Medicine dispensing and sorting device and medicine dispensing system

Abstract

To provide a medicine dispensing and sorting device capable of measuring the diameter of a medicine when sucking the medicine.SOLUTION: The present invention provides a medicine dispensing and sorting device capable of moving a medicine whose type has been read by a second reading part to a tray transferred from an upstream side in a conveying direction and having a dispensing function of sending out the tray to a downstream side in the conveying direction and a sorting function of sorting the medicines from a container to another container, the medicine dispensing and sorting device comprising a determination part configured to determine whether or not a length of the medicine adsorbed by an adsorption mechanism exceeds a reference value in the sorting function, the suction mechanism calculates a height from a bottom surface of the container to a suction point as a diameter of the medicine from a lowering distance to the suction point where the medicine is sucked when taking out the medicine, and the medicine sorting apparatus further includes a selection part for selecting an appropriate container when sorting the medicines from the container to another container based on the type of the medicine read by the second reading part, the discrimination by the discrimination part and the diameter calculated by the suction mechanism in the sorting function.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a drug dispensing and sorting device having a dispensing function for dispensing drugs and a sorting function for rearranging returned drugs from one container to another, and to a drug dispensing system having such a drug dispensing and sorting device. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART There is known a medicine dispensing device that stores medicines in the form of ampules or vials in a medicine cassette, picks up medicines one by one from the medicine cassette, and dispenses them onto a tray. There is also known a medicine sorting device that sorts and arranges collected medicines by shape after the medicines have been dispensed using such a medicine dispensing device. Among such medicine sorting devices, there is known a device that photographs medicines placed on a tray, determines their shapes by image recognition, and then changes the placement position of each medicine according to its shape (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] In such a medicine sorting device, when determining the placement position by image recognition alone, it is necessary to confirm whether the shape and size of the medicine placed in the container are correctly recognized. In such medicine sorting devices, the operation of arranging and storing collected medicines, which is called a return operation, is generally performed by sorting the medicines into sorting containers according to the same medicines, for example. However, in cases where a large amount of recovered medicines are produced, accurate sorting is not necessarily required. It is sufficient to align and distribute the medicines in ampoules, vials, etc. that are scattered and not aligned into fixed sizes, and then check the medicine information when dispensing the medicines.This is also effective as it reduces the time that the medicine sorting device is occupied by the return process.

[0004] On the other hand, methods have been devised for measuring the dimensions of medications using mechanical measurement methods rather than image recognition for such return procedures, but this requires a place to place the medication separate from the image recognition unit, which creates problems such as the increased number of transfer destinations making it more complicated to control the medication transfer means and defeating the purpose of making the device compact. To meet this demand, there is a need for a drug dispensing and sorting device that has a sorting function in addition to the drug dispensing function, but in order to provide multiple functions in a single device, there is a need to make each function even more compact. Generally speaking, it is preferable for machine parts to perform simple operations and share roles, as this increases operational efficiency. Therefore, there has been a demand for a simple method for classifying drugs according to size without imposing a burden on the control of the drug delivery means. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-10768 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-138199 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-192355 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above technical problems, and has an object to provide a medicine dispensing and sorting device that can measure the diameter of a medicine when the medicine is adsorbed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The medicine dispensing and sorting device of the present invention includes: a container for storing a plurality of medicines; a shelf-like storage shelf capable of storing a plurality of the containers in multiple stages; a pair of holding units capable of holding the containers as buffers; a first transport means for removing the containers from the storage shelf and transporting them to the holding unit; a first reading unit located below the storage shelf and performing simple determination of the shapes of the plurality of medicines in the containers by image processing; a pair of lifting units for raising and lowering the containers between the first reading unit and the holding unit; a second reading unit for reading the types of the medicines by photographing the medicines; and a suction mechanism for suctioning and removing the medicines for which the simple determination has been made by the first reading unit from the container and moving them to the second reading unit, and for transferring the medicines, whose types have been read by the second reading unit, to a transporter transported from upstream in a transport direction. A drug dispensing and sorting device that is movable to a tray and has a dispensing function that sends the tray downstream in the transport direction, and a sorting function that rearranges the drugs from the container to another container, wherein the sorting function has a discrimination unit in the first reading unit that determines whether the length of the drug adsorbed by the suction mechanism exceeds a reference value, and the suction mechanism calculates the height between the bottom of the container and the suction point as the diameter of the drug from the descent distance to the suction point where the drug is adsorbed when removing the drug, and the sorting function has a selection unit that selects an appropriate container when rearranging the drug from the container to another container based on the type of drug read by the second reading unit, the discrimination by the discrimination unit, and the diameter calculated by the suction mechanism. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to such a medicine dispensing and sorting device, the diameter of the medicine can be measured when the medicine is adsorbed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a medicine sorting device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a container used in the medicine sorting device. [Figure 3]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a transport unit of the medicine sorting apparatus. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a lifting unit. [Figure 5] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing an example of the operation when a drug is taken out by an adsorption mechanism. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the configuration of a control unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a suction mechanism. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 shows an example of measuring the diameter of a drug by an adsorption mechanism. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the behavior of a medicine in a second reading unit. [Figure 10] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of the operation of a receiving portion of the second reading unit. [Figure 11] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of the operation of medicines in a sorting operation. [Figure 12] 10 is a diagram showing an example of the behavior of medicines in the second reading unit during the dispensing operation. FIG. [Figure 13] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing an example of the movement of medicines in a dispensing operation. [Figure 14] 14 is a diagram showing the shape of the defective read product placement section shown in FIG. 13. FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the medicine sorting device during sorting operation. [Figure 16] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of the operation of the medicine sorting device during dispensing operation. [Figure 17] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an injection drug dispensing system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A specific embodiment of an example of a medicine dispensing system including a medicine dispensing and sorting device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. For the sake of simplicity, the drawings omit details of fasteners such as bolts, drive sources such as electric motors, transmission members such as gears, electrical circuits such as motor drivers, and electronic circuits such as controllers, and instead focus on those necessary for explaining the invention and those related to it.

