Drug size measuring device

Abstract

To provide a medicine size measuring apparatus capable of measuring a size of a tablet with ease and at high speed.SOLUTION: A medicine size measuring apparatus includes: a body part on which a placement plate, a reference surface vertically standing up with respect to the placement plate, and side surfaces formed so as to surround three directions of the placement plate together with the reference surface are formed; a slide member that comprises, at its end, a measuring surface facing the reference surface and is movable in a slide direction perpendicular to the reference surface; an energization member for energizing the slide member in a direction toward the reference surface; and measuring position information selection means that is provided in the body part and can select measuring position information on a tablet placed on the placement plate through selection of an operator. The slide member comprises an opening and transmission means for transmitting a distance between the reference surface and the measuring surface, as size information on the tablet associated with the measuring position information selected by the measuring position information selection means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a simple tabletop drug size measuring device. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART In a medicine packaging machine that individually dispenses medicines, particularly solid tablets, a configuration is known in which a cassette equipped with a rotating blade is used to dispense the tablets one by one (see, for example, Patent Document 1, etc.). Also, an alignment supply type medicine feeder that conveys tablets or the like of the same shape while aligning them in a line has also been put to practical use (see, for example, Patent Document 2). When using such a drug packaging machine or drug feeder, it is known that tablets can be moved more efficiently by changing the division of the rotating blades and the position of the regulating member that regulates the flow path of the drug feeder to suit the dimensions of each tablet. Therefore, configurations are also known in which the medicine packaging machine body is equipped with a regulating member that changes the position of the regulating member depending on the shape and dimensions of the placed tablet, or a measuring unit that measures the dimensions of the placed tablet (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 to 5, etc.). However, tablets come in a variety of shapes, such as oval spheres or cylinders with a bulging base, and if the definitions of length, width, and depth, or the measurement position, are different, the resulting tablet dimensions will also change.

[0003] Furthermore, when there are many types of tablets to be measured, it may be necessary to measure the length, width, and depth for each type of tablet. Therefore, there has been a demand for a mechanism that can measure the dimensions of such tablets easily and quickly. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-022428 [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2017 / 094687 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 5950876 [Patent Document 4] Patent No. 6984700 [Patent Document 5] Patent No. 6736075 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above technical problems, and has as its object to provide a drug size measuring device that can measure the size of a drug easily and quickly. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the drug dimension measuring device of the present invention has a main body formed with a mounting plate, a reference surface that stands perpendicular to the mounting plate, and side surfaces that, together with the reference surface, surround the mounting plate on three sides, a sliding member that has a measurement surface at its end that faces the reference surface and is movable in a sliding direction perpendicular to the reference surface, a biasing member that biases the sliding member toward the reference surface, and a measurement position information selection means that is provided on the main body and allows an operator to select measurement position information of a tablet placed on the mounting plate, wherein the sliding member has an opening and is equipped with a transmission means that links the distance between the reference surface and the measurement surface to the measurement position information selected by the measurement position information selection means and transmits it as dimensional information of the tablet. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the dimensions of a tablet can be measured easily and quickly. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration including a drug size measuring device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the medicine packaging machine shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a medicine feeder mounted on a medicine packaging machine. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an example of the configuration of the medicine feeder shown in FIG. 3. [Figure 5] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the medicine feeder shown in FIG. 3 when conveying medicines. FIG. [Figure 6] 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the overall structure of a drug size measuring device. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing an example of the operation when setting a tablet in the medicine size measuring device. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the internal structure of a medicine size measuring device and a mechanism for measuring the size of a tablet. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a substrate inside the drug size measuring device. [Figure 10] 8 is a diagram showing an example of a specific configuration of the slide member shown in FIG. 7. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of display of identification information of medicines registered in the medicine packaging machine. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an operation for acquiring dimensional information of a medicine. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the correspondence between dimensional information of a medicine and a position to be measured. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a system configuration including the drug size measuring device of the present invention. [Figure 15] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing other examples of use including the drug size measuring device of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings described below, each direction will be described along a three-axis Cartesian coordinate system of X, Y, and Z as shown in the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.

[0010] 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, in which a drug dimension measuring device 100 is connected to a drug packaging machine 200. The form of the drug packaging machine is not limited to this configuration, and the drug packaging machine may be one equipped with only a normal drug cassette 211, or the drug dimension measuring device 100 may be attached to drug packaging machines 200 of various other forms.

[0011] The medicine packaging machine 200 is a device that can be used alone or in combination with a plurality of machines connected to the dispensing server 500 via a network such as a LAN. The drug packaging machine 200 is a device in which the control device 250 controls the operation of the drug cassettes 211 stored inside the drug packaging machine 200, the drug feeder 240, and the packaging unit 230 in accordance with dispensing instructions received from the dispensing server 500, thereby sequentially discharging appropriate drugs from each drug cassette 211 and packaging the drugs in single packets. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the term "drug" is used simply, and this term may include powdered medicine, liquid medicine, etc., but due to their characteristics, drug cassette 211 and drug dimension measuring device 100, which will be described later, mainly handle solid tablets. However, drug feeder 240 may also handle so-called solid tablets that have been divided into multiple pieces, and drug dimension measuring device 100 may also be used to measure the dimensions of such pieces, so the term "drug" is used.

