Medicine put-out device, display control device, and medicine put-out program

Abstract

To provide a medicine put-out device and a medicine put-out program capable of using a tablet cassette and a manual handling unit in consideration of work efficiency of a user.SOLUTION: A medicine put-out device includes: a tablet cassette that allows tablets to be put out individually from a storage unit where a plurality of tablets are stored; a manual handling unit that allows tablets put in a plurality of cells to be put out by a cell unit; an allotment processing unit capable of allotting medicine information on the tablets to be put out to one of the tablet cassette or a mounting unit in which the tablet cassette is mounted, and the manual handling unit; and a driving processing unit for putting out the tablets to be put out from the tablet cassette or the manual handling unit on the basis of a result of the allotment by the allotment processing unit. The allotment processing unit allots the medicine information on the tablets with a small size of a plurality of tablets to be put out preferentially to the tablet cassette or the mounting unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 14

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a medicine dispensing device capable of dispensing tablets from a tablet cassette. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, a medicine dispensing device is known which is equipped with a tablet cassette capable of dispensing tablets from a storage section that stores multiple tablets, and which is capable of automatically dispensing the tablets stored in the tablet cassette based on prescription data (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5812228 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In addition to the tablet cassette, this type of medicine dispensing device may also include a manual dispensing unit that can dispense tablets placed in multiple boxes in units of those boxes. In this case, the medicine dispensing device can dispense the tablets to be dispensed using either the tablet cassette or the manual dispensing unit. However, the smaller the tablets, the more difficult it becomes to place the tablets into each box of the manual dispensing unit, reducing the user's work efficiency.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a medicine dispensing device and a medicine dispensing program that can utilize a tablet cassette and a manual dispensing unit in consideration of the user's work efficiency. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The medicine dispensing device according to the present invention comprises a first tablet dispensing unit capable of dispensing tablets from a storage unit that stores a plurality of tablets, a second tablet dispensing unit capable of dispensing tablets placed in a plurality of cells in units of the cells, an allocation processing unit capable of allocating medicine information of tablets to be dispensed to either the first tablet dispensing unit or a mounting unit to which the first tablet dispensing unit is mounted or the second tablet dispensing unit, and a drive processing unit that dispenses the tablets to be dispensed from the first tablet dispensing unit or the second tablet dispensing unit based on the allocation result by the allocation processing unit. The allocation processing unit allocates medicine information of small-sized tablets among multiple types of tablets to be dispensed to the first tablet dispensing unit or the mounting unit with priority.

[0007] The medicine dispensing program of the present invention is a medicine dispensing program for causing a processor controlling a medicine dispensing device including a first tablet dispensing unit capable of dispensing tablets from a storage unit that stores a plurality of tablets, and a second tablet dispensing unit capable of dispensing tablets placed in a plurality of cells in units of the cells, to execute an allocation step of allocating medicine information of tablets to be dispensed to either the first tablet dispensing unit or a mounting unit to which the first tablet dispensing unit is mounted, or the second tablet dispensing unit, and a drive step of dispensing the tablets to be dispensed from the first tablet dispensing unit or the second tablet dispensing unit based on the allocation result of the allocation step. In the allocation step, medicine information of tablets with smaller sizes among multiple types of tablets to be dispensed is preferentially allocated to the first tablet dispensing unit or the mounting unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, a medicine dispensing device and a medicine dispensing program are provided that can utilize a tablet cassette and a manual dispensing unit in consideration of the user's work efficiency. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an external view of a medicine dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining the configuration of the fixed tablet cassette of the medicine dispensing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view for explaining the configuration of the variable size tablet cassette of the medicine dispensing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining the configuration of the variable size tablet cassette of the medicine dispensing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining the configuration of the variable size tablet cassette of the medicine dispensing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining the configuration of a mounting portion of the variable size tablet cassette of the medicine dispensing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of cells of the manual distribution unit in the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the result of packaging tablets in the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of allocation information used in the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of drive correspondence information used in the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining one example of a procedure of a medicine dispensing process executed by the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining one example of a procedure of a manual allocation process executed in the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining one example of a procedure of the automatic allocation process executed in the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15]FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of a packaging control process executed in the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing one example of allocation information used in the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a view for explaining an example of a detection state of the optical sensor in the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a view for explaining an example of a detection state of the optical sensor in the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a flowchart for explaining another example of the procedure of the medicine dispensing process executed in the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 25] FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on the medicine dispensing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings to help understand the present invention. Note that the following embodiments are examples that embody the present invention and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[0011] First, a schematic configuration of a medicine dispensing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0012] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the medicine dispensing device 100 includes a prescription control unit 1, a tablet supply unit 2, a powdered medicine supply unit 3, a manual dispensing unit 4, a packaging unit 5, a packaging control unit 6, and a barcode reader 7.

[0013] The prescription control unit 1, the tablet supply unit 2, the powdered medicine supply unit 3, the manual distribution unit 4, the packaging unit 5, and the packaging control unit 6 are connected by an internal bus N1, etc. Furthermore, the prescription control unit 1 and the barcode reader 7 are capable of wireless communication in accordance with communication standards such as wireless LAN or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0014] The medicine dispensing device 100 is controlled by the prescription control unit 1 and the packaging control unit 6, and executes a packaging operation in which medicines are dispensed from one or more of the tablet supply unit 2, the powdered medicine supply unit 3, and the manual distribution unit 4 based on the medicine dispensing data, and the packaging unit 5 packages the medicines into packaging paper in units of packets based on the time of administration, etc. The packaging operation is executed once by the medicine dispensing device 100 based on one of the medicine dispensing data, and one or more types of medicines indicated in the medicine dispensing data are dispensed in the packaging operation.

[0015] In this embodiment, the medicine dispensing data will be described as prescription data indicating the contents of a prescription for one patient. The prescription data includes information about the patient and information about the medicine prescribed to the patient, such as the type, dosage, and usage of the medicine. The medicine dispensing data corresponds to one packaging operation in the medicine dispensing device 10. In another embodiment, the medicine dispensing data may be dispensing data input to the medicine dispensing device 100 based on the contents of a prescription for one patient.

[0016] [Tablet supply unit 2] The tablet supply unit 2 includes a plurality of fixed tablet cassettes 21 that can dispense tablets of a predetermined specific type one tablet at a time (unit amount), and a plurality of variable tablet cassettes 22 that can dispense tablets of any type one tablet at a time (unit amount) by changing the driving conditions. The tablets that can be dispensed by the fixed tablet cassettes 21 and the variable tablet cassettes 22 include solid medicines in various shapes such as disks, spheres, or capsules.

[0017] 1, a total of 54 fixed tablet cassettes 21 are provided, with 6 fixed tablet cassettes 21 arranged vertically and 9 fixed tablet cassettes 21 arranged horizontally, and a total of 4 variable tablet cassettes 22 arranged vertically and 4 variable tablet cassettes 22 arranged below the fixed tablet cassettes 21. In another embodiment, the tablet supply unit 2 may not have the fixed tablet cassette 21, but may have only a plurality of variable tablet cassettes 22.

[0018] Each of the fixed tablet cassettes 21 is configured to be detachable from each of the mounting parts 211 provided in the tablet supply unit 2. Note that, as another embodiment, each of the fixed tablet cassettes 21 may be configured to be removable from the mounting part 211, and the fixed tablet cassette 21 may not be detached from the mounting part 211. Alternatively, a part of the fixed tablet cassette 21 may be provided in the mounting part 211, and another part of the fixed tablet cassette 21 may be detachable from the mounting part 211.

[0019] Each of the mounting units 211 includes a first drive unit 23 that individually drives the fixed tablet cassette 21. Each of the first drive units 23 includes a drive motor 231 and an RFID reader / writer 232. The drive motor 231 supplies a drive force to the drive mechanism of the fixed tablet cassette 21.

[0020] The RFID reader / writer 232 is an information reading means that uses RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) wireless communication technology to read and write information from an RFID tag (not shown) provided in the fixed tablet cassette 21. The installation locations of the RFID tag (not shown) and the RFID reader / writer 232 may be determined relatively within a range where the RFID reader / writer 232 can read and write information from and to the RFID tag (not shown) when the fixed tablet cassette 21 is attached to the attachment section 211.

[0021] The RFID tag (not shown) is a non-volatile recording medium that stores cassette identification information for identifying each of the fixed tablet cassettes 21, and the cassette identification information is written by the prescription control unit 1 during initial setting of the medicine dispensing device 100. The fixed tablet cassette 21 may also be provided with a read-only RFID tag in which the cassette identification information corresponding to the fixed tablet cassette 21 is stored in advance.

[0022] Each of the variable tablet cassettes 22 is configured to be attachable to and detachable from each of the mounting parts 221 provided in the tablet supply unit 2. In this embodiment, a case will be described where the variable tablet cassette 2 is an example of a first tablet dispensing part according to the present invention. Note that, as another embodiment, each of the variable tablet cassettes 22 may be configured to be removable from the mounting part 221, and the variable tablet cassette 22 may not be detached from the mounting part 221. Alternatively, a part of the variable tablet cassette 22 may be provided in the mounting part 221, and another part of the variable tablet cassette 22 may be attachable to and detachable from the mounting part 221.

[0023] Each of the mounting parts 221 includes a second driving unit 24 that individually drives the variable size tablet cassette 22. Each of the second driving units 24 includes driving motors 241 to 244 and an RFID reader / writer 245. The driving motors 241 to 244 supply driving force to the driving mechanism of the variable size tablet cassette 22.

[0024] The RFID reader / writer 245 (see Fig. 7) is an information reading means that uses RFID wireless communication technology to read and write information from the RFID tag 26 (see Fig. 6) provided in the variable tablet cassette 22. The installation locations of the RFID tag 26 and the RFID reader / writer 245 may be determined relatively within a range where the RFID reader / writer 245 can read and write information from and to the RFID tag 26 when the variable tablet cassette 22 is attached to the attachment part 221.

[0025] The RFID tag 26 is a non-volatile recording medium that records cassette identification information for identifying each of the variable tablet cassettes 22, drug information of the tablets assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22 in the drug dispensing process (see Figure 12) described below, and the like.

[0026] The drug information is information that can identify the type of tablet (drug), such as the drug name, drug ID, JAN code, RSS code, QR code (registered trademark), etc. The JAN code and the RSS code are numerical or character information expressed by a one-dimensional code (barcode, GS1 code), and the QR code (registered trademark) is numerical or character information expressed by a two-dimensional code.

[0027] The number of the variable tablet cassettes 22 does not have to match the number of the mounting units 221. For example, it is possible that a user can select any variable tablet cassette 22 from the variable tablet cassettes 22, the number of which is greater than the number of the mounting units 221, and mount it in the mounting unit 221. This also applies to the fixed tablet cassette 21 and the mounting units 211.

[0028] [Fixed Tablet Cassette 21] Here, an example of the fixed tablet cassette 21 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Note that the structure of the fixed tablet cassette 21 described here is merely an example, and other structures may be used as long as they have the same function. Note that Fig. 3 is a diagram in which the cover member covering the top of the fixed tablet cassette 21 is omitted.

[0029] The type of tablets stored in each of the fixed tablet cassettes 21 is predetermined. Therefore, for example, on the front surface of each of the fixed tablet cassettes 21, drug information about the tablets stored in the fixed tablet cassette 21 is written in advance.

[0030] 3, the fixed tablet cassette 21 includes a tablet storage section 212 that stores a plurality of tablets, and a tablet discharge section 213 that individually discharges the tablets stored in the tablet storage section 212. The tablet discharge section 213 is provided in a recess formed in approximately the center of the tablet storage section 212, and the tablets in the tablet storage section 212 descend sequentially toward the tablet discharge section 213.

[0031] The tablet discharge section 213 includes a rotor 214 rotatably supported by the housing of the fixed tablet cassette 21, and an inner wall 214A that covers the outer periphery of the rotor 214. When the fixed tablet cassette 21 is attached to the attachment section 211, the rotor 214 is connected to the drive motor 231 of the first drive section 23 via a drive transmission system (not shown) such as various gears. In addition, ribs 215 and 216 are formed at predetermined intervals on the outer periphery of the rotor 214. As a result, gaps 217 surrounded by the ribs 215, 216, and the inner wall 214A are formed intermittently on the outer periphery of the rotor 214. The width of the gaps 217 is determined according to the type of tablet predetermined to be stored in the fixed tablet cassette 21, and corresponds to the width of one of the tablets.

[0032] Furthermore, a gap 218 is formed between the ribs 215 and 216 across the entire outer circumferential surface of the rotor 214. The height of the upper end of each of the ribs 215 and 216 is determined according to the type of tablet predetermined to be contained in the fixed tablet cassette 21. Specifically, the height of the upper end of the rib 215 shown in Figure 3 corresponds to the height of three tablets, and three tablets are inserted into each of the gaps 217 of the rotor 214. The height of the upper end of the rib 216 corresponds to the height of one tablet.

[0033] Meanwhile, a discharge port 219 for discharging tablets from the rotor 214 is formed in the inner wall 214A, and a partition plate 220 that is inserted into the gap 218 is provided at the discharge port 219. As a result, of the three tablets inserted in the gap 217 at the discharge port 219, the upper two tablets are prevented from falling by the partition plate 220, and only the lower tablet is discharged. Therefore, in the fixed tablet cassette 21, the rotor 214 is driven by the drive motor 231, and the tablets contained in the tablet containing section 212 are dispensed one tablet at a time.

[0034] [Variable Tablet Cassette 22] Next, an example of the variable tablet cassette 22 will be described with reference to Figures 4 to 7. The structure of the variable tablet cassette 22 described here is merely an example, and other structures may be used as long as they are capable of dispensing any tablets one by one. For example, JP-A No. 2010-535683 or JP-A No. 2010-115493 disclose other examples of the variable tablet cassette 22. Furthermore, the variable tablet cassette 22 may be a cylindrical member having a spiral inner surface, and the cylindrical member may be rotated in an inclined state, so that the tablets contained in the cylindrical member move upward along the spiral inner surface and are dispensed in order.

[0035] 4 to 6, the variable tablet cassette 22 includes a tablet storage section 222 that stores a plurality of tablets, and a first rotor 223 and a second rotor 224 that dispense tablets from the tablet storage section 222. Note that Figs. 4 to 6 are views in which a cover member that covers the top of the variable tablet cassette 22 is omitted. The variable tablet cassette 22 may be configured to be able to dispense tablets in predetermined unit amounts, and may be configured to be able to dispense, for example, multiple tablets rather than one tablet at a time.