[0011] The drug dispensing and sorting device 100 has a storage shelf 110 capable of storing multiple containers 50 containing drugs in multiple vertical tiers, a transport unit 120 which is a first transfer means for removing the containers 50 from the storage shelf 110 and moving them to a holding section 60, and a lifting section 70 which moves up and down from the holding section 60 to the first reading section 10. The medicine dispensing and sorting apparatus 100 has a conveyor belt 342 for conveying dispensing trays 310 carried in from other apparatuses constituting the injection drug dispensing system 300, which will be described later. The conveyor belt 342 is provided on the front side of the medicine dispensing and sorting apparatus 100, that is, on the +Y direction side, and is located so as not to overlap in the front-to-rear direction with the lifting unit 70. In this embodiment, the dispensing trays 310 are conveyed from the upstream side in the conveying direction, which is the -X direction in the figure, to the downstream side in the conveying direction, which is the +X direction.

[0012] At the bottom of the medicine dispensing and sorting device 100, there are arranged a first reading unit 10 connected by a holding unit 60 and an elevating unit 70, an input picker 30 which is an adsorption mechanism that adsorbs and moves medicines 1 from the first reading unit 10, a second reading unit 20, and an output picker 40. The configuration of each of these units will be described later. The medicine dispensing and sorting apparatus 100 also has a control unit 90 for controlling the operation of each functional part. Around the storage shelf 110 of the medicine dispensing and sorting apparatus 100, frames 122, 123 and the like are provided to allow the transport unit 120 to move, and the transport unit 120 can move freely along these frames 122, 123 in the XZ plane.

[0013] Containers 50 are containers for storing medicines that are sized to fit on the shelves of storage shelf 110 and have a uniform external shape. As shown in Figure 2, containers 50 are classified into return containers 51 in which multiple medicines 1 used as injection drugs such as ampule or vial shapes are placed in an unaligned state, sorting containers 52 in which multiple medicines 1 are placed in an aligned state according to the length and diameter of the medicines 1, and dispensing containers 53 in which medicines 1 of the same type are placed in an unaligned or aligned state. The sorting containers 52 can be further classified into small-sized sorting containers 52a for small ampoules, vials, etc., medium-sized sorting containers 52b for both small and medium-sized drugs, and large-sized sorting containers 52c for large ampoules, depending on the size of the drugs 1 that can be stored therein. An arbitrary identifier 55, exemplified as a barcode, is attached to the outer wall of the container 50 so that each container 50 can be distinguished. The control unit 90 manages the position of the container 50 on each shelf of the storage shelf 110 using the identifier 55. The identifier 55 may also be a color code, a two-dimensional code, RFID, etc.

[0014] In contrast to the bottom plate 56 of the return container 51, the sorting container 52 has flooring materials 57 of different shapes laid on top of the bottom plate 56 as attachments. The bottom surface is formed in a curved groove shape or a triangular groove shape to fit small, medium, and large sizes and to prevent the medicines 1 from rolling around. Furthermore, dispensing container 53 has the same shape as return container 51, so a description thereof will be omitted, but it is stored on storage shelf 110 with the type of drug 1 placed therein standardized. Note that the drugs 1 placed therein may be aligned or misaligned. Dispensing container 53 with specified drugs 1 placed therein is mainly used only for dispensing purposes, which will be described later, and is dispensed from dispensing container 53 when the drug 1 included in prescription data, which will be described later, is not stored in sorting container 52.

[0015] Now, in the storage shelf 110 in which the return containers 51, sorting containers 52, and dispensing containers 53 can be arranged in multiple layers vertically, in this embodiment the return containers 51 and sorting containers 52 are arranged vertically in a single row at the very end, as shown in Figure 1. The containers 50 including the return container 51, the sorting container 52, and the dispensing container 53 can all be moved by the transport unit 120 to the holding section 60 that occupies the upper part of the lifting section 70. In other words, the transport unit 120 functions as a first transfer means for moving any container 50 placed in the storage shelf 110 to the holding section 60 .

[0016] The transport unit 120 can move freely in the XZ coordinates based on instructions from the control unit 90, and a slider 121 that can move back and forth as shown in Figure 3 slides below the container 50 and moves to the holding unit 60 with the container 50 placed on the upper surface of the slider 121. The front surface of the slider 121 has a cassette detection sensor 129, which can detect whether the container 50 is correctly positioned at the XZ coordinates instructed by the control unit 90. The cassette detection sensor 129 may also be a barcode reader, in which case it may read any identifier 55 attached to the front surface of the container 50 to read information about the medicine or the like placed in the container 50.

[0017] When moving the container 50 from the transport unit 120 to the storage shelf 110 or the holding section 60, the container 50 on the slider 121 moves forward by being pushed in the -Y direction by a pusher 124 attached to the top surface of the slider 121. The moved container 50 is placed on the shelf if it is a storage shelf 110, or on a lifter 71 (described later) if it is a holder 60, so that the transport unit 120 can move the container 50.

[0018] The holding unit 60 and the first reading unit 10 can be moved up and down by an elevator unit 70 as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the lifting unit 70 has a pair of left and right lifters 71 that are elevator-like lifting mechanisms that can move up and down, and a lifting drive source 72 that drives the lifters 71. The holding units 60 are a pair of left and right units, and while one is being used, the other can hold at least one of the return containers 51, sorting containers 52, and dispensing containers 53 as a buffer that temporarily stores the containers. When the lifter 71 of the lifting unit 70 is positioned at the upper end, the container 50 placed on the lifter 71 operates as if it were in the holder 60, and when the lifter 71 is positioned at the lower end, the container 50 placed on the lifter 71 operates as if it were in the first reading unit 10. In addition, the left and right lifters 71 and the lifting drive sources 72 can all operate independently. In this way, the lifting unit 70 can move the container 50 between the holding unit 60 and the first reading unit 10 by moving up and down between these positions. The container 50 placed on the lifter 71 of the holder 60 is moved downward by the lifting unit 70, and is thereby moved to the first reading unit 10 (step S101).