[0012] The dispensing server 500 is capable of sending and receiving data with the higher-level prescription ordering system 400 and the lower-level drug packaging machine 200, and can receive and store prescription data from the prescription ordering system 400, and issue dispensing instructions to the drug packaging machine 200 and other drug packaging machines (not shown) based on the prescription data. The dispensing server 500 also holds data on the operating status of the medicine packaging machine 200 as a packaging machine status 501, and also holds a medicine master 502 in which known medicine information relating to various medicines is registered in advance. When it is detected that a medicine cassette 211 has become empty and medicines can no longer be dispensed, the medicine packaging machine 200 transmits a shortage notification to the dispensing server 500. Furthermore, each medicine cassette 211 is assigned identification information, and when the correspondence between the identification information and the medicine cassette 211 is registered in the control device 250, it is transferred to the dispensing server 500 and registered in the medicine master 502. With this configuration, the dispensing server 500 can select a drug packaging machine 200 from the multiple connected drug packaging machines 200 that has an appropriate drug cassette 211 according to the prescription data and issue a dispensing instruction.

[0013] The drug packaging machine 200 is equipped with a plurality of drug storage cabinets 210 in the upper part of the housing 201, which can be individually drawn out, and inside each drug storage cabinet 210, pairs of drug cassettes 211 and base parts 212 are arranged vertically and horizontally.

[0014] The drug cassette 211 is detachable and contains a large number of drugs 5 of any one type among various drugs, and can be discharged one tablet at a time in response to an instruction from the control device 250. The base part 212 is a fixing part to which the medicine cassettes 211 can be attached and detached one by one, and the medicine cassettes 211 attached on the base part 212 can be driven to discharge the medicines 5. The medicines 5 discharged from the medicine cassette 211 fall through a medicine drop path 220 provided inside the medicine storage 210 and reach the packaging section 230.

[0015] In addition to the medicine cassettes 211 linked to such identification information, the medicine packaging machine 200 also has an arrangement shelf 260 equipped with medicine feeders 240 as general-purpose medicine feeders that can be used for various types of medicines. The arrangement shelf 260 has a handle 261 on the front surface so that it can be pulled out, and four medicine feeders 240 are arranged on the arrangement shelf 260 in the Z direction, which is the depth direction. A workbench 262 is provided on the front side of the arrangement shelf 260 and the drug storage cabinet 210, and can be used as a stand by pulling it down towards the front, and can also be used as a stand for the drug dimension measuring device 100, drug containers, etc., which will be described later.

[0016] The configurations of the drug cassette 211, packaging section 230, drug drop path 220, etc. are similar to those of conventional tablet packaging machines, and for example, a tablet packaging machine of a form other than that described in this embodiment may be used, and the overall component arrangement, etc., is substantially the same as that of the previously described products, so detailed explanations will be omitted. Furthermore, in the drug packaging machine 200, the drug 5 is discharged using these drug cassettes 211, packaging section 230, and drug drop path 220, and packaged as a single or multiple batches in packaging paper. As this operation is similar to the configuration described in, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2, a description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0017] 3, drug feeder 240 is a double-rotation type feeder in which a container portion and lower structure 214 are integrally combined and mounted on drug packaging machine 200, and is driven by drive mechanism 213 of lower structure 214. Note that lower structure 214 may have a shape different from or the same as base portion 212 corresponding to drug cassette 211. In either case, drug feeder 240 is integrated with the base portion and the entirety is fixedly installed at either drug storage cabinet 210 or drug packaging machine 200. Note that this embodiment only shows a mode in which drug feeder 240 is integrated with lower structure 214, which serves as the base, but is not limited to this configuration. For example, drug feeder 240 may be configured to be detachable from base portion 212, similar to drug cassette 211.

[0018] FIG. 3 shows a schematic cross section of the medicine feeder 240, and FIG. 4 shows the main structure of the medicine feeder 240 with the transparent top cover removed. The drug feeder 240 comprises a peripheral wall 241 located at the top and having a hollow central portion cut out in a circular shape, an annular rotor 242 installed with its upper end loosely fitted into the hollow of the peripheral wall 241 or installed directly below the hollow of the peripheral wall 241, an inclined rotor 243 installed within the hollow of the annular rotor 242, a support mechanism 40 that supports both the inner inclined rotor 243 and the outer annular rotor 242 so that they can rotate about their axes, a drive mechanism 213 that drives their rotation, and a sorting section 60 and a regulating mechanism 70 provided on the upper side of the peripheral wall 241.

[0019] The support mechanism 40 keeps the annular rotor 242 rotatable about a predetermined axis, in this case, a straight line O1, and keeps the inclined rotor 243 rotatable about an inclined line O2 inclined from the straight line O1. The straight line O1 may be vertical, but in this embodiment, it is inclined at an angle of, for example, about 3.5° (not shown) so as not to impair the drug delivery function. The inner inclined rotor 243 and the outer annular rotor 242 form a rotating container of the double rotation type drug feeder by maintaining a small gap between them that does not allow the drug 5 to pass through but allows rotation, with the inclined rotor 243 blocking the hollow of the annular rotor 242. When the inclined rotor 243 is placed inside the annular rotor 242, it is preferable that at least a portion of the outer periphery is positioned higher than the upper end peripheral portion 245, which is the upper surface of the annular rotor 242, as described below.With this configuration, the drug 5 placed inside the rotating container is scooped up by the inclined rotor 243 and moved to the upper end peripheral portion 245, as described below.