[0036] The first rotor 223 is a disk-shaped member that forms the bottom surface of the tablet storage section 222. The rotation axis of the first rotor 223 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical direction, and the upper surface of the first rotor 223 is inclined at the predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal plane. Furthermore, radial ribs 223A are formed at predetermined intervals on the upper surface of the first rotor 223. The first rotor 223 is rotatably supported by the housing of the variable length tablet cassette 22, and is connected to a drive gear 223B shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0037] The second rotor 224 is a hollow annular member arranged around the first rotor 223 in a plan view, and is an example of a conveying member that conveys the tablets in the tablet storage unit 222 to the dispensing outlet 225 and dispenses them from the dispensing outlet 225. The upper end of the first rotor 223 is located on the same horizontal plane as the second rotor 224. The second rotor 224 is rotatably supported by the housing of the variable size tablet cassette 22, and a drive gear 224A shown in Fig. 6 is formed on the outer circumferential surface.

[0038] 7, the mounting unit 221 includes a drive gear 221A that is connected to the drive gear 223B of the first rotating body 223 when the variable length tablet cassette 22 is mounted, and a drive gear 221B that is connected to the drive gear 224A of the second rotating body 224. The drive gear 221A is connected to the drive motor 241 of the second driving unit 24, and the drive gear 221B is connected to the drive motor 242 of the second driving unit 24.

[0039] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the variable tablet cassette 22 is equipped with a height regulating member 226 and a width regulating member 227 arranged on the dispensing path of the tablet transported to the dispensing outlet 225 by the second rotating body 224.

[0040] The height regulating member 226 regulates the height size of the tablet that can be transported to the dispensing outlet 225 by the second rotating body 224, and the width regulating member 227 regulates the width size of the tablet that can be transported to the dispensing outlet 225 by the second rotating body 224. As a result, in the variable tablet cassette 22, of the tablets placed on the second rotating body 224, only tablets that fit within the height h1 regulated by the height regulating member 226 and the width w1 regulated by the width regulating member 227 are dispensed from the dispensing outlet 225. Therefore, in the variable tablet cassette 22, when the height h1 and the width w1 are equal to or greater than the height and width of one tablet and smaller than the height and width of at least two tablets stored in the tablet storage section 222, the tablets can be dispensed one by one. More specifically, in the variable tablet cassette 22, if the center of gravity of a tablet is located on the second rotating body 224, there is a possibility that the tablet will remain on the second rotating body 224, so it is considered that the width w1 regulated by the width regulating member 227 is set to be at least the width of 0.5 tablets and smaller than the width of 1.5 tablets.

[0041] The variable size tablet cassette 22 is provided with a height adjustment section 226A for changing the height h1 regulated by the height regulating member 226, and a width adjustment section 227A for changing the width w1 regulated by the width regulating member 227. A pinion gear meshed with a rack (gear) formed on the inner peripheral surface of an elongated hole 227B formed in the width regulating member 227 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the width adjustment section 227A.

[0042] The height adjustment unit 226A is rotatably supported by the housing of the variable size tablet cassette 22, and is connected to a drive gear 226B shown in Fig. 6. When the height adjustment unit 226A is driven to rotate, it moves the position of the lower end of the height restriction member 226 up and down, and changes the height h1 restricted by the height restriction member 226.

[0043] The width adjustment unit 227A is rotatably supported by the housing of the variable size tablet cassette 22, and is connected to a drive gear 227C shown in Fig. 6. The width adjustment unit 227A changes the amount of protrusion of the width regulating member 227 toward the tablet accommodating unit 222 as the drive gear 227C is driven to rotate, thereby changing the width w1 regulated by the width regulating member 227. Specifically, the amount of protrusion of the width regulating member 227 toward the tablet accommodating unit 222 is changed as the width adjustment unit 227A and the elongated hole 227B move relatively in the direction of arrow R3 (see Fig. 4) as the drive gear 227C rotates.

[0044] 7, the mounting unit 221 includes a drive gear 221C that is connected to the drive gear 226B when the variable size tablet cassette 22 is mounted, and a drive gear 221D that is connected to the drive gear 227C. The drive gear 221C is connected to the drive motor 243 of the second drive unit 24, and the drive gear 221D is connected to the drive motor 244 of the second drive unit 24. This allows the height restriction member 226 and the width restriction member 227 to be driven by the drive motors 243, 244.

[0045] 6 and 7, the variable size tablet cassette 22 and the mounting unit 221 are equipped with drive gears 228A and 228B that are connected when the variable size tablet cassette 22 is mounted in the mounting unit 221. The drive gear 228A is connected to an elevator mechanism (not shown) that moves the first rotor 223 up and down, and the drive gear 228B is connected to a drive motor (not shown). As a result, when the drive motor is driven, a driving force is transmitted from the drive gear 228B to the drive gear 228A, and the elevator mechanism moves the first rotor 223 up and down. Therefore, in the medicine dispensing device 100, the volume inside the tablet storage unit 222 can be changed by moving the first rotor 223 up and down, and the number of tablets that can be stored in the tablet storage unit 222 can be adjusted arbitrarily. Therefore, the variable size tablet cassette 22 can be used both in applications where a small number of tablets are stored and in applications where a large number of tablets are stored.

[0046] In the variable tablet cassette 22, when the first rotor 223 rotates in a rotation direction R1 (see FIGS. 4 and 5), the tablets in the tablet storage section 222 are discharged from the first rotor 223 to the second rotor 224. In the variable tablet cassette 22, when the second rotor 224 rotates in a rotation direction R2 (see FIGS. 4 and 5), the tablets on the second rotor 224 are transported toward the dispensing outlet 225.

[0047] However, among the tablets transported by the second rotating body 224, tablets stacked in the height direction come into contact with the height regulating member 226 and are returned to the tablet storage section 222. Furthermore, among the tablets transported by the second rotating body 224, tablets that are lined up in the width direction come into contact with the width regulating member 227 and are returned to the tablet storage section 222.

[0048] As a result, in the variable tablet cassette 22, tablets of a size corresponding to the height h1 restricted by the height restricting unit 226 and the width w1 restricted by the width restricting member 227 are transported to the dispensing outlet 225 in a state where they are lined up one tablet at a time in the circumferential direction on the second rotating body 224. Therefore, in the variable tablet cassette 22, it is possible to dispense the tablets accommodated in the tablet accommodating unit 222 one tablet at a time, and it is possible to control the amount of tablets dispensed.

[0049] In this way, by using the variable tablet cassette 22, the height h1 regulated by the height regulating member 226 and the width w1 regulated by the width regulating member 227 can be changed, making it possible to dispense any type of tablet one tablet at a time.

[0050] 1 and 4, each of the variable tablet cassettes 22 is provided with a display unit 25 whose display content can be changed. Here, the display unit 25 is electronic paper that, once the display content is written by energizing, maintains the display of the display content even when the power is turned off.

[0051] Specifically, the variable tablet cassette 22 and the mounting unit 221 are each provided with a contact-type connector (not shown) that is connected when the variable tablet cassette 22 is mounted in the mounting unit 221. The display unit 25 is connected to the connector on the variable tablet cassette 22 side, and the prescription control unit 1 is connected to the connector on the mounting unit 221 side. When the variable tablet cassette 22 is mounted in the mounting unit 221, the display unit 25 and the prescription control unit 1 are electrically connected by the connector. This enables the prescription control unit 1 to change the display on each of the display units 25. The display unit 25 is not limited to electronic paper, and may be other display means such as a liquid crystal display. Furthermore, it is also possible that the display unit 25 is provided in the mounting unit 221 into which the variable tablet cassette 22 is mounted, corresponding to each of the variable tablet cassettes 22.

[0052] 6, each of the variable tablet cassettes 22 has the built-in RFID tag 26 that stores various information. The RFID tag 26 is a non-volatile recording medium on which stored information can be rewritten by the RFID reader / writer 245, and is used to store the cassette identification information of each of the variable tablet cassettes 22 and the drug information assigned to each of the variable tablet cassettes 22, as described above. The RFID tag 26 is mounted on a control board provided in each of the variable tablet cassettes 22, and the control board also has the function of changing the display on the display unit 25 of the variable tablet cassette 22 in accordance with a control signal from the prescription control unit 1. The control board is equipped with an electric circuit that is driven by power supplied via the connector, power supplied from a power storage unit such as a battery mounted on the control board, or power supplied when writing information to the RFID tag 26. In addition, as another embodiment, each of the variable size tablet cassettes 22 may have, instead of the RFID tag 26, another recording medium such as an EEPROM to which the prescription control unit 1 can read and write information via the connector.

[0053] [Powdered Medicine Supply Unit 3] 1, the powdered medicine supply unit 3 has two input sections 31 and 32, and supplies powdered medicine input into each of the input sections 31 and 32 to the packaging unit 5 in packets according to the dosing time or the like that is preset by the prescription control unit 1. The powdered medicine supply unit 3 is an example of a powdered medicine dispensing section according to the present invention.

[0054] Specifically, the powdered medicine supply unit 3 has two dispensing sections: one dispensing section that evenly spreads the powdered medicine input into the input section 31 onto a disk and scrapes it out at predetermined angles corresponding to the package unit, and the other dispensing section that evenly spreads the powdered medicine input into the input section 32 onto a disk and scrapes it out at predetermined angles corresponding to the package unit. The powdered medicine input into the powdered medicine supply unit 3 is the total amount of medicine prescribed to the patient, which has been previously measured using a weighing device. The powdered medicine supply unit 3 has a limit to the minimum angle at which the dispensing section can scrape out the powdered medicine spread onto the disk, and there is also an upper limit to the maximum number of packets that can be dispensed from the powdered medicine supply unit 3 per input of powdered medicine. The structure of the powdered medicine supply unit 3 is not limited to that described here, and any structure capable of dividing and dispensing the input powdered medicine into a predetermined number of packets is sufficient.

[0055] [Hand-distributed Unit 4] The manual distribution unit 4 includes a manual distribution storage section 41 in which a plurality of cells 411 are arranged side by side, into which tablets are placed in packaging units such as a preset dosing time, and a manual distribution dispensing section that dispenses the tablets stored in each cell 411 to the packaging unit 5. The manual distribution unit 4 is an example of a second tablet dispensing section according to the present invention. For example, the manual distribution unit 4 is used to dispense tablets with a small number of tablets to be dispensed indicated in the medicine dispensing data, or tablets such as half tablets that are less than one tablet.

[0056] 8, in the manual storage section 41, a plurality of the cells 411 are arranged in a matrix in the vertical and horizontal directions. The cells 411 may be arranged in only one of the vertical and horizontal directions, or may be arranged in a staggered pattern.

[0057] The manual dispensing section may be configured to be able to dispense tablets accommodated in the cells 411 by, for example, individually opening and closing the bottoms of the cells 411 of the manual dispensing storage section 41. The manual dispensing unit 4 can be used to dispense any tablets that are not previously accommodated in the fixed tablet cassette 21. In the medicine dispensing device 100, tablets that are not accommodated in the fixed tablet cassette 21 can be dispensed using the variable tablet cassette 22 or the manual dispensing unit 4.

[0058] Incidentally, the efficiency of the work of feeding tablets into each of the cells 411 is lower than when feeding a plurality of tablets collectively into the tablet storage section 222. In particular, the cells 411 are arranged adjacent to each other, and the size of each of the cells 411 is at least smaller than the tablet storage section 222 of the variable size tablet cassette 22. Therefore, when the size of the tablets is small, the efficiency of the work of feeding tablets into each of the cells 411 is lower than the work of feeding tablets into the tablet storage section 222. Furthermore, in the manual distribution unit 4, the maximum number of packets that can be dispensed from the manual distribution unit 4 by feeding tablets into the manual distribution unit 4 at one time is limited by the number of cells 411.

[0059] [Packaging unit 5] The packaging unit 5 controls the medicine dispensing device 100 based on the medicine dispensing data and performs a packaging operation to package one or more types of medicine supplied from the tablet supplying unit 2, the powdered medicine supplying unit 3, and the manual dispensing unit 4 into a single packaging paper in a package unit based on the time of administration, etc. For example, the packaging unit 5 packages the medicine in the package unit using a transparent or translucent roll-shaped medicine packaging sheet and seals it by welding or the like. As a result, the medicine packaging sheet containing the medicine in the package unit is discharged from the packaging unit 5. Specifically, the packaging unit 5 can package the powdered medicine dispensed from the powdered medicine supplying unit 3 and the tablets dispensed from the tablet supplying unit 2 or the manual dispensing unit 4 in the same packaging paper.

[0060] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a medicine packaging sheet 51 discharged from the packaging unit 5. In the medicine packaging sheet 51 shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of packaging papers 52, each containing a plurality of tablets and powdered medicine, are continuously formed, and dotted perforation lines 52A (perforations) are formed between each of the packaging papers 52 to allow easy separation of each of the packaging papers 52. In the packaging unit 5, only tablets supplied from the tablet supply unit 2 or the manual distribution unit 4 may be packaged in the packaging paper 52, or only powdered medicine supplied from the powdered medicine supply unit 3 may be packaged in the packaging paper 52. The packaging unit 5 is also provided with a printing unit (not shown) that prints information on each of the packaging papers 52, and prescription information such as the patient's name, dosage period, prescribed drug, or prescribed amount can be printed on the surface of each of the packaging papers 52 by the printing unit (not shown).

[0061] [Packaging control unit 6] 2, the packaging control unit 6 includes a control unit 61 and a memory unit 62, and controls the tablet supply unit 2, the powdered medicine supply unit 3, the manual distribution unit 4, and the packaging unit 5, etc., to cause the medicine dispensing apparatus 100 to perform a packaging operation. The packaging control unit 6 is built into the medicine dispensing apparatus 100.

[0062] The control unit 61 is a control means having a CPU, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, etc. The control unit 61 executes various processes using the CPU in accordance with various programs stored in advance in storage means such as the ROM, the EEPROM, or the storage unit 62. The RAM and EEPROM are used as temporary storage memories (work areas) for the various processes executed by the CPU. The control unit 61 may be an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or DSP.

[0063] The storage unit 62 is a storage means such as a hard disk drive or SSD (Solid State Drive) that stores various data. Specifically, a first medicine dispensing program for causing a computer such as the control unit 61 to execute a packaging control process (FIG. 15) described below is stored in advance in the storage unit 62. The control unit 61 executes various processes in accordance with the first medicine dispensing program, thereby functioning as a drive processing unit according to the present invention, and is able to dispense and package medicines from the fixed tablet cassette 21, the variable size tablet cassette 22, the powdered medicine supply unit 3, the manual distribution unit 4, etc.