[0019] As shown in Fig. 5(a), the first reading unit 10 is a mechanism for removing a drug 1 from a container 50 placed on a lifter 71. First, the operation of removing a drug 1 from a return container 51 in which multiple drugs 1 are placed in a misaligned state will be described.

[0020] The input picker 30 has two suction pads 31, 32 that come into contact with the drug 1 and suck air from a nozzle 33 to adsorb the drug 1, an input drive unit 34 that moves the suction pads 31, 32 up and down in the Z direction, and an input support frame 35 that supports the input drive unit 34 so that it can move freely on the XY plane. The input picker 30 functions as an adsorption mechanism that adsorbs the drug 1 using the suction pads 31, 32 and is movable between the first reading unit 10 and the second reading unit 20. The input picker 30, which is such an adsorption mechanism, adsorbs and removes the drug 1 from a container 50 placed on the first reading unit 10 and moves it to the second reading unit 20, and can also adsorb the drug 1 placed on the second reading unit 20 and move it back to the first reading unit 10, as described below. The support frame 35 is a member that extends in the X and Y directions and has an adjusted range of motion so that it can reach either container 50 of the first reading unit 10 of the left or right lifting unit 70, and can move the insertion drive unit 34 according to instructions from the control unit 90.

[0021] A shape determination camera 11 that is connected to the control unit 90 and captures images of the return container 51 is provided above the first reading unit 10 at a position where the left and right lifters 71 can be photographed. The shape determination camera 11 is connected to a shape determination unit 91 of the control unit 90, which will be described later, and is used for simple determination of the shape of the drug 1 based on the image. The first reading unit 10 also has an input picker 30 as an adsorption mechanism, which is a second transport means, located in a position that does not interfere with the container 50, and a pair of drug length detection sensors 12, 13 located within the operating range of the input picker 30 and higher than the outer wall of the container 50 so as to emit infrared light parallel to the ±X directions.

[0022] In this embodiment, the drug length detection sensors 12, 13 are infrared sensors that function as discrimination units that determine whether the length of the drug 1 exceeds a reference value. When the drug 1 moves up and down within a predetermined position while held in the input picker 30, if the length of the drug 1 is equal to or greater than the reference value, the drug length detection sensors 12, 13 block the light from the drug length detection sensors 12, 13, thereby detecting that the length is equal to or greater than the reference value.

[0023] The angle of view of the shape determination camera 11 is adjusted so that it can capture the left and right lifters 71 on the first reading unit 10. When an image is captured by the shape determination camera 11 (step S102), the shape determination unit 91 of the control unit 90 roughly and simply determines the shape of the misaligned drug 1 from the captured image such as that shown in Fig. 5(b) by image recognition (step S103). By this simple determination, the drugs 1 that are randomly placed in an unaligned state inside the return container 51 are individually recognized as each drug 1, and by image recognition, it is easily determined whether the drug 1 is ampule-shaped, vial-shaped, or some other shape, and its center of gravity position P is grasped.

[0024] Based on this simple determination, the control unit 90 operates the input picker 30 in accordance with the center of gravity P of the drug 1 to be picked up by the input picker 30 and the rough shape of the drug 1.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 90 is a control terminal having a shape determination unit 91, an OCR reading unit 92, and a size determination unit 93. The control unit 90 also has a database 94 that stores drug information for drug 1, a container selection unit 95 that selects whether or not to pour drug 1 into the sorting container 52 placed on the first reading unit 10, and a function for controlling the operation of each driving part. The shape determination unit 91 has a function to simply determine and store the center of gravity P and the shape of, for example, medicines placed randomly and misaligned in the return container 51, based on an image from the shape determination camera 11 that photographs the first reading unit 10. In this case, the center of gravity P may be, for example, the geometric center of the outline detected by performing a simple shape determination. The center of gravity position P is described as "simple" because it is sufficient to ensure that the suction pads 31, 32 do not drop the drug 1 when adsorbed by the input picker 30 described below, but the shape may also be obtained by image recognition in a more accurate manner.

[0026] The OCR reading unit 92 has a function that allows the second reading unit 20 to read identification information such as a barcode or GS1 code of the medicine 1 by converting the image into data. The OCR reading unit 92 can acquire drug information including the type of drug and expiration date written on the package of the drug 1. Furthermore, the database 94 contains drug information that is master data entered in advance, and by mutually referencing this data, it is possible to improve the searchability of the data.

[0027] The size determination unit 93 is connected to the drug length detection sensors 12 and 13, and when only the drug length detection sensor 12 is off, it determines the size of the drug 1 to be medium or smaller, and when both the drug length detection sensors 12 and 13 are off, it determines the size of the drug 1 to be large. The size determination unit 93 is an inexpensive detection sensor that does not measure the exact length of the drug 1, but rather checks whether the length of the drug 1 exceeds a predetermined reference value. The control unit 90 also has a container selection unit 95 that selects and replaces an appropriate sorting container 52 from among the sorting containers 52 based on the type of drug 1 read by the OCR reading unit 92, the size of the drug 1 determined by the size determination unit 93 and the drug length detection sensors 12, 13, and the diameter calculated by the input picker 30.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 7, the suction pads 31 and 32 are two abutting members made of resin such as urethane or silicone arranged side by side, and come into contact with the medicine 1 and absorb the medicine 1 when air is sucked in through the nozzle 33. Furthermore, the feeding drive unit 34 is capable of rotating the positions of the suction pads 31 and 32 at the tip end in the XY plane, and is capable of so-called θ rotation in accordance with the direction in which the drug 1 extends, for example. The insertion drive unit 34 can also control the amount of descent of the suction pads 31, 32, and the height Z0 of the bottom plate 56 of the return container 51 is set as the maximum amount of descent.

