Feeder type medicine calendar creation device and method

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide medicine calendar creation device and method capable of making creation work of a medicine calendar efficient to reduce time and costs, capable of preventing a medicine to be unpacked from a PTP sheet from being cracked at the time of unpacking, and capable of preventing a fragment of an aluminum sheet of the PTP sheet from being mixed in each storage part of a medicine calendar tray together with the medicine.CONSTITUTION: In medicine calendar creation device and method, a loose tablet that is not originally individually packed and does not need to be unpacked from a medicine sheet is stored in each predetermined container in advance, the stored loose tablet is successively supplied to each storage part of a medicine calendar tray, and the medicine calendar tray is successively moved according to a timing of the supply.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device and method for creating a medication calendar. [Background technology]

[0002] It has been common for dispensing pharmacies to provide each patient with a "medication calendar" containing the medications prescribed based on the prescription information issued by the medical institution. While there are currently many different types of medication calendars, the most common is one in which pharmacies arrange daily and weekly doses of medications (one or more types of one or more medications) in groups or packets for approximately one to four times a day, arranged like a calendar, for elderly patients who have difficulty managing their medication intake.

[0003] An example of such a medication calendar is shown in Figure 7. To create the medication calendar shown in Figure 7, the dispensing pharmacy arranges, horizontally or vertically, concave storage sections 43 for storing one or more medications of one or more types corresponding to the number of doses a patient takes per day, each of which corresponds to a date or day of the week and a time period, and prepares a medication calendar tray 41 in which the storage sections 43 arranged in this manner for one day (e.g., one to four doses) are arranged in seven rows or seven columns to form a week's worth of medication.

[0004] The dispensing pharmacy then stores medications (one or more types of one or more medications) for each patient's dosing time in each storage section 43 of the medication calendar tray 41, and then attaches a lid sheet 42 from above to seal the medications in each storage section 43 to create a medication calendar, which is then provided to the patient. The patient then hangs the provided medication calendar on a wall or the like at home and takes one dose of medication from each storage section 43 for each dosing time. This makes it easy for even elderly patients to properly manage their medication intake (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7049071 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] While the aforementioned medication calendar is an extremely effective means for ensuring proper medication management for elderly patients and others, preparing such a medication calendar conventionally required the cumbersome process of removing medications from each PTP sheet, packaging the removed medications together (or grouping them into individual doses), and placing them in the respective storage compartments of the medication calendar tray. This resulted in problems such as a long preparation time and high production costs, the need to press each storage compartment (e.g., the dome-shaped protrusions that contain each medication sealed in an aluminum sheet) in the PTP sheet to remove the PTP sheet, which can cause the medication to break, and fragments of the aluminum sheet generated when pressing the storage compartments (dome-shaped protrusions) to remove the medication can get mixed in with the medication in the storage compartments of the medication calendar. In addition, in the conventional work of preparing a medication calendar, when medications were supplied to each storage section of the medication calendar tray, the medication supply port was moved horizontally in sequence so as to face each storage section of the medication calendar tray, and then the medication was supplied, which resulted in the problem that it took a long time to supply medications to each storage section of the medication calendar tray.Furthermore, in the conventional work of preparing a medication calendar, the pharmacist supplied medications to one or two medication calendar trays placed on a workbench, and once the supply of medications to the one or two medication calendar trays was completed, the pharmacist had to temporarily stop the medication supply work and set up another medication calendar tray on the workbench, which resulted in the problem that a large number of medication calendars could not be produced continuously and efficiently.

[0007] The present invention has been made in response to these problems of the prior art, and aims to provide a medication calendar preparation device and method that can streamline the medication calendar preparation process, shorten the time required, and reduce costs, prevent medications being removed from PTP sheets from breaking during removal, and prevent aluminum sheet fragments generated during removal from PTP sheets from being mixed with the medications in each storage compartment of the medication calendar tray. Another object of the present invention is to provide a medication calendar preparation device and method that can shorten the work time required to supply and distribute medications to each storage compartment of the medication calendar tray. A further object of the present invention is to provide a medication calendar preparation device and method that can efficiently prepare a large number of medication calendars continuously. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The feeder-type medication calendar making device of the present invention, which solves the above-mentioned problems, is a medication calendar making device in which "each storage section contains one or more types of one or more medications for each dose specified by date or day of the week and time period, and the storage sections are arranged horizontally or vertically in a number corresponding to at least the number of times a patient takes each dose per day, and the medication calendar tray is formed so that each storage section for one day arranged in this manner is further arranged in seven rows vertically or seven columns horizontally to form one week's worth of medications," and in which medications for each dose of a patient are stored in each storage section, and the medications are individually packaged without the need to be removed from the medication sheet. The present invention is characterized by comprising: a loose tablet supply unit that stores in advance in each of predetermined containers, sorted by required type, a large number of loose tablets that are not loose, at least the number required for the patient's medication, and sequentially supplies one or more of the large number of loose tablets from the container side into each storage section of the medicine calendar tray; and a tray moving unit that repeats the operation of sequentially moving the medicine calendar tray so that each storage section of the medicine calendar tray sequentially faces the supply port through which the loose tablets are supplied, in accordance with the timing at which the loose tablets from the loose tablet supply unit side are supplied to the medicine calendar tray side, until the loose tablets are contained in all of the storage sections required for the patient's medication.

