Medicine dispensing device

Abstract

To provide a medicine dispensing device which has a function of reducing human errors in weighing and which further has no need of cleaning a loading hopper and troughs.SOLUTION: In a medicine feeder 10a in use for a medicine dispensing device 1, a container vibration table 11 and a manual medicine container 5a are separate bodies. The container vibration table 11 is installed near distribution trays 7a, 7b. The manual medicine container 5a is provided with a medicine discharge part 20a and a medicine input part 21b. A pharmacist weighs medicine by directly introducing medicine from the medicine input part 21 of the manual medicine container 5a into the manual medicine container 5a. Then, the manual medicine container 5a is moved to be placed on the container vibration table 11 of the body device 2. The container vibration table 11 is vibrated, with the manual medicine container 5a vibrated, and with powder medicine inside moved to the medicine discharge part 20a side to make the powder directly fall onto the distribution trays 7a, 7b from the medicine discharge part 20a. In the medicine dispensing device 1, there are no conventional troughs, so that there is no need for cleaning troughs.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 14

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a medicine dispensing device and a medicine dispensing method for dispensing powdered medicine one dose at a time. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, large hospitals and pharmacies have introduced powder medicine packaging machines and medicine dispensing machines equipped with powder medicine packaging functions. Powder medicine packaging machines are machines that individually package powder medicines, etc., into individual doses. By using powder medicine packaging machines, most of the work of packaging powder medicines, etc., into individual doses can be automated. The powder medicine packaging device 200 disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a device that packages powder medicine individually in single doses, and as shown in Figure 25, it has inside it a medicine supply device 201, a powder medicine dispensing device 202, and a medicine packaging device 203. The medicine supply device 201 disclosed in Patent Document 1 is composed of a feeding hopper 205 and a powder feeder 206, as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 26, the powder feeder 206 has two piezoelectric elements 207 and 208 provided below a trough 210 to vibrate the trough 210.

[0003] 25, the powdered medicine dispensing device 202 is composed of a dispensing plate 212 and a scraping device 215. The dispensing plate 212 has an arc-shaped cross section and a groove 216 that is annular in plan view. The dispensing plate 212 is rotated at a constant speed by a motor 219. The scraping device 215 has a disk 217 that moves up and down and rotates, and a scraping plate 218 is provided on the disk 217.

[0004] The medicine packaging device 203 is composed of a packaging hopper 220 and a packaging device 221 as shown in FIG.

[0005] Next, a procedure for packaging powdered medicine using powdered medicine packaging device 200 will be described. The work of packaging powder medicine is performed by a user such as a pharmacist (hereinafter simply referred to as a pharmacist) operating the powder medicine packaging device 200 in accordance with a doctor's prescription. That is, the pharmacist checks the doctor's prescription, takes out the medicine bottle containing the prescribed powder medicine from a medicine shelf (not shown), and then uses a scale such as a balance to measure the total weight of the specific prescribed powder medicine. For example, if the prescribed amount of powder medicine is 1.0 gram to be taken three times a day and the prescribed amount is for 20 days, then (1.0 x 3 x 20 = 60) grams of powder medicine will be taken. More specifically, the container is placed on a scale and tared, and then the powder medicine is removed from the medicine bottle using a medicine spoon and placed in the container on the scale, resulting in 60 grams of powder medicine.

[0006] Then, the measured 60 grams of powdered medicine is fed into the feeding hopper 205 of the medicine feeder 201. At the same time, the piezoelectric elements 207, 208 (FIG. 26) of the powder feeder 206 are energized to vibrate the trough 210, and the distribution plate 212 is rotated at about 20 to 30 revolutions per minute. The powdered medicine fed into the feeding hopper 205 falls from the opening at the bottom of the feeding hopper 205 into the trough 210 of the powder feeder 206. Then, as the trough 210 vibrates, the powdered medicine slowly moves toward the tip and is rectified. Furthermore, as the powdered medicine moves along the trough 210, the rectification progresses, and the flow of the medicine becomes laminar. In other words, the distribution of the medicine in the cross section perpendicular to the flow becomes constant, and the distance traveled by the medicine per unit time also becomes constant. As a result, 60 grams of powdered medicine is uniformly dispersed and moves slowly toward the tip at a constant speed per hour. Finally, the powdered medicine moving at the front reaches the tip of the trough 210, and drops from the tip of the trough 210 into the groove 216 of the dispensing tray 212. The following powdered medicines drop into the dispensing tray 212 at a constant rate per time. Finally, the last powdered medicine drops into the dispensing tray 212, and all 60 grams of powdered medicine enters the groove 216.

[0007] Meanwhile, the distribution plate 212 rotates at a predetermined speed, so that the powdered medicine falling from the trough 210 is evenly distributed in the grooves 216 of the distribution plate 212 . That is, the powder feeder 206 causes the powdered medicine to drop little by little onto the distribution tray 212, and the distribution tray 212 rotates at a constant speed, so that the powdered medicine is evenly distributed in the grooves 216 of the distribution tray 212.

[0008] When the powdered medicine has finished falling onto the distribution tray 212, the rotation of the distribution tray 212 is temporarily stopped. After that, the disk 217 of the scraping device 215 is dropped into the groove 216 of the distribution tray 212. After that, the distribution tray 212 is rotated by an angle corresponding to the number of doses to be distributed. Using the previous example as an example, since 60 grams of powdered medicine is to be divided into 60 packets, the distribution tray 212 is rotated by (60 / 360) degrees, and the powdered medicine is collected at the front side of the disk 217 by (60 / 360) degrees. The disk 217 is then rotated, and the scraper plate 218 scrapes the powdered medicine by (60 / 360) degrees out of the distribution tray 212 and deposits it into the packaging hopper 220. The powdered medicine that has fallen from the packaging hopper 220 is packaged by the packaging device 221.

[0009] As mentioned above, when packaging powdered medicine, a pharmacist must take out the medicine bottle containing the prescribed powdered medicine and perform a weighing operation using a scale such as a balance to measure the total weight of the specific powdered medicine prescribed. This weighing operation cannot tolerate any errors, so the applicant has developed a system to assist in the operation of weighing out the total weight of powdered medicine, and has disclosed this in Patent Document 2.

[0010] The medicine weighing system disclosed in Patent Document 2 is composed of a medicine weighing device that weighs medicines and a powder medicine packaging device that distributes and packages the medicines. The powder medicine packaging device has substantially the same configuration as the one described above, and is also equipped with an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) reader that reads information from RFID tags. The drug weighing device employed in the invention of Patent Document 2 is equipped with a balance platform as a weighing means, as well as a barcode reader, which can read the prescription and the type of drug contained in the drug bottle from the barcode attached to the prescription, drug bottle label, etc. The drug weighing device also has an RFID reader / writer, which can read information from and write information to an RFID tag. The medicine weighing device also has a touch panel, which functions as a display means and an input means. In the medicine weighing system disclosed in Patent Document 2, a medicine sheet is used when weighing medicines. The medicine sheet functions as a tray for temporarily holding medicines and has an RFID tag attached to it.

[0011] In the medicine weighing system disclosed in Patent Document 2, information about dispensing written on a prescription is read into a control device of a medicine weighing device using a barcode reader. The pharmacist then places the medicine sheet on a balance table, places medicine on the medicine sheet, and weighs it with a medicine weighing device. At this time, the barcode attached to the medicine bottle or the like can be read with a barcode reader to confirm that the medicine is the correct one prescribed. Prescription information, the pharmacist's name, and the type and amount of weighed medicine (hereinafter collectively referred to as dispensing-related information) are written to the RFID tag on the medicine sheet by the RFID reader / writer of the medicine weighing device.

[0012] The pharmacist then carries the medicine sheet on which the weighed medicines are placed to the powder medicine packaging device and places the medicines into the powder medicine packaging device's feeding hopper. In addition, information about dispensing is read into the medicine packaging device from the RFID tag on the medicine sheet. The powder medicine packaging device then packages the powder medicine according to the information obtained from the RFID tag. Therefore, from then on, the medicines placed in the hopper are divided into individual packets and packaged by the powder medicine packaging device.

[0013] Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a powder medicine dispensing and packaging device that has a function of automatically cleaning the distribution tray 212. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0014] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-85703 [Patent Document 2] WO2013 / 154202 A1 Publication [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-229456 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0015] The medicine weighing system disclosed in Patent Document 2 eliminates human error when weighing medicines. In addition, by using the cleaning means described in Patent Document 3 in combination, the distribution tray can be cleaned after the packaging work is completed. However, even if the cleaning means described in Patent Document 3 is adopted, pharmacists and the like are not freed from the task of cleaning the medicine packaging device. That is, the medicine supply device 201 employed in the powder medicine dispensing and packaging device 200 of the prior art is composed of the feeding hopper 205 and the powder feeder 206 as described above. The medicine is then poured into the feeding hopper 205 , falls from the opening at the bottom of the feeding hopper 205 into the trough 210 of the powder feeder 206 , moves along the trough 210 , and falls from the tip of the trough 210 into the groove 216 of the distribution plate 212 .

[0016] In this way, when the medicine is packaged, the medicine passes not only through the distribution tray 212 but also through the input hopper 205 and trough 210, and there is a possibility that the medicine may remain in the input hopper 205 and trough 210. Therefore, to completely prevent contamination of the medicine, it is necessary to clean not only the distribution tray 212 but also the input hopper 205 and trough 210. However, this process is tedious and improvements are needed.