[0029] In this embodiment, the suction pad 31 shown on the left side of Figure 7 operates as the main pad, and the control unit 90 controls the insertion drive unit 34 so that the destination position determined by the control unit 90 coincides with the center line O1 of the suction pad 31 shown by the dashed line. That is, when the center of gravity position P is determined by image recognition by the shape determination unit 91, the control unit 90 moves the injection drive unit 34 so that the center position of the suction pad 31 coincides with the center of gravity position P, and rotates the tip portion so that the direction in which the drug 1 extends coincides with the direction in which the suction pads 31 and 32 are arranged, as shown in Figure 8, and then lowers the suction pads 31 and 32 until they abut against the drug 1. At this time, the nozzle 33 is provided with a pressure detection means, and when either of the suction pads 31, 32 comes into contact with and adsorbs the drug 1, the contact can be detected by a change in pressure. The control unit 90 can measure the outer diameter r1 of the adsorbed drug 1 using the input picker 30 based on the difference between the amount of descent Z1 to the contact detection position and the maximum amount of descent Z0 (step S104). Needless to say, the distance that the suction pad 31 descends until it comes into contact with the drug 1 is equal to the outer diameter of the drug 1, as is clear from Figure 8. If such an suction pad 31 and an injection drive unit 34 capable of controlling the amount of descent are provided, the outer diameter of the drug 1 can be easily measured using the injection picker 30 without the need for a separate mechanism.

[0030] The medicine 1 picked up by the input picker 30 then moves in the −X direction of the medicine dispensing and sorting apparatus 100 and is placed at a predetermined position of the second reading unit 20 (step S105). FIG. 9 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention in which the suction pads 31 are spaced apart and placed at predetermined positions. The second reading unit 20 has a roller unit 21, which is a turntable that rotates in the direction shown by the arrow in Figure 9, and a guide plate 22 that is arranged along the X direction, which is the extension direction of the cylindrical roller unit 21, to prevent the drug 1 from falling off the roller unit 21. The second reading unit 20 also has a restricting plate 23 that extends to just above the roller unit 21 and restricts the movement range of the medicine 1, and a V-shaped receiving portion 24 that is located below the guide plate 22. 9, the predetermined position is a valley-like space formed between the roller unit 21 and the guide plate 22. When the guide plate 22 and the roller unit 21 are arranged side by side, the input picker 30 places the drug 1 so that the extension direction of the roller unit 21 and the longitudinal direction of the drug 1 coincide with each other by θ rotation about the Z axis in the XY plane and movement in the XYZ directions.

[0031] The roller unit 21 is a rotating table that can rotate around a rotation axis parallel to the long axis of the placed drug 1, and its surface is formed of an elastic material with a high friction coefficient such as rubber so that the drug 1 can rotate when placed on it. The guide plate 22 is arranged along the side of the roller portion 21 and functions as a metallic side bar that prevents the medicine 1 from falling. By making the roller part 21 an elastic body and the guide plate 22 a metal plate, the difference in the friction coefficients of these parts has the effect that when the roller part 21 is rotated, the drug 1 placed on top is more likely to rotate in response. The surface of the roller portion 21 may be textured.

[0032] The receiving portion 24 is a so-called V-shaped receiving tray that is capable of supporting the drug 1 that falls when the guide plate 22 separates from the roller portion 21, and has a length in the X direction sufficient to receive the drug 1. As shown in Fig. 10, the receiving portion 24 is supported by a rotating shaft 25 so as to be rotatable by 90° in the θ direction. The receiving portion 24 is provided with a drug presence / absence detection sensor 26 for determining the presence or absence of drug 1 on the receiving portion 24, and when the drug presence / absence detection sensor 26 is activated and drug 1 is placed on the receiving portion 24, the control unit 90 rotates the receiving portion 24 around the rotating shaft 25, changing the direction of the drug 1 as shown by the dashed line in Fig. 10. In this way, the rotating shaft 25 operates as a rotation mechanism that rotates the receiving portion 24 by 90°. Furthermore, when the receiving section 24 is positioned parallel to the Y direction, it is located within the operating range of the discharge picker 40 described later, and the drug 1 on the receiving section 24 can be further moved by the discharge picker 40 to the dispensing tray 310 or the defective reading product placement section 109.

[0033] Now, the drug 1 placed between the roller unit 21 and the guide plate 22 is rotated by the rotation of the roller unit 21 as shown in Figure 11(a), and is photographed by the label reading camera 27 arranged above the second reading unit 20 (step S106). The image captured by the label reading camera 27 is read by the OCR reading unit 92 of the control unit 90, and drug information including the type of drug 1 based on the GS1 code or the like and the expiration date is recorded.

[0034] Here, when the drug dispensing and sorting device 100 performs a sorting operation, after the label reading camera 27 has finished reading, the guide plate 22 does not move, as shown in Figure 11(b), and the input picker 30 again adsorbs the drug 1.

[0035] The input picker 30 transports the medicines 1 to the sorting container 52 placed on the first reading unit 10 (step S107). At this time, the control unit 90 transports the input picker 30 once to a predetermined position in the XY coordinate system above the sorting container 52 or the return container 51 (for example, as shown as X0, Y0 in the figure, as long as the center of gravity position is the same each time). In this embodiment, the predetermined position (X0, Y0) is set at a position such that the difference in Y coordinate to the drug length detection sensor 12 of the pair of drug length detection sensors 12, 13 is 55 mm, and the difference in Y coordinate to the drug length detection sensor 13 is 115 mm.