[0020] The inclined rotor 243 transports the drugs 5 from the peripheral portion 244 of the inclined rotor 243 to the upper peripheral portion 245 of the annular rotor 242 by lifting them through rotation and sorting by the sorting section 60, and then aligns the drugs 5 on the upper peripheral portion 245 and transports them to the drop discharge port 247 through horizontal transport through the rotation of the annular rotor 242 as shown in Figure 3 and the alignment function of the regulating mechanism 70.

[0021] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, in this embodiment, the sorting section 60 comprises a first sorting member 610 arranged upstream of the regulating mechanism 70 in the drug transport path at the upper end peripheral portion 245 of the annular rotating body 242, and a second sorting member 620 arranged in a position parallel to the regulating mechanism 70 in the drug transport path. Both the first sorting member 610 and the second sorting member 620 are attached via a support member 611 to a peripheral wall 241 which is a plate body that includes the discharge guide 246 and supports the restriction mechanism 70 .

[0022] In other words, the sorting section 60 comprises a support member 611 whose vertical position can be adjusted using a screw mechanism, a first sorting member 610 attached to a portion of the support member 611 upstream in the conveying direction and moving up and down in conjunction with the support member 611, and a second sorting member 620 attached to a portion of the support member 611 downstream in the conveying direction and moving up and down in conjunction with the support member 611. With this configuration, the sorting section 60 is configured such that the screw mechanism rotates when the motor is driven by the control device 250, causing the support member 611 to rise and fall, so that the lower end positions of the first sorting member 610 and the second sorting member 620 can be automatically adjusted up and down together. In this embodiment, the first sorting member 610 is a chain-like structure formed by loosely connecting multiple front-stage hanging objects 612 (three spheres in the figure), and can be easily and inexpensively realized using a commercially available ball chain or the like. In the first sorting member 610, three front-stage hanging objects 612 hang down side by side from the support member 611 above the drug transport path at the upper end peripheral portion 245, and the vertical positions are usually adjusted so that the lower ends of the front-stage hanging objects 612 are slightly higher than the height of the drugs.

[0023] The second sorting member 620 has a middle-level hanging member 622 and a rear-level hanging member 632 attached to a portion near the tip of the support member 621 and moving up and down together with the support member 621 . The middle-stage hanging object 622 and the rear-stage hanging object 632 are both made up of multiple spherical bodies loosely connected to form a chain, similar to the first sorting member 610, but compared to the front-stage hanging object 612, the spherical bodies are smaller in size and the number of connected bodies has increased. The diameter of the spherical bodies may be different between middle hanging object 622 and rear hanging object 632, and the number of connected bodies may also be different. Furthermore, the shape is not limited to a spherical shape. When the sorting unit 60 comes into contact with the medicines 5 in the medicine transport path, it gently pushes the medicines 5 by a reaction force, thereby preventing the medicines 5 from piling up.

[0024] As shown in Figure 5, the regulating mechanism 70 comprises a first regulating member 71 installed further ahead of the sorting section 60 based on the rotation direction of the upper end peripheral portion 245 of the annular rotating body 242, a second regulating member 72 installed further ahead than that, a link mechanism 73 connected to both the first regulating member 71 and the second regulating member 72 via a pin-shaped rotation-permitting shaft member or the like, and a mold storage area 74 capable of storing the drug 5. Both the first regulating member 71 and the second regulating member 72 have their oscillating centers located on the peripheral wall 241 side and their oscillating ends located above the upper peripheral edge 245 of the annular rotating body 242, so that the width of the drug transport path above the upper peripheral edge 245 is narrowed from the outer periphery. At least one of the multiple wall surfaces constituting the mold storage space 74 is operable in conjunction with the link mechanism 73, and by manually or electrically moving the movable wall 74a, the dimensions of the sample drug 5a of the drugs 5 placed in the mold storage space 74 are made to match the spacing between the side walls of the mold storage space 74. With this configuration, the regulating mechanism 70 can be operated in conjunction with the width of the sample drug 5a placed in the mold storage space 74.

[0025] The first regulating member 71 and the second regulating member 72 oscillate simultaneously and in the same manner in response to the longitudinal movement of the link mechanism 73, so that the adjustment amount of the narrowing of the drug transport path width is linked to the width of the sample drug 5a placed in the mold storage area 74. Specifically, when the sample drug 5a is placed in the mold storage area 74 and the link mechanism 73 is moved, the link mechanism 73 advances in the longitudinal direction of the mold storage area 74 and stops when its tip comes into contact with the sample drug 5a. The swinging end of the first restricting member 71 and the swinging end of the second restricting member 72 are connected by the link mechanism 73, so that the swinging end of each of the swinging ends narrows the width of the drug transport path above the upper peripheral edge 245 to the width of one drug, following the size of the sample drug 5a. In this way, the mold storage area 74 and the link mechanism 73 function as a measuring mechanism for measuring the dimensions of a predetermined position of the sample drug 5a placed on the mold storage area 74. The "predetermined position" may be, for example, the diameter, width, length, thickness, etc. of the sample drug 5a, and when the sample drug 5a is a so-called circular tablet, the diameter is preferred. Note that this position can be determined by the operator when placing the sample drug 5a on the mold storage area 74, so it is preferable for the operator to set it to the most appropriate position based on the shape of the drug 5 to be transferred on the upper peripheral edge 245. Furthermore, the operator may operate the touch panel 251 to register the measurement results of the sample drug 5a placed in the mold storage area 74 of the drug feeder 240 in the drug master 502 together with the measurement positions at which the dimensions, such as the major axis and minor axis, were measured after selecting the shape of the tablet, for example. The manner of registration in the drug master 502 will be described later.