[0017] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the present invention aims to provide a medicine dispensing device that does not require cleaning of the feeding hopper and trough. The present invention also provides a medicine dispensing device having no medicine shelf area and no robot. [Means for solving the problem]

[0018] One aspect of the present invention, which has been developed to solve the above problems, is a medicine weighing device including a manual medicine container, a medicine weighing device having a container mounting portion, a container vibration table, a medicine packaging device, and a control unit. a main unit having a touch panel; A medicine dispensing device comprising: a manual medicine container that is open at an upper surface side and a tip side and has a bottom; and the manual medicine container has a medicine discharge part that opens in a lateral direction based on the posture of the container placed on the container vibration table; The drug weighing device is not provided in the main device, but is provided with a barcode reader, and the drug weighing device reads dispensing information written on a prescription using the barcode reader, and the dispensing information is written to an RFID tag of a manual drug container by a first RFID reader / writer of the drug weighing device, and a second RFID reader is provided near the container vibration table, and the dispensing information is read into the main device from the RFID tag of the manual drug container by the second RFID reader, A pharmacist places a manual medicine container on a container placement section of a medicine weighing device, introduces powdered medicine into the placed manual medicine container, weighs the introduced powdered medicine with the medicine weighing device, and places the weighed manual medicine container on a container vibration table. If the dispensing information that has been placed on the device and loaded into the main unit contains any matter that requires additional work or work that is different from the regular work, or if there are any special precautions, this will be displayed on the touch panel, and the specified additional instructions will be entered on the touch panel. When the pharmacist confirms that the specified additional instructions have been entered on the touch panel, The control unit Container shaking table This medicine dispensing device vibrates the device and starts a packaging operation to discharge powdered medicine from the medicine discharge section. Another aspect of the present invention, which has been developed to solve the above problems, is a medicine weighing device including a manual medicine container, a medicine weighing device having a container mounting portion, a container vibration table, a medicine packaging device, and a control unit. a main unit having a touch panel; A medicine dispensing device comprising: a manual medicine container having an upper surface and a tip side open and a bottom; The manual medicine container has a medicine discharge portion that opens laterally based on the orientation of the container placed on the vibration table, The drug weighing device is not provided in the main device, The drug weighing device is equipped with a barcode reader, and uses the barcode reader to read dispensing information written on a prescription, and the dispensing information is written to an RFID tag of a manual drug container by a first RFID reader / writer of the drug weighing device, and a second RFID reader is provided near the container vibration table, and the dispensing information is read from the RFID tag of the manual drug container by the second RFID reader into the main device, A pharmacist places a manual medicine container on a container placement section of a medicine weighing device, introduces powdered medicine into the placed manual medicine container, weighs the introduced powdered medicine with the medicine weighing device, and places the weighed manual medicine container on a container vibration table. If the dispensing information that has been placed on the device and loaded into the main unit contains any matter that requires additional work or work that is different from the regular work, or if there are any special precautions, this will be displayed on the touch panel, and the specified additional instructions will be entered on the touch panel. When the pharmacist confirms that the specified additional instructions have been entered on the touch panel, The control unit Container shaking tableThis medicine dispensing device vibrates the device and starts a packaging operation to discharge powdered medicine from the medicine discharge section. A preferred embodiment is a medicine dispensing device further comprising two dispensing trays and a touch panel, wherein the control unit includes an operation of displaying on the touch panel which of the two dispensing trays is to be used. A further preferred embodiment is a drug dispensing device further having multiple container vibrating tables on each of the two distribution trays, and the control unit includes an operation of displaying on the touch panel which of the two distribution trays will be used and which container vibrating table will be used. A more preferred embodiment is The control unit is a second RFID reader. Manual drug container RFID tags This medicine dispensing device reads dispensing information from the storage device, displays the dispensing information on a touch panel, and also displays instructions on which container vibration table the manual medicine container should be placed on. Another aspect of the present invention, developed to solve the above problems, is a drug dispensing device comprising a main unit, a drug weighing device, and a manual drug container, wherein the main unit has a container vibrating table on which the manual drug container is manually moved and placed to vibrate the manual drug container, and a powdered drug dispensing device, wherein the manual drug container is open at the top and tip and has a bottom, and has a drug storage section in which the powdered drug is temporarily stored, based on the position in which it is placed on the container vibrating table, and the powdered drug dispensing device is capable of dividing the powdered drug supplied from the manual drug container into single doses, and the powdered drug weighed by the drug weighing device is manually poured into the manual drug container, the manual drug container is manually moved to the main unit and placed on the container vibrating table, the manual drug container is vibrated by the container vibrating table, and the powdered drug in the manual drug container is discharged from the drug discharge section of the manual drug container. In a preferred embodiment, the container vibrating table further has a weight measuring means for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the manual medicine container, and the medicine dispensing device includes an operation in which the manual medicine container is placed on the container vibrating table, the manual medicine container is vibrated by the container vibrating table, and when the powdered medicine in the manual medicine container is discharged from the medicine discharge portion of the manual medicine container, the change in weight of the manual medicine container is detected by the weight measuring means. In a more preferred embodiment, the manual drug container has a drug insertion section that opens upward based on the position in which it is placed on the container vibration table, and a lid is provided on top of the drug insertion section, and the powdered medicine is inserted into the manual drug container by opening the lid. In a further preferred embodiment, the main device further comprises a drug packaging device having a packaging device and a packaging paper supplying device, the drug packaging device packaging powdered medicine that has been divided into single doses and discharged by the powdered medicine dispensing device, and the packaging paper supplying device supplying sheet-shaped packaging paper to the packaging device. Another aspect of the present invention, which has been developed to solve the above problems, is a medicine dispensing device comprising a main unit, a medicine weighing device located apart from the main unit, and a manual medicine container for storing medicines other than those stored in the main unit, wherein the main unit is surrounded by a housing, the housing has a medicine shelf area inside, and the medicine shelf area is provided with a container storage device for placing stored medicine containers, the main unit has a container vibration table for vibrating the manual medicine container, and a powder medicine dispensing device, and the medicine weighing device has prescription information reading means and stored medicine information reading means. and a means for reading the contained medicine information, and when the contained medicine read by the contained medicine information reading means corresponds to any of the prescribed medicines read by the prescription information reading means, the prescribed medicine is selected as the object to be weighed and the selected medicine is weighed by the medicine weighing device.The weighed medicine is manually placed into a manual medicine container, the manual medicine container is manually moved to the main device, the manual medicine container is placed on a container vibration table, the manual medicine container is vibrated by the container vibration table, and the medicine is discharged from the manual medicine container to a powder medicine dispensing device. A preferred embodiment is a drug dispensing device further comprising a temporary drug container storage section provided in the main device and a robot for moving manual drug containers, in which the manual drug containers are manually moved to the main device, then manually attached to the temporary drug container storage section, and then placed on a container vibration table by the robot. In a more preferred embodiment, there are a plurality of container vibration tables, and among the plurality of container vibration tables, This is a medicine dispensing device having a display device that indicates whether the container vibration table is to be used. Another aspect of the present invention, which has been developed to solve the above-mentioned problems, is a medicine dispensing device comprising a main device, a medicine weighing device located apart from the main device, and a manual medicine container for containing medicines other than those stored in the main device, wherein the main device is surrounded by a housing, the housing has a medicine shelf area inside, and the medicine shelf area is provided with a container storage device for placing the contained medicine containers, the main device has a container vibration table for vibrating the manual medicine container, and a powder medicine dispensing device, the medicine weighing device has prescription information reading means and contained medicine information reading means, and the contained medicine information reading means This drug dispensing device is capable of selecting the prescribed drug as the drug to be weighed when the contained drug read by the means corresponds to any of the prescribed drugs read by the prescription information reading means, and weighing the selected drug by the drug weighing device, manually placing a manual drug container on the drug weighing device, manually introducing the selected drug into the manual drug container to weigh the drug, manually moving the manual drug container to the main device, manually placing the manual drug container on a container vibration table, vibrating the manual drug container on the container vibration table, and discharging the drug from the manual drug container to a powder drug dispensing device. In a further preferred embodiment, the manual drug container further has a rewritable information recording member, and the main unit further has a main unit side information reading means, the prescription information recorded on the information recording member is read by the main unit side information reading means, and the prescription information is sent to the main unit in association with the manual drug container. In an even more preferred embodiment, the main device further comprises a container confirmation means for recognizing manual drug containers, and when weighing drugs using the drug weighing device, the container confirmation means reads information identifying the manual drug container, and information associating the prescription information with the information identifying the manual drug container is transmitted from the drug weighing device, the main device receives the associated information, and the container confirmation means individually identifies the manual drug container, and divides and packages the drug in accordance with the prescription information related to the manual drug container. Another aspect of the present invention, developed to solve the above problems, is a drug dispensing device comprising a main unit, a drug weighing device located away from the main unit, and a manual drug container for containing drugs other than those stored in the main unit, wherein the main unit is surrounded by a housing, the housing has a drug shelf area inside, and the drug shelf area is provided with a container storage device for placing the contained drug containers, the main unit has a container vibrating table for vibrating the manual drug container, and a powder drug dispensing device, the drug weighing device has contained drug information reading means, the drug weighing device receives prescribed drugs, and if the contained drug read by the contained drug information reading means corresponds to any of the received prescribed drugs, it selects the prescribed drug as the drug to be weighed and is able to weigh the drug selected by the drug weighing device, the weighed drug can be manually poured into the manual drug container, the manual drug container can be manually moved to the main unit, the manual drug container can be placed on the container vibrating table, the manual drug container can be vibrated on the container vibrating table, and the drug can be discharged from the manual drug container to the powder drug dispensing device. In a preferred embodiment, the drug weighing device is a drug dispensing device that includes an operation of receiving prescribed drugs from a prescription computer into which the prescribed drugs have been input. Another aspect of the present invention, developed to solve the above problems, is a medicine dispensing device comprising a main unit, a medicine weighing device located away from the main unit, and a manual medicine container for storing medicines other than those stored in the main unit, wherein the main unit is surrounded by a housing, has a medicine shelf area inside the housing, and a container storage device for placing the stored medicine containers is provided in the medicine shelf area, the main unit has a container vibration table for vibrating the manual medicine container and a powder medicine dispensing device, and is capable of selecting medicines to be weighed based on prescription information and weighing the selected medicines using the medicine weighing device, This medicine dispensing device involves placing weighed medicine into a manual medicine container, manually moving the manual medicine container to the main body device, placing the manual medicine container on a container vibration table, vibrating the manual medicine container on the container vibration table, and discharging powdered medicine from the manual medicine container to a powdered medicine dispensing device. A preferred embodiment is a drug dispensing device further comprising a drug container temporary storage section provided in the main device and a robot for moving manual drug containers, in which the manual drug containers are manually moved to the main device, then attached to the drug container temporary storage section, and then placed on a container vibration table by the robot. In a more preferred embodiment, the medicine dispensing device has a plurality of container vibrating tables and further has a display device that indicates which of the plurality of container vibrating tables is to be used. A more preferred embodiment is a medicine dispensing device in which, when the medicine is weighed by the medicine weighing device, a manual medicine container is placed on the medicine weighing device, and the medicine is poured into the manual medicine container and weighed. In a further preferred embodiment, the manual drug container further has a rewritable information recording member, the prescription information recorded on the information recording member is read by a main body side information reading means, and the prescription information is sent to the main body side device in association with the manual drug container. In an even more preferred embodiment, the main device further comprises a container confirmation means for recognizing manual drug containers, and when weighing drugs using the drug weighing device, the barcode reader reads information identifying the manual drug container, and information relating the prescription information to the information identifying the manual drug container is transmitted from the drug weighing device, the main device receives the information, and the container confirmation means individually identifies the manual drug container, and divides and packages the drugs in accordance with the prescription information related to the manual drug container. Another aspect of the present invention, developed to solve the above problems, is a drug dispensing device comprising a main unit, a drug weighing device located away from the main unit, and a manual drug container for containing drugs other than those stored in the main unit, wherein the main unit is surrounded by a housing, the housing has a drug shelf area inside, and the drug shelf area is provided with a container storage device for placing the stored drug containers, the main unit has a container vibrating table for vibrating the manual drug container, and a powder drug dispensing device, and is capable of selecting drugs to be weighed based on prescription information and weighing the selected drugs using the drug weighing device, placing the manual drug container on the drug weighing device, introducing the selected drugs into the manual drug container to weigh the drugs, manually moving the manual drug container to the main unit, placing the manual drug container on the container vibrating table, vibrating the manual drug container on the container vibrating table, and discharging powder drug from the manual drug container to the powder drug dispensing device. Another aspect of the present invention, developed to solve the above problems, is a drug dispensing device comprising a main unit, a drug weighing device, and a drug container, wherein the drug weighing device has a weight detection means for detecting the weight of the drug, the main unit has a container vibrating table on which the drug container is placed and vibrated, the drug container has a drug storage section in which the drug is temporarily stored, and a drug discharge section that opens sideways when placed on the container vibrating table of the main unit, and the drug is poured into the drug container and weighed by the weight detection means, the drug container is placed on the container vibrating table of the main unit with the drug still in the drug container, the drug container is vibrated by the container vibrating table, and the drug is discharged from the drug discharge section to a drug distribution device. Another invention related to the present invention is a medicine dispensing device comprising a main device and a medicine container, wherein the main device has a container vibrating table on which the medicine container is placed and vibrated, a powder medicine dispensing device, and a robot, wherein the powder medicine dispensing device has a distribution tray and a scraping device and is capable of dividing the powder medicine supplied to the distribution tray into individual doses, wherein the medicine container has a medicine storage section in which the medicine is temporarily stored and a medicine discharge section, and wherein the medicine container contains an amount of medicine equivalent to the total weight of a specific prescribed powder medicine, and while the medicine remains in the medicine container, the medicine container is placed on the container vibrating table by the robot, and the medicine container is vibrated by the container vibrating table, and all of the medicine in the medicine container is discharged from the medicine discharge section of the medicine container into the distribution tray. An invention related to the present invention is a drug dispensing device that has a function to reduce human error during weighing, and is equipped with a separate main unit, a drug weighing device, and a drug container, wherein the drug weighing device has a weight detection means for detecting the weight of the drug, a dispensing information reading means for reading information related to dispensing, and an information writing means and / or a weighing device-side information reading means, and the main unit has a container vibrating table on which the drug container is placed and vibrated, a drug dispensing device that divides powdered medicine into predetermined amounts and separates it into multiple pieces, and a main unit-side information reading means, and the drug container has a drug storage section where the drug is temporarily stored, a drug discharge section that opens sideways when placed on the container vibration table of the main unit, and an information recording member and / or a container identification member, and is characterized in that information related to dispensing is sent to the main unit in association with the drug container.