[0036] Since the distance from the predetermined position (X0, Y0) to the drug length detection sensors 12 and 13 is appropriately set in this way, when the input picker 30 is moved up and down at least once while aligning the long axis of the drug 1 in the Y direction at the predetermined position, if the length of the drug 1 is 55 mm or more and 115 mm or less, as shown in Figure 11(c), the signal from the drug length detection sensor 12 will be blocked by part of the drug 1. At the same time, the drug length detection sensor 13 will not detect the drug 1. In this way, by moving the drug 1 up and down in the Z direction while it is adsorbed by the input picker 30 at a predetermined position (X0, Y0), it is possible to determine, using the drug length detection sensors 12, 13, whether the length of the drug 1 is within the specified size that can be placed in the sorting container 52 currently placed on the first reading unit 10. In addition, since drug length detection sensors 12 and 13 are set to 55 mm and 115 mm, respectively, drugs 1 with a length of 55 mm or less are determined to be small size, drugs 1 between 55 mm and 115 mm are determined to be medium size, and drugs 1 of 115 mm or more are determined to be large size. In other words, it is equivalent to determining that the drug is small when neither drug length detection sensor 12 nor 13 reacts, the drug is medium size when drug length detection sensor 12 reacts and drug length detection sensor 13 does not react, and the drug is large size when both drug length detection sensors 12 and 13 react. Furthermore, by using the input picker 30, which is an adsorption mechanism, to perform one or more up-and-down reciprocating motions while adsorbing the drug 1, even if the drug length detection sensors 12, 13 are in a situation where they have difficulty detecting the leading end of the drug 1 due to some reason such as reflection or stray light, multiple switching is performed, making detection easier. Note that in this embodiment, when the input picker 30 transports the drug 1 from the second reading unit 20 to the sorting container 52 placed in the first reading unit 10, the drug length detection sensors 12, 13 make a determination by the up-and-down motion when the input picker 30 transports the drug 1 from the second reading unit 20 to the sorting container 52 placed in the first reading unit 10, but this timing is not limited to this.

[0037] Furthermore, the container selection unit 95 of the control unit 90 determines whether the drug 1 can be placed in the sorting container 52 currently placed on the first reading unit 10 based on the diameter of the drug 1 measured when picked up by the input picker 30, the drug information including the type and expiration date of the drug 1 read by the second reading unit 20, and the specified size determined by the drug length detection sensors 12, 13 (step S109). At the same time, since the sorting containers 52 are individually managed by identifiers 55, the data read by the identifiers 55 can be linked to the drug information read by the OCR reading unit 92 in step S106 and stored, so that the fact that drug 1 has been placed in the sorting container 52 can also be registered as data. This judgment is made in order to replace a small or medium-sized drug 1 with a sorting container 52 of an appropriate size when a large-sized sorting container 52c is placed and a small or medium-sized drug 1 is picked up by the input picker 30.

[0038] When the container selection unit 95 of the control unit 90 determines that the drug 1 can be placed in the sorting container 52 already installed in the first reading unit 10 based on the diameter of the drug 1, whether the length of the drug 1 meets the standard values, and the drug information from the OCR reading unit 92, the input picker 30 packs and arranges the drug 1 in the sorting container 52 in order (step S110). By repeating this operation, the return containers 51 placed in an unaligned state are arranged in an aligned state in the appropriate size sorting containers 52, thereby completing the return and sorting operation. Upon completion of this sorting operation, the control unit 90 stores which medicines 1 have been placed in a certain sorting container 52 in association with each other.

[0039] Furthermore, if the container selection unit 95 determines that the sorting container 52 placed on the first reading unit 10 does not match the specified range for the size of the drug 1, the sorting container 52 is returned to the holding unit 60 by the lifting unit 70, and the transport unit 120 transfers a sorting container 52 appropriate for the drug 1 from the storage shelf 110 to the holding unit 60 by the transport unit 120.

[0040] In this way, when a small-sized sorting container 52a is placed for a large-sized drug 1, or when a large-sized sorting container 52c is placed for a small-sized drug 1, the drug dispensing and sorting device 100 performs an operation to replace the sorting container placed on the first reading unit 10 with one of an appropriate size to match the size of the drug 1 detected by the drug length detection sensors 12, 13 (step S111). This configuration prevents drugs with extremely large size differences from being lined up in the same sorting container 52, allowing for efficient alignment. In order to reduce the time required for replacing the sorting containers 52, in this embodiment, the medium-sized sorting container 52b, which is compatible with both small and medium sizes, is configured to accept small-sized medicines 1. In this way, the size determination unit 93 and the container selection unit 95 determine whether the size of the medicine 1 is within a predetermined size range and determine whether it can be placed therein. This reduces the number of times the sorting container 52 needs to be replaced, allowing for more efficient sorting operations. By performing this series of operations, the medicine dispensing and sorting device 100 has a sorting function that sorts the medicines 1 from the return container 51, in which the medicines 1 are placed in a misaligned state, into the sorting containers 52 classified by size. In other words, the sorting function is a function of rearranging the medicines 1 from one container 50 to another container 50, and is sometimes referred to as a return function, etc.

[0041] Next, an operation for dispensing drugs 1 from sorting containers 52 arranged in an aligned state or from dispensing containers 53 placed in either an aligned or misaligned state will be described. In this dispensing function, drug information for drugs 1 to be dispensed is provided in advance to the control unit 90 as prescription data by linking with a higher-level device or an electronic medical record system, or by input via an operator's terminal. At this time, the operations up to moving the sorting container 52 to the first reading unit 10 using the transport unit 120 and the lifting unit 70 (step S101, etc.), and the operation of transporting the drug 1 from the first reading unit 10 to the second reading unit 20 using the input picker 30 are the same, although there are differences, such as whether the drug 1 is taken out from the return container 51 placed in an unaligned state, whether it is taken out from the sorting container 52 placed in an aligned state, or whether it is taken out from the dispensing container 53 in which the type of drug 1 is known. In addition, they are also similar in that the diameter of the medicine 1 can be measured by the distance the input picker 30 descends when the medicine 1 is transferred from the first reading unit 10 to the second reading unit 20 (steps S102 to S105).