[0026] Further, downstream of the restricting mechanism 70 in the rotation direction of the annular rotor 242, a drop discharge port 247 is formed in the peripheral wall 241, penetrating vertically.

[0027] The medicines 5 that have fallen from the drop discharge port 247 move to the packaging section 230 via the medicine drop path 220 shown in FIG. 1, and are packaged in a single or multiple batches in packaging paper.

[0028] As mentioned above, when sequentially discharging drugs 5 using drug feeder 240, it is known that the accuracy of transportation is improved by knowing the dimensions of drug 5, such as by adjusting the drug width using regulating mechanism 70 and adjusting a predetermined height using sorting section 60. Considering the versatility of using the drug feeder 240, placing the sample drug 5a in the mold storage area 74 is the most reliable method, but there is also the issue that manually placing the sample drug 5a in the mold storage area 74 is time-consuming, and there has also been a demand for automating this operation as well.

[0029] On the other hand, the operation control of the restriction mechanism 70 and the sorting unit 60 can be easily controlled electronically as long as the dimensions of the medicine 5 can be shared. Therefore, there has been a demand for a system that can easily measure the dimensions of the medicine 5 and share them with the medicine packaging machine 200. Furthermore, when the drug feeder 240 is used for successively different drugs, the first drug 5 is sequentially discharged by the drug feeder 240, while the dimensions of the next drug 5' to be used are measured separately without using the mold storage area 74, thereby reducing the effort required to replace the sample drug 5a and improving work efficiency.

[0030] Therefore, in this embodiment, a medicine size measuring device 100 as shown in FIG. 6 is attached to a medicine packaging machine 200, thereby measuring the size of the medicine 5 easily and quickly.

[0031] The drug dimension measuring device 100 is a dimension measuring instrument that can be operated with one hand and is connected to the USB terminal of the drug packaging machine 200, and has a main body 10, a sliding member 20 that can slide relative to the main body 10, and a gripping portion 30 that makes it easier for the operator to support the drug dimension measuring device 100.

[0032] In addition, on the side of the main body 10, there are provided a measurement position selection button 31 labeled SELECT, which is a measurement position selection means that allows the operator to select the measurement position information of the drug 5, and a send button 34 labeled MEASURE, and on the top surface of the side wall 13, there are provided display LEDs 41, 42, 43 that display how many times the measurement position selection button 31 has been pressed and which measurement position has been selected. When the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed once, the display LED 41 lights up, when pressed twice the display LED 42 lights up, and when pressed three times the display LED 43 lights up. When pressed four times the display LED 41 lights up again. In this way, only one display LED lights up at a time, and when the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed repeatedly, the display LED corresponding to the number of times it was pressed lights up. With this configuration, the operator can select at which measurement position of the dimensions of the drug 5 to measure, depending on the number of times the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed. Furthermore, the result selected by the measurement position selection button 31 can be visually confirmed by the operator by the display LEDs 41, 42, and 43.

[0033] The grip part 30 is a cover-like covering consisting of a rounded upper surface and a convex hemispherical curved surface, and the main body part 10, including the grip part 30, has a shape similar to that of a mouse used in a personal computer. The grip portion 30 allows the operator to easily hold the drug size measuring device 100 by gripping it with one hand. 7 and 8, main body 10 has a mounting plate 11 for mounting drug 5 on its upper surface, three side walls 12, 13, and 14 standing perpendicular to mounting plate 11, and a spring 15, which is a biasing member located on the back side of mounting plate 11 and has one end connected to main body 10 and the other end connected to spring receiving portion 22 of slide member 20. Note that, in order to show the positional relationship with spring 15 and control unit 16 (described later), parts that are normally covered and not visible are also shown in FIG.

[0034] As shown in Figure 8, when a drug 5 is placed on the drug dimension measuring device 100, a magnet 19 for attaching the drug dimension measuring device 100 to any position on the housing 201 of the drug packaging machine 200 is attached by recessing it into the main body 10 on the back or reverse side. With this configuration, as shown in Figure 1, for example, the drug dimension measuring device 100 can be attached to any position on the housing 201 using a magnet 19, so there is no need to provide a special space in the drug packaging machine 200 to install the drug dimension measuring device 100, and it can be easily attached, detached, and carried.

[0035] The spring 15 biases the slide member 20 in the direction A toward the side wall 12 of the main body 10, and when no force is applied to the slide member 20, the measurement surface 20a, which is the tip on the A direction side, is supported in a manner in which it abuts against the reference surface 12a, which is the inner wall surface of the side wall 12. In this manner, in this embodiment, the side walls 13 and 14 surround both sides of the side wall 12 so as to hold the slide member 20 along the A direction. With this structure, the slide member 20 is held so that it can slide only in the ±A direction. In normal use, the drug dimension measuring device 100 is placed so that the mounting plate 11 is parallel to the XZ plane, so the A direction is equal to the Z direction, but this configuration is not limited to this. In other words, in this embodiment, the surface facing the slide member 20 constitutes the reference surface 12a, and the area surrounded by the side surfaces of the three side walls 12, 13, and 14 rising from the mounting plate 11 and the wall surface of the slide member 20 is the mounting position for the drug 5. The drug dimension measuring device 100 is a measuring means for measuring the length of each part of the drug 5 mounted in such a mounting position.