[0019] A medicine dispensing device related to the present invention comprises a main body device and a medicine weighing device. The medicine weighing device has substantially the same functions as the medicine weighing device disclosed in Patent Document 2, and includes a weight detection means for detecting the weight of medicines, a dispensing information reading means for reading information related to dispensing, and an information writing means and / or a weighing device-side information reading means. The main body does not have the input hopper and trough used in the prior art, but instead has a container vibration table installed. A medicine dispensing device according to the present invention includes a medicine container having an information recording member and / or a container identification member, and a medicine storage section where medicines are temporarily stored and a medicine discharge section that opens laterally when the medicine container is placed on the container vibration table of the main device. In the medicine dispensing device of the present invention, a weighed medicine is placed in a medicine container, which is then placed on the container vibration table of the main device. The medicine container is then vibrated on the container vibration table and dropped directly from the medicine discharge section into the medicine dispensing device. The medicine dispensing device of the present invention drops medicines directly from the medicine container and does not have a feeding hopper or trough, so there is no need to clean the feeding hopper and trough.

[0020] The weight detection means of the drug weighing device has a container mounting section on which the drug container is placed, and the weight detection means detects the weight of the drug introduced from the drug input section into the drug storage section of the drug container, and it is desirable that the drug container has a drug input section that opens upward when placed on the container mounting section of the drug weighing device.

[0021] According to this aspect, the medicine can be weighed by adding the medicine from the medicine input section while the container is placed on the container mounting section of the medicine weighing device.

[0022] One aspect of the present invention described above is that the main device has a main device-side information reading means, the drug container has an information recording member, information related to dispensing is recorded on the information recording member, and the information recorded on the information recording member is desirably read by the main device-side information reading means. The drug container may have an information recording member, and the information recording member may be rewritable; the drug weighing device may have an information writing means, and information related to dispensing may be recorded on the information recording member by the information writing means; the information recorded on the information recording member may be read by an information reading means on the main body side, and the information related to dispensing may be sent to the main body device in association with the drug container.

[0023] The main body side information reading means may be a receiving means for receiving a signal, the drug container may have a container identification member, the drug weighing device may have a weighing device side information reading means, information identifying the drug container may be read by the weighing device side information reading means, information related to dispensing and information identifying the drug container may be transmitted from the drug weighing device, the information may be transmitted directly or indirectly to the main body side information reading means, and the information related to dispensing may be transmitted to the main body side information reading means in association with the drug container.

[0024] The information related to dispensing that is sent to the main device in association with the medicine container may include information about the weight of the medicine detected by the weight detection means.

[0025] It is desirable that an iron plate be attached to the bottom of the drug container, and that an electromagnet be provided on the container vibration table, and that the manual drug container be fixed to the container vibration table by operating the electromagnet. The drug container becomes horizontally long when placed on the container mounting section of the drug weighing device, with one longitudinal end open to form a drug discharge section, and it also has a drug input section that opens upward when placed on the container mounting section of the drug weighing device, and it is desirable that the drug input section has a space inside and that the opening is larger than the drug discharge section. It is desirable that the main device has a packaging device for packaging medicines and a printing means, and that prescription-related information is printed by the printing means.

[0026] The main device may have a display means, and may be configured to be able to display on the display means information related to the preparation sent to the main device in association with the medicine container. Another aspect is a drug dispensing method for dispensing drugs using a drug dispensing device, the drug dispensing device comprising a main device, a drug weighing device, and a drug container, the drug weighing device having a weight detection means for detecting the weight of the drug, a dispensing information reading means for reading information related to dispensing, and an information writing means and / or a weighing device side information reading means, the main device having a container vibrating table on which the drug container is placed and vibrated, a drug dispensing device for dividing powdered medicine into predetermined amounts and splitting it into multiple pieces, and a main device side information reading means, the drug container having a drug discharge section and an information recording member and / or a container identification member, information related to dispensing associated with the drug container and sent to the main device, the drug being poured into the drug container and weighed by the weight detection means, the drug container still containing the drug being placed on the container vibrating table of the main device, the drug container being vibrated by the container vibration table, and the drug being discharged from the drug discharge section to the drug dispensing device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0027] The medicine dispensing device of the present invention relieves the operator from the task of cleaning the feeding hopper and trough. The medicine dispensing device of the related invention can reduce human error during weighing. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a main body device, a medicine weighing device, and a manual medicine container of a medicine dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the main unit of FIG. 1 in a see-through manner. [Figure 3] 2 is a perspective view of a medicine container introduction door portion of the main body device of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 1 is a perspective view of a medicine feeder employed in a medicine dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 1 is a perspective view of a manual drug container employed in a drug dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the manual drug container of FIG. 5. [Figure 7] 6 is a cross-sectional view of the manual medicine container of FIG. 5, showing the behavior of the medicine inside when it is being discharged. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a self-contained medication container. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a container vibrating table employed in the medicine dispensing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the container vibrating table of FIG. 9. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a vertical perspective view of the container vibrating table of FIG. 9. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the container vibrating table of FIG. 9. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a medicine dividing device of the main body device of FIG. 1. [Figure 14] 2 is a side view conceptually showing a part of the medicine dividing device of the main body device of FIG. 1 in vertical section. FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a medicine weighing device. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the drug weighing device. [Figure 17] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a manual drug container is placed on the drug weighing device. [Figure 18] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the medicine weighing device. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the medicine feeder. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a modified example of a manual drug container. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another modified example of a manual medicine container. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the medicine container shown in FIG. 21, showing the state when medicine is poured into the medicine container in a normal manner. [Figure 23] FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the medicine container shown in FIG. 21, showing a state in which medicine is introduced by another method. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the inside of a main unit according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 25] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a powder medicine dispensing and packaging device disclosed in Patent Document 1. [Figure 26] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a powder feeder disclosed in Patent Document 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] The medicine dispensing device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be further described below. To facilitate understanding, the outline and general operation of the present invention will be described first, and then the specific configuration of each component will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 1, a medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment is made up of a main body device 2, a medicine weighing device (medicine inspection system) 3, and a manual medicine container 5a. Similar to the powder medicine packing device 200 disclosed in the aforementioned Patent Document 1, the main body device 2 has a powder medicine dispensing device 18 and a medicine packaging device 6 (see FIGS. 2, 13, and 14). Powder medicine dispensing device 18 is equipped with dispensing trays 7a, 7b and scraping device 8, and is capable of dividing the supplied powder medicine into individual doses. Furthermore, the divided powder medicine can be packaged into individual doses by medicine packaging device 6. Furthermore, printing means 13 is built into medicine packaging device 6, and a predetermined printing can be performed on the packaging bag.