[0009] In addition, the feeder-type medicine calendar preparation device according to the present invention may be provided with a tray changer that, when the types and numbers of loose tablets required for a patient's medication are supplied to each storage section of the medicine calendar tray, which is arranged at a receiving position that receives loose tablets from the loose tablet supply section, moves the medicine calendar tray from the receiving position to another location and newly places another medicine calendar tray at the receiving position.

[0010] In addition, in the feeder-type medicine calendar production device according to the present invention, the loose tablet supply unit may be provided with a plurality of sorting trays that store the large number of loose tablets and discharge them from the discharge outlet side, and each sorting tray may be provided with a vibration unit that vibrates the sorting tray to move at least some of the large number of loose tablets in the direction of the discharge outlet side.

[0011] In addition, in the feeder-type medication calendaring device according to the present invention, the plurality of sorting trays may be formed to have different sizes or shapes so as to be suitable for storing and discharging a plurality of types of loose tablets of different sizes or shapes. Furthermore, in the case where sorting trays formed to have different sizes or shapes exist, the feeder-type medication calendaring device may further include a sorting tray identifying unit that acquires and outputs information regarding the sorting tray having a size or shape suitable for the medication prescribed to the patient based on the patient's prescription data.

[0012] In addition, in the feeder-type medicine calendar preparation device according to the present invention, the alignment tray may include a placement section in which a large number of loose tablets are placed, and a long, narrow passage section that moves at least some of the large number of placed loose tablets from the placement section toward the discharge outlet, and may be provided with a movement detection section that detects whether the loose tablets are moving or present in the passage section, and a rod-shaped member that moves or operates to push back the connection section between the passage section and the placement section or the loose tablets present in the passage section toward the placement section based on the output from the movement detection section.

[0013] In addition, the loose tablet supply section in the feeder-type medicine calendar making device according to the present invention is provided with a guide passage having a receiving port facing each of the discharge outlets of a plurality of alignment trays arranged in a row, and a supply port facing the storage section of the medicine calendar tray arranged below, and the guide passage may receive the loose tablets discharged from each of the discharge outlet sides of the plurality of alignment trays arranged in a row through the receiving port, move the loose tablets to a position facing each storage section of the medicine calendar tray, and supply them from the supply port into each storage section.

[0014] The method for producing a feeder-type medicine calendar according to the present invention is a method for producing a medicine calendar in which "each storage section contains one or more types of medicine for each dose specified by a date or day of the week and a time period, the number of storage sections corresponding to at least the number of times a patient takes medicine per day is arranged horizontally or vertically, and the storage sections for each day arranged in this manner are further arranged in seven rows vertically or seven columns horizontally to form a week's worth of medicines," in which each storage section contains a patient's dose of medicine, and the method comprises the steps of: preparing loose tablets in advance, which are not individually wrapped and do not need to be removed from the medicine sheet, by multiple types; and automatically or manually by a machine, dispensing loose tablets by the required types, at least the number of tablets necessary for the patient's medication, based on the patient's prescription information. a bulk tablet supply step in which the bulk tablets are supplied into each storage section of the medicine calendar tray while sequentially moving the medicine calendar tray horizontally a predetermined distance in synchronization with the supply operation so that the bulk tablets from the bulk tablet supply section are sequentially supplied into each storage section of the one medicine calendar tray, and this operation is repeated until all the necessary bulk tablets are stored in each storage section of the one medicine calendar tray; and a tray replacement step in which, when the types and numbers of bulk tablets necessary for the patient's medication have been supplied and stored in each storage section of the medicine calendar tray by the bulk tablet supply step, the tray changer automatically moves the medicine calendar tray from the receiving position where the bulk tablets are supplied to another location and newly places another medicine calendar tray in the receiving position.

[0015] Furthermore, in the feeder-type medicine calendar manufacturing method according to the present invention, after the type and number of medicines required for patient administration are stored in each storage section of the plurality of medicine calendar trays by the loose tablet supply step, the plurality of medicine calendar trays may be stacked one on top of the other and vacuum-packed in a container such as a bag without sealing the medicines in each storage section of the plurality of medicine calendar trays. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] In the present invention, a large number of loose tablets, at least the number required for the patient's medication, that are not individually packaged before being removed from the drug sheet are stored in a container provided in the loose tablet supply unit by the required type in advance, and the stored loose tablets are discharged to the outside and supplied to each storage section of the medication calendar tray. Therefore, according to the present invention, the removal operation of removing drugs from drug sheets (such as press-through packages), which has traditionally been the main cause of the complexity and high cost of the medication calendar production process, is no longer necessary, thereby significantly improving the efficiency and cost of the medication calendar production process. This also prevents the inconvenience of tablets breaking when the drug sheet is pressed during the removal operation, and further prevents the inconvenience of pieces of the aluminum sheet used to seal the drugs being mixed in with the drugs in each storage section of the medication calendar tray, resulting from the pressure on the drug sheet during the removal operation.

[0017] In addition, in the present invention, when the loose tablets from the loose tablet supply unit are supplied to each storage unit of the medicine calendar tray, the tray moving unit sequentially moves the medicine calendar tray a predetermined distance so that each storage unit sequentially faces the supply port of the loose tablet supply unit, thereby enabling efficient supply of the loose tablets from the loose tablet supply unit to each storage unit. In particular, in the present invention, instead of sequentially moving the medicine supply unit that supplies the medicine, the medicine calendar tray that receives the medicine is sequentially moved, thereby enabling the supply of each medicine to each storage unit to be completed in a shorter time.