[0036] As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a control unit 16, which is an electronic circuit board, is attached to the back side of the mounting plate 11 of the main body 10. On the control unit 16, there is provided a gap portion 17 which is provided so that the spring 15 and the spring support portion 22 described later do not interfere with the control unit 16, and a linear variable resistor 18 which is provided along the A direction. The variable resistor 18 is provided with a slide volume 18a, and the resistance value varies depending on the position of the slide volume 18a. The control unit 16 is also provided with a transmission button 34 and a measurement position selection button 31 as electrical contact type switches, and when the operator presses these buttons, the control unit 16 recognizes them as electrical signals.

[0037] 10(a) to 10(f), slide member 20 is provided with opening 21, which is a circular depression that is opened so that an operator can easily hook a finger or the like onto it and pull it in the -A direction, which is opposite the biasing direction of spring 15. Opening 21 is preferably centered approximately on the center line of slide member 20, and its size is preferably such that it occupies about 50% of the width of slide member 20 so that an operator can easily pull it in with a finger toward grip portion 30. A spring support portion 22, which is a member to which the other end of the spring 15 is connected, is fixed on the back side of the slide member 20, and a protrusion portion 23, which is a position detection convex portion that engages with the slide volume 18a and moves the slide volume 18a in synchronization with the position of the slide member 20, is also formed.

[0038] Now, the operation of such a medicine size measuring device 100 when in use will be described. As an example, a method of editing master information of medicines recorded in control device 250 or medicine master 502 using touch panel 251 as an operation of medicine packaging machine 200 will be described here. Prior to operating the drug dimension measuring device 100, the operator uses the touch panel 251 to select the drug for which dimension information is to be registered from the drug identification information registered in the control device 250 in the drug packaging machine 200 or the drug master 502. 11 is a diagram illustrating part of the information registered in the drug master 502 for, for example, drug 5. In the drug master 502, in addition to identification information such as the type of drug 5, product name, and YJ code, whether the drug cassette 211 or the drug feeder 240 is used, the drug shape, the drug size, etc. are recorded. Conventionally, an operator manually inputs the dimensions L1, L2, and L3 as drug sizes in the drug master 502. However, in this embodiment, the drug selected in the drug master 502 can be easily input using the drug dimension measuring device 100.

[0039] As already mentioned, the medicine size measuring apparatus 100 is a portable size measuring device that is connected to the USB terminal of the medicine packaging machine 200 and is capable of exchanging data. First, as shown in Figure 12(a), the operator places his / her finger on the opening 21 and pulls the slide member 20 in the -A direction, thereby creating a space between the reference surface 12a and the measurement surface 20a, which is the tip surface of the slide member 20. Next, when the operator places the medicine 5 on the placement plate 11 visible in the space created in FIG. 11(a) and releases his / her hand from the opening 21, the slide member 20 is pulled by the spring 15 toward the reference surface 12a. Naturally, the slide member 20 comes into contact with the drug 5 placed on the mounting plate 11 and stops with the drug 5 sandwiched between it and the side wall 12, so that the measurement surface 20a, which is the tip of the slide member 20, and the reference surface 12a face each other with a distance L1 between them when the drug 5 is placed.

[0040] As already mentioned, a protrusion 23 that fits into the sliding volume 18a is formed on the back surface of the sliding member 20, and the sliding volume 18a moves only along the ±A direction in which the variable resistor 18 extends. Therefore, the sliding member 20 is guided by the variable resistor 18 so that it moves only in the A direction, and when the distance between the reference surface 12a and the measurement surface 20a coincides with the dimension L1, this dimension L1 can be measured from the resistance value of the variable resistor 18. In this way, the variable resistor 18 functions as a guide that defines the movement direction of the sliding member 20 in the sliding direction, and also functions as a detection means that detects how far the sliding member 20 has moved from the distance between the reference surface 12a and the measurement surface 20a.

[0041] Now, although it is said that the dimensions of the drug 5 are to be measured, the shapes of the drug 5 vary, and it is conceivable that different people will assume different positions when expressing the "width" or "diameter" of the drug 5, for example.

[0042] For example, in the case of an elliptical cylindrical medicine as shown in Figures 12(a) to 12(c), which of the three dimensions L1, L2, and L3 is considered to be the "diameter" may differ depending on the operator. Also, it may be expressed as "length," "width," or "thickness," or it may be expressed as "length," "width," or "depth." Furthermore, if these recognitions differ, there is a concern that, for example, when recording this dimensional information in the drug master 502, the width of the drug referenced by the regulating mechanism 70 of the drug feeder 240 and the height of the drug referenced by the sorting unit 60 may be confused.