[0030] The medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment employs a medicine feeder 10a having a structure as shown in FIG. 4, instead of the medicine supply device 201 disclosed in Patent Document 1. The medicine feeder 10a is composed of a container vibrating table 11 and a manual medicine container 5a. The container vibrating table 11 and the manual medicine container 5a that constitute the medicine feeder 10a are separate entities, and can be integrated by the action of an electromagnet 12 (see FIG. 9) provided on the container vibrating table 11. The container vibrating table 11 is vibrated by vibration means 15a and 15b. Furthermore, the container vibration table 11 is equipped with an RFID reader 16 as a main body side information reading means. The container vibration table 11 is installed near the distribution trays 7a and 7b as shown in FIGS. The main device 2 also has a touch panel 106 as shown in Fig. 1. The touch panel 106 serves as both a display means and an input means.

[0031] 5, 6, and 7, and its container body 25 is open at the top and tip. Manual drug container 5a has a bottom and is provided with drug reservoir 9 where drugs are temporarily stored. Also, a flow straightening member 17a is provided inside manual drug container 5a. That is, manual drug container 5a has drug discharge part 20a that opens in the lateral direction based on the position where it is placed on container vibration table 11. The opening on the top side functions as drug input part 21a. An RFID tag 22, which is an information recording member, is attached to the outer surface of the manual drug container 5a. A fixing iron plate portion 26 is attached to the bottom of the manual drug container 5a. In this embodiment, a barcode 24 is also provided in addition to the RFID tag 22. The barcode 24 is a container identification member that identifies the manual medicine container 5a.

[0032] The drug weighing device 3 is substantially the same as that disclosed in the aforementioned Patent Document 2, and has a balance table (container mounting section) 30, an RFID reader / writer 134, a barcode reader 32, and a touch panel 133, as shown in Figure 16. The barcode reader 32 functions as a dispensing information reading means and a contained drug confirmation means, and in this embodiment of the present invention, the dispensing information written on the prescription is read into the control unit 131 of the drug weighing device 3 using the barcode reader 32. The pharmacist then places manual drug container 5a on balance table (container placement section) 30, and directly introduces the drug into manual drug container 5a from drug injection section 21 of manual drug container 5a, thereby weighing the drug. At this time, the type of medicine contained in the medicine bottle can be read by the barcode reader 32 from the barcode attached to the medicine bottle or the like (not shown), and it can be confirmed that the medicine is the correct one prescribed. Prescription information, the name of the pharmacist, and the type and amount of the weighed medicine are written to RFID tag 22 of manual medicine container 5a by RFID reader / writer 134 of the medicine weighing device. That is, RFID reader / writer 134 functions as information writing means.

[0033] Then, the manual drug container 5a is moved manually or using a robot, and the manual drug container 5a is placed on the container vibration table 11 of the main body device 2. An RFID reader 16, which serves as a main body side information reading means, is provided near the container vibrating table 11, and the dispensing information is read into the main body device 2 by the RFID reader 16. The read dispensing information is then displayed on a touch panel 106 provided on the main body device 2. Therefore, the pharmacist can check the dispensing information displayed on the touch panel 106.

[0034] Furthermore, if the dispensing information includes any items that require additional work or work that is different from the regular work, or if there are any special precautions, this information will be displayed on the touch panel 106. The pharmacist can review the displayed information and operate the touch panel 106 to instruct the main device 2 on the work items, etc. In other words, the touch panel 106 can be used to instruct additional work or change the work content.

[0035] An example of a caution that should be displayed on touch panel 106 is when the type and amount of medicine written on the prescription differs from the type and amount of medicine contained in manual medicine container 5a. For example, when multiple types of medicine are packaged together in the same package, there may be a case where the prescription lists three types of medicine but manual medicine container 5a contains only two types, and the remaining medicine needs to be poured into distribution tray 7 as an operation in main device 2. Similarly, when multiple types of medicines are packaged together in the same package, there may be cases where medicines are poured into the distribution tray 7 from multiple manual medicine containers 5a. In such cases, the pharmacist operates the touch panel 106 to operate the main device 2 so that the medicines perform the appropriate action. Also, although not directly related to the present invention, if the amount of drug contained in the storage-type drug container 4 to be distributed together is less than the prescribed amount, a support screen for drug filling work may be displayed on the screen of touch panel 106 so that the filling work can be performed in advance.

[0036] Furthermore, when powdered medicine and tablets are packaged together, a predetermined operation is instructed from touch panel 106. For example, when a main body device having a function for dispensing solid medicine such as tablets is used, or when a main body device having a "manual dispensing function" for individually packaging tablets, etc. is used, a predetermined operation is instructed from touch panel 106.

[0037] Also, when combining drugs contained in a receptacle-type drug container 4 employed in an embodiment described below, the pharmacist operates touch panel 106 to cause main device 2 to perform the necessary operations. Furthermore, when the drugs required for combining are not contained in receptacle-type drug container 4 or are in short supply, and new drugs need to be filled into receptacle-type drug container 4, the pharmacist operates touch panel 106 to cause main device 2 to perform the necessary operations.

[0038] Then, after the pharmacist has completed the prescription inspection and given any required additional instructions, the pharmacist operates the touch panel 106 to input a confirmation signal, which starts the following packaging operation. The confirmation signal is given by touching a specified display area on the touch panel 106, but the confirmation display is optional, and possible displays include "Confirm" and "Start work." In short, the pharmacist triggers the start of packaging at their own will. In the packaging operation, distribution tray 7 is rotated and container vibrating table 11 is simultaneously vibrated. As a result, manual drug container 5a on container vibrating table 11 vibrates, and the powdered medicine inside slowly moves toward drug discharge section 20, eventually dropping from drug discharge section 20 onto distribution tray 7. That is, in this embodiment, the powdered medicine drops directly from manual drug container 5a onto distribution tray 7 without passing through a trough as in the conventional case. Once all the powdered medicine has fallen, the rotation of the distribution tray 7 stops. After that, the powdered medicine on the distribution tray 7 is divided into a predetermined number of pieces according to the prescription information read by the RFID reader 16, and the medicine is scraped out by the scraping device 8 and put into the medicine packaging device 6, where it is individually packaged. Also, predetermined characters are printed on the packaging bags. After the series of operations is completed, the manual drug container 5a is removed from the container vibration table 11. The medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment vibrates the manual medicine container 5a to directly dispense powdered medicine from the manual medicine container 5a into the distribution tray 7, so it does not have a trough 210 like the conventional one, and there is no need to clean the trough 210.

[0039] In the above embodiment, the manual drug container 5a was placed on the balance table 30 of the drug weighing device 3 and the drug was poured into it, but it is also possible to place a sheet or the like on the balance table 30 to weigh the drug, and then transfer the drug from the sheet to the manual drug container 5a.

[0040] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, manual drug container 5a is provided with RFID tag 22 as a writable information recording member, dispensing information is recorded on the information recording member, and the dispensing information is transmitted from the information recording member to main device 2. That is, in the above-described embodiment, manual drug container 5a has RFID tag 22 as an information recording member, RFID tag 22 is rewritable, drug weighing device 3 has RFID reader / writer 134 as information writing means, information related to dispensing is recorded on RFID tag 22 by RFID reader / writer 134, and the information recorded on RFID tag 22 is read by RFID reader 16 as main-body-side information reading means, whereby the information related to dispensing is associated with manual drug container 5a and transmitted to main device 2.

[0041] Alternatively, the drug dispensing information may be transmitted directly from the drug weighing device 3 to the main device 2 via a wired or wireless connection. Alternatively, the drug dispensing information may be transmitted from the drug weighing device 3 to the main device 2 via another central control device or the like. When this method is adopted, a receiving means for receiving signals as a main body side information reading means is provided in main body device 2. Also, barcode 24 provided on manual drug container 5a is used. Then, drug weighing device 3 uses barcode reader 32 as a weighing device side information reading means to read information identifying manual drug container 5a. Furthermore, the main device 2 is provided with a container confirmation means for recognizing the container identification member. The container confirmation means is, for example, a barcode reader. Note that the RFID tag 22 provided on the manual drug container 5a may be used as the container identification member, and the RFID reader 16 may be used as the container confirmation means.

[0042] When weighing a drug using the drug weighing device 3, information identifying the manual drug container 5a is read using the barcode reader 32, and the information related to dispensing is associated with the information identifying the manual drug container 5a and transmitted from the drug weighing device 3, and this information is received by the main unit 2. Thereafter, the manual medicine container 5a is individually identified by the container identification means of the main device 2, and the medicine is divided and packaged in accordance with the dispensing information related to the manual medicine container 5a.

[0043] Having described the outline of the present invention above, the embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail. The medicine dispensing device 1 described below is composed of a main body device 2, a medicine weighing device 3, a self-contained medicine container 4, and a manual medicine container 5a, as shown in Figure 1. Note that the self-contained medicine container 4 is an accessory component and is not directly related to the present invention. The main body device 2 of this embodiment is surrounded by a housing 40, and the interior thereof is divided into a medicine shelf area 100, a medicine division area 101, and a medicine packaging area . In the medicine shelf area 100, a container storage device 103 (FIG. 2) for storing the self-contained medicine containers 4 is provided. The components of the medicine shelf area 100 are also accessory components and are not directly related to the present invention. The container storage device 103 has a vertical drum member 105 that rotates in a substantially horizontal direction, and a plurality of container setting devices (not shown) are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the drum member 105. Container storage device 103 stores a large number of self-contained drug containers 4 as shown in Fig. 8. The drug containers stored in container storage device 103 are self-contained drug containers 4 of the type that do not have a drug input section as shown in Fig. 8.

[0044] Drum member 105 is rotated by a motor (not shown), and a desired self-contained drug container 4 is brought close to robot 110 and attached or detached by robot 110.

[0045] Door element 111 is provided on housing 40 of medicine shelf area 100. Door element 111 is a wing-type door that opens and closes by means of a hinge, as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, a medicine container temporary placing section 112 is provided inside the door member 111. Also, inside the door member 111, a main body side information reading means (door section) 113 such as an RFID reader is provided.

[0046] A robot 110 is provided in the area extending from the medicine shelf area 100 to the medicine dividing area 101.

[0047] The medicine dividing area 101 is an area where the powder medicine dispensing device 18 is provided. As shown in Figures 2 and 13, the medicine dividing area 101 has a table member 38, and is an area where two dispensing trays 7a, 7b are installed in a buried state in the table member 38, and a container vibrating table 11 and a cleaning device 43 are arranged around them. The medicine dividing area 101 is also provided with a scraping device 8. The table member 38 is provided with a medicine input opening 68. The distribution plates 7a and 7b are members provided with a medicine insertion groove 45 on the upper surface side. The medicine insertion groove 45 is also called an "R groove" and has an arc-shaped cross section. The medicine insertion groove 45 is located near the outer edge of the distribution plates 7a and 7b.

