51 and is movable between a pack pressing position and a retracted position. This can be considered to provide an effect similar to that of the retry operation in the second embodiment (where the carriage moves to the center side of the packs stored in the cartridge (the side where the inclination height of the packs 2 stored in the cartridge 10 becomes smaller)).

[0120] As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, when suction fails, the attitude of the pack in the cartridge is changed by the attitude correcting means before a retry operation is performed, thereby making it possible to remove the pack from the cartridge in the correct order.

[0121] Example 6 The sixth embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 34 to 36. Figs. 33 and 34 are front views showing the progress of a retry operation after suction failure during the pick-out operation by the carriage of the sixth embodiment. Fig. 36 is a flowchart of the pick-out operation by the carriage of the sixth embodiment. The carriage 50 of the sixth embodiment shown in Figs. 33 and 34 has the same configuration as the carriage 50 of the first to fourth embodiments, but performs a unique operation to achieve the same effect as the fifth embodiment described above.

[0122] In FIG. 36, the operation up until the suction portion enters the cartridge and the pack pulling operation after successful suction in the retry operation are as described above, so a description thereof will be omitted. As shown by the dashed line in Fig. 34(a), the suction part 51 fails to suction the pack 2 in the cartridge 10 by raising it, and the operation proceeds to a retry. As shown in Fig. 34(b) and steps S148 to S150 in Fig. 36, after the suction part 51 has lowered, the carriage 50 is moved to the opposite side of the downstream side in the X direction (the left side in the drawing in the X direction) by the horizontal movement of the transfer part 90 (movement amount of the carriage 50 at this time: X1). Next, as shown in Fig. 34(c) and steps S151 to S152 in Fig. 36, the suction pad 52 of the suction part 51 is raised in a state where suction is not being performed, and the pack 2 in the cartridge 10 is pushed up to change the attitude of the pack 2 (the same operation as the pack pressing position in the fifth embodiment).

[0123] Next, as shown in FIG. 34(d) and step S152 in FIG. 36, the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 is lowered while suction is not being performed (the same operation as the retracted position in the fifth embodiment). After the pack posture correction is thus completed, the carriage 50 is moved horizontally by the transfer unit 90 to the pack removal position (the amount of movement of the carriage 50 at this time is -X2, X2≦X1) as shown in FIG. 34(e) and step S153 in FIG. 36. Next, as shown in FIG. 34(f) and step S154 in FIG. 36, the suction unit 51 is raised again and enters the cartridge 10 to suction and remove the lowest pack 2.

[0124] In the sixth embodiment, the carriage and the suction part were moved to change their positions as follows: suction failed at the initial suction position → carriage moved to the posture correction position → posture correction operation → carriage moved to the retry operation position → retry operation. The positional relationship is, in order from the top end side of the pack tilted diagonally upward to the right inside the cartridge, the initial suction position, the retry operation position, and the posture correction operation position.

[0125] As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, the posture of the pack can be changed and the pack can be removed by pushing the lower end side of the pack tilted diagonally downward to the left inside the cartridge (the initial suction position is the upper end side) with the suction pad of the suction part when suction is not being performed. The posture of the pack can be corrected without adding a separate member as in the fifth embodiment.

[0126] Example 7 A seventh embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 37 to 41. Fig. 37 is a front view showing the configuration of a carriage according to the seventh embodiment, and Fig. 38 is a diagram showing the control configuration of the seventh embodiment. Figs. 39 and 40 are front views showing the progress of a retry operation after suction failure during the pick-out operation by the carriage of the seventh embodiment. Fig. 41 is a flowchart of the pick-out operation by the carriage of the seventh embodiment. As shown in Fig. 37, the carriage 50 shown in Fig. 8 is provided with an air sending unit 72 as a posture correction means. It is preferable that the air sending unit 72 is provided near the suction unit 51 and is configured to be movable up and down like the suction unit 51. As shown in Fig. 38, in the control configuration of the seventh embodiment, the air sending unit 72 is connected to the negative pressure generator 45 and the air compressor 46 via air piping 49 such as a tube that is an air transmission member. The negative pressure generator 45 not only performs suction using compressed air, but also has the function of being able to send out compressed air (pressurized) as when performing vacuum breaking as described above. A pressure sensor 73 for detecting the compressed air (pressurized air) generated by the negative pressure generator 45 is provided in the air piping 49 between the air delivery section 72 and the negative pressure generator 45, separate from the pressure sensor 71 which mainly detects the negative pressure.