[0064] The first medicine dispensing program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD, a DVD, or a semiconductor memory, and is read from the recording medium by a reading device such as a disk drive (not shown) and installed in the storage unit 12. The present invention can be understood as an invention of the computer-readable recording medium on which the first medicine dispensing program is recorded.

[0065] [Barcode Reader 7] The barcode reader 7 reads codes that identify medicines, and is a code reading unit such as a PDA that can read code information such as JAN codes, RSS codes, or QR codes (registered trademarks) that are printed on tablet containers (boxes, bottles, etc.) or PTP sheets that are located on medicine shelves in pharmacies, etc.

[0066] The barcode reader 7 may be a conventionally known picking assist device used by pharmacists to pick medicines. The picking assist device is used when a pharmacist manually dispenses medicines by taking them from a medicine shelf according to a prescription. For example, the picking assist device reads the medicine from the JAN code printed on the storage container and compares the read medicine with medicine dispensing data. The barcode reader 7 may also be used to read a barcode or QR code printed on a prescription.

[0067] Then, the information read by the barcode reader 7 is inputted to the prescription control unit 1 by wireless communication from the barcode reader 7. It is also possible that the barcode reader 7 is connected to the prescription control unit 1 by wire. When a plurality of the medicine dispensing devices 100 are provided in a pharmacy, the barcode reader 7 is individually provided in advance associated with each of the medicine dispensing devices 100.

[0068] [Prescription Control Unit 1] The prescription control unit 1 is a computer that comprehensively controls the medicine dispensing apparatus 100. As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the prescription control unit 1 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a monitor 13, an operation unit 14, a communication IF 15, etc.

[0069] The control unit 11 is a control means having a CPU, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, etc. The control unit 11 executes various processes using the CPU in accordance with various programs pre-stored in storage means such as the ROM, the EEPROM, or the storage unit 12. The CPU is a processor that executes various processes, and the RAM and EEPROM are used as temporary storage memory (work area) for the various processes executed by the CPU. The control unit 11 may also be an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or DSP.

[0070] The storage unit 12 is a storage means such as a hard disk drive or SSD (Solid State Drive) that stores various data. Specifically, the storage unit 12 pre-stores a second medicine dispensing program for causing a computer such as the control unit 11 to execute a medicine dispensing process (see FIG. 12) described below.

[0071] Specifically, the control unit 11 includes a display processing unit 111, a reception processing unit 112, and an allocation processing unit 113. The control unit 11 functions as the display processing unit 111, the reception processing unit 112, and the allocation processing unit 113 by executing various processes in accordance with the second medicine dispensing program.

[0072] As will be described later in the medicine dispensing process (see FIG. 12), the display processing unit 111 is capable of displaying a cassette selection screen D3 (see FIG. 18) in which a plurality of selection areas for selecting each of the variable size tablet cassettes 22 are displayed in the same arrangement as the arrangement of each of the variable size tablet cassettes 22 in the medicine dispensing device 100. In addition, the display processing unit 111 displays on the monitor 13 a prescription list screen D1 (see FIG. 16), a prescription input screen D2 (see FIG. 17), an input guidance screen D4 (see FIGS. 23 and 24), etc., which will be described later.

[0073] The reception processing unit 112 can accept a selection operation of the selection area on the cassette selection screen D3. The reception processing unit 112 can also accept an input operation of medicine information to be dispensed.

[0074] The allocation processing unit 113 can allocate the medicine information of the tablets to be dispensed to the variable tablet cassette 22 corresponding to the selection area accepted by the reception processing unit 112. The allocation processing unit 113 can also automatically allocate the medicine information of the tablets to be dispensed to either the variable tablet cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4.

[0075] The second medicine dispensing program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD, DVD, or semiconductor memory, and is read from the recording medium by a reading device such as a disk drive (not shown) and installed in the storage unit 12. The present invention can be understood as an invention of the computer-readable recording medium on which the second medicine dispensing program is recorded. In this embodiment, the first medicine dispensing program and the second medicine dispensing program are examples of medicine dispensing programs for causing the medicine dispensing apparatus 100 to execute various processes.

[0076] It is also conceivable that the medicine dispensing device 100 does not have the packaging control unit 6, and the prescription control unit 1 also functions as the packaging control unit 6. Specifically, it is conceivable that a medicine dispensing program that integrates the first medicine dispensing program and the second medicine dispensing program is stored in the storage unit 12, and the control unit 11 executes the medicine dispensing process and the packaging control process described below in accordance with the medicine dispensing program. The present invention can also be understood as an invention of the computer-readable recording medium on which the medicine dispensing program is recorded.

[0077] The storage unit 12 also stores various databases, such as a medicine master, a patient master, a cassette master, and a pharmacy master. The control unit 11 can update the various databases stored in the storage unit 12 based on data read by a reading device, such as a disk drive (not shown), from a recording medium, such as a CD, a DVD, or a semiconductor memory. The control unit 11 can also change the contents of the various databases in response to user operations on the operation unit 14.

[0078] The pharmaceutical master includes information about each pharmaceutical, such as the pharmaceutical ID, pharmaceutical name, JAN code (or RSS code), pharmaceutical bottle code, classification (dosage form: powder, tablet, liquid, topical, etc.), tablet size (height and width, etc.), specific gravity, pharmaceutical type (ordinary medicine, poison, narcotic, powerful drug, antipsychotic, therapeutic drug, etc.), incompatibility, excipients, and precautions. The patient master includes information about the patient, such as the patient ID, name, sex, age, medical history, prescription history, family information, medical department, ward, and room. The pharmacy master includes information about the pharmacy, such as the pharmacy name, pharmacist name, and pharmacist ID. The cassette master is information indicating the correspondence between the cassette identification information of each fixed tablet cassette 21 attached to the attachment unit 211 and the pharmaceutical information assigned to each fixed tablet cassette 21. The cassette master is registered by the control unit 11, for example, in response to a user operation of the operation unit 14 during initial setup of the pharmaceutical dispensing device 100.

[0079] Furthermore, the storage unit 12 stores allocation information 121 indicating an allocation state between the variable tablet cassette 22 and the medicine information, and drive correspondence information 122 indicating a correspondence relationship between the medicine information and the drive conditions of the variable tablet cassette 22. The allocation information 121 and the drive correspondence information 122 are used in a medicine dispensing process (see FIG. 12) executed by the control unit 11, which will be described later.

[0080] 10 is a diagram showing an example of the allocation information 121, and FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the drive correspondence information 122. As shown in FIG.

[0081] 10, in the allocation information 121, a drug ID capable of identifying the type of tablet currently allocated to each of the variable tablet cassettes 22 is stored as drug information. Of course, drug information such as a drug name or a JAN code (or RSS code) may be stored instead of the drug ID. Also, here, it is assumed that cassette numbers "C1" to "C4" are preset as the cassette identification information for the four variable tablet cassettes 22 arranged in order from left to right in the tablet supply unit 2. The cassette identification information is also stored in the RFID tag 26 of each of the variable tablet cassettes 22.

[0082] In the allocation information 121, the variable tablet cassettes 22 to which no drug information is currently assigned are registered as being in an unallocated state. Specifically, the allocation information 121 shown in Fig. 10 indicates that, among the variable tablet cassettes 22, cassette number "C1" is assigned drug information of drug ID "M1", cassette number "C3" is assigned drug information of drug ID "M2", and cassette numbers "C2" and "C4" are in an unallocated state to which no drug information has yet been assigned. Furthermore, the data structure of the allocation information 121 shown in Fig. 10 is merely an example, and the allocation information 121 may be stored in the storage unit 12 as, for example, one item in the drug master. In this case, the drug master stores the cassette identification information of the variable tablet cassettes 22 assigned to each drug in association with that drug.

[0083] 11, drive conditions that are set in advance corresponding to each piece of medicine information are registered in the drive correspondence information 122. The drive conditions include three types of conditions: a pre-drive condition related to adjustment of the variable tablet cassette 22 before starting to dispense tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22; a drive in-progress condition related to drive control during dispensing of tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22; and a drive stop condition related to drive control when dispensing of tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22 is stopped.

[0084] 11, information on each item of the height of the dispensing path, the width of the dispensing path, the dispensing speed, the first slowdown, the second slowdown, and the reverse rotation operation is stored as the driving conditions corresponding to each tablet with the drug IDs "M1," "M2," "M3," and "M4." Note that the driving conditions are merely an example, and for example, if the variable size tablet cassette 22 dispenses tablets one by one by vibration, the vibration frequency or amplitude of the vibration may be considered to be defined as the driving conditions.

[0085] The height of the dispensing path and the width of the dispensing path are examples of the pre-driving conditions, and are the values ​​of the height h1 and the width w1 (see Figure 5) that are preset as values ​​that allow the second rotating body 224 of the variable tablet cassette 22 to dispense tablets one by one from the dispensing outlet 225.

[0086] The dispensing speed is an example of the driving condition, and is a rotational speed of the second rotor 224 suitable for each piece of medicine information when dispensing tablets from the variable size tablet cassette 22. For example, if the size of the tablet is small, and the rotational speed of the drive motor 242 is fast, the tablet is likely to be dispensed in excess before the drive motor 242 stops. On the other hand, if the size of the tablet is large, even if the rotational speed of the drive motor 242 is fast, the tablet is not dispensed in excess before the drive motor 242 stops. Therefore, for example, the tablet dispensing speed set as the driving condition, i.e., the tablet transport speed by the second rotor 224, may differ depending on the size of the tablet. Specifically, the dispensing speed when the tablet size is large may be set to a faster value than the dispensing speed when the tablet size is small. 11, the dispensing speed is not limited to the format of [tablets / min], and may be stored in the format of the rotation speed of the second rotating body 224 or the rotation speed of the drive motor 242. Furthermore, it is also conceivable that not only the rotation speed of the second rotating body 224 but also the rotation speed of the first rotating body 223 is set as the drive condition.

[0087] The first slowdown and the second slowdown are examples of the drive stop conditions and are information regarding the execution timing of a slowdown to gradually reduce the rotational speed of the second rotor 224 when dispensing of tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22 is stopped. The first slowdown specifies the timing to reduce the rotational speed of the second rotor 224 to a predetermined first rotational speed. The second slowdown specifies the timing to reduce the rotational speed of the second rotor 224 from the first rotational speed to an even slower second rotational speed. For example, if the tablets stored in the variable tablet cassette 22 are rounded and easy to roll, there is a risk that the tablets will roll and be dispensed after the drive of the second rotor 224 is stopped. Therefore, for tablets with an easy-to-roll shape, such as a spherical shape, the start timing of each of the first slowdown and the second slowdown is set earlier. In this embodiment, the start timing of the first slowdown and the second slowdown is set based on the number of tablets remaining to be dispensed from the variable tablet cassette 22. This prevents excessive tablets from being dispensed when the dispensing of tablets from the variable size tablet cassette 22 is stopped. On the other hand, for tablets that have a shape that makes them difficult to roll when the driving of the second rotating body 224 is stopped, the start timings of the first slowdown and the second slowdown are set late, so that unnecessary delays in dispensing time due to the slowdown are suppressed.

[0088] In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the start timings of the first slowdown and the second slowdown are set as the drive stop condition, but it is also possible to set the deceleration of the rotational speed of the second rotating body 224 as the drive stop condition. For example, if the second rotating body 224 is suddenly stopped for tablets that are easy to roll, such as spherical tablets, there is a risk that the tablets will continue to roll and be dispensed in excess. Therefore, it is possible to set the deceleration to a small value for tablets that are easy to roll.

[0089] The reverse rotation operation item is an example of the drive stop condition, and is information regarding whether or not to perform a reverse rotation operation that reverses the tablet transport direction by the second rotor 224 when the dispensing of tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22 is stopped. For example, if the drive of the second rotor 224 is simply stopped, the reverse rotation operation is set to "Yes" for tablets with an easy-to-roll shape, such as a spherical shape, which may cause tablets remaining on the second rotor 224 to roll and be dispensed in excess. This prevents tablets from being dispensed in excess when the dispensing of tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22 is stopped. Note that if the drive of the second rotor 224 is stopped, the reverse rotation operation is set to "No" for tablets with a shape that is difficult to roll, and the unnecessary reverse rotation operation is not performed.

[0090] It should be noted that the data structure of the drive correspondence information 122 shown in FIG. 11 is merely an example, and the drive conditions defined in the drive correspondence information 122 may be stored in the memory unit 12 as, for example, one item of the pharmaceutical master.

[0091] In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the drive correspondence information 122 includes the following drive conditions (see FIG. 11) corresponding to each of the medicine information: height of the dispensing path, width of the dispensing path, dispensing speed, first slowdown, second slowdown, and reverse rotation operation. Meanwhile, another embodiment is also conceivable in which the medicine dispensing apparatus 100 uses one or more of the following drive conditions: height of the dispensing path, width of the dispensing path, dispensing speed, first slowdown, second slowdown, and reverse rotation operation. That is, in the medicine dispensing apparatus 100, one or more of the pre-drive condition, the drive condition, and the drive stop condition are pre-set as the drive condition corresponding to each of the medicine information. In addition, a plurality of conditions such as the pre-driving condition, the driving condition during driving, and the driving stop condition are set in advance as the driving conditions corresponding to each of the drug information, and it is also possible to configure the drug dispensing device 100 so that one or more of the conditions such as the pre-driving condition, the driving condition during driving, and the driving stop condition can be selected as the driving condition to be used.

[0092] The monitor 13 is a display means such as a liquid crystal display that displays various information and operation screens in accordance with control instructions from the control unit 11. For example, the monitor 13 displays various information such as a screen for inputting medicine dispensing data, a screen for selecting medicine dispensing data, and a screen for selecting variable-size tablet cassettes 22.

[0093] The operation unit 14 is an operation means such as a keyboard, mouse, or touch panel that accepts user operations, and inputs operation signals corresponding to user operations to the control unit 11. The operation unit 14 is a touch panel that accepts various operation inputs, such as an input operation of medicine dispensing data on the input screen displayed on the monitor 13, a selection operation of medicine dispensing data on the selection screen, a selection operation of variable size tablet cassette 22 on the selection screen, and an issuance operation of medicine dispensing data that requests the start of packaging of the medicine dispensing data.