[0042] As shown in FIG. 12(a), even during the dispensing operation, the medicine 1 placed between the roller part 21 and the guide plate 22 of the second reading part 20 rotates counterclockwise following the rotational drive of the roller part 21. The label reading camera 27 photographs the medicine 1 during rotation and reads the label using OCR or the like to obtain medicine information including the type and expiration date of the medicine 1 (step S106). In step S106, as in the sorting operation, the image captured by the label reading camera 27 is read by the OCR reading unit 92 of the control unit 90, and drug information including the type of drug 1 based on the GS1 code etc. and the expiration date is recorded. Specifically, the OCR reading unit 92 reads the GS1 code of the drug 1 and collates the drug information linked to the GS1 code by referring to the drug master information stored in the database 94 in the control unit 90. When the medicine dispensing and sorting device 100 performs a dispensing operation, once reading by the label reading camera 27 in the second reading unit 20 is completed, the guide plate 22 rotates via the arm 28, which is the rotation axis, in a direction away from the side of the roller unit 21, as shown in Figure 12(b). At this time, the connection portion between the arm 28 and the guide plate 22 is located at the end on the -X direction side so as not to interfere with the operation of the label reading camera 27 or the input picker 30.

[0043] When the guide plate 22 is removed, the drug 1 moves to the receiving part 24 by its own weight, as shown in FIG. 12(b), even if the roller part 21 is not rotating (step S121). If the drug 1 falls too far to the receiving part 24, there is a risk that the drug 1 may be damaged, so it is preferable to arrange the guide plate 22 and the receiving part 24 adjacent to each other so that the falling distance is short. It is also advisable to place an impact-resistant sheet such as a urethane mat on the bottom of the receiving portion 24 to prevent damage.

[0044] After the drug 1 is placed on the receiving portion 24 in this manner, the drug presence / absence discrimination sensor 26 operates to cause the receiving portion 24 to rotate around the rotating shaft portion 25 and move into the operating range of the discharge picker 40 as shown in Figure 12(c).

[0045] 13, the discharge picker 40 has suction pads 41 and 42, a discharge drive unit 44 that can move the suction pads 41 and 42 up and down, and a discharge support frame 45 that supports the discharge drive unit 44 so that it can move in the XY plane. The discharge picker 40 functions as a discharge unit that moves the medicine 1 from the receiving section 24 to the dispensing tray 310. The operation of the suction pads 41 and 42 is the same as that of the suction pads 31 and 32 in function and operation, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0046] The control unit 90 checks whether the medicine information checked in step S106 is included in the prescription data to be dispensed to the corresponding dispensing tray 310. The discharge picker 40 picks up the drug 1 that has been placed on the receiving section 24 and rotated 90° as shown in Figure 12(c), and moves the drug 1 to the dispensing tray 310 or the defective product placement section 109 that has flowed in according to the comparison result of comparing the drug information of the drug 1 read by the OCR reading section 92 with the drug master information and the prescription data (step S122). The drugs 1 that are determined as NO in step S122 and moved to the defective product placement unit 109 include, for example, defective products, products that have expired as described in the drug information, or products that could not be read by the OCR reading unit 92 due to damage or soiling. Therefore, it is not necessary to return to the container 50 drugs 1 that the OCR reading unit 92 cannot refer to in the drug master information, and it is therefore preferable to move them to the defective product placement unit 109. The defective read product placement section 109 may have a shock absorbing section 108 formed in a sloped shape, as shown by the diagonal lines in Fig. 13. The shock absorbing section 108 may be a resin sheet member with one end fixed to the upper side and the other end attached to the bottom, as shown in Fig. 14, for example. With this configuration, when the discharge picker 40 drops the drug 1 near one end, the shock absorbing section 108 deforms, preventing damage to the drug 1 as it moves in a sloped shape to the bottom of the defective read product placement section 109. Furthermore, since the drug 1 rolls sideways when moving along the sloping shock absorbing section 108, it rolls to a position away from the position where it is dropped, so that even when repeatedly putting the drug 1 into the defective product placing section 109, the drug 1 can be put in without worrying about the position of the drug 1 that was previously put in, and the drug 1 will be lined up in the defective product placing section 109 in a more or less aligned state (step S123).

[0047] If there is no problem with the drug information of drug 1, i.e., if the drug information of drug 1 read by the OCR reading unit 92 in the second reading unit 20 matches the drug included in the prescription data corresponding to the dispensing tray 310, the discharge picker 40 transports and places drug 1 into the dispensing tray 310 (step S124). By repeating this operation, when all of the drugs 1 to be dispensed to the dispensing tray 310 included in the prescription data have been dispensed to the dispensing tray 310, the conveying belt 342 moves the dispensing tray 310, and the drugs 1 are dispensed downstream in the conveying direction of the conveying belt 342. Through this series of operations, the drug dispensing and sorting device 100 can move the drug 1, the type of which has been read by the second reading unit 20, to the dispensing tray 310 that has been transported from the upstream side in the conveying direction, and has a dispensing function that sends the dispensing tray 310 downstream in the conveying direction.

[0048] A flow diagram of the sorting operation as described above is shown in Figure 15, and a flow diagram of the dispensing operation is shown in Figure 16. A series of functions described in Figure 15 operates as the sorting function of medicine dispensing and sorting apparatus 100, and a series of functions described in Figure 16 operates as the dispensing function of medicine dispensing and sorting apparatus 100.

[0049] The medicine dispensing and sorting device 100 can also be operated as a part of an injection medicine dispensing system or a medicine dispensing system that dispenses the medicines 1 placed in the sorting container 52 or the dispensing container 53.

[0050] FIG. 17 shows a schematic configuration of an injection drug dispensing system 300 as an example of a drug dispensing system. The injection drug dispensing system 300 functions as an automatic dispensing device that dispenses required drugs onto a dispensing tray 310 in accordance with information such as prescription data and electronic medical records sent from the host device 500 by communication, for example. In this embodiment, the injection drug dispensing system 300 is a series of systems in which a tray supply device 320, a slip issuing device 330, a drug dispensing and sorting device 100, an infusion dispensing device 350, and a tray storage device 360 ​​are arranged in a line from right to left along the transport path of the dispensing tray 310. While the dispensing tray 310 is being transported from the tray supply device 320 to the tray storage device 360, a slip 331, drugs 1 such as injection drugs, and infusions are sequentially placed on the dispensing tray 310. To automatically control this series of operations, a controller 390 consisting of a microprocessor or the like is also provided. The controller 390 receives prescription data or dispensing instruction data or injection instruction data derived from the prescription data from an appropriate input device or another computer, such as a prescription order entry system represented by the host device 500, and generates control commands and extracts data based on this data, while also sending commands and data to each device constituting the injection drug dispensing system 300. Such commands and data include, for example, a list of drugs 1 to be dispensed by the drug dispensing and sorting device 100 from among the drugs included in the prescription data.