[0018] In addition, in the present invention, when the type and number of loose tablets required for the patient's medication are supplied to each storage section of the medicine calendar tray, the tray changer moves the medicine calendar tray from the receiving position where the loose tablets are supplied to another location and a new medicine calendar tray is placed at the receiving position, so that medicines can be supplied continuously to a large number of medicine calendar trays and the work of producing a large number of medicine calendars can be greatly improved in efficiency.

[0019] Furthermore, in the present invention, when the loose tablet supply unit is configured so that the large number of loose tablets are stored in each of the plurality of sorting trays according to the type of drug, and the loose tablets in the sorting trays are moved in the direction of the discharge outlet of the sorting tray by vibrating the sorting trays with the vibration unit, and are discharged from the discharge outlet side, the operation of moving the loose tablets stored in the sorting trays toward the medicine calendar tray can be performed accurately and smoothly.

[0020] Furthermore, in the present invention, when each sorting tray is formed to have a size or shape suitable for storing and discharging multiple types of loose tablets that differ in size or shape, the stored loose tablets can be accurately and smoothly discharged from the sorting tray.Furthermore, for example, when sorting trays of different sizes or shapes exist, if the drugs prescribed to a patient are obtained from the patient's prescription information, and information identifying the sorting tray having the size or shape suitable for the acquired drugs (drugs that differ in size or shape by type) is obtained and output, the task of storing multiple types of loose tablets in each sorting tray can be performed efficiently and accurately.

[0021] Furthermore, in the present invention, whether loose tablets are moving or present properly in the passage portion of the sorting tray is detected (movement detection unit), and when the loose tablets are not moving or present, a rod-shaped member (such as a rotating bar) is operated and moved to push back the connection portion between the passage portion and the placement portion or the loose tablets present in the passage portion toward the placement portion.In this way, even when the loose tablets are not moving or present properly in the passage portion due to a blockage or the like, the blockage is eliminated and the loose tablets are allowed to move or present properly in the passage portion, thereby enabling smooth supply of medicines to each storage portion of the medicine calendar tray.

[0022] In addition, in the present invention, when loose tablets discharged from each discharge outlet of multiple alignment trays arranged in a row are received from a receiving port that is common to all of the discharge outlets of the multiple alignment trays, and the loose tablets are moved through a guide passage (a guide passage that guides the loose tablets as they move from the receiving port to the supply ports that are close to and opposite each storage section of the medicine calendar tray below) and supplied from the supply ports into each storage section of the medicine calendar tray, even if there are a large number of alignment trays arranged according to the type of loose tablets, the task of receiving loose tablets discharged from each of the multiple alignment trays arranged in a row from a common receiving port, moving them, and supplying them from the lower supply ports into each storage section of the medicine calendar tray can be carried out extremely smoothly and easily.

[0023] In addition, the method for producing a medicine calendar according to the present invention includes a loose tablet preparation step in which a large number of loose tablets that are not originally individually packaged are prepared in advance by multiple types without being removed from the medicine sheet; a loose tablet storage step in which a large number of loose tablets greater than the number required for each patient's medication based on the patient's prescription information are stored in a loose tablet supply unit by the required type; a loose tablet supply step in which each of the loose tablets stored in the loose tablet supply unit is sequentially supplied to each storage unit in each medicine calendar tray; and a tray replacement step in which, when the required type and number of loose tablets from the loose tablet supply unit have been stored in each storage unit of the medicine calendar tray, a tray changer is used to move the medicine calendar tray from a receiving position where the loose tablets are supplied to another location and a new medicine calendar tray is placed in the receiving position.

[0024] Therefore, according to the feeder-type medicine calendar production method of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the need for the unwrapping operation of removing medicines from medicine sheets, which has traditionally been the biggest cause of the complexity and high costs of medicine calendar production work, thereby significantly improving the efficiency and cost of medicine calendar production work, preventing the inconvenience of tablets breaking when the medicine sheet is pressed down during the unwrapping operation, and further preventing the inconvenience of pieces of the aluminum sheet used to seal the medicine being mixed in with the medicine in each storage section of the medicine calendar tray when the medicine sheet is pressed down during the unwrapping operation. Furthermore, according to the method of the present invention, when the type and number of loose tablets required for the patient's medication have been supplied to each storage section of the medicine calendar tray, the tray changer moves the medicine calendar tray that has finished receiving the loose tablets from the receiving position to another location, and another medicine calendar tray (one in which loose tablets have not yet been supplied to each storage section) is newly placed at the receiving position.This makes it possible to continuously supply medication to each storage section of a large number of medicine calendar trays, thereby making the work of producing a large number of medicine calendars more efficient.