[0094] The communication IF 15 is a communication interface for connecting the medicine dispensing device 100 to a communication network N3 such as a LAN, and performs data communication with a higher-level system such as a prescription input terminal 200 connected via the communication network N3. The prescription input terminal 200 is, for example, an electronic medical record system installed in a hospital or a nursing home, or a dispensing management system installed in a pharmacy inside or outside the hospital. The communication IF 15 also includes a wireless communication interface such as a wireless communication card for performing wireless data communication with various wireless communication devices such as the barcode reader 7.

[0095] Then, the communication IF 15 acquires medicine dispensing data from the prescription input terminal 200 and inputs the medicine dispensing data to the control unit 11. For example, the communication IF 15 monitors whether or not the medicine dispensing data has been stored in a predetermined storage area of ​​a storage means provided in the prescription input terminal 200, and when the medicine dispensing data has been stored in the predetermined storage area, reads the medicine dispensing data from the predetermined storage area. Of course, the communication IF 15 may also receive the medicine dispensing data transmitted from the prescription input terminal 200.

[0096] [Medicine dispensing process and packaging control process] 12 to 14, an example of the procedure of the medicine dispensing process executed by the control unit 11 of the prescription control unit 1 and the packaging control process executed by the control unit 61 of the packaging control unit 6 in the medicine dispensing device 100 will be described. Note that it is also possible that a series of processes that obtain the same processing results as the medicine dispensing process and the packaging control process are executed by either the control unit 11 or the control unit 61. Furthermore, a part of the processes executed by either the control unit 11 or the control unit 61 may be executed by the other.

[0097] <Step S1> In step S1, the control unit 11 determines whether or not a cassette selection start operation has been performed for any medicine dispensing data to manually assign medicine information to the variable tablet cassette 22. For example, when any medicine dispensing data is selected and an operation is performed to select a drug to be assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22 from among the prescription drugs included in the medicine dispensing data, it is determined that the cassette selection start operation has been performed. Here, if it is determined that the cassette selection start operation has been performed (S1: Yes), the process proceeds to step S2, and if it is determined that the cassette selection start operation has not been performed (S1: No), the process proceeds to step S3.

[0098] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 16, the control unit 11 displays a prescription list screen D1 showing a list of medicine dispensing data on the monitor 13. Then, when any medicine dispensing data is selected and a prescription expansion key K11 is operated while the prescription list screen D1 is displayed, the control unit 11 displays a prescription input screen D2 on the monitor 13, as shown in Fig. 17. Thereafter, the control unit 11 selects medicine information corresponding to any medicine to be allocated to the variable size tablet cassette 22 in accordance with a user operation on the prescription input screen D2.

[0099] For example, when an operation key K21 indicating the drug supply form displayed corresponding to any drug information on the prescription input screen D2 is operated, the control unit 11 displays an operation screen (not shown) for selecting the manual distribution unit 4 or the variable tablet cassette 22 as the drug supply form of the drug information corresponding to the operation key K21. Here, when it is selected on the operation screen (not shown) that the variable tablet cassette 22 is to be used, the control unit 11 determines that the cassette selection start operation has been performed, and shifts the processing to step S2. It is also possible that the operation screen (not shown) is omitted, and the variable tablet cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4 can be arbitrarily selected as the allocation destination of the drug information on a cassette selection screen D3 (see FIG. 18) described later.

[0100] <Step S2> In step S2, the control unit 11 executes a manual allocation process for selecting the variable size tablet cassette 22 to which medicine information is to be allocated in response to a user operation. Here, an example of the manual allocation process will be described with reference to Fig. 13 .

[0101] <Step S111> In step S111, the control unit 11 displays on the monitor 13 a cassette selection screen D3 for selecting the variable size tablet cassette 22. Here, Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the cassette selection screen D3.

[0102] The cassette selection screen D3 shown in Figure 18 displays specific areas K31 corresponding to each of the fixed tablet cassettes 21 mounted in the mounting section 211 and specific areas K32 corresponding to each of the variable tablet cassettes 22 mounted in the mounting section 221 in the same arrangement as the arrangement of the mounting sections 211 and 221 in which the fixed tablet cassettes 21 and the variable tablet cassettes 22 are mounted when the medicine dispensing device 100 is viewed from the front.

[0103] Specifically, a total of 54 specific areas K31 corresponding to the fixed tablet cassettes 21 are displayed in a format of 6 vertically and 9 horizontally, and below them, a total of four specific areas K32 corresponding to the variable tablet cassettes 22 are displayed in a format of 1 vertically and 4 horizontally. The specific areas K32 are larger in size than the specific areas K31. Each of the specific areas K31 displays drug information such as the drug name of the drug contained in the fixed tablet cassette 21 corresponding to the specific area K31. The control unit 11 may also display information for identifying the drug currently being allocated, such as the drug name of the drug corresponding to the drug information, on the cassette selection screen D3.

[0104] 18 , the number of the specific regions K31 and K32 displayed on the cassette selection screen D3 is the maximum number that can be displayed. For example, the display of the specific regions K31 and K32 corresponding to the mounting units 211 and 221 to which the fixed tablet cassette 21 or the variable tablet cassette 22 is not attached may be omitted. Furthermore, even when the fixed tablet cassette 21 or the variable tablet cassette 22 is not attached, a specific design such as a display frame may be displayed instead of the specific region K31 or the specific region K32. That is, the specific regions K31 and K32 may be displayed in the same arrangement as the mounting units 211 and 221. Furthermore, on the cassette selection screen D3, the specific region K31 corresponding to the fixed tablet cassette 21 may not be displayed, and only the specific region K32 corresponding to the variable tablet cassette 22 may be displayed. Furthermore, in another embodiment, when the control unit 11 is capable of assigning the drug information to the variable tablet cassette 22 that is not attached to the attachment unit 221, the cassette selection screen D3 may display a list of pre-registered identification information of the variable tablet cassette 22 as a selection target.

[0105] Furthermore, the control unit 11 displays, in each of the specific regions K32, an allocation status indicating the allocation status of drug information to each of the specific regions K32. Specifically, "unassigned" is displayed in the specific region K32 corresponding to the variable tablet cassette 22 to which drug information has not been assigned. Note that the specific region K32 may be left blank to indicate that drug information has not been assigned. Furthermore, it is also possible to consider displaying the status identifiable by color, such as by displaying assigned regions of the specific region K32 in blue and unassigned regions in red. Furthermore, the specific region K32 corresponding to the variable tablet cassette 22 to which drug information has been assigned displays the drug name or the like corresponding to the assigned drug information, thereby indicating that drug information has already been assigned and the type of the assigned drug. Note that the specific region K32 corresponding to the assigned variable tablet cassette 22 may display "allocated."

[0106] <Step S112> In step S112, the control unit 11 accepts a selection operation of the specific area K32 on the cassette selection screen D3. Note that this reception processing is executed by the reception processing unit 112. Specifically, when the operation unit 14 is a touch panel provided on the monitor 13, the control unit 11 accepts a touch operation on the specific area K32 on the monitor 13 as a selection operation of the specific area K32. Furthermore, when the operation unit 14 is a mouse, the control unit 11 accepts a movement and click operation of the mouse pointer to the specific area K32 on the monitor 13 as a selection operation of the specific area K32. Note that, on the cassette selection screen D3, it is possible to select not only the variable tablet cassette 22 to which no drug information is currently assigned, but also the variable tablet cassette 22 to which the drug information has already been assigned. On the other hand, another embodiment is also conceivable in which only the variable tablet cassette 22 to which no drug information is assigned can be selected.

[0107] <Step S113> In step S113, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the medicine information has already been assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22 corresponding to the specific area K32 selected in step S112. Note that the processing from step S113 onwards is executed by the assignment processing unit 113 of the control unit 11. Here, if it is determined that the medicine information has not yet been assigned to the selected variable tablet cassette 22 (S113: No), the processing proceeds to step S114, and if it is determined that the medicine information has already been assigned to the selected variable tablet cassette 22 (S113: Yes), the processing proceeds to step S117.

[0108] <Step S114> In step S114, the control unit 11 allocates the medicine information to the variable size tablet cassette 22 corresponding to the specific area K32 determined to be selected in step S112. Specifically, the control unit 11 updates the contents of the allocation information 121 so as to associate the medicine information with the variable size tablet cassette 22.

[0109] <Step S115> In step S115, the control unit 11 identifies the driving conditions corresponding to the medicine information to be dispensed based on the driving correspondence information 122 (see FIG. 11), and transmits the driving conditions and the cassette identification information of the variable tablet cassette 22 to which the medicine information is assigned to the control unit 61. As a result, the control unit 61 drives the variable tablet cassette 22 in accordance with the preliminary driving conditions in the driving conditions in step S22 (see FIG. 15), which will be described later. Note that the control unit 11 when driving the variable tablet cassette 22 in accordance with the driving conditions by executing the process of step S115 may be regarded as a driving processing unit according to the present invention.

[0110] <Step S116> Next, in step S116, the control unit 11 causes the display unit 25 of the variable tablet cassette 22 to which the drug information was assigned in step S114 to display the drug information assigned to that variable tablet cassette 22, and ends the manual assignment process. That is, the control unit 11 displays, in each of the variable tablet cassettes 22, the assignment status of the drug information to that respective variable tablet cassette 22.

[0111] For example, the control unit 11 extracts information on preset display items from the medicine dispensing data and displays it on the display unit 25. Specifically, the display unit 25 displays the medicine name (drug ID), dispensing amount, and JAN code (barcode) of the tablets assigned to the variable size tablet cassette 22. Note that various information such as the patient name, assignment date and time, or assignment person may also be displayed on the display unit 25.

[0112] In the manual allocation process, the control unit 11 can also allocate drug information for the same drug as that corresponding to one of the multiple fixed tablet cassettes 21 to any of the variable tablet cassettes 22 in response to a user operation. In this case, the control unit 11 sets the variable tablet cassette 22 to be used instead of the fixed tablet cassette 21 for dispensing the drug corresponding to the drug information. Furthermore, when there is a fixed tablet cassette 21 corresponding to the drug information assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22, the control unit 11 can be considered to issue an error notification without dispensing the drug from the fixed tablet cassette 21, even if the drug in the variable tablet cassette 22 runs out.

[0113] <Step S117> On the other hand, if it is determined that the drug information has already been assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22 (S113: Yes), in the subsequent step S117, the control unit 11 executes error notification processing without assigning the drug information to the variable tablet cassette 22. For example, the control unit 11 displays a message on the monitor 13 indicating that the selected variable tablet cassette 22 has already been assigned, such as "Drug information has already been assigned to the selected cassette." Furthermore, a message notifying the variable tablet cassette 22 that can be assigned, such as "Cassette XX is available," may be displayed. In this way, when the drug information has already been assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22, the control unit 11 prohibits the assignment of the drug information to that variable tablet cassette 22 and does not assign other drug information. This prevents the correspondence between the variable tablet cassette 22 and the drug information from being erroneously updated.

[0114] The allocation of the medicine information to the variable tablet cassette 22 is released when a preset allocation release condition is met, and the variable tablet cassette 22 enters an unallocated state. The allocation release condition may be, for example, completion of a packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data using the variable tablet cassette 22, detection of attachment / detachment of the variable tablet cassette 22 to / from the mounting unit 221 after completion of the packaging operation, or a user operation for forcibly releasing the allocation of the medicine information to the variable tablet cassette 22. The attachment / detachment state of the variable tablet cassette 22 to / from the mounting unit 221 is detected, for example, by an optical sensor or mechanical sensor (not shown) provided in the mounting unit 221, and input to the control unit 11.

[0115] <Step S3> Returning to the explanation of Fig. 12, in step S3, the control unit 11 determines whether or not a request for issuance of medicine dispensing data has been made. Specifically, the control unit 11 determines that a request for issuance of the medicine dispensing data has been made when an issuance operation for issuing pre-registered medicine dispensing data is performed on the operation unit 14. The medicine dispensing data is acquired from a higher-level system such as the prescription input terminal 200, or input by the medicine dispensing device 100.

[0116] Here, if there is no request for issuance of the medicine dispensing data (No side of S3), the control unit 11 returns the process to step S1. On the other hand, if the control unit 11 determines that there is a request for issuance of the medicine dispensing data (Yes side of S3), the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S4. Note that, as another embodiment, when the control unit 11 receives the medicine dispensing data from a higher-level system such as the prescription input terminal 200, it may determine that there is a request for issuance of the medicine dispensing data and shift the process to step S4 without requiring the user to perform the issuance operation.

[0117] <Step S4> In step S4, the control unit 11 determines whether or not there are fixed tablet cassettes 21 or variable tablet cassettes 22 corresponding to all of the drug information input as drug information indicating tablets to be dispensed by the drug dispensing data. Specifically, the control unit 11 determines, based on the cassette master and the allocation information 121 stored in the storage unit 12, whether or not there are drugs for which there are no corresponding fixed tablet cassettes 21 and which are not assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22, and whether or not these drugs are included as prescription drugs in the drug dispensing data. The cassette master is updated by the control unit 11 based on drug information read from an RFID tag (not shown) attached to each fixed tablet cassette 21 by a reading device such as the RFID reader / writer 232 attached to each of the mounting units 211. The control unit 11 can also display an editing screen for editing the cassette master on the monitor 13 and update the cassette master in response to user operation of the operation unit 14 on the editing screen.

[0118] Here, if it is determined that the fixed tablet cassette 21 and the variable tablet cassette 22 corresponding to the drug information to be dispensed do not exist (No in S4), that is, if the prescription drugs included in the drug dispensing data include a type of tablet that is not contained in the fixed tablet cassette 21 and not assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22, the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S41. Tablets of a type that are not contained in the fixed tablet cassette 21 and not assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22 are tablets for which the variable tablet cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4 must be assigned as the tablet dispensing source. Hereinafter, tablets of a type for which the variable tablet cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4 must be assigned may be referred to as tablets to be assigned. On the other hand, if it is determined that the fixed tablet cassette 21 or the variable tablet cassette 22 corresponding to all of the drug information to be dispensed exist (Yes in S4), the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S5.