[0051] Dispensing tray 310 is a box-shaped container made of, for example, metal or hard plastic with an open top, and is normally loaded empty on tray supply device 320. When dispensing tray 310 is ejected from tray supply device 320, it is arranged below injection drug dispensing system 300 so as to be connected to each device, and is transported to tray storage device 360 ​​through transport path 340 driven by transport belt 342. After drugs 1, infusions 2, forms 331 indicating prescription data or dispensing instruction data or injection instruction data, etc. are placed inside dispensing tray 310 in each device, it is placed in a predetermined position in tray storage device 360.

[0052] The document issuing device 330 is equipped with a printer 332 for outputting a document 331, and a sending device 333 for sending the document 331 printed and output from the printer 332 to the corresponding dispensing tray 310. When the dispensing tray 310 corresponding to the printed document 331 arrives, the document 331 is sent out so that it is placed on the dispensing tray 310 below.

[0053] As already described in the embodiment, in the drug dispensing and sorting device 100, drugs 1 are placed in sorting containers 52 and dispensing containers 53 stored on a storage shelf 110, and the positions of the drugs 1 in these containers 50 are managed by the control unit 90. Therefore, the controller 390 refers to the database 94, etc., and if, for example, among the returned drugs 1, there is a drug 1 in the storage shelf 110 that is still within its expiration date and is required for the newly received prescription data, it is possible to dispense that drug 1 toward the dispensing tray 310 as in the dispensing operation shown in Figure 16.

[0054] According to this configuration, drugs 1 can be moved from a return container 51 in which they are placed in an unaligned state to a sorting container 52 in which they are placed in an aligned state, and drugs 1 can also be dispensed from the sorting container 52 to a dispensing tray 310. This makes it possible to efficiently manage the number of drugs 1, and also makes it possible to safely reuse drugs 1 that are returned unused after dispensing.

[0055] <1> As described above, in this embodiment, the drug dispensing and sorting device 100 has a container 50 that contains multiple drugs 1, a shelf-like storage shelf 110 that can store multiple containers 50 in multiple tiers, a pair of holding sections 60 that can hold the containers 50 as buffers, a transport unit 120 that removes the containers 50 from the storage shelf 110 and transfers them to the holding section 60, a first reading section 10 that is located below the storage shelf 110 and performs a simple determination of the shape of the multiple drugs 1 in the container 50 using image processing, a pair of lifting sections 70 that raise and lower the container 50 between the first reading section 10 and the holding section 60, a second reading section 20 that reads the type of drug 1 by photographing the drug 1, and an adsorption mechanism 30 that adsorbs and removes the drug 1 that has been simply determined by the first reading section 10 from the container 50 and moves it to the second reading section 20. In addition, the drug dispensing and sorting device 100 is capable of moving the drug 1, the type of which has been read by the second reading unit 20, to a dispensing tray 310 that has been transported from the upstream side in the conveying direction, and is equipped with a dispensing function that sends the dispensing tray 310 downstream in the conveying direction, and a sorting function that rearranges the drug 1 from a container 50 to another container 50. The drug dispensing and sorting device 100 has, in its sorting function, drug length detection sensors 12, 13 in the first reading unit 10 that determine whether the length of the drug 1 adsorbed by the adsorption mechanism 30 exceeds a reference value, and the adsorption mechanism 30 calculates the diameter of the drug 1 as the height between the bottom of the container 50 and the adsorption point from the distance the drug 1 descends to the adsorption point where the drug 1 is adsorbed when removing the drug 1, and is characterized in that, in its sorting function, it is equipped with a container selection unit 95 that selects an appropriate container 50 when rearranging from one container 50 to another based on the type of drug 1 read by the second reading unit 20, the determination by the drug length detection sensors 12, 13, and the diameter calculated by the adsorption mechanism 30. According to this configuration, the diameter of the drug can be measured when the drug is adsorbed, so that the drugs can be rearranged into trays of appropriate sizes at low cost.

[0056] <2> The present invention provides <1> In addition to the configuration described above, the medicine dispensing and sorting device 100 has the following configuration. The second reading unit 20 has a roller unit 21 that can rotate in a direction parallel to the long axis of the placed drug 1, a guide plate 22 that is arranged along the side of the roller unit 21 to prevent the drug 1 from falling, and an arm 28 that moves the guide plate 22 up and down relative to the roller unit 21. The input picker 30 places the medicine 1 between the guide plate 22 and the roller portion 21 in a state where the guide plate 22 is arranged along the roller portion 21. According to this configuration, the medicine 1 on the roller unit 21 rotates in reverse in accordance with the rotation of the roller unit 21, so that even if the medicine 1 is an ampule or vial with a curved surface, it can be photographed by the OCR reading unit 92 and the label reading camera 27.

[0057] <3> The present invention provides <1> or <2> In addition to the configuration described above, the medicine dispensing and sorting device 100 has the following configuration. The second reading unit 20 rotates the drug 1 placed between the guide plate 22 and the roller unit 21 in response to the rotation of the roller unit 21, and identifies the drug information written on the side of the drug 1 by photographing the drug 1 as it rotates. According to this configuration, the medicine 1 on the roller unit 21 rotates in reverse in accordance with the rotation of the roller unit 21, so that even if the medicine 1 is an ampule or vial with a curved surface, it can be photographed by the OCR reading unit 92 and the label reading camera 27.