[0025] Furthermore, in the present invention, when the medicine calendar trays containing the types and numbers of medicines required for patient administration are stored in each storage section and vacuum-packed in a container such as a bag in a stacked state without attaching a lid sheet to seal the medicines in each storage section, when a user such as a dispensing pharmacy does not want to use the medicine calendar trays containing medicines immediately but wants to store them for a long period of time as emergency medicine, the medicine calendar trays containing medicines can be easily vacuum-packed and stored for a long period of time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0026] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a feeder-type medicine calendar making device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 2]1A is a front view of this embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a side view thereof. [Figure 3] 1(a) and 1(b) are perspective views each showing an enlarged portion of the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a loose tablet supply unit in the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining the schematic configuration of a lid sheet attachment portion, a vacuum packing portion, and the like in this embodiment. [Figure 6] This is an oblique view showing an example of the operation (an example of manual work rather than automatic work by a mechanical device) when vacuum-packing multiple medicine calendar trays (each containing medicine already contained in its storage section) in the feeder-type medicine calendar production method of this embodiment. [Figure 7] (a) is an oblique view showing an example of a lid sheet used to seal the medications contained in each storage section of a conventional medicine calendar tray, and (b) is an oblique view showing an example of a conventional medicine calendar tray. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027] The feeder-type medicine calendar making device and the making method using the same according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the feeder-type medicine calendar making device according to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2(a) is a front view of this embodiment, Figure 2(b) is a side view of this embodiment, and Figures 3(a) and 3(b) are perspective views showing enlarged portions of this embodiment.

[0028] In Figures 1 to 3, 1 is a workbench, 2 is a tray moving mechanism unit consisting of, for example, an XY table, which sequentially moves the medicine calendar tray 41 horizontally a predetermined distance so that each storage section 43 of the medicine calendar tray 41 can receive the supply of loose tablets sequentially discharged from the medicine supply section side consisting of the medicine feeder 3 described below, 3 is a medicine feeder (details of which will be described later, but which is composed of a plurality of sorting trays 11 shown in Figure 4) which stores a large number of loose tablets prepared in advance by multiple types and discharges these stored loose tablets one by one at a predetermined timing, 4 is an image recording camera which records as an image the way medicines are supplied to each storage section 43 of the medicine calendar tray 41 arranged in the tray moving mechanism unit 2 for later planned dispensing audits, etc., and 5 is a touch panel for operating or monitoring the tray moving mechanism unit 2 and the medicine feeder 3, etc.

[0029] In Figures 1 to 3, 6 is a supply side tray changer that moves one (or more) medicine calendar trays 41 to another location when the tray moving mechanism 2 has finished supplying medicine to each storage section 43, and replaces it with another medicine calendar tray 41 (one for which medicine has not yet been supplied to each storage section 43) on the tray moving mechanism 2 (such as an XY table), 7 is a recovery side tray changer that preliminarily collects and places medicine calendar trays that have been used by patients (or newly manufactured) and moves them additionally to the supply side tray changer 6 at a predetermined time, and 8 is a drawer arranged below the workbench 1. 1 to 3, 9 denotes a guide passage (in the example shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a thin container having a roughly inverted triangular plan view) that guides each drug discharged from each cut-out opening 12, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 4, toward each storage section 43 of a drug calendar tray 41 arranged below it; 9a (see FIG. 3(b)) denotes a receiving port formed in a horizontally elongated shape so as to commonly receive all of the loose tablets discharged from each of the multiple alignment trays 11 (see FIG. 4) arranged in a row as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3; and 9b denotes a supply port formed at the lower end of the guide passage 9, which is arranged so as to face the inside of each of the storage sections 43 located below it, and which discharges and supplies the loose tablets into each of the storage sections 43.

[0030] Next, Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the drug feeder 3. In Fig. 4, 11 denotes an arrangement tray for storing a large number of loose tablets (multiple types of loose tablets that are not individually packaged and are purchased from a pharmaceutical company or the like without being removed from a PTP sheet) prepared in advance, 11a denotes an arrangement portion having a relatively large area for arranging and storing a large number of loose tablets in the arrangement tray 11, and 11b denotes a relatively long and narrow passage portion for moving at least some of the loose tablets in the arrangement portion 11a of the arrangement tray 11 toward the discharge outlet side of the arrangement tray 11 (and further toward the dispensing opening 12 described below). The arrangement tray 11 is arranged at an incline of a predetermined angle so as to gradually descend from the arrangement portion 11a on the left side of the figure to the passage portion 11b on the right side of the figure.

[0031] 4, reference numeral 12 denotes an outlet that receives loose tablets discharged from the leading end (discharge outlet) on the right side of the passage portion 11b of the sorting tray 11 in the drawing and discharges them into the guide passage 9. The outlet 12 is made up of, for example, a plate-like member that is arranged close to and opposite the leading end side (discharge outlet side) of the passage portion 11b of the sorting tray 11.

[0032] Also in Figure 4, 13 is a vibration plate that vibrates the sorting tray 11 using a vibration motor 14 so that some of the loose tablets in the arrangement portion 11a of the sorting tray 11 move from the arrangement portion 11a to the passage portion 11b and then move within the passage portion 11b toward the discharge outlet side (and further toward the cutting opening 12) on the right side of the sorting tray 11 as shown.

[0033] Also in Figure 4, 15 is a presence sensor (for example, composed of an image sensor, etc.) that detects whether loose tablets are present or moving within the passage section 11b of the sorting tray 11 (for example, whether loose tablets are stuck in the passage section 11b and cannot move), and 16 is a jam prevention rotating bar that rotates by a jam prevention motor 17 in response to output from the presence sensor 15 when loose tablets are not present or moving within the passage section 11b due to a jam or the like, and pushes loose tablets present within the passage section 11b (or the connection section between the passage section 11b and the placement section 11a) back toward the placement section 11a.