[0048] The distribution trays 7a and 7b can be rotated at a constant speed by a tray rotation mechanism (not shown), or can be rotated by a predetermined angle.

[0049] The scraping device 8 is made up of a drive unit (not shown), a scraping arm 46 shown in FIG. 14, and a scraping mechanism 47 provided at the tip of the scraping arm 46.

[0050] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, a turntable 48 is provided below the distribution trays 7a and 7b, and by rotating the turntable 48, the entire scraping device 8 can be turned.

[0051] The cleaning device 43 has a cleaning arm 50 that protrudes in a cantilevered manner from the table member 38 and whose tip side moves up and down by power, and a cleaning brush 51 is provided at the tip of the arm 50.

[0052] The table member 38 is provided with a container vibrating table 11. In this embodiment, there are three sets of container vibrating tables 11 around each of the distribution trays 7a and 7b. The structure of container vibrating table 11 is as shown in Figures 9 to 12. Container vibrating table 11 has a mounting table 52 on which self-contained drug container 4 and manual drug container 5a are placed, and a weight measuring means for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the drug containers (storage-type drug container 4 and manual drug container 5a). The container vibration table 11 is provided with an electromagnet 12, which serves as a container holding means for temporarily fixing a drug container to the container vibration table 11. More specifically, the container holding means is an electromagnet with a structure called a self-holding solenoid. A self-holding solenoid combines a permanent magnet and an electromagnet, and normally exerts an attractive force mainly by the permanent magnet. When an object magnetically attracted to the self-holding solenoid is to be released, electricity is passed through the electromagnet, which generates a magnetic force in the opposite direction to the permanent magnet, thereby canceling out the magnetic force of the permanent magnet. In this embodiment, manual drug container 5a is placed on container vibration table 11, and the drug can be discharged from manual drug container 5a by vibrating container vibration table 11. The change in weight of manual drug container 5a at that time is detected by weight measuring means.

[0053] 9 to 12, the container vibrating table 11 is composed of, from the top down, a mounting table 52, vibration means 15a and 15b, an intermediate table 53, a vibration isolation table 55, a vibration isolation member 62, a weight measuring means 56, and a base member 57. An RFID reader 16 is also provided near the mounting table 52.

[0054] The mounting table 52 is a block-shaped mounting table and has an external shape of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, as shown in Figures 9 to 12. The mounting surface 61 has an electromagnet 12 built in.

[0055] The vibration means 15a and 15b are piezoelectric elements. As shown in FIG. 10, the intermediate stand 53 has a generally "H" shape in plan view. There is a large cavity 60 inside the intermediate base 53, and the back side of the intermediate base 53 is largely open. As shown in FIG. 10, the vibration isolation table 55 is a plate body with a protruding central portion to provide a space inside.

[0056] Next, we will explain the positional relationship of each component of the container vibration table 11. In the container vibration table 11, vibration means 15a and 15b are provided between the mounting table 52 and the intermediate table 53, as shown in FIGS.

[0057] In this embodiment, the vibration means 15a and 15b are present between the mounting table 52 and the intermediate table 53, and the mounting table 52 is not supported at any location other than the vibration means 15a and 15b. Therefore, the mounting table 52 is supported in midair from the intermediate table 53 by the vibration means 15a and 15b.

[0058] In addition, a vibration-isolating table 55 is disposed below the intermediate table 53. In this embodiment, the only member connecting the intermediate table 53 and the vibration-isolating table 55 is the vibration-isolating member 62. Therefore, the intermediate table 53 is supported in midair from the vibration-isolating table 55 by the vibration-isolating member 62.

[0059] 10, 11 and 12, a weight measuring means 56 is disposed below the vibration isolation table 55, and a base member 57 is disposed below that. As shown in Figures 11 and 12, the majority of the weight measuring means 56 is located within a ridge 63 provided in the center of the vibration-isolating table 55, and the upper installation surface 64 of the weight measuring means 56 is connected to the inner surface of the top surface of the ridge 63 of the vibration-isolating table 55. On the other hand, the lower installation surface 66 of the weight measuring means 56 is attached to the base member 57 . The base member 57 is attached to the vicinity of the distribution plates 7a and 7b of the medicine divided region 101 via a vibration-isolating member 67, as in the previous embodiment.

[0060] The medicine packaging area 102 houses a medicine packaging device 6. The medicine packaging device 6 is a machine that packages medicines into individual doses, similar to known devices, and is composed of a packaging paper supply device and a packaging device, as is known. The packaging section is also provided with a medicine hopper for feeding medicines. Medicine packaging device 6 is basically configured to have packaging paper supply device 58, packaging device 59, and printing means 13. Packaging paper supply device 58 is a part that supplies sheet-shaped packaging paper to the packaging section. Packaging device 59 is a device that folds a sheet of packaging paper, places powdered medicine inside it, and then fuses the sides of the sheet to form a bag. Packaging paper supply device 58, packaging device 59, and printing means 13 used in this embodiment are all well known, so detailed description will be omitted.

[0061] Next, the manual drug container 5a will be described. The manual drug container 5a is a type of drug container having a drug injection portion 21a as shown in FIGS. Manual drug container 5a is composed of container body 25, fixing iron plate portion 26, discharge side lid member 120, input side lid member 121, RFID tag (information recording member) 22, and barcode 24. Container body 25 is a vertically long container made of resin, with one longitudinal end open to form medicine discharge portion 20a. There is also a large opening on the side of container body 25, which functions as medicine input portion 21a. Medicine discharge section 20a provided on container body 25 opens horizontally based on the orientation when placed on container vibration table 11. Medicine input section 21a opens upward based on the orientation when placed on container vibration table 11. The same is true when the orientation when placed on medicine weighing device 3 is used as the basis; medicine discharge section 20a opens horizontally and medicine input section 21b opens upward.

[0062] Medicine injection section 21a has a flange section 28 formed around the periphery of the opening. An input side lid member 121 is attached to the flange portion 28. An RFID tag (information recording member) 22 and a barcode 24 are attached to the outer side surface of the container body 25.

[0063] The discharge-side lid member 120 is composed of a lid main body 125, a movable lid portion 124, a rectifying coil 126, and a comb-shaped rectifying member 130. The discharge-side lid member 120 also has a desiccant 182 disposed therein, as shown in FIG. Movable cover 124 has knob 147, and movable cover 124 opens when knob 147 is pressed, and movable cover 124 remains open. The discharge side lid member 120 is attached to the medicine discharge portion 20a of the container body 25 as shown in FIG.

[0064] Fixing iron plate part 26 is a steel plate containing a magnetic component such as ferrite. Fixing iron plate part 26 is attached to the outer periphery of container body 25, on peripheral wall underside 27. The surface to which fixing iron plate part 26 is attached faces the surface on which drug injection part 21a is provided.

[0065] Next, the self-contained drug container 4 will be described. The self-contained drug container 4 is an accessory component of the present invention and does not directly affect the effects of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the self-contained drug container 4 is a type of drug container that does not have a drug insertion section. The self-contained drug container 4 has a transporting iron plate section 157 provided on the container body 25. In this embodiment, the transporting iron plate section 157 is divided into two small transporting iron plate sections 157a and 157b. The transporting iron plate section 157 is made of a steel plate containing a magnetic component such as ferrite. The configuration of the self-contained medicine container 4 and other components is the same as that of the manual medicine container 5a, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0066] In the main body device 2 of this embodiment, a set of a drug feeder 10a is configured by a drug container (a storage-type drug container 4 or a manual-type drug container 5a) and a container vibrating table 11. That is, the medicine container (storage-type medicine container 4 or manual-type medicine container 5a) and the container vibrating table 11 are separate entities, and when powdered medicine is packaged, the two are combined to form medicine feeder 10a. The main device 2 employed in this embodiment can selectively use a self-contained drug container 4 and a manual drug container 5a. The self-contained drug container 4 is filled with a specific drug in advance and stored in a container storage device 103 in the drug shelf area 100. Medicines according to a prescription for a specific patient are placed into the manual medicine container 5a one by one by a pharmacist. The present invention is characterized in that it uses a manual drug container 5a. The manual drug container 5a is placed on a container vibration table 11 without being stored in a container storage device 103. Medicine feeder 10a has a function of fixing manual medicine container 5a to container vibration table 11 by electromagnet 12 built into mounting table 52, and vibrating manual medicine container 5a to discharge powdered medicine.

[0067] Next, the drug weighing device will be described. The drug weighing device includes a weighing means, a prescription information reading means, a contained drug information reading means, an information writing means, and a control means. The weighing means weighs drugs. The prescription information reading means reads prescription information from a prescription, including prescription drug identification information that identifies one or more prescribed drugs recorded on the prescription. The contained medicine information reading means reads contained medicine information, which is contained medicine identification information for identifying the contained medicine recorded in a medicine container such as a medicine bottle, from the medicine bottle or the like. When the contained drug read by the contained drug information reading means corresponds to any of the prescribed drugs read by the prescription information reading means, the control means selects the prescribed drug as the object to be weighed and causes the display means to display a weighing screen in which the prescribed drug is the object to be weighed. Furthermore, the necessary information is written to the RFID tag 22 of the manual medicine container 5a by the information writing means.

[0068] The following describes the schematic configuration of drug weighing device 3. As shown in Fig. 15, drug weighing device 3 includes control unit 131, balance unit 132, touch panel 133, RFID reader / writer 134, data storage unit 135, USB port 136, barcode reader 32, printer 140, etc. In particular, the device body of drug weighing device 3 is integrally provided with at least balance platform 30, control unit 131, balance unit 132, and touch panel 133.

[0069] The control unit 131 is a computer that includes a CPU, ROM, RAM (EEPROM, etc.), and performs overall control of the medicine weighing device 3. The CPU is a processor that executes various types of arithmetic processing according to various programs. The ROM is a non-volatile memory that stores programs to be executed by the CPU in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile memory that is used for the CPU to load various programs and temporarily store data for various arithmetic processing.

[0070] The balance unit 132 has a stainless steel balance platform 30 and is a weighing means for weighing a drug placed on the balance platform 30. Specifically, the balance unit 132 is a balance unit that is also used in conventionally known electronic balances that include a balancing circuit, a force coil, a current / voltage conversion circuit, an A / D conversion circuit, etc. The weight of the drug weighed by the balance unit 132 is input to the control unit 131 as digital data.