[0043] Therefore, in order to minimize such mix-ups, the drug dimension measuring device 100 of the present invention has a measurement position selection button 31 on side 13, which is the side that the operator can easily operate with their thumb, and has display LEDs 41, 42, and 43, which are three light-emitting elements that each emit light corresponding to the number of times the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed. In Figure 12 etc., when the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed once, the display LED 41 lights up, when the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed twice, the display LED 42 lights up, and when the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed three times, the display LED 43 lights up. However, it is sufficient if the configuration allows the position at which measurement is being performed to be indicated by the number of times the button is pressed via the display LEDs 41, 42, 43. In addition, the shapes of the display LEDs 41, 42, and 43 are modeled after the shapes of a typical oval tablet or a bale-shaped drug, so that it is easy to understand at a glance which position on the drug 5 should be measured in accordance with the number of times the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed. Specifically, as shown in Figures 13(a), (b), and (c), display LEDs 41, 42, and 43 are formed so that the measurement positions of the dimensions L1, L2, and L3 respectively coincide with the way the drug 5 is placed on the mounting plate 11 when measuring these measurement positions. Here, for example, the direction shown in Figure 13(a) corresponding to display LED 41 is defined as the "diameter" dimension of drug 5, the direction shown in Figure 13(b) corresponding to display LED 42 is defined as the "width" dimension of drug 5, and the direction shown in Figure 13(c) corresponding to display LED 43 is defined as the "depth" dimension of drug 5. The names of the dimensions may be written on each of the measurement position selection buttons 31 arranged on the side of the drug dimension measurement device 100 or on each of the display LEDs 41, 42, 43 so as to correspond to the "length," "width," "thickness," etc. In this embodiment, the names are written as "Diameter," "Width," and "Depth."

[0044] The operator presses the measurement position selection button 31, and, referring to the correspondingly lit display LED 41, places the medicines 5 on the placement plate 11 in the same arrangement, and performs the measurement as shown in FIG. 12(c). When the operator presses the send button 34 in the state shown in Figure 12(c), the control unit 16 calculates the distance L between the reference surface 12a and the measurement surface 20a from the resistance value of the variable resistor 18 at that time, and transmits this distance L to the drug packaging machine 200 as the dimension L1 when the measurement position selection button 31 is selected.

[0045] Similarly, when the operator presses the measurement position selection button 31 again, the display LED 41 turns off and the display LED 42 turns on, and the operator positions the drug 5 according to the shape seen by the display LED 42 as shown in Figure 12(d). When the operator presses the send button 34 in the state shown in Figure 12(d), the distance L between the reference surface 12a and the measurement surface 20a changes to L2 due to the force of the slide member 20 exerted by the spring 15, and the control unit 16 transmits this dimension L2 to the drug packaging machine 200 as the dimension when the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed twice, i.e., dimension L2. 12(e), a measurement corresponding to dimension L3, which corresponds to the dimension when the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed three times, is performed and transmitted when the send button 34 is pressed. Note that, here, the display LED 41 lights up at the start, so that pressing it once, twice, and three times corresponds to dimensions L1, L2, and L3, respectively, but it can be switched depending on the number of times it is pressed. For example, if pressing it once lights up display LED 42, pressing it twice lights up display LED 43, pressing it three times lights up display LED 41, and so on. In this way, the measurement position selection button 31 functions as a measurement position information switching means for switching the measurement position information transmitted when the send button 34 is pressed, and it is preferable to provide a display LED to make such measurement position information easier to visually confirm.

[0046] In this way, in the present invention, the operator can perform measurements without having to worry about the placement of the drug 5 on the mounting plate 11, and the placement does not change depending on the operator, as the corresponding display LEDs 41, 42, and 43 light up based on the selection made by pressing the measurement position selection button 31, allowing the operator to perform measurements easily and quickly, thereby enabling the measurement of each dimension of the drug 5. In this embodiment, the display LEDs 41, 42, 43 are described as being lit when the respective measurement position selection buttons 31 are pressed, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the drug size measurement device 100 may be provided with a display unit such as a display, and the position where the drug 5 should be measured, i.e., the measurement position, may be displayed on the display. Also, the display LEDs 41, 42, 43 are described as being LEDs shaped to resemble the length, width, and thickness of an oval tablet, but they may be displays that resemble any tablet shape whose dimensions vary depending on the measurement position of the length, width, and thickness. In this way, the present invention allows for easy and fast measurement of each dimension of the drug 5 by having a measurement position selection button 31 and a display means that visually indicates which measurement position the operator has selected.

[0047] In addition, when the transmission button 34, which is a transmission means, is pressed, the control unit 16 transmits the measurement position corresponding to the pressed measurement position selection button (e.g., measurement position selection button 31) and the dimension L1 corresponding to the measurement position as dimensional information to the drug packaging machine 200. As already mentioned, the drug packaging machine 200 accesses data from the drug master 502, which records at least the type of drug 5, as shown in Figure 11. Therefore, when the drug dimension measuring device 100 transmits dimensional information linking the measurement position with the dimensions that are the measurement results at that measurement position, the drug packaging machine 200 can add the dimensional information of the drug 5 to the identification information such as the type and shape of the drug 5 for any drug 5. With this configuration, the drug packaging machine 200 can record the "length," "width," and "thickness" of the drug 5 to be registered as dimensions L1, L2, and L3 corresponding to the drug size based on uniform standards, regardless of the type or shape of the drug 5. Therefore, even when the drug packaging machine 200 is shared by multiple operators, differences in work between operators are reduced, and the drug 5 dimension registration work can be performed efficiently.