[0034] Also in Figure 4, 18 is a medicine passage sensor that detects whether one loose tablet has been discharged into the guide passage 9 from the discharge outlet side and the cut-out opening 12 side of the sorting tray 11, 19 is a cut-out solenoid that closes the shutter (not shown) of the cut-out opening 12 based on the output from the medicine passage sensor 18 when one loose tablet has been discharged into the guide passage 9 from the discharge outlet side and the cut-out opening 12 side of the sorting tray 11 (note that the cut-out solenoid 19 may also be operated to open the shutter in response to a signal from the control unit of the dispensing system that is output in response to the movement of the medicine calendar tray 41 located below), and 20 is a damper (buffer) that prevents vibrations on the sorting tray 11 side caused by the vibration plate 13 from being transmitted to the cut-out opening 12 and the cut-out solenoid 19 side.

[0035] Next, the operation of the medication feeder 3 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. When a dispensing system at a dispensing pharmacy acquires patient prescription data and the patient requests a medication calendar, in this embodiment, a control unit (not shown) of the dispensing system identifies and selects, based on the input prescription data, a sorting tray 11 having a size or shape appropriate for the type of medication required for the patient's prescription (and the size or shape of the loose tablets, which vary for each type). The identification and selection information is displayed, for example, on the touch panel 5, and the pharmacist places the type of loose tablets required for the prescription in the identified and selected sorting tray 11 based on this information. Alternatively, in the above case, the control unit of the dispensing system may automatically (without requiring the action of a pharmacist, as described above) identify and select a sorting tray 11 having a size or shape appropriate for the type of medication required for the patient's prescription based on the prescription data, and automatically place loose tablets of the type and number required for the patient's prescription or more in the identified and selected sorting tray 11 using a known tablet supply mechanism (not shown).

[0036] After storing more than the required number of loose tablets of the type required for the patient's medication on the sorting tray 11 side, the sorting tray 11 is vibrated by the vibration plate 13, and the large number of loose tablets in the sorting tray 11 (which is arranged at an incline at a predetermined angle so that the right side of Figure 4 is lowered as described above) move from the arrangement part 11a through the passage part 11b in the direction of the discharge outlet side and the cutting outlet 12 side, and are discharged from the cutting outlet 12 into the guide passage 9.

[0037] As shown in Figures 2(b) and 3(b), the receiving opening 9a of the guide passage 9 is formed in an elongated shape and is arranged horizontally so as to face each of the discharge openings 12 and each of the dispensing openings 12 of the multiple sorting trays 11 arranged in a row. That is, each loose tablet discharged from each dispensing opening 12 is commonly received by the receiving opening 9a, which is formed in an elongated shape so as to face each of the multiple dispensing openings 12 as described above. The received loose tablets are moved downward in the figure by the guide passage 9 (a guide passage that guides the movement of the loose tablets from the receiving opening 9a to the supply opening 9b adjacent to and facing each storage section 43 of the medicine calendar tray 41 arranged below it; in the example of Figures 1 to 3, the guide passage 9 is made of a thin container having a substantially inverted triangular shape in a plan view), and further released and supplied into each storage section 43 from the supply opening 9b arranged so as to face each storage section 43 of the medicine calendar tray.

[0038] Meanwhile, in conjunction with the operations of the alignment tray 11, the dispensing opening 12, and the guide passage 9 described above, the tray movement mechanism 2 (e.g., an XY table) sequentially moves and positions the medication calendar tray 41 in the XY directions at predetermined distances so that each storage section 43 in the medication calendar tray 41 can receive medication from the supply opening 9b side of the guide passage 9. Specifically, when one loose tablet is supplied from the supply opening 9b side of the guide passage 9 toward one storage section 43, the tray movement mechanism 2 (e.g., an XY table) then moves the medication calendar tray 41 horizontally a predetermined distance to position the other storage sections 43 facing the supply opening 9b, thereby supplying and storing the loose tablets in each storage section 43. When the loose tablets are supplied, the dispensing solenoid 19 is activated based on the output from the medication passage sensor 18 or the image recording camera 4, and the shutter (not shown) of the dispensing opening 12 is closed. The shutter is opened again by the control unit of the dispensing system which has received output from the tray moving mechanism unit 2 (XY table, etc.) so as to supply the medicine when the tray moving mechanism unit 2 (XY table, etc.) again moves the medicine calendar tray 41 horizontally a further predetermined distance and the other storage unit 43 (one which does not yet contain loose tablets) moves to a position opposite the supply port 9.

[0039] The above-described series of operations, such as the horizontal movement of the medication calendar tray 41 by a predetermined distance, the supply of loose tablets from the supply port 9b of the guide passage 9 into each storage section 43, and the opening and closing of the shutter, are repeated until all of the medications required for the patient's medication to be stored in each storage section 43 of one medication calendar tray 41 are supplied to that tray 41. After all of the medications required for the patient's medication have been supplied to each storage section 43 of one medication calendar tray 41, the control unit of the dispensing system detects this and activates the supply-side tray changer 6, and another medication calendar tray 41 that has not yet been supplied with medication is replaced on the tray moving mechanism unit 2 (such as an XY table). Thereafter, the above-described series of operations are continuously repeated.

[0040] After the tray moving mechanism 2 (XY table, etc.) has supplied the medications to the storage sections 43 of the medication calendar trays 41 as described above, the medication calendar trays 41 to which the medications have been supplied are moved to another work table, where a medication dispensing audit is performed and a lid sheet (cover) 42 is attached. The medication dispensing audit is performed using images, etc., captured and recorded by the image recording camera 4, showing the state in which the medications have been supplied and stored in the storage sections 43 of the medication calendar trays 41.