[0119] <Step S41> In step S41, the control unit 11 executes an automatic allocation process to automatically allocate the drug information of the allocation target tablets, among the tablets to be dispensed indicated in the drug dispensing data, to the unallocated variable tablet cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4. When the drug dispensing data includes a plurality of allocation target tablets, the control unit 11 allocates the drug information of each of the allocation target tablets to the variable tablet cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4. Here, in the drug dispensing device 100 according to the present embodiment, when the control unit 11 allocates the drug information of a plurality of allocation target tablets to either the variable tablet cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4, the control unit 11 preferentially allocates the drug information of smaller-sized tablets among the allocation target tablets to the variable tablet cassette 22. Conversely, when the control unit 11 allocates the drug information of a plurality of allocation target tablets to either the variable tablet cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4, the control unit 11 preferentially allocates the drug information of larger-sized tablets among the allocation target tablets to the manual distribution unit 4.

[0120] Here, an example of the automatic allocation process executed in step S41 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0121] <Step S411> In step S411, the control unit 11 executes a process of identifying the variable tablet cassette 22 that is currently communicable (controllable) among the variable tablet cassettes 22. For example, the control unit 11 determines that the variable tablet cassette 22 from which the RFID reader / writer 245 has successfully read information from the RFID tag 26 is in a communicable state. That is, the control unit 11 identifies the variable tablet cassette 22 that is attached to the attachment unit 221. Note that, in another embodiment, step S411 may be omitted.

[0122] <Step S412> In step S412, the control unit 11 identifies an unallocated variable size tablet cassette 22 to which no drug information is currently assigned, from among the one or more variable size tablet cassettes 22 identified in step S411, based on the allocation information 121 (see FIG. 10).

[0123] <Step S413> In step S413, the control unit 11 determines whether the number of types of tablets to be allocated that need to be allocated to either the variable tablet cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4 is greater than the number of unallocated variable tablet cassettes 22 identified in step S412. If it is determined that the number of types of tablets to be allocated is greater than the number of unallocated variable tablet cassettes 22 (S413: Yes), the process proceeds to step S414. On the other hand, if it is determined that the number of types of tablets to be allocated is not greater than the number of unallocated variable tablet cassettes 22 (S413: No), the process proceeds to step S421.

[0124] <Step S421> In step S421, the control unit 11 assigns each of the tablets to be assigned to each of the unassigned variable tablet cassettes 22, and proceeds to step S418. Here, the control unit 11 updates the contents of the assignment information 121 based on the correspondence between each piece of medicine information of the tablets to be assigned and each of the variable tablet cassettes 22. This enables the control unit 11 to identify the variable tablet cassette 22 to which each piece of medicine information has been assigned, based on the assignment information 121.

[0125] <Step S414> On the other hand, if the number of types of tablets to be allocated is greater than the number of unallocated variable size tablet cassettes 22 (S413: Yes), it is not possible to allocate each of the tablets to be allocated to the variable size tablet cassette 22. Therefore, in the subsequent step S414, the control unit 11 identifies the smallest size tablet among the tablets to be allocated that are not currently allocated to the variable size tablet cassette 22. The control unit 11 can identify the smallest size tablet among the unallocated tablet types based on the tablet sizes registered in the pharmaceutical master.

[0126] Specifically, when the tablet size registered in the pharmaceutical master is the tablet's outer diameter dimensions (length, width, height, etc.), surface area, or volume, the control unit 11 determines the size of the tablet based on the tablet's outer diameter dimensions, surface area, or volume. For example, the control unit 11 identifies the tablet with the smallest total value of the tablet's outer diameter dimensions as the smallest tablet. The control unit 11 may also identify the tablet with the smallest longest dimension value among the tablet's outer diameter dimensions as the smallest tablet. Furthermore, the control unit 11 may identify the tablet with the smallest surface area or volume as the smallest tablet.

[0127] In addition, preset size groups to which tablets belong may be registered in the pharmaceutical master, and the control unit 11 may determine the size of the tablet based on the size group. For example, the size groups may be divided into four levels: large, medium, small, and extra small. Note that the configuration for the control unit 11 to determine the size of the tablet is not limited to that described here, and other methods may be used.

[0128] <Step S415> In step S415, the drug information of the allocation target tablet identified in step S414 as the tablet with the smallest size is allocated to the unallocated variable tablet cassette 22. That is, the drug information of the smallest size tablet among the allocation target tablets not currently allocated to the variable tablet cassette 22 is preferentially allocated to the variable tablet cassette 22. The control unit 11 updates the contents of the allocation information 121 based on the correspondence between the drug information and the variable tablet cassette 22. This enables the control unit 11 to identify the variable tablet cassette 22 to which each piece of drug information is allocated, based on the allocation information 121.

[0129] Furthermore, in step S415, the control unit 11 controls the RFID reader / writer 245 to record the drug information assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22 in the RFID tag 26 of the variable tablet cassette 22 to which the drug information is assigned. At this time, the control unit 11 may also record various information such as the dispensing amount of tablets indicated by the drug information, the patient name, the allocation date and time, the name of the pharmacist in charge, and prescription identification information, together with the drug information, based on the drug dispensing data.

[0130] On the other hand, another embodiment can be considered in which the drug information is not recorded in the RFID tag 26 of the variable tablet cassette 22. Specifically, it is considered that the cassette identification information is pre-recorded in the RFID tag 26, and the RFID reader / writer 245 is an RFID reader that can only read information. Even in this case, the control unit 11 can recognize the drug information assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22 based on the cassette identification information read from the RFID tag 26 and the assignment information 121.

[0131] <Step S416> In step S416, the control unit 11 determines whether or not any unallocated variable tablet cassettes 22 remain. If it is determined that any unallocated variable tablet cassettes 22 remain (S416: Yes), the process returns to step S414. As a result, with regard to the drug information of the other allocation target tablets, drug tablets with smaller sizes are preferentially allocated to the variable tablet cassettes 22 in order. On the other hand, if it is determined that any unallocated variable tablet cassettes 22 do not remain (S416: No), the process proceeds to step S417.

[0132] <Step S417> In step S417, the control unit 11 assigns the medicine information of the tablets that were not assigned to the variable size tablet cassette 22, among the tablets to be assigned, to the manual distribution unit 4. If there are multiple tablets that were not assigned to the variable size tablet cassette 22, among the tablets to be assigned, the control unit 11 assigns the medicine information of these multiple tablets to the manual distribution unit 4. In this way, the control unit 11 preferentially assigns the medicine information of small size tablets to the variable size tablet cassette 22, and assigns the medicine information of large size tablets to the manual distribution unit 4.

[0133] In this way, in step S41, the control unit 11 allocates the tablets to be allocated to the variable size tablet cassette 22, giving priority to tablets of smaller size. Therefore, a user who inputs tablets into the medicine dispensing device 100 can efficiently input tablets of relatively larger size into the manual distribution unit 4 and tablets of relatively smaller size into the variable size tablet cassette 22.

[0134] <Step S418> Thereafter, in step S418, the control unit 11, similar to step S115, identifies the driving conditions corresponding to the drug information to be dispensed based on the driving correspondence information 122 (see FIG. 11), and transmits the driving conditions and the cassette identification information of the variable tablet cassette 22 to which the drug information is assigned to the control unit 61.

[0135] Incidentally, in the medicine dispensing device 100, it is conceivable that each of the mounting units 221 is provided with a cassette lock unit capable of locking the removal of each of the variable tablet cassettes 22. For example, the cassette lock unit includes a drive unit such as a solenoid or a motor, and a restriction unit that is driven by the drive unit and is capable of restricting the removal of the variable tablet cassette 22 from the mounting unit 221. Here, an example of control of attachment and detachment of the variable tablet cassette 22 when the cassette lock unit is provided in the mounting unit 221 will be described.

[0136] The control unit 61 can individually control whether or not each of the variable tablet cassettes 22 is locked by controlling the drive unit of the cassette lock unit of each of the mounting units 221 based on a control instruction from the control unit 11. Specifically, when medicine information is assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22 in step S2 or step S41, the control unit 11 transmits an instruction to lock the variable tablet cassette 22 to the control unit 61. As a result, the control unit 61 drives the restricting unit of the cassette lock unit of the mounting unit 221 to which the variable tablet cassette 22 assigned the medicine information is attached, thereby restricting the removal operation of the variable tablet cassette 22. In this way, the control unit 11 or the control unit 61 when restricting the removal operation of the variable tablet cassette 22 is an example of a restriction processing unit according to the present invention. Furthermore, the transmission of the drive condition in step S2 or step S42 may also serve as the lock instruction.

[0137] Thereafter, when a specific release operation is performed to release the restriction on the removal operation of the variable tablet cassette 22 to be replenished with medicines, the control unit 61 transmits an instruction to unlock the variable tablet cassette 22 to the control unit 61. As a result, the control unit 61 drives the restricting portion of the cassette locking unit of the mounting unit 221 to which the variable tablet cassette 22 to which the input medicine information is assigned is mounted, thereby releasing the restriction on the removal of the variable tablet cassette 22. In other words, when the specific release operation is performed, the variable tablet cassette 22 becomes removable, and the variable tablet cassette 22 can be replenished with medicines. In this way, the control unit 11 or the control unit 61 when releasing the restriction on the removal operation of the variable tablet cassette 22 in response to the specific release operation is an example of a release processing unit according to the present invention. This prevents the variable tablet cassette 22 to which the medicine information is assigned from being replenished with medicines by mistake, and allows the variable tablet cassette 22 to which the medicine information is not assigned to be freely attached and detached.

[0138] The specific release operation may be, for example, reading by the barcode reader 7 drug information indicating the same drug as the drug information assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22, or inputting the drug information using the operation unit 14. Furthermore, a predetermined operation unit such as an operation button may be provided corresponding to each of the mounting units 221, and when a specific release operation such as a long press operation is performed on the predetermined operation unit, the control unit 61 may release the lock of the variable tablet cassette 22 in the mounting unit 221.

[0139] Furthermore, when the barcode reader 7 reads code information indicating the medicine information assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22 after the specific release operation for the variable tablet cassette 22 is performed using the predetermined operation unit or the operation unit 14, the control unit 11 transmits an instruction to unlock the variable tablet cassette 22 to the control unit 61. This causes the control unit 61 to unlock the variable tablet cassette 22 to which the medicine information of the tablets read by the barcode reader 7 is assigned. Furthermore, even when the specific release operation is performed, the control unit 11 may not unlock the variable tablet cassette 22 if the operation of changing the drive conditions of the variable tablet cassette 22 based on the drive conditions from the control unit 61 has not been completed.

[0140] <Step S419> In step S419, similarly to step S116, the control unit 11 causes the display unit 25 of the variable tablet cassette 22 to display the drug information assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22 to which drug information was assigned in step S41. That is, the control unit 11 displays, in each of the variable tablet cassettes 22, the allocation status of drug information to that variable tablet cassette 22. As a result, when the drug information is displayed on the display unit 25 of the variable tablet cassette 22, the user can recognize the variable tablet cassette 22 as a target for loading tablets corresponding to the drug information, and remove it from the tablet supply unit 2. Note that, when the loading of tablets into the variable tablet cassette 22 is completed, the user attaches the variable tablet cassette 22 to the tablet supply unit 2.

[0141] <Step S21> 15, in the packaging control unit 6, the control unit 61 determines in step S21 whether or not the driving conditions have been received from the control unit 11. If the driving conditions have been received (Yes in S21), the control unit 61 proceeds to step S22, and if the driving conditions have not been received (No in S21), the control unit 61 proceeds to step S23. The control unit 61 stores the driving conditions received from the control unit 11 in the memory unit 62 in association with the cassette identification information of the variable size tablet cassette 22 to which the medicine information has been assigned.

[0142] <Step S22> In step S22, the control unit 61 drives the variable tablet cassette 22 to which the medicine information is assigned in accordance with the drive conditions corresponding to the medicine information, thereby enabling dispensing of tablets corresponding to the medicine information from the variable tablet cassette 22. Specifically, the control unit 61 drives the variable tablet cassette 22 corresponding to the cassette identification information received together with the drive conditions in accordance with the preliminary drive conditions among the drive conditions, thereby changing the height and width of the dispensing path. Thus, in the medicine dispensing device 100, when the preliminary drive conditions are included in the drive conditions, the control unit 61 drives the variable tablet cassette 22 in accordance with the preliminary drive conditions (height and width of the dispensing path), and then executes dispensing of tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22 (S24).

[0143] Specifically, the control unit 61 controls the height adjustment unit 226A and the width adjustment unit 227A in accordance with the drive conditions, thereby changing the type of tablets that can be dispensed one tablet at a time from the variable tablet cassette 22 to the tablets indicated by the medicine information assigned in step S2 or S41. First, the control unit 61 drives the drive motor 243 and the drive motor 244 to return the positions of the height restriction member 226 and the width restriction member 227 to their initial states. Then, the control unit 61 drives the height adjustment unit 226A with the drive motor 243, and changes the height h1 restricted by the height restriction member 226 of the variable tablet cassette 22 to the height of the dispensing path determined by the drive conditions. Furthermore, the control unit 61 drives the width adjustment unit 227A with the drive motor 244, and changes the width w1 restricted by the width restriction member 227 of the variable tablet cassette 22 to the width of the dispensing path determined by the drive conditions. Of course, if the current states of the height regulating member 226 and the width regulating member 227 can be detected, the control unit 61 can drive the drive motor 243 and the drive motor 244 based on the detection results.

[0144] When the height h1 and width w1 of the dispensing path are changed in accordance with the drive conditions in this way, the tablets indicated by the medicine information assigned in step S2 or S41 can be dispensed one tablet at a time in the variable size tablet cassette 22, thereby making it possible to control the amount of tablets dispensed. Here, the control unit 61 when executing the process of step S22 (drive control step) is an example of a drive processing unit.

[0145] It is also possible that the variable tablet cassette 22 is not attached to the attachment unit 221 when the medicine information is assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22. In this case, the variable tablet cassette 22 cannot be driven in accordance with the preliminary drive conditions in step S22. Therefore, the control unit 61 stores flag information indicating whether the drive conditions received from the control unit 11 have been reflected in the variable tablet cassette 22 in the storage unit 62 and updates it as needed. The control unit 61 then refers to the flag information at the start of a packaging operation in step S24, which will be described later, and, if the drive conditions have not been reflected in the variable tablet cassette 22 used in that packaging operation, drives the variable tablet cassette 22 in accordance with the preliminary drive conditions before performing the packaging operation, and changes the height h1 and width w1 of the dispensing path.