[0048] In this embodiment, the dimensional information including at least one of "length," "width," and "thickness" obtained by each operation is linked to measurement position information determined by the number of times measurement position selection button 31 is pressed as dimensions L1, L2, and L3, respectively, and transmitted from drug dimension measurement device 100 to drug packaging machine 200. Specifically, the dimensional information transmitted by send button 34 when measurement position selection button 31 is pressed once and display LED 41 is lit is linked to the drug identification information as dimension L1 corresponding to the "length" of drug 5, and is registered in control device 250 of drug packaging machine 200 or drug master 502.

[0049] In this embodiment, the drug 5 has been described as an oval solid tablet, but the drug 5 is not limited to this configuration and may have various shapes. For example, in the case of a spherical tablet, the only dimension that is required is the diameter of the tablet, and there is no point in selecting the measurement position selection button 31 for L1, L2, and L3. In such a case, for example, if the drug master 502 contains information about the shape of a spherical tablet, the drug packaging machine 200, which refers to the drug master 502, can determine that this is the diameter of the spherical tablet if dimensional information is only listed in L1, which corresponds to "length" or "diameter." Therefore, the operator first presses the measurement position selection button 31 and measures the dimensions of the drug 5 according to the method of FIG. Furthermore, as with oval tablets, the drug dimension measuring device 100 transmits the measurement position selection button 31 and the dimensions of the drug 5 corresponding to the measurement position selection button 31 as dimension information to the drug master 502, and the dimension information is recorded, so no particular problems arise.

[0050] If information on the shape of the drug 5 is not recorded, for example, if there is only one piece of dimensional information, it may be assumed to be a spherical tablet depending on the settings of the drug packaging machine 200. Alternatively, even if the operator measures each of L1, L2, and L3, the same values ​​will be entered for all of them. Therefore, when the shape of the tablet is unknown, regardless of the shape, there is no particular problem even if the operator performs measurements three times, for example, by pressing the measurement position selection button 31 to send the measurement results once, then pressing the measurement position selection button 31 again to send the second measurement results, then pressing the measurement position selection button 31 again to send the third measurement results, and so on.

[0051] Furthermore, even if the drug 5 has two characteristic dimensions, such as a round, flat tablet or a so-called lens-shaped tablet, in this case the result will simply be that the "length" and "width" match, so there is no problem even if the measurement position selection buttons 31 are pressed one after another according to the indications of the display LEDs 41, 42, and 43, and all the measurement results are sent individually. Furthermore, in medicine packaging machine 200, for example, a tablet where dimension L1 = dimension L2 may be determined to have a lens shape or a circular shape.

[0052] In this way, the drug dimension measuring device 100 of the present invention can transmit the required shape and dimension information of the drug 5 simply by transmitting the measurement position selected by the measurement position selection button 31 that is pressed when the send button 34 is pressed, and the distance L between the reference surface 12a and the measurement surface 20a when the button is pressed as dimensions L1, L2, and L3. In this way, the drug dimension measuring device 100 can record the required dimensions and the positions where those dimensions were measured, regardless of the shape of the solid tablet, and can measure the dimensions of the drug easily and quickly.

[0053] Next, as a second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figure 14, we will explain an embodiment that uses a dispensing server 500, a drug packaging machine 200, and a drug dimension measuring device 100 that is placed in a remote location and connected via a network 505.

[0054] In this embodiment, the configuration of the drug dimension measuring device 100 is substantially the same as that shown in Figure 6, so explanation will be omitted as appropriate, but in this embodiment, the drug dimension measuring device 100 is connected via a mobile terminal 300 connected to the network 505. In this configuration, a case where size information of the drug 5 is input using the drug size measuring device 100 will be described. In the medicine master 502 of this embodiment, similarly to the example shown in FIG. 11, the identification information of the medicine and the size information can be recorded in association with each other.

[0055] When the operator opens the medicine master 502 via the network 505 using the mobile terminal 300, the operator accesses the data describing the identification information of the medicine 5 and opens a screen similar to that shown in FIG. The operator can use the drug dimension measuring device 100 to measure the dimensions L1, L2, and L3 of the drug 5 in a manner similar to that shown in Figures 12(a) to 12(e), and then press the send button 34 to rewrite the drug master 502 via the network 505.

[0056] With this configuration, even in a location remote from where the medicine packaging machine 200 is installed, the dimensions of the medicine 5 can be appropriately registered by updating the medicine master 502.

[0057] Alternatively, as a third embodiment, the drug size measuring device 100 may be used as a standalone device. At this time, for example, the operator connects the tablet size measuring device 100 to a personal computer 301, which is an arbitrary terminal, and accesses the data in which the identification information of the drug 5 is described. Such data may be, for example, the drug master 502 of the dispensing server 500, or if a standalone personal computer 301 is used, it may be by rewriting the identification information of the drug 5 stored in each computer, or by recording the identification information and dimensional information of the drug 5 on some portable recording medium. With this configuration, the operator can pre-record the dimensional information of the drug 5 by adding it to the identification information regardless of the work location. Therefore, even if there are many people around the drug packaging machine 200 and it is not suitable for work, the operator can work in an appropriate location and add the dimensional information of the drug 5, which contributes to work efficiency.