[0127] The operation of the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 39 and 40. As in the above-described embodiments, the operation up to the point where the suction portion 51 enters the cartridge 10 and the operation of pulling out the pack 2 after successful suction in the retry operation are the same as those described above, and therefore will not be described here. As shown by the dashed line in FIG. 39(a), the suction pad 52 fails to suction the pack 2 from within the cartridge 10, and the suction portion 51 retracts. However, the suction pad 52 does not have to be completely retracted from within the cartridge 10 at this time, as long as it is in the posture correction position. Next, as shown in FIG. 39(b), air a is sent from the air sending portion 72 toward the pack 2 in the cartridge 10 for a predetermined time. Next, as shown in FIG. 39(c), after sending air a for a predetermined time, the sending of air a is stopped. This makes it possible to improve the defective state described in FIG. 15, that is, the pack 2 that is inclined upward to the right within the cartridge 10 and has a defect of being caught on the inner surface of the cartridge 10 in the figure, by disintegrating it.

[0128] Example 8 The eighth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 42. Fig. 42 is a flowchart of the pick-out operation by the carriage in the eighth embodiment. In the operation of the first embodiment, in the case where the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 is unable to suction the lowest pack 2 in the cartridge 10, i.e., in the case where the suction success or failure in step S14 is a failure, after suction is stopped (S18), the negative pressure of the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 is released (S190) before the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 is lowered. After the negative pressure of the suction pad 52 is released, the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 is temporarily withdrawn outside the cartridge 10 so as to perform the lowering operation.

[0129] When the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 is unable to properly suction the pack 2 and fails to suction the pack 2, if the negative pressure of the suction pad 52 remains when the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 is lowered, the pack 2 may be pulled by the negative pressure of the descending suction pad 52 and may be improperly pulled out from the cartridge 10. In this case, problems may occur such as an impediment to a subsequent removal operation to be performed again or the pulled out pack 2 dropping. According to the eighth embodiment, the negative pressure of the suction pad 52 is released before the suction pad 52 is lowered, so that the pack 2 can be stably peeled off from the suction pad 52 before the suction pad 52 descends, and the above-mentioned problem can be solved.

[0130] The negative pressure on the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 can be released, for example, by generating a pressure using the negative pressure generator 45 to send air to the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 and to jet the air onto the suction holding surface 52a of the suction pad 52. The negative pressure on the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 can also be released, for example, by opening the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 to the atmosphere.

[0131] In the eighth embodiment, the operation of the first embodiment has been described as an example, but the release of the negative pressure in step S190 in the eighth embodiment can be similarly applied in the case where the suction pad 52 of the suction unit 51 is lowered after the suction unit 51 fails to suction the pack 2 at the first or second removal position. For example, step S190 in the eighth embodiment may be performed between steps S58 and S59 in the second embodiment, between steps S78 and S79 in the third embodiment, between steps S98 and S99 and between steps S107 and S108 in the fourth embodiment, between steps S128 and S129 in the fifth embodiment, between steps S148 and S149 in the sixth embodiment, between steps S177 and S178 in the seventh embodiment, or the like.

[0132] It can be said that the above-described embodiment, examples, etc. essentially describe the following aspects and effects. That is, the first aspect is a medication support device such as medication support device 200 that includes a storage means such as cartridge 10 for storing drug packs 2, etc., a removal means such as carriage 50 having an adsorption portion such as adsorption portion 51 for removing a specific drug pack from the storage means, an adsorption portion guide member such as guide member 59 for changing the posture of the adsorption portion, a moving means such as a transport portion 90 for moving the removal means, and a control means such as control unit 150 for controlling the removal operation of the drug pack by the removal means, and when the lift amount of the adsorption portion of the storage means relative to the drug pack fails to remove the drug pack at a first removal position, the device performs the removal operation at a second removal position in which the lift amount of the adsorption portion is increased more than that of the first removal position.