[0058] <4> The present invention provides <1> ~ <3> In addition to the configuration described above, the medicine dispensing and sorting device 100 has the following configuration. The drug dispensing and sorting device 100 has a receiving section 24 arranged on the extension line along which the drug 1 falls under its own weight when the guide plate 22 moves away from the second reading section 20, a rotating shaft section 25 which is a rotation mechanism that rotates the receiving section 24 by 90 degrees, and a discharge picker 40 that moves the drug 1 from the receiving section 24 to the dispensing tray 310. In addition, when the drug dispensing and sorting device 100 dispenses drug 1 from the sorting container 52 to the dispensing tray 310 in the dispensing function, after the drug information is read by the second reading unit 20, the guide plate 22 moves away, causing the drug 1 to move under its own weight to the receiving unit 24. According to this configuration, the drug 1 can be transported to the receiving section 24 simply by separating the guide plate 22, and by rotating the receiving section 24 by 90 degrees, the drug 1 can be moved within the movable range of the discharge picker 40 while aligning its orientation, thereby reducing the number of movable parts of the discharge picker 40 and contributing to cost reduction.

[0059] <5> The present invention provides <1> ~ <4> In addition to the configuration described above, the medicine dispensing and sorting device 100 has the following configuration. In the drug dispensing and sorting device 100, after the drug information is read by the second reading unit 20, the input picker 30 picks up the drug 1 again and moves it back and forth in an up and down direction above the sorting container 52 or return container 51 placed on the first reading unit 10, and the drug length detection sensors 12, 13 determine whether the length of the drug 1 picked up by the input picker 30 exceeds a reference value depending on whether they detect at least a portion of the drug 1. According to this configuration, the destination sorting container 52 can be selected based on a reference value determined by the installation positions of the medicine length detection sensors 12 and 13, so that medicines can be rearranged into trays of appropriate sizes at low cost.

[0060] <6> The present invention provides <1> ~ <5> The present invention relates to an injection drug dispensing system having a drug dispensing and sorting device 100 described in any one of the above. This configuration contributes to speeding up the sorting of the medicines 1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 10...First reading unit 12, 13...Discrimination unit (medicine length detection sensor) 20...Second reading unit 21...Rotating table (roller part) 22...Side bar (guide plate) 28...Arm 25...Rotation mechanism (rotation shaft) 30...Suction mechanism (input picker) 40...Export unit (export picker) 51…Return container 52...Sorting container 60...Holding part 70...Lifting section 91...Shape determination section 92...OCR reading unit 93...Size determination section 95...Selection section (container selection section) 100...Medicine sorting device 110...Storage shelf 120...First transfer means (transport unit) 300...Injection drug dispensing system 310...Tray (dispensing tray) Z1…Adsorption point

Claims

1. a container containing a plurality of drugs; a shelf-like storage shelf capable of storing a plurality of the containers by arranging them in multiple stages; a pair of holding portions capable of holding the container as a buffer; a first transfer means for removing the container from the storage shelf and transferring it to a holding section; a first reading unit located below the storage shelf and performing simple determination of the shapes of the plurality of medicines in the container by image processing; a pair of lifting units that lift the container between the first reading unit and the holding unit; A second reading unit that reads the type of the medicine by photographing the medicine; an adsorption mechanism that adsorbs and removes the medicine for which the simple determination has been performed in the first reading unit from the container and moves it to the second reading unit; and A medicine dispensing and sorting device that can move the medicine, the type of which has been read by the second reading unit, to a tray that has been transferred from the upstream side in the conveying direction, and that has a dispensing function that sends the tray downstream in the conveying direction, and a sorting function that rearranges the medicine from the container to another container, In the sorting function, the first reading unit has a discrimination unit that discriminates whether the length of the medicine adsorbed by the adsorption mechanism exceeds a reference value, The adsorption mechanism calculates the height between the bottom surface of the container and the adsorption point as the diameter of the drug from the descending distance to the adsorption point where the drug is adsorbed when the drug is taken out, and A drug dispensing and sorting device characterized in that the sorting function includes a selection unit that selects an appropriate container when rearranging from the container to another container based on the type of drug read by the second reading unit, the discrimination by the discrimination unit, and the diameter calculated by the adsorption mechanism.

2. The medicine dispensing and sorting device according to claim 1, The second reading unit includes a turntable that can rotate in a direction parallel to the long axis of the placed medicine; a side bar arranged along a side of the turntable to prevent the medicine from falling; an arm that moves the side bar up and down relative to the rotating base so that the side bar can be separated from the rotating base; The medicine dispensing and sorting device, wherein the suction mechanism places the medicine between the side bar and the rotating table with the side bar arranged along the rotating table.

3. The medicine dispensing and sorting device according to claim 2, The second reading unit rotates the medicine placed between the side bar and the turntable in response to the rotation of the turntable, and identifies the medicine information written on the side of the medicine by photographing the medicine as it rotates.

4. The medicine dispensing and sorting device according to claim 3, a receiving portion disposed on an extension line along which the medicine falls under its own weight when the side bar is separated from the second reading portion; a rotation mechanism that rotates the receiving portion by 90°; a delivery unit that moves the medicine from the receiving portion to the tray, A drug dispensing and sorting device characterized in that when the drug dispensing and sorting device dispenses the drug from the container to the tray in the dispensing function, the drug information is read by the second reading unit, and then the side bars move away, causing the drug to move under its own weight to the receiving unit.

5. The medicine dispensing and sorting device according to claim 3, After the medicine information is read by the second reading unit in the sorting function, the suction mechanism re-sucks the medicine and moves back and forth in a vertical direction above the sorting container or the return container placed on the first reading unit, The drug dispensing and sorting device is characterized in that the discrimination unit determines whether the length of the drug adsorbed by the adsorption mechanism exceeds the reference value based on whether at least a portion of the drug is detected.

6. A medicine dispensing system comprising the medicine dispensing and sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and one or more other devices connectable to the upstream or downstream side in the conveying direction.

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