[0041] After the dispensing audit, the operation of attaching the lid sheets 42 that seal the medications in the storage sections 43 to the remaining medication calendar trays 41, excluding the plurality of medication calendar trays 41 to be vacuum-packed (described later), is performed from among the medication calendar trays 41 to which the medications have been supplied. Figure 5 shows the operation of attaching the lid sheets 42 to such medication calendar trays 41, with Figures 5(a) and 5(c) showing the attachment operation from the side and Figure 5(b) showing it from the top.

[0042] In this embodiment, after the tray moving mechanism 2 (e.g., an XY table) supplies drugs to each storage section 43 of each medication calendar tray 41, the trays are moved to another work table and a lid sheet 42 is attached, as shown in Figures 5(a) and 5(b). This series of operations for attaching the lid sheet 42 may be performed manually or automatically by a conventionally known mechanical device. In the example shown in Figure 5(c), when multiple medication calendar trays 41 (each of which has already been supplied with drugs) are stacked one on top of the other, the lid sheet 42 arranged on the side of the multiple medication calendar trays 41 is lifted and moved above the multiple medication calendar trays 41, and then lowered from there. This attaches the lid sheet 42 to the upper surface of the medication calendar tray 41, sealing the drugs in each storage section 43. On the lid sheet 42, for example, information such as each daily medication time period, such as morning, noon, evening, and before bed, is printed or otherwise displayed horizontally (or vertically) to correspond to each storage section 43, and information such as each medication time period is printed or otherwise displayed in seven rows vertically (or seven columns horizontally) for one week to correspond to each storage section 43.

[0043] Next, in this embodiment, after the tray moving mechanism 2 (e.g., XY table) supplies each medication to most of the medication calendar trays 41, the lid sheet 42 is attached to seal the medication as described above. However, some medication calendar sheets 41 are intended for use as emergency medication, for example, by stacking multiple medication calendar sheets 41 vertically without the lid sheet 42 sealing the medication. Such vacuum packing is performed manually on the separate workbench (see reference numeral 31 in FIG. 5 ) or automatically by a mechanical device such as a known vacuum packing machine 32. Figure 6 illustrates such manual vacuum packing. Figure 6(a) illustrates the manual stacking of multiple medication calendar trays 41 as described above before the lid sheet 42 is attached, and Figure 6(b) illustrates the manual vacuum packing of multiple medication calendar trays 41 using a conventionally known simplified vacuum packing machine 32a.

[0044] As described above, in this embodiment, loose tablets that are not individually packaged and at least the number required for a patient's medication are stored in advance in each sorting tray 11 by the required type without being removed from the drug sheet (such as a press-through package (PTP) sheet), and the loose tablets stored in the sorting tray 11 are supplied to each storage section 43 of the medication calendar tray 41. Therefore, this embodiment eliminates the need for the unwrapping operation of removing medication from a drug sheet (such as a press-through package (PTP) sheet), which has traditionally been the biggest cause of the complexity and high cost of medication calendar production work. This significantly improves the efficiency and cost of medication calendar production work, prevents the inconvenience of tablets breaking when the drug sheet is pressed during the unwrapping operation, and also prevents fragments of the aluminum sheet used to seal the medication from being mixed in with the medication in each storage section of the medication calendar tray.

[0045] In this embodiment, when the loose tablets in the sorting tray 11 are supplied to each storage section 43 of the medicine calendar tray 41, the tray moving mechanism 2 (such as an XY table) sequentially moves the medicine calendar tray 41 horizontally a predetermined distance so that each storage section 43 sequentially faces the supply port 9b of the guide passage 9. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the loose tablets in the sorting tray 11 can be efficiently supplied to each storage section 43 of the medicine calendar tray 41. In particular, in this embodiment, instead of sequentially moving the side that supplies the loose tablets (the side of the discharge port, the cut-out port 12, and the supply port 9b of the sorting tray 11), the medicine calendar tray 41 side that receives the supply of the loose tablets is sequentially moved, so that the work of supplying each drug to each storage section 43 can be completed in a shorter time.

[0046] In addition, in this embodiment, when all of the types and quantities of loose tablets required for a patient's medication have been supplied to each storage section 43 of the medicine calendar tray 41, the supply side tray changer 6 moves the medicine calendar tray 41 (which has already been supplied with and stored in medicine) from the receiving position where it receives the loose tablets to another location, and newly places another medicine calendar tray 41 (which has not yet been supplied with or stored in medicine) at the receiving position.This means that medicines can be supplied continuously to a large number of medicine calendar trays, greatly improving the efficiency of the work of producing a large number of medicine calendars.

[0047] In addition, in this embodiment, the configuration on the side that supplies the medicine is such that the large number of loose tablets are stored in the sorting tray 11, and the sorting tray 11 is vibrated by the vibration plate 13, causing the loose tablets in the sorting tray 11 to move in the direction of the discharge outlet side of the sorting tray 11 and be discharged from the discharge outlet side, so that the operation of discharging the loose tablets from the sorting tray 11 side can be performed accurately and smoothly.