[0133] With this configuration, according to the first aspect, the drug packs stacked in the storage means can be stably adsorbed and removed without any disorder. In other words, by changing the amount of pressure applied to the drug packs in the storage means by raising the adsorption part and performing the removal operation again, even drug packs that have become stuck and tilted in the storage means can be adsorbed and removed.

[0134] The second aspect is characterized in that, in the first aspect, when the suction portion fails to remove the drug pack at the first removal position, the horizontal position of the removal means relative to the storage means is changed so that it is positioned toward the center of the storage means, and the removal operation is performed again at the second removal position. With this configuration, according to the second aspect, the removal means moves to the horizontal center of the medicine pack in the storage means, so that the adsorption part can approach the medicine pack, thereby adsorbing and removing it.

[0135] A third aspect is characterized in that in the second aspect, the take-out operation is performed at a third take-out position where the amount of lift of the suction part is reduced compared to the second take-out position. With this configuration, according to the third aspect, the removal means moves to the center of the drug pack in the storage means, allowing the suction part to adsorb the drug pack with a small amount of lift, thereby preventing the tip side of the drug pack from being lifted more than necessary due to the pressure of the suction part when adsorbing, which would deteriorate the posture of the next drug pack and subsequent packs.

[0136] A fourth aspect is characterized in that, in any one of the first to third aspects, when the suction portion fails to adsorb the drug pack at the second removal position, the removal operation is performed again at the second removal position, or the removal operation is performed at the third removal position. With this configuration, according to the fourth aspect, the retry operation of the first aspect and the retry operation of the second aspect or the third aspect can be combined to reduce the rate of occurrence of suction errors.

[0137] The fifth aspect is characterized in that, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the removal means has a posture correction means such as a posture correction member 67 that corrects the posture of the medicine pack in the storage means, and a correction operation is performed by the posture correction means again before performing the removal operation. With this configuration, according to the fifth aspect, when suction has failed, the posture correcting means changes the posture of the medicine pack before a retry operation is performed, making it possible to remove the medicine pack from the storage means in the correct order.

[0138] A sixth aspect is the fifth aspect, characterized in that the posture correcting means is an adsorption portion. With this configuration, according to the sixth aspect, the medicine pack can be removed by changing its posture by pushing the lower end side of the medicine pack (the initial suction position is the upper end side) with the suction part in a non-suction state. Also, the posture of the medicine pack can be corrected without adding a separate member.

[0139] A seventh aspect is the fifth aspect, characterized in that the posture correction means is air-blowout. With this configuration, according to the seventh aspect, removal becomes possible by changing the attitude of the medicine pack by blowing air before performing another removal operation.

[0140] The eighth aspect is characterized in that, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, when the suction portion fails to suction the drug pack at the first removal position or the second removal position, the negative pressure for suction of the suction portion is released, the suction portion is lowered, and the removal operation is performed again. When the suction unit fails to suction the medicine pack at the first or second removal position, the suction unit may be lowered to perform the removal operation again. In this case, if the negative pressure of the suction unit remains, the medicine pack may be pulled out by the negative pressure of the suction unit when the suction unit is lowered. As a result, problems may occur such as the medicine pack being pulled out being dropped or the medicine pack being interfered with in the second removal operation. According to the eighth aspect, when the suction part fails to suction the medicine pack at the first or second removal position, the negative pressure for suction of the suction part is released, and then the suction part is lowered. Therefore, since the negative pressure of the suction part is released before the suction part is lowered, the medicine pack can be stably peeled off from the suction part before the suction part is lowered. Therefore, the medicine pack is prevented from being pulled out when the suction part is lowered.