[0146] Another possible embodiment is a configuration in which the drive conditions do not include the pre-drive condition, and the height h1 and width w1 of the dispensing path can be arbitrarily adjusted by manually operating the height adjustment unit 226A and the width adjustment unit 227A of the variable tablet cassette 22. In this case, the user adjusts the height h1 and width w1 of the dispensing path of the variable tablet cassette 22, and then mounts the variable tablet cassette 22 on the mounting unit 221 of the tablet supply unit 2. Note that the height adjustment unit 226A and the width adjustment unit 227A can be configured to be operable by a rotation operation using a tool such as a screwdriver.

[0147] <Step S5> Returning to the explanation of Fig. 12, in step S5, the control unit 11 displays on the monitor 13 an input guidance screen D4 (see Figs. 23 and 24) that indicates the number or amount of medicines to be input into the variable tablet cassette 22, the manual distribution unit 4, the powdered medicine supply unit 3, etc., based on the medicine dispensing data. This allows the user to refer to the display content of the monitor 13 and input the required number or amount of medicines into the variable tablet cassette 22, the manual distribution unit 4, the powdered medicine supply unit 3, etc. Note that the display of the input guidance screen D4 in step S5 is executed by the display processing unit 111 of the control unit 11.

[0148] <Step S6> Thereafter, in step S6, the control unit 11 determines whether or not a loading completion operation indicating that loading of medicines required for the packaging operation executed based on the medicine dispensing data for the variable tablet cassette 22, the powdered medicine supply unit 3, the manual dispensing unit 4, etc. has been completed has been performed on the operation unit 14. For example, the loading completion operation is a pressing operation of a loading completion operation button provided on the medicine dispensing device 100, or a touch operation of an operation key K23 (see FIGS. 23 and 24) displayed on the loading guidance screen D4. Here, until the loading completion operation is performed (S6: No), the control unit 11 causes the process to wait at step S6. On the other hand, if it is determined that the loading completion operation has been performed (S6: Yes), the control unit 11 causes the process to proceed to step S7.

[0149] <Step S7> In step S7, the control unit 11 transmits a request to start a packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data to the control unit 61. Note that in step S7, the request to start the packaging operation may be transmitted to the control unit 61 when a user performs an operation to request the start of the packaging operation.

[0150] In particular, for the packaging operation of tablets that are not present in the fixed tablet cassette 21 among the tablets indicated by the drug information included as the tablets to be dispensed in the drug dispensing data, the control unit 11 sends a start request, for example, in the following manner.

[0151] First, the control unit 11 reads the cassette identification information of the variable tablet cassette 22 from the RFID tag 26 of the variable tablet cassette 22 attached to each of the attachment units 221, and identifies the variable tablet cassette 22 currently attached to each of the attachment units 221. This allows the control unit 11 to identify the variable tablet cassette 22 attached to each of the attachment units 221, and therefore the user can attach each of the variable tablet cassettes 22 to any of the attachment units 221. For example, even if a plurality of pieces of drug information are assigned to a plurality of the variable tablet cassettes 22 in step S2 or S41, and the variable tablet cassettes 22 are removed and then attached in interchanged positions, the control unit 11 can determine the attachment unit 221 to which each of the variable tablet cassettes 22 is attached. In addition, in another embodiment, if the variable tablet cassette 22 is attached to a mounting part 221 that is different from the mounting part 221 when the medicine information was assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22, an error will occur and the packaging operation will not be started.

[0152] Then, based on the medicine dispensing data, the control unit 11 identifies each of the variable tablet cassettes 22 that contains tablets identified by each of the medicine information items shown in the medicine dispensing data, based on the allocation information 121. Thereafter, the control unit 11 transmits to the control unit 61 a start request including, for each of the medicine information items shown in the medicine dispensing data, cassette identification information of the variable tablet cassette 22 to which the medicine information is assigned, identification information of the mounting unit 221 to which the variable tablet cassette 22 is mounted, and information necessary for the packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data, such as the prescribed amount for each dosage period of the tablets corresponding to the medicine information. Note that the start request also includes information about the powder medicine dispensed from the powder medicine supply unit 3, such as the number of packets, the prescribed amount for each dosage period, and information about the tablets dispensed from the manual distribution unit 4, such as the number of tablets for each dosage period. The start request may also include the medicine dispensing data.

[0153] <Step S23> 15, in the packaging control unit 6, the control unit 61 determines in step S23 whether or not there is a request to start the packaging operation from the control unit 11. Here, if the request to start the packaging operation is received (Yes in S23), the control unit 61 proceeds to step S24, and if the request to start the packaging operation is not received (No in S23), the control unit 61 proceeds to step S24.

[0154] <Step S24> In step S24, the control unit 61 executes a packaging operation in which the tablet supply unit 2, the powdered medicine supply unit 3, and the manual dispensing unit 4 dispense the necessary medicines in accordance with the request to start the packaging operation, and the packaging unit 5 packages the medicines in units of packets based on the time of administration, etc. The processing here is an example of a drive step according to the present invention, and the control unit 61 when executing the drive step is an example of a drive processing unit according to the present invention. Note that the control of the powdered medicine supply unit 3, the manual dispensing unit 4, and the packaging unit 5 may be the same as in the conventional case, so description thereof will be omitted here, and only the tablet dispensing operation by the tablet supply unit 2 will be described.

[0155] The control unit 61 changes the rotation speed of the drive motor 242 of the second drive unit 24 that is driven when dispensing tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22, in accordance with the drive conditions corresponding to the medicine information assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22 in step S2 or S41, for the tablet supply unit 2. That is, the rotation speed of the second rotating body 224 when dispensing the tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22 is changed, and the dispensing speed of the tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22 is changed depending on the type of tablet.

[0156] Specifically, the control unit 61 drives the drive motor 241 and the drive motor 242 corresponding to the variable tablet cassette 22 to which the medicine information to be dispensed is assigned, and rotates the first rotor 223 and the second rotor 224 to dispense tablets. At this time, the control unit 61 drives the drive motor 242 in accordance with the dispensing speed defined as the driving condition corresponding to the medicine information in the drive correspondence information 122. As a result, in the variable tablet cassette 22, the dispensing speed of the tablets by the second rotor 224 is changed to a speed suitable for the tablets. In this way, in the medicine dispensing device 100, when the driving conditions include the driving condition, the control unit 61 drives the variable tablet cassette 22 in accordance with the driving condition (dispensing speed), to dispense tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22.

[0157] If the variable tablet cassette 22 does not have the height regulating member 226 and the width regulating member 227, it is also possible to change only the dispensing speed of the tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22. The driving speed of the drive motor 241 may be constant or may be changed depending on the type of tablet.

[0158] Furthermore, in the packaging operation, the control unit 61 counts the number of tablets dispensed from the variable size tablet cassette 22 based on the detection result by the optical sensor 225A provided at the dispensing outlet 225 of the variable size tablet cassette 22. As a result, the control unit 61 controls the driving of the variable size tablet cassette 22 based on the number of tablets dispensed counted using the optical sensor 225A, and can dispense only the preset dispensing amount (prescribed amount) from the variable size tablet cassette 22.

[0159] Specifically, the optical sensor 225A is provided at the dispensing outlet 225, and is a transmission type optical sensor having a light emitting part 225B that emits light and a light receiving part 225C that detects received light, as shown in Fig. 20(A). Note that, in another embodiment, the optical sensor 225A may be a reflection type optical sensor.

[0160] In the optical sensor 225A, whether or not the optical path is blocked changes depending on whether or not a tablet is present in the optical path between the light-emitting unit 225B and the light-receiving unit 225C, and the detection signal output from the optical sensor 225A changes. Here, an example will be described in which the optical sensor 225A outputs ON as a detection signal when light is detected by the light-receiving unit 225C, and outputs OFF as a detection signal when light is not detected by the light-receiving unit 225C, but the relationship between ON and OFF may be reversed.

[0161] The control unit 61 determines whether tablets have passed based on the detection signal input from the optical sensor 225 A. However, if tablets passing through the optical path of the optical sensor 225 A have high transmittance, such as transparent or semi-transparent tablets, the accuracy of counting the number of tablets by the optical sensor 225 A may decrease.

[0162] Specifically, as shown in Figures 20(A) to 20(F), in the process in which a tablet M1 that is not transparent or translucent and has low transmittance passes through the light-emitting unit 225B and the light-receiving unit 225C, the detection signal output from the optical sensor 225A changes as shown in Figure 20(G). That is, before and after the tablet M1 passes through the light-emitting unit 225B and the light-receiving unit 225C (see Figures 20(A) and (F)), the light L1 irradiated from the light-emitting unit 225B is incident on the light-receiving unit 225C. On the other hand, while the tablet M1 is passing between the light-emitting unit 225B and the light-receiving unit 225C (see Figures 20(B), (C), (D), and (E)), the light L1 irradiated from the light-emitting unit 225B is blocked by the tablet M1 and does not enter the light-receiving unit 225C. In this way, when the tablet M1 passes between the light-emitting unit 225B and the light-receiving unit 225C, the detection signal output from the optical sensor 225A changes between OFF and ON only once, so the control unit 11 can accurately detect that one tablet M1 has passed based on the detection signal.

[0163] On the other hand, as shown in Figures 21(A) to 21(F), in the process in which a transparent or translucent tablet M2 with high transmittance passes through the light-emitting unit 225B and the light-receiving unit 225C, the detection signal output from the optical sensor 225A changes as shown in Figure 21(G). That is, before and after the tablet M2 passes through the light-emitting unit 225B and the light-receiving unit 225C (see Figures 21(A) and (F)), the light L1 irradiated from the light-emitting unit 225B enters the light-receiving unit 225C. Also, while the tablet M2 is passing between the light-emitting unit 225B and the light-receiving unit 225C (see Figures 20(C) and (D)), the light L1 irradiated from the light-emitting unit 225B may pass through the tablet M2 and enter the light-receiving unit 225C. On the other hand, while the tablet M2 is passing between the light-emitting unit 225B and the light-receiving unit 225C (see Figures 20(B) and (E)), the light L1 irradiated from the light-emitting unit 225B may be blocked by the edge of the tablet M2 and may not enter the light-receiving unit 225C. When the tablet M2 passes between the light-emitting unit 225B and the light-receiving unit 225C in this way, the detection signal output from the optical sensor 225A may change between OFF and ON multiple times, and the control unit 11 may erroneously detect that multiple tablets M2 have passed based on the detection signal. For example, if the detection signal output from the optical sensor 225A changes between OFF and ON twice, the control unit 11 may erroneously detect that two tablets M2 have passed based on the detection signal.

[0164] Therefore, it is conceivable that the control unit 11 will not count the number of tablets based on the detection signal from the optical sensor 225A until a predetermined specific time has elapsed after the detection signal from the optical sensor 225A changes between OFF and ON. Specifically, the specific time is a time that is preset as the time required for the tablet to pass through the optical sensor 225A from the moment it starts to pass through until it completely passes through. As a result, for example, even if the detection signal from the optical sensor 225A changes between OFF and ON multiple times during the process of the tablet M2 passing through the light-emitting unit 225B and the light-receiving unit 225C, one tablet will be counted based on the first change in the detection signal, and any subsequent changes in the detection signal will not be counted as tablets and will be ignored.

[0165] In particular, the required time varies depending on the size of the tablets. Therefore, it is conceivable that the control unit 11 changes the specific time depending on the type of tablets dispensed from the variable tablet cassette 22. For example, the control unit 11 determines the specific time to be used when counting tablets based on correspondence data in which the tablets dispensed from the variable tablet cassette 22 or the size of the tablets are pre-associated with the specific time, which is preset as the time required for the tablets to pass the optical sensor 225A. The control unit 11 may also calculate the specific time based on the size of the tablets and the tablet dispensing speed by the variable tablet cassette 22. Note that the specific time corresponding to the maximum size of tablets that can be dispensed by the variable tablet cassette 22 may be used in common as the specific time for all types of tablets.

[0166] Furthermore, the control unit 61 executes control to stop the dispensing of tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22 in accordance with the set values ​​of the first slow-down and the second slow-down defined as the drive conditions corresponding to the medicine information in the drive correspondence information 122. In this way, in the medicine dispensing device 100, if the drive stop condition is included in the drive conditions, the control unit 61 stops the drive of the variable tablet cassette 22 in accordance with the first slow-down and the second slow-down, which are the drive stop conditions, when the dispensing of the prescribed amount defined in the medicine dispensing data is completed.

[0167] Specifically, consider a case where the first slowdown is set to "6 tablets" and the second slowdown is set to "1 tablet" in the drive correspondence information 122. In this case, when the control unit 61 determines that the number of remaining tablets in the dispensing amount has reached "6 tablets" based on the number of tablets counted using the optical sensor 225A provided at the dispensing outlet 225, the control unit 61 decelerates the rotational speed of the drive motor 242 to the first rotational speed. Thereafter, when the control unit 61 determines that the number of remaining tablets in the dispensing amount has reached "1 tablet" based on the number of tablets counted using the optical sensor 225A provided at the dispensing outlet 225, the control unit 61 further decelerates the rotational speed of the drive motor 242 to the second rotational speed. This prevents tablets that tend to roll easily from being dispensed in excess from the dispensing outlet 225 when they are placed on the second rotating body 224. Note that when the rotational speed of the drive motor 242 is decelerated, the specified time may be extended in accordance with the deceleration of the rotational speed.

[0168] Furthermore, the control unit 61 executes control to stop the dispensing of tablets from the variable tablet cassette 22 in accordance with the presence or absence of the reverse rotation operation defined as the drive condition corresponding to the medicine information in the drive correspondence information 122. Here, the control unit 11 when executing such processing is an example of a drive processing unit. In this way, in the medicine dispensing device 100, if the drive stop condition is included in the drive conditions, the control unit 61 drives the variable tablet cassette 22 in accordance with the presence or absence of the reverse rotation operation, which is the drive stop condition, when dispensing of the prescribed amount defined in the medicine dispensing data is completed, and then stops the drive of the variable tablet cassette 22.

[0169] Specifically, when the reverse rotation operation is set to "Yes" in the drive correspondence information 122, the control unit 61 executes a reverse rotation operation to reverse the conveying direction of the second rotor 224 when stopping the dispensing of tablets from the variable size tablet cassette 22. For example, when the number of tablets counted using the optical sensor 225A provided at the dispensing outlet 225 reaches the dispensing amount, the control unit 61 causes the drive motor 242 to rotate in reverse for a predetermined time. This prevents tablets that tend to roll from being dispensed in excess from the dispensing outlet 225 when they are placed on the second rotor 224. Note that the dispensing outlet 225 may be provided with an open / close shutter, which closes when the number of tablets counted by the control unit 61 using the optical sensor 225A reaches the dispensing amount.