[0048] Furthermore, in this embodiment, each sorting tray 11 is formed to have a size or shape suitable for storing and discharging multiple types of loose tablets that differ in size or shape, so that the stored loose tablets can be accurately and smoothly supplied from the sorting tray 11 side (and further from the cut-out opening 12 and the supply opening 9b side). In particular, in this embodiment, when sorting trays 11 of different sizes or shapes exist as described above, the drugs prescribed to the patient are obtained from the patient's prescription information, etc., and information for identifying or selecting sorting trays 11 having sizes or shapes suitable for the obtained drugs (drugs that differ in size or shape by type) is obtained and output, so that the work of storing loose tablets in the sorting trays 11 can be performed efficiently and accurately.

[0049] In addition, in this embodiment, it is detected (movement detection unit) whether loose tablets are moving or present properly within the passage portion 11b of the sorting tray 11, and if the loose tablets are not moving or present, the rotating bar 16 is rotated to push back the connection portion between the passage portion 11b and the placement portion 11a or the loose tablets present within the passage portion 11b toward the placement portion 11a.Therefore, even if the loose tablets are not moving or present properly within the passage portion 11b due to a blockage or the like, the blockage can be cleared so that the loose tablets can move or present properly within the passage portion 11b, allowing smooth supply of medicines to each storage section 43 of the medicine calendar tray 41.

[0050] 1 to 3, the loose tablets discharged from each discharge port and each cut-out port 12 of the multiple sorting trays 11 arranged in a row are received by a receiving port 9a formed in an elongated shape so as to face all of the cut-out ports 12 in common, and the received loose tablets are moved along the guide passage 9 and discharged and supplied from the lower supply port 9b into each storage section 43 of the medicine calendar tray 41. Therefore, according to this embodiment, even if there are multiple sorting trays 11 arranged for each type of multiple loose tablets, the loose tablets discharged from the multiple sorting trays 11 and each cut-out port 12 can be received by a single common receiving port 9a, moved along the guide passage 9, and discharged and supplied from the lower supply port 9b into each storage section 43 of the medicine calendar tray 41 very smoothly.

[0051] In addition, in the production work of the medicine calendar according to this embodiment, a large number of loose tablets that are not individually packaged are prepared in advance by type without being removed from the PTP sheet (loose tablet preparation step), and for each patient, a large number of loose tablets greater than the number required for the patient's medication based on the prescription information are stored in a loose tablet supply section by the required type (loose tablet storage step), and each loose tablet stored in the sorting tray 11 is sequentially supplied to each storage section 43 in one medicine calendar tray 41 (loose tablet supply step), and when the required type and number of loose tablets from the sorting tray 11 have been stored in each storage section 43 of the medicine calendar tray 11 via the cutting opening 12 and the supply opening 9b, the supply side tray changer 6 moves the medicine calendar tray 41 from the receiving position where it receives the loose tablets to another location, and another medicine calendar tray 41 is newly placed in the receiving position (tray replacement step).

[0052] Therefore, according to the feeder-type medicine calendar production method of this embodiment, it is possible to eliminate the need for the unwrapping operation of removing medicines from PTP sheets, which has traditionally been the biggest cause of the complexity and high costs of medicine calendar production work, thereby significantly improving the efficiency and cost of medicine calendar production work.It is also possible to prevent the inconvenience of tablets breaking when the PTP sheet is pressed down for the unwrapping operation, and it is also possible to prevent the inconvenience of pieces of the aluminum sheet used to seal the medicine being mixed in with the medicine in each storage section of the medicine calendar tray, which is caused by the pressing of the PTP sheet for the unwrapping operation. Furthermore, according to the method of this embodiment, when the type and number of loose tablets required for the patient's medication are supplied to each storage section 43 of the medicine calendar tray 41, the supply side tray changer 6 moves the medicine calendar tray 41 that has finished receiving the loose tablets from the receiving position where it receives the loose tablets to another location, and newly places another medicine calendar tray 41 (one that has not yet received loose tablets in each storage section 43) at the receiving position.This makes it possible to continuously supply medication to each storage section 43 of a large number of medicine calendar trays 41, and allows the work of producing a large number of medicine calendars to be carried out efficiently.

[0053] Furthermore, in this embodiment, not only is the lid sheet 42 attached from above to the medicine calendar tray 11 in which the type and number of medicines required for the patient's medication are contained in each storage section 43, sealing the medicines in each storage section 43 (lid sheet attachment section), but multiple medicine calendar trays 41 in which the type and number of medicines required for the patient's medication are contained in each storage section 43 can also be vacuum packed (vacuum packing section 32) by stacking them on top of each other without sealing the medicines (without attaching the lid sheet 42).Therefore, when users such as dispensing pharmacies do not want to use medicine calendar trays containing medicines immediately but want to store them for a long period of time as emergency medicine, they can easily vacuum pack them and store them for a long period of time.

[0054] In Japan and other countries, there is currently a strong need for automation and efficiency in the creation of medication calendars, and there is discussion about outsourcing dispensing operations, including single-dose packaging, to a large-scale pharmacy with a highly advanced automation system, whether it is within the same company or outside, and delivering the medications dispensed by the outsourced pharmacy to the patient's home via the outsourcing pharmacy or directly. This invention is a solution that can effectively meet this need under these current circumstances. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 1,31 Workbench 2 Tray movement mechanism (consisting of XY table, etc.) 3. Drug Feeder 4 Image recording camera 5 Touch Panel 6 Supply tray changer 7. Collection tray changer 8 drawers 9 Guideway 9a Receiving entrance 9b Supply port 11 Alignment tray 11a Arrangement portion of the sorting tray 11 11b Passage portion of the sorting tray 11 12 Cutting edge 13 Vibration Plate 14 Vibration Motor 15 Stock sensor 16 Rotating Bar 17 Anti-clogging motor 18 Drug passage sensor 19 Cut-out solenoid 20 Damper (buffer) 32 Vacuum Packing Equipment 32a Simple vacuum packing machine 41 Medication Calendar Tray 42 Lid Sheet 43 Storage unit