[0071] When weighing a drug using drug weighing device 3, a pharmacist places manual drug container 5a on balance platform 30 and then places the drug into manual drug container 5a. As described above, manual drug container 5a is provided with RFID tag 22 as a recording medium for reading and writing various pieces of information. RFID tag 22 is provided at a position where data can be read and written by RFID reader / writer 134 when manual drug container 5a is placed on balance platform 30. The balance unit 132 determines the weighed value of the medicine by subtracting the preset weights of the manual medicine container 5a and the RFID tag 22 from the weighed value.

[0072] Touch panel 133 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL panel that displays various screens and various information in accordance with control instructions from control unit 131, and a detection unit that detects operation of an operation key displayed on the display unit and inputs a detection signal to control unit 131. That is, touch panel 133 serves as both a display means and an input means in drug weighing device 3. Specifically, control unit 131 causes touch panel 133 to display the weighed value weighed by balance unit 132.

[0073] The RFID reader / writer 134 uses RFID wireless communication technology to read an RFID tag or It records information on an RFID label or reads information from an RFID tag or RFID label. RFID reader / writer 134 is provided adjacent to balance platform 30, and is used to read and write information from RFID tag 22 when manual drug container 5a is placed on balance platform 30. Of course, RFID reader / writer 134 may be built into drug weighing device 3.

[0074] Data storage unit 135 is a USB memory or other recording medium that stores control programs such as a medicine weighing program executed by control unit 131, and various data such as a pharmaceutical master, and is detachable from medicine weighing device 3.

[0075] The drug weighing program is software that causes a computer such as the control unit 131 to execute each processing step of the drug weighing process (see FIG. 18) described below. It also includes an audit program that causes the control unit 131 to audit whether the weighed value of a drug is within the range of a recommended dose (appropriate amount to be taken per day or once) preset for each drug. Therefore, the drug weighing device 3 can independently weigh a drug and audit the recommended dose without using another information processing device such as a computer.

[0076] The pharmaceutical master contains information such as the drug code, drug name, JAN code (or RSS), medicine bottle code, classification (dosage form: powder, tablet, liquid, topical medication, etc.), specific gravity, drug type (ordinary medicine, poison, narcotic, highly toxic drug, antipsychotic, therapeutic drug, etc.), formulation variations, excipients, precautions, usual dosage (equivalent to appropriate dosage information), and information on prohibited simultaneous use.

[0077] The JAN code (RSS) is information corresponding to the name of the contained drug recorded on a medicine bottle or the like supplied by a pharmaceutical manufacturer, and the JAN code is recorded (written) on the medicine bottle as a barcode. The medicine bottle code is information corresponding to the name of the contained drug recorded on the medicine bottle when the medicine in the medicine box supplied by the pharmaceutical manufacturer is divided into medicine bottles, and the medicine bottle code is recorded on the medicine bottle as a barcode. The control unit 131 can learn the contained drug name corresponding to each barcode by referring to the pharmaceutical agent master.

[0078] In the present embodiment, an example is described in which a drug name is used as information for identifying a drug, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a drug code or the like may also be used. The usual dose is the appropriate amount to be taken per day or once, which is predetermined for each drug. The prohibited simultaneous use information is information regarding drugs that are prohibited from being taken at the same time, which is predetermined for each drug.

[0079] The barcode reader 32 reads information from one-dimensional barcodes such as JAN codes and RSS codes, and two-dimensional codes such as QR codes (registered trademark).

[0080] In the medicine weighing device 3, the control unit 131 reads prescription information, including the name of one or more prescribed medicines recorded (written) on the prescription, from a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark) recorded on the prescription using the barcode reader 32. The prescription information includes the date of issuance of the prescription, the patient ID, the patient name, the patient's date of birth, medicine information (medicine code, medicine name, dosage, dosage form information (oral medicine such as tablets or powder, or topical medicine such as ointment)), usage information (e.g., three times a day after each meal), etc.

[0081] Furthermore, in the medicine weighing device 3, the control unit 131 reads contained medicine information, including the contained medicine name recorded (written) on the medicine bottle, from the JAN code or medicine bottle code recorded (written) on the medicine bottle as a bar code, using the bar code reader 32. Here, the control unit 131 when executing this reading process corresponds to contained medicine information reading means.

[0082] The method for reading prescription information and contained drug information from the prescription or medicine bottle is not limited to using a barcode, but may also use character recognition technology or image recognition technology.

[0083] It is also conceivable that the medicine bottle is provided with an information recording medium such as an RFID tag or RFID label, and that the contained medicine information including the name of the contained medicine contained in the medicine bottle is recorded on the information recording medium.

[0084] Similarly, it is conceivable that the prescription is provided with an information recording medium such as an RFID tag or RFID label, and that the prescription information, including the names of the prescribed drugs recorded on the prescription, is recorded on the information recording medium. Alternatively, prescription information may be entered in advance into a receipt computer or the like, and transmitted from the receipt computer or the like via a LAN (wired or wireless) to the drug weighing device 3, which then receives it.

[0085] Printer 140 prints out print data input from control unit 131 via USB port 136. Specifically, printer 140 is used to print the weighing results obtained by drug weighing device 3, etc.

[0086] Next, the functions of the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment will be described by following the actual operation procedure. The medicine dispensing device 1 can perform fully automatic packaging using a storage-type medicine container 4 and manual packaging using a manual-type medicine container 5a. The medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment is characterized by the latter manual packaging, and manual packaging using a manual medicine container 5a will be described below. The manual packaging procedure is roughly divided into a “drug weighing operation” and a “drug packaging operation.” The drug weighing operation is performed using the drug weighing device 3, and the drug packaging operation is performed using the main device 2. The main body device 2 has two types of drug containers, but in this embodiment, a manual drug container 5a is used. The "drug weighing operation" will be described below with reference to the flowchart in Figure 18. The flowchart shows an example of the procedure of a drug weighing process that is executed by the control unit 131 in the drug weighing device 3 according to a drug weighing program.

[0087] The drug weighing process is a process executed by control unit 131 when the drug weighing device is powered on. Here, an example is described in which dispensing information such as the prescription issue date, patient ID, patient name, patient date of birth, drug information (drug code, drug name, dosage, dosage form information (oral medication such as tablets or powder, or topical medication such as ointment)), and usage information (e.g., three times a day after each meal) is recorded in a two-dimensional code on a prescription. Also, it is assumed that the prescribed drug names include three types of drugs: Drug A, Drug B, and Drug C. It is assumed that the above-mentioned three types of medicines are not contained in the storage-type medicine container 4 stored in the container storage device 103.

[0088] The first worker places an empty manual drug container 5a on the balance table 30. At this time, the input-side lid member 121 of the manual drug container 5a is removed in advance, leaving the drug input section 21a open. With the manual drug container 5a placed on the balance table 30, the drug input section 21a is open upward. The control unit 131 of the medicine weighing device 3 waits for the prescription information to be read (Step 1).

[0089] The pharmacist reads the dispensing information from the two-dimensional code attached to the prescription by operating the barcode reader 32 of the medicine weighing device 3. When the two-dimensional code is read by the barcode reader 32 (YES side of step 1), the control unit 131 advances the process to step 2. The dispensing information read from the two-dimensional code here includes information recorded on the prescription, such as the date of prescription issuance, patient ID, patient name, patient date of birth, drug information (drug code, drug name, dosage, dosage form information (oral medications such as tablets and powders, topical medications such as ointments)), and usage information (e.g., three times a day after each meal).

[0090] In step 2, the control unit 131 displays a prescription screen (not shown) on the touch panel 133 based on the prescription information read in step 1. The prescription screen displays the name of the dispenser, the patient's name, age, weight, number of prescription days, minutes, drug name, dosage form, prescribed amount, etc.

[0091] Next, in step 3, the control unit 131 waits for the contained medicine name to be read (NO side of step 3). Specifically, the control unit 131 determines that the contained medicine name has been read when the contained medicine information indicated by the JAN code or medicine bottle code recorded on the medicine bottle is read by the barcode reader 32. Then, when the pharmacist holds the JAN code or medicine bottle code on the medicine bottle over the barcode reader 32 and the JAN code or medicine bottle code is read by the barcode reader 32 (YES side of step 3), the control unit 131 shifts the processing to step 4.

[0092] That is, in the medicine weighing process, the prescription information and the like are read first, and then the contained medicine name is read. Therefore, if the contained medicine name is read first, the medicine weighing device 3 does not start weighing.

[0093] Then, in step 4, the control unit 131 branches the process depending on the result of comparing the contained drug name in the contained drug information read in step 3 with the contained drug name in the prescription information read in step 1. Specifically, in step 4, the control unit 131 determines whether the contained drug name corresponds to any of the prescribed drug names.

[0094] Here, if the contained drug name corresponds to one of the prescribed drug names (YES side of step 4), processing proceeds to step 5, and if the contained drug name does not correspond to one of the prescribed drug names (NO side of step 4), processing proceeds to step 13.

[0095] In step 5, the control unit 131 selects, from among the prescription drug names included in the prescription information, the prescription drug name that matches the contained drug name as the object to be weighed. That is, if the contained drug name corresponds to one of the prescribed drug names, the prescription drug name to be weighed from among the prescription drug names included in the prescription information is automatically selected.

[0096] Therefore, the pharmacist can verify the contained drug name and the prescribed drug name and select the drug to be weighed in the drug weighing device 3 simply by having the barcode reader 32 read the JAN code or drug bottle code recorded on the drug bottle. Therefore, when the prescription information includes multiple prescribed drug names, the operation of selecting the prescribed drug name to be weighed can be omitted, and the efficiency of dispensing by the doctor or pharmacist can be improved.

[0097] In step 6, the control unit 131 displays a weighing screen (not shown) for weighing the drug of the prescribed drug name corresponding to the contained drug name from the prescription information on the touch panel 133. At this time, the control unit 131 displays the weighed value of the drug by the balance unit 132 and the target value for weighing the drug of the prescribed drug name on the weighing screen.

[0098] For example, the target value "0.9 g" which is the prescribed amount of "drug A" and the actual weighed value by the balance unit 132 "0.0 g" are displayed.