[0058] <1> The present invention comprises a main body 10 having a mounting plate 11, a reference surface 12a standing perpendicular to the mounting plate 11, and side walls 12, 13, and 14 formed together with the reference surface 12a to surround the mounting plate 11 on three sides; a slide member 20 having a measurement surface 20a at its end facing the reference surface 12a and movable in a sliding direction perpendicular to the reference surface 12a; a biasing member 15 for biasing the slide member 20 toward the reference surface 12a; and a measurement position information selection means provided on the main body 10 that allows an operator to select measurement position information of a tablet placed on the mounting plate 11, wherein the slide member 20 has an opening 21 and is equipped with a transmission means 34 that transmits the distance between the reference surface 12a and the measurement surface 20a as dimensional information of the tablet in association with the measurement position information selected by the measurement position information selection means 31. With this configuration, the dimensions of the tablet can be measured easily and quickly.

[0059] <2> In addition, in the drug size measuring device 100 of the present invention, <1> In addition to the configuration described above, the apparatus has a display means for visually displaying the measurement position information selected by the measurement position information selection means 31 to the operator. With this configuration, the placement direction of the drug 5 when the operator presses and selects the measurement position information selection button is clearly displayed visually, making it less likely that the operator will make an erroneous operation.

[0060] <3> In addition, in the drug size measuring device 100 of the present invention, <1> or <2> In addition to the configuration described above, the display means has at least three light-emitting elements, namely, display LEDs 41, 42, and 43, and the shapes of the three light-emitting elements, namely, display LEDs 41, 42, and 43, correspond to the measurement positions of the length, width, and thickness of the tablet, respectively. With this configuration, the direction in which the drug 5 is placed when the operator presses and selects the measurement position information selection button is clearly displayed visually, making it less likely for the operator to make an erroneous operation and eliminating the need to be confused about the direction in which the drug 5 is placed, allowing for efficient work.

[0061] <4> In addition, in the drug size measuring device 100 of the present invention, <1> In addition to the configuration described above, the variable resistor 18 attached to the mounting plate 11 and extending along the sliding direction functions as a guide, and a position detection protrusion is provided on the sliding member 20 so as to move along the guide. Furthermore, the variable resistor 18 measures the distance between the reference surface 12a and the measurement surface 20a by detecting the position of the position detection convex portion. According to this configuration, when measuring the drug 5, the distance between the reference surface 12a and the measurement surface 20a coincides with the size of the drug 5, so that the size of the drug 5 can be easily measured. <5> In addition, in the drug size measuring device 100 of the present invention, <1> ~ <4> In addition to the configuration described above, a magnet is attached to the surface that will become the bottom surface when the medicine 5 is placed on it. According to this configuration, the drug dimension measuring device 100 can be attached to any position on the housing 201 of the drug packaging machine 200, so that a drug dimension measuring device 100 that is simple and easy to carry can be provided without having to prepare a storage or installation space for the drug packaging machine 200 in advance.

[0062] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. For example, in this embodiment, the operator selects measurement position information indicating at which position the drug dimensions were measured depending on the number of times the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed, but it is also possible to provide multiple measurement position selection buttons corresponding to the display LEDs 41, 42, and 43, and transmit measurement position information corresponding to the measurement position selection button pressed depending on which measurement position selection button was pressed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 10...Main body 11...Placement plate 12a...Reference surface 15...Spring (biasing member) 18...Variable resistor (guide part) 19...Magnet 20...Slide member 20a...Measuring surface 21...Opening 23...Protrusion (position detection convex part) 31... Measurement position selection button (measurement position information selection means) 34...Send button (sending method) 41, 42, 43...Display LED (display means) (light emitting section) 100...Drug size measuring device 200...Medicine packaging machine 300...Mobile devices 500...Pharmacy server 502...Drug Master A...Slide direction L1, L2, L3...Dimensional information

Claims

1. A mounting plate; a main body portion having a reference surface that stands perpendicular to the mounting plate and side surfaces that are formed so as to surround three sides of the mounting plate together with the reference surface; a slide member having a measurement surface at an end thereof facing the reference surface and movable in a sliding direction perpendicular to the reference surface; a biasing member that biases the slide member toward the reference surface; a measurement position information selection means provided in the main body portion and capable of selecting measurement position information of the tablet placed on the placement plate by an operator; and the slide member has an opening; A drug dimension measuring device characterized by having a transmitting means for transmitting the distance between the reference surface and the measurement surface as dimension information of the tablet, linked to the measurement position information selected by the measurement position information selection means.

2. 2. The drug size measuring device according to claim 1, A drug size measuring device comprising a display means for visually displaying to the operator the measurement position information selected using the measurement position information selection means.

3. 3. The drug size measuring device according to claim 2, the display means has at least three light-emitting portions, A drug dimension measuring device characterized in that the shapes of the three light-emitting parts correspond to the measurement positions of the length, width, and thickness of the tablet.

4. 2. The drug size measuring device according to claim 1, a guide portion attached to the mounting plate and extending along the sliding direction; a position detection protrusion provided on the slide member so as to move along the guide portion, The drug dimension measuring device is characterized in that the guide portion measures the distance between the reference surface and the measurement surface by detecting the position of the position detection convex portion.

5. 2. The drug size measuring device according to claim 1, A drug size measuring device characterized in that a magnet is attached to the surface that will become the bottom surface when the tablet is placed on it.

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