Claims

1. The device for creating a medication calendar is configured such that each medication for a patient is stored in each storage section of a "medication calendar tray, in which each storage section stores one or more types of medication for each dose specified by a date or day of the week and a time period, the number of storage sections corresponding to at least the number of times a patient takes a medication per day is arranged horizontally or vertically, and the storage sections for one day arranged in this manner are further arranged in seven rows vertically or seven columns horizontally to form one week's worth of medication." The medicine calendar tray is a storage unit for storing a large number of loose tablets, which are not individually wrapped and do not need to be removed from the medicine sheet, in predetermined containers according to the required type, at least the number of which is necessary for the patient to take the medicine, and a loose tablet supply unit for supplying one or more of the large number of loose tablets from the container side to each storage unit of the medicine calendar tray in sequence. a tray moving unit that repeats the operation of sequentially moving the medicine calendar tray so that each storage unit of the medicine calendar tray sequentially faces the supply port through which the loose tablets are supplied in accordance with the timing at which the loose tablets from the loose tablet supply unit are supplied to the medicine calendar tray side, until the loose tablets are contained in all of the storage units required for the patient's medication; A feeder-type medicine calendar making device characterized by comprising:

2. The feeding device for the medicine calendar as described in claim 1 is characterized in that it is provided with a tray changer that, when the type and number of loose tablets required for a patient's medication are supplied to each storage section of the medicine calendar tray arranged at a receiving position that receives the supply of loose tablets from the loose tablet supply section, moves the medicine calendar tray from the receiving position to another location and newly places another medicine calendar tray at the receiving position.

3. 3. The feeder-type medicine calendar making device according to claim 1, wherein the loose tablet supply unit is provided with a plurality of sorting trays that store the large number of loose tablets and discharge them from the discharge outlet side, and each sorting tray is provided with a vibration unit that vibrates the sorting tray to move at least some of the large number of loose tablets toward the discharge outlet side.

4. The feeder-type medicine calendar making device of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of alignment trays is formed to a different size or shape so as to be suitable for storing and discharging a plurality of types of loose tablets each having a different size or shape.

5. The sorting tray includes an arrangement portion in which a large number of loose tablets are arranged, and an elongated passage portion that moves at least some of the arranged large number of loose tablets from the arrangement portion to the discharge port side, a movement detection unit that detects whether the loose tablets are moving or present in the passage portion; The feeder-type medicine calendar preparation device of claim 3 is provided with a rod-shaped member that moves based on the output from the movement detection unit so as to push back loose tablets present at the connection between the passage portion and the placement portion or within the passage portion toward the placement portion.

6. 4. The feeder-type medicine calendar making device of claim 3, wherein the plurality of alignment trays are arranged in a row, and the loose tablet supply unit is provided with a guide passage having a receiving port facing each of the discharge outlets of the plurality of alignment trays arranged in a row, and a supply port facing the storage section of the medicine calendar tray arranged below, and the guide passage commonly receives the loose tablets discharged from each discharge outlet side of the plurality of alignment trays arranged in a row through the receiving port, moves the received loose tablets to a position facing each storage section of the medicine calendar tray, and supplies them from the supply port into each storage section.

7. A method for creating a medicine calendar in which each medication for a patient is stored in each storage section of a "medicine calendar tray, in which each storage section stores one or more types of one or more medications for each dose specified by a date or day of the week and a time period, and the storage sections are arranged horizontally or vertically in a number corresponding to at least the number of times a patient takes each medication per day, and the storage sections are further arranged in seven rows vertically or seven columns horizontally to form one week's worth of medication." a bulk tablet preparation step in which a large number of loose tablets that are not individually packaged and do not need to be removed from the drug sheet are prepared in advance by type; a bulk tablet storage step of automatically or manually storing a large number of loose tablets, at least the number of tablets required for the patient's medication, in a bulk tablet supply unit by required type based on the patient's prescription information; a loose tablet supply step in which the loose tablets are supplied into each storage section of the medicine calendar tray while sequentially moving the medicine calendar tray horizontally a predetermined distance in synchronization with the supply operation so that the loose tablets from the loose tablet supply unit are sequentially supplied into each storage section of the one medicine calendar tray, and this operation is repeated until all the necessary loose tablets are stored in each storage section of the one medicine calendar tray; When the type and number of loose tablets required for the patient's medication are supplied and stored in each storage section of the medicine calendar tray by the loose tablet supply step, a tray exchange step is performed in which a tray changer automatically moves the medicine calendar tray from the receiving position where the loose tablets are supplied to another location and a new medicine calendar tray is placed in the receiving position. A method for making a feeder-type medicine calendar, comprising:

8. 8. The method for producing a feeder-type medicine calendar as described in claim 7, further comprising a vacuum packing step of stacking the medicine calendar trays one on top of the other and vacuum packing them in a container such as a bag without sealing the medicines in each storage section of the medicine calendar trays after the type and number of medicines required for the patient's medication have been stored in each storage section of the medicine calendar trays by the loose tablet supply step.

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