[0141] A ninth aspect is the eighth aspect, characterized in that the negative pressure is released by sending compressed air to the adsorption section. With this configuration, according to the ninth aspect, the negative pressure in the adsorption unit can be released by utilizing the configuration for sending compressed air.

[0142] A tenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that in the eighth aspect, the negative pressure is released by opening the adsorption portion to the atmosphere. With this configuration, according to the tenth aspect, the negative pressure in the adsorption section can be released by utilizing the configuration for releasing the adsorption section to the atmosphere.

[0143] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such a specific embodiment, and various modifications and alterations are possible within the scope of the spirit of the present invention described in the claims unless otherwise specifically limited in the above description. For example, the technical matters described in the above embodiment, examples, or modified examples may be appropriately combined.

[0144] The effects appropriately described in the embodiments of the present invention are merely a list of the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0145] 2. Single-dose drug pack (example of drug pack) 3. Drugs 10 Cartridge, storage section (an example of a storage means) 21 Drawer section 29 Drug distribution department 30 Medication tray (an example of a medication means or medication table) 45 Negative pressure generator (an example of negative pressure switching means) 50 Carriage (an example of a removal means) 51 Adsorption unit (an example of adsorption means) 52 Suction pad (an example of a component constituting the suction means) 55 Rotation axis (an example of a component that constitutes the suction part movement guide) 56 Guide shaft (an example of a component constituting the suction part movement guide) 57 Adsorption part base member (an example of a component constituting the adsorption part movement guide) 58 Guide rod (an example of a component constituting the suction part movement guide) 59 Guide member (an example of a suction portion guide member) 59b Guide groove (an example of a component constituting the suction part movement guide) 63 Drive motor (an example of a suction part drive means) 66 Posture Correction Department 67 Posture correction member (an example of posture correction means) 68 Solenoid (driving means for posture correction member) 70 Pressure Sensor 71 Pressure sensor (air detection means) 72 Air delivery unit (posture correction means) 73 Pressure Sensor 90 Transfer section (an example of a transfer means) 150 Control section 151 Touch panel (an example of an operation unit) 200 Medication Support Device X Left / right / horizontal direction Y Front / rear / depth direction Z Up / Down / Vertical [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0146] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2013 / 187345 [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2015 / 170762 [Patent Document 3] JP 2010-172471 A

Claims

1. a storage means for storing the drug pack; A removal means having an adsorption part for removing a specific drug pack from the storage means; A suction portion guide member for changing the posture of the suction portion; A moving means for moving the removal means; and a control means for controlling the removal operation of the drug pack by the removal means, When the amount of lift of the suction part relative to the drug pack of the storage means is such that the drug pack cannot be removed at a first removal position, the medication support device performs a removal operation at a second removal position in which the amount of lift of the suction part is increased more than that at the first removal position.

2. The medication support device described in claim 1, characterized in that when the suction portion fails to remove the medicine pack at the first removal position, the horizontal position of the removal means relative to the storage means is changed so that it is positioned toward the center of the storage means, and the removal operation is performed again at the second removal position.

3. The medication support device according to claim 2, characterized in that the removal operation is performed at a third removal position in which the amount of lift of the suction part is reduced compared to the second removal position.

4. A medication support device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that when the suction portion fails to adsorb the medicine pack at the second removal position, the removal operation is performed again at the second removal position, or the removal operation is performed at the third removal position.

5. The medication support device as described in claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the removal means has a posture correction means for correcting the posture of the medicine pack in the storage means, and a correction operation is performed by the posture correction means before performing the removal operation again.

6. 6. The medication support device according to claim 5, wherein the posture correction means is an adsorption portion.

7. 6. The medication support device according to claim 5, wherein the posture correction means is an air-blowing device.

8. A medication support device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that when the suction portion fails to suction the medicine pack at the first removal position or the second removal position, the negative pressure for suction of the suction portion is released, the suction portion is lowered, and the removal operation is performed again.

9. The medication support device according to claim 8, characterized in that the negative pressure is released by sending compressed air to the suction portion.

10. The medication support device according to claim 8, characterized in that the negative pressure is released by opening the suction portion to the atmosphere.

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