[0170] On the other hand, when the reverse rotation operation is set to "Disabled" in the drive correspondence information 122, the control unit 61 does not perform the unnecessary reverse rotation operation when stopping the dispensing of tablets from the variable-size tablet cassette 22. The timing for starting the reverse rotation operation may also be when the number of tablets counted by the control unit 61 using the optical sensor 225A reaches a value that is a predetermined number less than the dispensing amount. When starting the reverse rotation operation at such timing, the predetermined number corresponding to each piece of medicine information may be stored in advance in the drive correspondence information 122. This allows the reverse rotation operation to be started before the number of tablets counted by the control unit 61 using the optical sensor 225A reaches the dispensing amount, preventing excessive dispensing of tablets from the dispensing outlet 225. Furthermore, after the number of tablets counted by the control unit 61 using the optical sensor 225A reaches a value that is the predetermined number less than the dispensing amount, the reverse rotation operation may be started each time one tablet is dispensed.

[0171] Incidentally, in the present embodiment, an example has been described in which the height h1 of the height regulating member 226 and the width w1 of the width regulating member 227 in the variable tablet cassette 22 are changed in accordance with the drive conditions in step S42. Meanwhile, another embodiment can be considered in which the control unit 61 changes the height h1 of the height regulating member 226 and the width w1 of the width regulating member 227 immediately before the start of the packaging operation. In other words, the reflection of the advance drive conditions in the variable tablet cassette 22 may be performed at any timing before the start of the packaging operation.

[0172] <Step S25> Thereafter, when the packaging operation in step S24 is completed, the control section 61 transmits a packaging operation completion notification to the control section 11 in the following step S25.

[0173] <Step S8> Returning to the explanation of Fig. 12, in step S8, the control unit 11 waits for a notification of completion of the packaging operation from the control unit 61 (No in S8). Then, when the control unit 11 receives a notification of completion of the packaging operation (Yes in S8), the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S9.

[0174] <Step S9> In step S9, the control unit 11 displays a message indicating that dispensing has been completed on the display unit 25 of the variable tablet cassette 22 from which dispensing has been completed. For example, in step S9, the message "Dispensing Completed" may be displayed on the display unit 25, or the display of the medicine information on the display unit 25 may be erased. When the control unit 11 receives a notification of the completion of the packaging operation, it cancels the allocation of the medicine information to the variable tablet cassette 22 that has been performed for the packaging operation. Furthermore, the control unit 11 may cancel the allocation of the medicine information to the variable tablet cassette 22 when the variable tablet cassette 22 is attached to or detached from the attachment unit 221 after dispensing has been completed on the display unit 25 of the variable tablet cassette 22.

[0175] As described above, in the medicine dispensing device 100, the control unit 11 preferentially allocates medicine information of small-sized tablets among multiple types of tablets to be dispensed to the variable tablet cassette 22. This allows the user to load relatively small-sized tablets all at once into the variable tablet cassette 22. Therefore, according to the medicine dispensing device 100, the variable tablet cassette 22 and the manual distribution unit 4 can be used in consideration of the user's work efficiency.

[0176] In the present embodiment, the case where the allocation of the medicine information to the variable tablet cassette 22 is executed by the control unit 11 of the prescription control unit 1 has been described. Alternatively, the allocation of the medicine information to the variable tablet cassette 22 may be executed by the control unit 61 of the packaging control unit 6. In this case, various information such as the medicine master, the cassette master, the allocation information 121, and the drive correspondence information 122 is stored in the storage unit 62 of the packaging control unit 6. Then, when the medicine dispensing data is transmitted from the prescription control unit 1 to the packaging control unit 6, the control unit 61 automatically assigns the medicine information included in the medicine dispensing data to the variable tablet cassette 22 based on the various information stored in the storage unit 62, or assigns the medicine information to the variable tablet cassette 22 in response to a user operation. Furthermore, a configuration is also conceivable in which, after the allocation of the medicine information to the variable tablet cassette 22 is executed by the control unit 11 of the prescription control unit 1, the control unit 61 can change the assignment relationship between the variable tablet cassette 22 and the medicine information in response to a user operation. In this case, it is considered that the control unit 61 can edit the allocation information 121 by accessing the storage unit 12. Also, the allocation information 121 may be stored in both the storage unit 12 and the storage unit 62 and synchronized in real time.

[0177] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the height regulating member 226 and the width regulating member 227 of the variable tablet cassette 22 are adjustable in all of the mounting units 221, and the RFID reader / writer 245 is provided in all of the mounting units 221. On the other hand, in the medicine dispensing device 100, the height regulating member 226 and the width regulating member 227 of the variable tablet cassette 22 are adjustable in any one or more of the mounting units 221, and the RFID reader / writer 245 may be provided in the mounting unit 221. Furthermore, a dedicated mounting unit for adjusting the height regulating member 226 and the width regulating member 227 of the variable tablet cassette 22 may be provided separately from each of the mounting units 221, and the RFID reader / writer 245 may be provided in the mounting unit. This makes it possible to simplify the configuration of each of the mounting units 221.

[0178] Incidentally, the medicine dispensing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment has been described with reference to an example in which the medicine information is assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22. Meanwhile, another embodiment is conceivable in which the control unit 11 assigns the medicine information to the mounting unit 221, thereby indirectly assigning the medicine information to the variable tablet cassette 22. In this case, as shown in Fig. 19, the allocation information 121 stores identification information (A1 to A4, etc.) of the mounting unit 221, the medicine ID (identification information of the medicine), and identification information (C1, C3, etc.) of the variable tablet cassette 22 mounted in the mounting unit 221 in association with each other. This enables the control unit 11 to grasp the medicine assigned to the mounting unit 221 and the variable tablet cassette 22 mounted in the mounting unit 221, and cause the medicine dispensing apparatus 100 to perform the packaging operation. Also in this case, the allocation processing unit 113 of the control unit 11 may preferentially allocate medicine information of small-sized tablets among multiple types of tablets to be dispensed to the mounting unit 221 in the automatic allocation process (see FIG. 14). This allows the user to load relatively small-sized tablets all at once into the variable-sized tablet cassette 22 that is detachable from the mounting unit 221. Therefore, according to the medicine dispensing device 100, the variable-sized tablet cassette 22 and the manual distribution unit 4 can be used in consideration of the user's work efficiency.

[0179] [Other features] Hereinafter, there will be described various functions of the medicine dispensing apparatus 100. Note that the various functions described here may be functions of the medicine dispensing apparatus 100, and may be functions implemented by the control unit 61 instead of the control unit 11, or functions implemented by cooperation between the control unit 11 and the control unit 61.

[0180] [Multiple cassette allocation function] As described above, in the medicine dispensing device 100, the allocation target tablets may be allocated to the variable tablet cassette 22. Here, if the number of tablets to be dispensed of the allocation target tablets in the packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data exceeds the capacity of the variable tablet cassette 22, the packaging operation cannot be executed by simply loading tablets into one variable tablet cassette 22 in a single operation. Therefore, the medicine dispensing device 100 has a multiple cassette allocation function that allocates the medicine information of the allocation target tablets to multiple variable tablet cassettes 22 when the number of tablets to be dispensed based on the medicine dispensing data cannot be accommodated in the variable tablet cassette 22. This makes it possible for the medicine dispensing device 100 to dispense the required amount of the allocation target tablets sequentially from each variable tablet cassette 22 in the packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data in the medicine dispensing process.

[0181] For example, in the medicine dispensing device 100, the control unit 11 may determine that the tablets to be allocated cannot be accommodated in the variable tablet cassette 22 when the number of tablets to be dispensed of the tablets to be allocated exceeds the maximum number of tablets that has been preset for the variable tablet cassette 22. In another embodiment, the control unit 11 may determine that the tablets to be allocated cannot be accommodated in the variable tablet cassette 22 when the value obtained by multiplying the volume of the tablets to be allocated per tablet by the number of tablets to be dispensed of the tablets to be allocated is equal to or less than the volume of the variable tablet cassette 22, based on the volume of the variable tablet cassette 22 and the volume per tablet that has been preset for the tablets to be allocated.

[0182] In this way, if the drug information of one allocation target tablet can be assigned to multiple variable tablet cassettes 22, the user can insert the allocation target tablets into multiple variable tablet cassettes 22 at once, eliminating the need to replenish the allocation target tablets during the tablet dispensing operation by the drug dispensing device 100, thereby improving work efficiency.

[0183] [Input guide display function] As described above, the display processing unit 111 of the control unit 11 has an input guidance display function for displaying on the monitor 13 the input guidance screen D4 indicating the number or amount of medicines to be input into the variable tablet cassette 22, the manual distribution unit 4, or the powdered medicine supply unit 3. An example of the input guidance display function will be described below.

[0184] In the medicine dispensing device 100, in the packaging operation performed based on the medicine dispensing data, tablets may be dispensed from the variable tablet cassette 22 and powdered medicine may be dispensed by the powder medicine supply unit 3. For example, in the packaging operation performed based on the medicine dispensing data, tablets and powdered medicine may be packaged together in packaging paper corresponding to the same administration time, or tablets and powdered medicine may be packaged in packaging paper corresponding to different administration times. In this case, the control unit 11 displays on the feeding guidance screen D4 the number of tablets to be fed into the variable tablet cassette 22 and the amount of powdered medicine to be fed into the powder medicine supply unit 3 as the amount of medicine required for the packaging operation performed based on the medicine dispensing data.

[0185] As described above, there is an upper limit to the number of medicine packets (number of packets) that can be dispensed from the powder medicine unit 3 by one powder medicine input operation into the powder medicine unit 3. Hereinafter, the upper limit to the number of medicine packets that can be dispensed from the powder medicine unit 3 by one powder medicine input into the powder medicine unit 3 will be referred to as the maximum number of packets. In the medicine dispensing device 100, the total number of powder medicine packets in the packaging operation performed using the powder medicine supply unit 3 based on the medicine dispensing data may exceed the maximum number of packets of the powder medicine supply unit 3. In this case, in the medicine dispensing device 100, after the powder medicine input operation is performed and the packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data is performed, it becomes necessary to input the powder medicine again during the packaging operation.

[0186] On the other hand, when the packaging operation is performed based on the medicine dispensing data, even if multiple powdered medicine feeding operations are required, it may be sufficient to feed all the required number of tablets into the medicine dispensing device 100 at once. Specifically, even if the number of packets in the packaging operation exceeds the maximum number of packets in the powdered medicine supply unit 3, the amount of tablets dispensed in the packaging operation may not exceed the maximum number of tablets that can be accommodated in the variable tablet cassette 22. In such a case, the feeding guide screen D4 may display the tablet and powdered medicine feeding amounts for each required number of powdered medicine feeding operations. For example, suppose the number of packets in the packaging operation performed based on the medicine dispensing data is 186 packets, the maximum number of packets in the powdered medicine supply unit 3 is 100 packets, and the variable tablet cassette 22 can accommodate 186 packets of tablets. In this case, the feeding guide screen D4 may display the feeding amounts for 100 packets and 86 packets for powdered medicine, and similarly, the feeding amounts for 100 packets and 86 packets for tablets may be displayed. However, if tablets that normally only need to be inserted once are assumed to be inserted multiple times to match the powdered medicine, and the corresponding amount to be inserted is displayed for each insertion, the user may end up having to insert the tablets multiple times unnecessarily, which can reduce work efficiency.

[0187] Therefore, in the medicine dispensing apparatus 100, the display processing unit 111 of the control unit 11 displays, for a first type of medicine that requires multiple input operations into the medicine dispensing apparatus 100 among the medicines dispensed from the medicine dispensing apparatus 100 based on the medicine dispensing data, an input amount corresponding to each input operation. Specifically, in the above example, the powdered medicine dispensed from the powdered medicine supply unit 3 is the first type of medicine. On the other hand, for a second type of medicine that only requires one input operation into the medicine dispensing apparatus 100 among the medicines dispensed from the medicine dispensing apparatus 100 based on the medicine dispensing data, the display processing unit 111 displays an input amount corresponding to the single input operation or information suggesting the input amount. Specifically, in the above example, the tablets dispensed from the variable tablet cassette 22 are an example of the second type of medicine. The prescription control unit 1 including the control unit 11 functioning as the display processing unit 111 that executes such display processing is an example of a display control device according to the present invention. The information suggesting the amount to be inserted is, for example, a message instructing the user to look at the prescription and insert the total number of tablets for the second type of medicine.

[0188] Below, we will explain an example in which the first type of medicine is a powder medicine dispensed from the powder medicine dispensing unit 3, and the total number of packets of the powder medicine based on the medicine dispensing data exceeds the maximum number of packets by the powder medicine dispensing unit 3, and the second type of medicine is a tablet dispensed from the variable tablet cassette 22.

[0189] Here, Fig. 22 is a flowchart showing another example of the medicine dispensing process. Note that a description of processes similar to the medicine dispensing process shown in Fig. 12 will be omitted. In the medicine dispensing process shown in Fig. 22, step S51 is executed instead of step S5 in the medicine dispensing process shown in Fig. 12, and steps S81 to S82 are added.

[0190] <Step S51> In the step S51, the control unit 11 displays the feeding guidance screen D4, similarly to the step S5. However, in the step S51, the control unit 11 first determines whether or not the medicine dispensing data includes a first type medicine that requires multiple feeding operations of the medicine into the medicine dispensing device 100 in the packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data.

[0191] When the control unit 11 determines that the medicine dispensing data includes the first type of medicine, it causes the control unit 11 to display, on the dispensing guide screen D4, the dispensing amount of the first type of medicine corresponding to the first dispensing operation of multiple dispensing operations required to execute the packaging operation. Furthermore, when the medicine dispensing data includes the second type of medicine for which only one dispensing operation of the medicine is required to execute the packaging operation, the control unit 11 causes the dispensing guide screen D4 to display, on the dispensing guide screen D4, the dispensing amount of the second type of medicine corresponding to that one dispensing operation. Specifically, for the first type of medicine, the total dispensing amount of the medicine identified based on the medicine dispensing data is displayed separately for each dispensing operation, and for the second type of medicine, the total dispensing amount of the medicine identified based on the medicine dispensing data is displayed. As a result, the user refers to the input guidance screen D4 displayed in step S51 and inputs the first type of medicine in an amount corresponding to the first input operation into the medicine dispensing device 100, and also inputs the second type of medicine in an amount corresponding to a single input operation into the medicine dispensing device 100.