[0099] Then, in step 7, the control unit 131 waits for the completion of weighing of the prescribed drug name (NO side of step 7). Specifically, the control unit 131 determines that the weighing of the prescribed drug name is complete when the enter key (not shown) displayed on the weighing screen is operated. Then, when the control unit 131 determines that the weighing of the prescribed drug name is complete (YES side of step 7), it shifts the processing to step 8. Note that when the weighing of the prescribed drug name is complete, the control unit 131 stores that fact in the data storage unit 135 (RAM) or the like.

[0100] In step 8, the control unit 131 causes the touch panel 133 to display a progress screen (not shown) showing the progress of weighing the prescribed drug name in the prescription information.

[0101] In step 9, the control unit 131 writes the dispensing information and the weighing result (an example of weighed drug information) to the RFID tag 22 of the manual drug container using the RFID reader / writer 134. The dispensing information includes information recorded on the prescription, such as the date of issuance of the prescription, patient ID, patient name, patient date of birth, drug information (drug code, drug name, dosage, dosage form information (oral medication such as tablets or powder, or topical medication such as ointment)), and usage information (e.g., three times a day after each meal). The weighing result also includes the name of the drug to be weighed, the target weighing value, the actual weighing value, and the result of matching the prescribed drug name with the contained drug name. If the prescribed drug name included in the prescription information is replaced with the generic drug name before weighing, information to that effect is also included in the weighing result.

[0102] It is also conceivable that in step 9, the control unit 131 records only a portion of the prescription information, etc. in the RFID tag 22. For example, if an RFID tag 22 with a small storage capacity is used, it will not be possible to record all of the prescription information, etc. and the weighing results. In this case, the control unit 131 may store at least the name of the drug to be weighed in the RFID tag 22. In this case, the drug weighing device 3 and the main unit 2 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate via a communication network such as a LAN or the Internet, and the control unit 131 may transmit information that is not recorded in the RFID tag 22 to the main unit 2. The main unit 2 receives and stores the transmitted information using a control device (not shown).

[0103] Furthermore, in a configuration in which the drug weighing device 3 and main device 2 are connected via a communication network, simple fixed information (such as an identification number for the information) stored in association with prescription information and weighing results within the drug weighing device 3 may be recorded on the RFID tag 22. In this case, when the fixed information is read by the main device 2, the main device 2 requests the drug weighing device 3 to transmit the prescription information and weighing results corresponding to the fixed information. This causes the prescription information and weighing results corresponding to the fixed information to be transmitted from the drug weighing device 3 to the main device 2 via the communication network. The main device 2 receives and stores the transmitted information using a control device (not shown).

[0104] The processing procedures of steps 8 and 9 may be executed in reverse order or may be executed substantially in parallel. That is, immediately after it is determined in step 7 that weighing is complete, the prescription information and the weighing result may be recorded in the RFID tag 22 in step 9.

[0105] Thereafter, in step 10, the control unit 131 determines whether the next contained medicine name has been read by the barcode reader 32. Here, if the control unit 131 determines that the next contained medicine name has been read (YES side of step 10), it shifts the processing to step 4. On the other hand, if the next contained medicine name has not been read (NO side of step 10), the control unit 131 shifts the processing to step 11.

[0106] In step 11, the control unit 131 determines whether all weighing corresponding to the prescription information has been completed. Specifically, when a completion key (not shown) is operated or when weighing of all drugs to be weighed included in the prescription information has been completed, it is determined that all weighing related to the prescription information has been completed.

[0107] Then, when the control unit 131 determines that all weighing related to the prescription information has been completed (YES side of step 11), it shifts the process to step 12. On the other hand, when the control unit 131 determines that all weighing related to the prescription information has not been completed (NO side of step 11), it shifts the process to step 10.

[0108] Incidentally, when the completion key (not shown) is operated, if there is a prescription drug name that has not been weighed yet among the prescription drug names included in the prescription information, the pharmacist may have forgotten to weigh it. Therefore, when the control unit 131 determines that the completion key (not shown) has been operated in step 11, if there is a prescription drug name that has not been weighed yet by the enter key among the prescription drug names included in the prescription information for which the weighing completion has been input by operating the completion key, it is possible to display this information on the touch panel 133. This allows the pharmacist to be alerted to the forgetting of weighing. The control unit 131 determines whether or not the weighing of each prescription drug name has been completed based on the information stored in the data storage unit 135 (RAM) in step 7. Here, the control unit 131, when executing the display process, corresponds to an incomplete display means. The control unit 131 may display the information using text, images, sound, or light.

[0109] Then, when all weighing related to the prescription information is completed, in the following step 12, the control unit 131 causes the printer 140 to print the prescription information and the weighing results. Specifically, the patient name, drug name to be weighed, target weighing value, actual weighed value in the drug weighing device 3, comparison result between the prescribed drug name and the contained drug name, weighing time, weighing operator, etc., included in the prescription information read in step 1 are printed. In other words, the control unit 131 causes the printer 140 to print only records related to the drugs weighed in the drug weighing device 3.

[0110] On the other hand, in step 4, if the contained drug name read in step 3 does not correspond to any of the prescribed drug names (NO in step 4), the control unit 131 proceeds to step 13, displays a warning screen (not shown) on the touch panel 133 indicating that the drug is incorrect, and returns the process to step 3. This makes it possible to warn the pharmacist that the selection of the medicine bottle is incorrect, and to prevent the prescription of the wrong drug.

[0111] As described above, a pharmacist using the drug weighing device 3 can accurately and easily weigh drugs according to a prescription by having the barcode reader 32 sequentially read the two-dimensional code of the prescription, etc. and the barcode of the medicine bottle.

[0112] In particular, when the pharmacist has the barcode reader 32 read the barcode on the medicine bottle, the medicine weighing device 3 collates the contained medicine name with the prescribed medicine name and selects the name of the prescription medicine to be weighed. Therefore, when multiple prescription medicine names are recorded on a prescription, the pharmacist can save the trouble of selecting the name of the prescription medicine to be weighed.

[0113] The above steps complete the "medicine weighing work." Following this, the "medicine packaging work" will be carried out. In this embodiment, when the "medicine weighing operation" is completed, the pharmacist manually attaches the input side lid member 121 to the medicine input portion 21a of the manual medicine container 5a. The manual drug container 5a is then moved to the main device 2 by the pharmacist, and the door member 111 provided on the housing 40 of the drug shelf area 100 shown in Figure 1 is opened, and the drug container is attached to the drug container temporary storage area 112 (Figure 3). After that, the packaging work is automatically performed by the main device 2. That is, the information about the dispensing written in the RFID tag 22 of the manual drug container 5a is read by the main device side information reading means (door portion) 113 such as an RFID reader provided inside the door member 111. The installation destination of the manual drug container 5a is then automatically determined based on the information read by the main body side information reading means (door section) 113. In this embodiment, since two distribution trays 7a, 7b are provided, it is determined which of the distribution trays 7a, 7b will be used. Also, in this embodiment, since three container vibrating tables 11 are provided near each distribution tray 7a, 7b, it is determined which container vibrating table 11 the manual drug container 5a will be installed on.

[0114] Then, the manual drug container 5a is placed on any of the determined container vibrating tables 11 by the robot 110. That is, the robot 110 holding the manual drug container 5a does not head towards the container storage device 103, but directly heads towards the container vibrating table 11 and places the manual drug container 5a on the container storage device 103. The distribution trays 7a and 7b to be used may be selected depending on the properties of the medicine, such as its color. When manual drug container 5a is placed on container vibrating table 11, the information about dispensing written in RFID tag 22 of manual drug container 5a is also read there. That is, in this embodiment, RFID reader 16 is provided near container vibrating table 11, and the information about dispensing is also read by RFID reader 16 on the container vibrating table 11 side. The powdered medicine is then divided according to the information regarding dispensing. That is, either distribution tray 7a or 7b rotates, simultaneously vibrating container vibration table 11. As a result, manual drug container 5a on container vibration table 11 vibrates, and the powdered medicine inside slowly moves toward drug discharge section 20a, eventually dropping from drug discharge section 20a onto distribution tray 7. That is, in this embodiment, the powdered medicine drops directly from manual drug container 5a onto distribution tray 7 without passing through a trough as in the conventional method. Once all the powdered medicine has fallen, the rotation of the distribution tray 7 is stopped. After that, the powdered medicine on the distribution tray 7 is divided into a predetermined number of pieces according to the prescription information, and the medicine is scraped out by the scraping device 8 and placed in the medicine packaging device 6 for individual packaging. In addition, predetermined characters are printed on the packaging bags.

[0115] In this embodiment, once all the medicines in the distribution trays 7a and 7b have been discharged, the groove cleaning operation is performed. That is, the scraping arm 46 of the scraping device 8 shown in Figure 14 is swung, and the tip side is raised to remove the scraping mechanism 47 from the distribution trays 7a and 7b. Next, the cleaning arm 50 of the cleaning device 43 is rotated to lower the cleaning brush 51 attached to the tip thereof, and the cleaning brush 51 is placed in the chemical supply groove 45 of the distribution trays 7a and 7b. Then, while rotating the cleaning brush 51, the distribution plates 7a and 7b are rotated. As a result, the medicine residue remaining in the medicine insertion groove 45 of the distribution trays 7a and 7b is scraped off by the cleaning brush 51, and the floating residue is sucked up by the suction means. In this way, the inside of the medicine insertion groove 45 is cleaned. When the groove cleaning operation is completed, the cleaning arm 50 is rotated to raise the cleaning brush 51 provided at the tip, and the cleaning brush 51 is removed from the chemical supply groove 45 of the distribution trays 7a, 7b.

[0116] Then, the scraping section cleaning operation is performed. That is, the turntable 48 built in under the table is rotated, and the entire scraping device 8 is turned to move the scraping mechanism 47 of the scraping device 8 near the cleaning device 43. Then, the cleaning arm 50 of the cleaning device 43 is slightly tilted, and the cleaning brush 51 is pressed against the scraping mechanism 47, and the cleaning brush 51 is rotated. As a result, the residual agent adhering to the scraping mechanism 47 is scraped off by the cleaning brush 51 and enters the brush cover. The residual agent inside the brush cover is then sucked by the suction means. As a result, the scraping mechanism 47 is cleaned.

[0117] The main body device employed in this embodiment does not have a trough 210 as in the conventional device, so there is no need to clean the trough 210.

[0118] In the embodiment described above, the main device 2 has a container storage device 103 (FIG. 2) in which the self-contained drug container 4 is placed. The main device 2 also has a robot 110. However, the container storage device 103 and the robot 110 are not essential, and the main device 2 may not have these, as in the main device 170 shown in FIG. 24. In addition, in the main device 2 described above, an RFID reader 16 serving as main device-side information reading means is attached to each container vibrating table 11, but it is not necessary to provide an RFID reader 16 on all of them. It is sufficient that an RFID reader is provided at any location on the main device 2, or that an RFID reader is connected to the housing of the main device 2. Furthermore, an RFID reader 16 may be provided on only one container vibrating table 11. The main body device 170 shown in FIG. 24 is a type of main body device 170 that does not have the medicine shelf area 100 or the robot 110, and other configurations are the same as the main body device 2 described above, so detailed explanations will be omitted.

[0119] Since main body device 170 shown in FIG. 24 does not have medicine shelf area 100 and robot 110, the pharmacist places manual medicine container 5a on container vibration table 11 while holding manual medicine container 5a by hand. Which distribution trays 7a, 7b to use and which container vibrating table 11 to use are displayed on a touch panel (not shown) provided on main device 170. That is, RFID reader 16 reads the dispensing information into main device 170, and the dispensing information is displayed on touch panel 106 provided on main device 2. In addition, instructions are given as to which container vibrating table 11 to place manual drug container 5a on. The pharmacist places manual drug container 5a on the indicated container vibrating table 11 in accordance with the display.

[0120] As described above, manual drug container 5a with inlet-side lid member 121 has been disclosed as an example of a manual drug container. This manual drug container 5a does not spill the drug inside even when transported in a vertical position, and is therefore suitable for cases where a configuration is adopted in which robot 110 is used to move manual drug container 5a. However, when the drug container is moved manually, as in the main body device 170 shown in Figure 24, the input side lid member 121 is not necessary, and it is also possible to employ, for example, a manual drug container 5b as shown in Figure 20. The manual drug container 5b is a container that has a shape that can be described as boat-shaped or trough-shaped as shown in Figure 20, and is open on the top side and the tip side. The manual drug container 5b has a bottom and is provided with a drug storage section 9 where the drug is temporarily stored. A flow straightening member 17 is also provided inside the manual drug container 5b. That is, manual drug container 5b has drug discharge portion 20b that opens in the lateral direction based on the position where it is placed on container vibration table 11. The opening on the top side functions as drug input portion 21b. An RFID tag 22, which is an information recording member, is attached to the outer surface of manual drug container 5b. An iron plate 23b is attached to the bottom of manual drug container 5b.

[0121] When main device 170 is used in combination with manual drug container 5b, an operator (pharmacist) holds manual drug container 5b directly with his / her hand, moves manual drug container 5b, and places manual drug container 5b on container vibration table 11. Thereafter, when the pharmacist has completed the prescription inspection and given any additional instructions, and has operated the touch panel 106 to input a confirmation signal, the packaging operation described above is initiated.

[0122] FIG. 21 shows a further modified manual medicine container. 21 has a large opening (drug insertion portion) 150 on the upper surface of the peripheral wall of container body 25c, and a large lid 151 is provided on opening 150. In drug container 5c, large lid 151 can be opened to insert a drug into the drug container. Furthermore, the shape of the top surface of large lid 151 when turned upside down is designed to match the shape of the bottom surface of container body 5c. Because the bottom surface of large lid 151 when turned upside down is larger than the top surface, when large lid 151 is turned upside down and placed on a desk, large lid 151 maintains a stable position. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 22, the large lid 151 can be removed, turned upside down and placed on the container body 25c, thereby making it possible to use it as a stand for the container body 25c.

[0123] As mentioned above, the medicine may be weighed on a sheet or the like on a balance table 30, and then the medicine may be transferred from the sheet to a manual medicine container. The manual medicine container 5c shown in Figure 21 is recommended when this method is adopted. As shown in FIG. 23, a funnel-shaped member 355 may be attached to the cover member 120 side to transfer the medicine.

[0124] As described above, the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment also has a function of fully automatic packaging using the storage-type medicine container 4. The fully automatic packaging will be described below. The fully automatic packaging is performed using self-contained drug containers 4. As described above, self-contained drug containers 4 are filled with specific drugs in advance and stored in container storage device 103 in drug shelf area 100. The container vibrating table 11 employed in this embodiment has a weight measuring means 56 that directly or indirectly measures the weight of the self-contained drug container 4. The main device 2 employed in this embodiment described above also has a container storage device 103. Therefore, the main device 2 described above has the function of automatically selecting a self-contained drug container 4 that contains a drug according to a prescription, and further automatically weighing the drug within the main device 2. This function is achieved by using a self-contained drug container 4. In the main body device 2 of this embodiment, a predetermined drug is stored in the self-contained drug container 4 in advance, and the self-contained drug container 4 filled with the drug is stored in the container storage device 103. Then, drum member 105 of container storage device 103 is rotated to bring the desired self-contained drug container 4 close to robot 110. Robot 110 then holds self-contained drug container 4 and operates an arm or the like to place said self-contained drug container 4 on container vibration table 11. When a plurality of medicines are mixed and enclosed in one package, a plurality of storage-type medicine containers 4 are placed on the container vibration table 11.

[0125] Then, container vibrating table 11 is vibrated. As a result, the powdered medicine in receptacle-type medicine container 4 moves slowly, is discharged from receptacle-type medicine container 4, and falls onto distribution trays 7a and 7b. Also, around the time vibration starts, distribution plates 7a and 7b are rotated. Around the time vibration starts, the weight of self-contained drug container 4 is measured. During this time, the weight of self-contained drug container 4 is monitored, and when the total amount of powdered medicine falling reaches the desired weight, the vibration of container vibrating table 11 is stopped. That is, the weight measuring means 56 measures the original weight, which is the weight of the receptacle-type drug container 4 before the drug is discharged, and the weight measuring means 56 monitors the weight of the receptacle-type drug container 4 when the powdered drug is discharged little by little from the receptacle-type drug container 4. Then, when the current weight, which is the current weight of the receptacle-type drug container 4, matches or nearly matches the value obtained by subtracting the target discharge amount from the original weight, the discharge of the powdered drug from the receptacle-type drug container 4 is stopped.

[0126] Thereafter, the rotation of the distribution plates 7a and 7b is stopped and the mixture is divided. This function (fully automatic packaging) is very convenient, but not essential. In other words, weight measurement means 56 is not essential. This is because the total amount of medicine to be dispensed to distribution trays 7a and 7b is weighed in advance by medicine weighing device 3, so there is no need to stop the dispensing operation midway. Therefore, it is sufficient to be able to confirm whether medicine is being dispensed using an optical sensor or the like, and to be able to detect that all medicine has been dispensed from manual medicine container 5. That is, the weight measuring means 56, the container storage device 103, the robot 110, etc., which are provided on the container vibrating table 11, are not essential to the present invention. In this embodiment, the main body side information reading means is provided on both the door member 111 and the container vibrating table 11, but it may be provided on either one of them. [Explanation of symbols]

[0127] 1. Drug dispensing device 2,170 main unit 3. Drug weighing device 5a, 5b Manual drug container 6. Medicine packaging equipment 11 Container shaking table 13 Printing means 18 Powder dispensing equipment 20 Drug discharge section 21 Drug injection section 22 RFID tags 24 Barcode 30 Balance stand 113 Main body side information reading means (door section) 133 Touch Panel 134 RFID reader / writer

Claims

1. A medicine dispensing device comprising a main body device having a manual medicine container, a medicine weighing device having a container mounting unit, a container vibration table, a medicine packaging device, a control unit, and a touch panel, The manual drug container is open at the top and tip and has a bottom. The manual medicine container has a medicine discharge portion that opens laterally based on the orientation of the container placed on the vibration table, The drug weighing device is not provided in the main device, The drug weighing device is equipped with a barcode reader, and the drug weighing device reads the dispensing information written on the prescription using the barcode reader, the dispensing information is written to the RFID tag of the manual drug container by a first RFID reader / writer of the drug weighing device; A second RFID reader is provided near the container vibration table, and dispensing information is read from the RFID tag of the manual medicine container by the second RFID reader into the main device; The pharmacist places the manual drug container on the container placement section of the drug weighing device, introduces powdered medicine into the placed manual drug container, weighs the introduced powdered medicine with the drug weighing device, places the weighed manual drug container on the container vibration table, displays the dispensing information read into the main device on the touch panel, completes the prescription audit by the pharmacist, and confirms on the touch panel that the prescription audit has been completed. The control unit of the medicine dispensing device vibrates the container vibration table and starts the packaging operation to discharge powdered medicine from the medicine discharge unit.

2. A medicine dispensing device comprising a main body device having a manual medicine container, a medicine weighing device having a container mounting unit, a container vibration table, a medicine packaging device, a control unit, and a touch panel, The manual drug container is open at the top and tip and has a bottom. The manual medicine container has a medicine discharge portion that opens laterally based on the orientation of the container placed on the vibration table, The drug weighing device is not provided in the main device, The drug weighing device is equipped with a barcode reader, and the drug weighing device reads the dispensing information written on the prescription using the barcode reader, the dispensing information is written to the RFID tag of the manual drug container by a first RFID reader / writer of the drug weighing device; A second RFID reader is provided near the container vibration table, and dispensing information is read from the RFID tag of the manual medicine container by the second RFID reader into the main device; A pharmacist places a manual medication container on the container mounting section of the medication weighing device, introduces powdered medicine into the placed manual medication container, weighs the introduced powdered medicine with the medication weighing device, places the weighed manual medication container on the container vibration table, and if the dispensing information read into the main device contains any items that require additional work or work that is different from the regular work, or if there are any special precautions, The touch panel will display this information, and the required additional instructions will be entered on the touch panel. Once the pharmacist has confirmed that the required additional instructions have been entered, The control unit of the medicine dispensing device vibrates the container vibration table and starts the packaging operation to discharge powdered medicine from the medicine discharge unit.

3. Further comprising two distribution trays and a touch panel; The medicine dispensing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit includes an operation of displaying on the touch panel which of the two dispensing trays is to be used.

4. Each of the two distribution trays further includes a plurality of container vibration tables; The medicine dispensing device according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit includes an operation of displaying on the touch panel which of the two dispensing trays is to be used and which of the container vibration tables is to be used.

5. A drug dispensing device as described in claim 4, wherein the control unit reads dispensing information from the RFID tag of the manual drug container using a second RFID reader, displays the dispensing information on the touch panel, and also displays an instruction on which container vibration table the manual drug container should be placed on.

Images