[0192] If it is determined that the first type of medicine does not exist in the medicine dispensing data, the control unit 11 causes the input guidance screen D4 to display, as in step S5, the input amount corresponding to one input operation required for executing the packaging operation for each of the second type of medicine. This allows the user to input the input amount of the second type of medicine required for the packaging operation into the medicine dispensing device 100.

[0193] <Step S81> In step S81, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the timing to add a medicine has arrived. Specifically, the medicine dispensing apparatus 100 determines that the timing to add a medicine has arrived when there is a shortage of the medicine to be dispensed in the packaging operation. Furthermore, the medicine dispensing apparatus 100 may determine that the timing to add a medicine has arrived when packaging operations for the number of packages corresponding to the amount of the first type of medicine added in a first insertion operation have been completed.

[0194] If it is determined that the timing for adding the medicine has arrived (S81: Yes), the process proceeds to step S82, and if it is determined that the timing for adding the medicine has not arrived (S81: No), the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, if it is determined that the packaging operation has not ended (S8: No), the process returns to step S81, and if it is determined that the packaging operation has ended (S8: Yes), the process proceeds to step S9.

[0195] <Step S82> In step S82, the control section 11 displays the introduction guide screen D4. Thereafter, the control section 11 returns the process to step S81 when an operation to complete introduction of medicines is performed in the same manner as in step S6.

[0196] Specifically, in step S82, the display processing unit 111 of the control unit 11 displays, on the insertion guidance screen D4, an insertion amount corresponding to the current insertion operation among a plurality of insertion operations required to execute the packaging operation for the first type of medicine. That is, when two insertion operations are required for the first type of medicine, the insertion amount required for the first insertion operation is displayed in step S51, and the insertion amount required for the second insertion operation is displayed in step S82. Thereby, the user inserts the insertion amount of the first type of medicine corresponding to the current insertion operation into the medicine dispensing apparatus 100. Note that, when the insertion operation is three or more times, the insertion amount corresponding to each insertion operation is similarly displayed each time in step S82.

[0197] Here, FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a display example of the insertion guide screen D4 in step S51, and FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a display example of the insertion guide screen D4 in step S82.

[0198] In the insertion guidance screen D4 shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, a display area A41 is an area where identification information such as the drug name of the drug to be inserted into the medicine dispensing device 100 is displayed. Furthermore, in the insertion guidance screen D4, a display area A42 is an area where information that can identify the drug dispensing source displayed in the display area A41 is displayed. For example, the display area A42 displays "powder" if the drug dispensing source is the powdered medicine supply unit 3, "ka" if the drug dispensing source is the variable tablet cassette 22, and "manual" if the drug dispensing source is the manual distribution unit 4. Furthermore, in the insertion guidance screen D4, a display area A43 is an area where information on the number of days and the total number of packets indicated in the medicine dispensing data is displayed. Furthermore, the insertion guidance screen D4 displays an operation unit K41 as an operation key for accepting an operation to start the packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data displayed on the insertion guidance screen D4.

[0199] Here, an example will be described in which, in the packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data, 1 mg of powder medicine named "X medicine" is packaged in the morning, afternoon, and evening, and one tablet of tablet named "Y medicine" is packaged in each packaging paper, for a total of 62 days' worth, or 186 packets. That is, in the packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data, a total of 186 mg of powder medicine named "X medicine" is required, and a total of 186 tablets of tablet named "Y medicine" are required, for a total of 186 packets. Also, assume that the maximum number of packets of the powder medicine supply unit 3 is 100 packets, and the capacity of the variable tablet cassette 22 is 300 tablets.

[0200] In this case, in the packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data, the total number of packets of powder medicine with the medicine name "X medicine" in the packaging operation performed based on the medicine dispensing data, "186 packets," exceeds the maximum number of packets of the powder medicine supply unit 3, "100 packets." That is, here, the powder medicine with the medicine name "X medicine" is an example of a first type medicine that requires multiple drug introduction operations into the medicine dispensing device 100. Therefore, the control unit 11 determines that two drug introduction operations are required for the packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data. Note that, when dividing the introduction operation into two operations, the control unit 11 may divide the total number of packets equally into two operations, or may divide the total number of packets into two different numbers, with the maximum number of packets of the powder medicine supply unit 3 as the upper limit.

[0201] For example, the amount of medicine to be dispensed, which corresponds to "186 packets" of powder medicine with the name "X drug," may be divided into "100 mg" for 100 packets and "86 mg" for the remaining 86 packets. When the amount of medicine to be dispensed, which corresponds to "186 packets" of powder medicine with the name "X drug," is divided into two doses, the smaller amount may be the first dose and the larger amount may be the second dose. This can shorten the time the user has to wait in front of the medicine dispensing device 100 until the second dose is dispensed.

[0202] On the other hand, the number of tablets required for the packaging operation does not exceed the maximum storage capacity of the variable size tablet cassette 22. That is, in this case, the tablets with the drug name "Drug Y" are an example of a second type drug that can be fed into the drug dispensing device 100 in one go.

[0203] 23, the control unit 11 displays, on the input guidance screen D4 displayed in step S51, for the powdered medicine of "X drug," "93 mg" as the input amount of powdered medicine corresponding to "93 packets" out of the total number of packets, which corresponds to the first input operation, and for the tablets of "Y drug," "186 tablets," which is the total amount of tablets required for the packaging operation. As a result, the user measures out "93 mg," which is the input amount of powdered medicine corresponding to the first input operation, for the powdered medicine of "X drug," and inputs it into the powder medicine supply unit 3, and for the tablets of "Y drug," "186 tablets," which is the total amount of tablets required for the packaging operation, all at once, into the variable tablet cassette 22.

[0204] 24, the control unit 11 displays, on the input guidance screen D4 displayed in step S82, "93 mg" as the input amount of powder medicine for "Drug X" corresponding to "93 packets" out of the total number of packets, which corresponds to the second input operation, but does not display the input amount for tablets for "Drug Y." As a result, the user measures out "93 mg," which is the input amount of powder medicine for the second input operation, for "Drug X," and inputs it into the powder medicine supply unit 3. Note that the control unit 11 may display, on the second input guidance screen D4 in step S82, that tablets for "Drug Y" have already been input, for example, by graying out the display field corresponding to tablets for "Drug Y."

[0205] In this way, when multiple drug input operations are required to execute the packaging operation based on the drug dispensing data, for the first type of drug that requires multiple input operations, the input amount is displayed for each input operation on the input guidance screen D4, and for the second type of drug that can be input in one operation, the input amount corresponding to that single input operation is displayed on the input guidance screen D4. Therefore, for tablets that are the second type of drug that can be input in one operation and are dispensed from the variable tablet cassette 22, the user is not forced to perform multiple input operations, which makes it possible to improve work efficiency.

[0206] Also, in the packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data, the case has been described above in which powdered medicine needs to be fed into the powder medicine supply unit 3 in multiple batches, while all the required number of tablets can be fed into the variable tablet cassette 22 at once. Meanwhile, as described above, the maximum number of tablets that can be fed into the variable tablet cassette 22 at one time is limited by the capacity of the variable tablet cassette 22. Therefore, in the packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data, it is also possible to feed tablets into the variable tablet cassette 22 in multiple batches, while all the required amount of powdered medicine can be fed into the powder medicine supply unit 3 at once. In this case, the display processing unit 111 of the control unit 11 displays the amount of tablets fed into the variable tablet cassette 22 on the feeding guidance screen D4 for each feeding operation for tablets dispensed using the variable tablet cassette 22, and displays the amount of powdered medicine fed in one feeding operation on the feeding guidance screen D4 that is displayed first for powdered medicine dispensed using the powder medicine supply unit 3, which only requires one feeding. That is, in this case, the first type of medicine is the tablet assigned to the variable tablet cassette 22, and the second type of medicine is the powder medicine dispensed from the powder medicine supply unit 3. For example, it is considered that the control unit 11 displays, on the input guidance screen D4, the amount of tablets to be input into the variable tablet cassette 22 in multiple batches, with the maximum number of tablets that can be accommodated in the variable tablet cassette 22 as an upper limit, for tablets dispensed using the variable tablet cassette 22.

[0207] Here, an example has been described in which powdered medicine dispensed using the powdered medicine supply unit 3 and tablets dispensed using the variable tablet cassette 22 are packaged together in the packaging operation performed based on the medicine dispensing data. The same applies to a case in which tablets dispensed using the manual dispensing unit 4 and tablets dispensed using the variable tablet cassette 22 are packaged together in the packaging operation performed based on the medicine dispensing data. Specifically, similar to the powdered medicine supply unit 3, the manual dispensing unit 4 also has a maximum number of packets that can be dispensed from the manual dispensing unit 4 in a single tablet input operation limited by the number of cells 411. In other words, the total number of packets in the packaging operation performed using the manual dispensing unit 4 based on the medicine dispensing data may exceed the maximum number of packets that can be dispensed using the manual dispensing unit 4 in a single input operation.

[0208] In response to this, the display processing unit 111 of the control unit 11 displays on the feeding guidance screen D4 the feeding amount corresponding to each feeding operation for tablets using the manual dispensing unit 4 among the medicines dispensed from the medicine dispensing device 100 based on the medicine dispensing data. On the other hand, for tablets using the variable tablet cassette 22 that can be fed in one operation among the medicines dispensed from the medicine dispensing device 100 based on the medicine dispensing data, the display processing unit 111 displays the feeding amount corresponding to that one feeding operation on the feeding guidance screen D4 that is displayed first. That is, here, the first type of medicine is a tablet dispensed from the manual dispensing unit 4, and the total number of tablets packaged based on the medicine dispensing data exceeds the maximum number of tablets packaged by the manual dispensing unit 4. Furthermore, the second type of medicine is a tablet dispensed from the variable tablet cassette 22, and the number of tablets dispensed based on the medicine dispensing data does not exceed the maximum number of tablets that can be stored in the variable tablet cassette 22. Even in this case, the tablets dispensed from the variable tablet cassette 22, which are the second type of medicine that only needs to be inserted once, do not require multiple insertion operations, thereby improving the user's work efficiency.

[0209] The same applies to the case where, in the packaging operation executed based on the medicine dispensing data, tablets dispensed using the manual distribution unit 4 and powdered medicine dispensed using the powdered medicine supply unit 3 are packaged together. That is, the total number of packets in the packaging operation executed based on the medicine dispensing data using the manual distribution unit 4 exceeds the maximum number of packets that can be dispensed using the manual distribution unit 4 in one input operation, but may also exceed the maximum number of packets that can be dispensed using the powdered medicine supply unit 3 in one input operation.

[0210] In contrast, in the medicine dispensing apparatus 100, the display processing unit 111 of the control unit 11 displays on the dispensing guide screen D4 the amount of medicine dispensed for tablets dispensed using the manual dispensing unit 4, corresponding to each dispensing operation, among the medicines dispensed from the medicine dispensing apparatus 100 based on the medicine dispensing data. On the other hand, for powdered medicines dispensed using the powder medicine supply unit 3, which can be dispensed in one operation, the display processing unit 111 displays the amount of medicine dispensed for each operation, corresponding to the first dispensing operation, on the dispensing guide screen D4. That is, in this case, the first type of medicine is a tablet dispensed from the manual dispensing unit 4, and the total number of tablets packaged based on the medicine dispensing data exceeds the maximum number of tablets packaged by the manual dispensing unit 4. The second type of medicine is a powdered medicine dispensed using the powder medicine supply unit 3, and the total number of tablets packaged based on the medicine dispensing data does not exceed the maximum number of tablets packaged by the powder medicine supply unit 3. Even in this case, for powdered medicine dispensed using the powdered medicine supply unit 3, which is the second type of medicine that only needs to be injected once, the user is not forced to inject the medicine multiple times, thereby improving work efficiency.

[0211] Also, here, the case where the insertion guide screen D4 is displayed at the start of the insertion operation in step S51 and step S82 has been described. Meanwhile, when the control unit 11 displays the insertion guide screen D4 in step S51, as shown in FIG. 25, for the first type of medicine requiring multiple insertion operations, the insertion amount corresponding to each insertion operation may be displayed on the insertion guide screen D4. Specifically, on the insertion guide screen D4 shown in FIG. 25, for powdered medicine "X medicine," "93 mg" is displayed as the amount of powdered medicine to be inserted corresponding to "93 packets" corresponding to the first insertion operation out of the total number of packets, and "93 mg" is displayed as the amount of powdered medicine to be inserted corresponding to "93 packets" corresponding to the second insertion operation. Meanwhile, for tablets of "Y medicine," "186 tablets" is displayed as the amount of tablets to be inserted corresponding to "186 packets" corresponding to the first insertion operation. As a result, during the first insertion operation, the user refers to the insertion guide screen D4 and inserts "93 mg" of powdered medicine "X drug," which is the insertion amount corresponding to the first insertion operation, into the powder medicine supply unit 3, and inserts "186 tablets," which is the total amount of tablets required until the packaging operation is completed, into the variable tablet cassette 22. Then, during the second insertion operation, the user also refers to the insertion guide screen D4 and inserts only "93 mg" of powdered medicine "X drug," which is the insertion amount corresponding to the second insertion operation, into the powder medicine supply unit 3.

Claims

1. The tablet dispensing unit is capable of dispensing tablets of a type that can be allocated as a tablet to be dispensed by changing the size of a dispensing path from a tablet storage unit that stores a plurality of tablets, and is provided with an allocation processing unit that can allocate the tablets to be dispensed, The allocation processing unit allocates the tablets to be dispensed to the plurality of tablet dispensing units when the number of tablets to be dispensed exceeds the maximum number of tablets that can be accommodated in one of the tablet dispensing units to which the tablets to be dispensed are allocated, or when the total volume of the number of tablets to be dispensed exceeds the capacity of one of the tablet dispensing units to which the tablets to be dispensed are allocated. Medicine dispensing device.

2. A medicine dispensing program for causing a processor to execute an allocation step of allocating tablets to a tablet dispensing unit capable of dispensing tablets of a type allocated as a tablet to be dispensed by changing the size of a dispensing path from a tablet storage unit that stores a plurality of tablets, The allocation step allocates the tablets to be dispensed to a plurality of the tablet dispensing units when the number of tablets to be dispensed exceeds the maximum number of tablets that can be accommodated in one of the tablet dispensing units to which the tablets to be dispensed are allocated, or when the total volume of the number of tablets to be dispensed exceeds the capacity of one of the tablet dispensing units to which the tablets to be dispensed are allocated. Drug disbursement program.

Images