Conveying equipment and storage equipment

Abstract

[Problem] To reduce burden on a user storing a drug box. [Solution] A storage device (1) is provided with: a shutter (114) having a side surface (1141) contacted by one side surface of a drug box received by a drug receiving unit (11); a first conveyance unit (112) that conveys the drug box received by the drug receiving unit to the shutter in a state in which the drug box is loaded on the first conveyance unit (112), and places one side surface of the drug box in contact with the side surface, and a second conveyance unit (17) that grasps the drug box after the side surface is contacted, and conveys the drug box to a storage rack (30) for storing the drug box.

Description

Technical Field

[0005]

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveying device for conveying a medicine box containing medicine, and a storage device for storing the medicine box conveyed by the conveying device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a storage device for storing pharmaceuticals has been known. An example of the storage device is disclosed in Patent Document 1. The storage device of Patent Document 1 includes a storage shelf capable of storing pharmaceuticals, an input section having a belt conveyor, and a robot arm for the pharmaceuticals input from the input section.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the storage device of Patent Document 1, when a user inputs pharmaceuticals from the input port, the user is required to place the pharmaceuticals at a predetermined position inside the input port. This is for the storage device to acquire, for example, the size information of the pharmaceuticals at the predetermined position. Also, in the storage device of Patent Document 1, a label is attached to the pharmaceuticals conveyed by the belt conveyor by a label attaching unit. The label attaching unit is provided corresponding to the position where the pharmaceuticals are conveyed from a predetermined position into the interior of the storage device by the belt conveyor. From this perspective as well, the user is required to place the pharmaceuticals at a predetermined position. Therefore, when inputting pharmaceuticals into the storage device of Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that a burden of placing them at a predetermined position may be imposed on the user.

[0005] Also, in Patent Document 1, a method for determining the arrangement position of pharmaceuticals when arranging a plurality of pharmaceuticals in the depth direction of the storage shelf is not mentioned.

[0006] One aspect of the present invention aims to realize a transport device and a storage device that can reduce the burden on users who store drug boxes. Another aspect of the present invention aims to realize a transport device and a storage device that can improve the dispensing efficiency of drug boxes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, a transport device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: a receiving section for receiving a medicine box containing medicines; a side contact section having a contact surface that contacts one side of the medicine box received in the receiving section; a first transport section that transports the medicine box received in the receiving section to the side contact section while it is placed thereon, bringing one side of the medicine box into contact with the contact surface; and a second transport section that grasps the medicine box after it has come into contact with the contact surface and transports it to a storage shelf for storing the medicine box.

[0008] Furthermore, in order to solve the above problems, a transport device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a receiving section for receiving drug boxes containing drugs, and a transport section for transporting and storing the drug boxes received by the receiving section to a storage shelf for storing the drug boxes, wherein when a second drug box having a width less than or equal to the width of the first drug box is newly stored in the position on the storage shelf where the first drug box is stored, the transport section is capable of storing the second drug box side by side with the first drug box in the depth direction of the storage shelf. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, the burden on users who store drug boxes can be reduced. Furthermore, according to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to improve the efficiency of dispensing drug boxes. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of a drug dispensing system. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the appearance of a storage device. [Figure 3]This is a diagram showing an example of the internal structure of a storage device. [Figure 4] An example of a storage device configuration (block branch) [Figure 5] This is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the drug receiving section and its surroundings. [Figure 6] This is a perspective view showing an example of a drug receiving section. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of the process in which a medicine box placed on the first transport unit is transported to the third-first transport unit. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of the process of adjusting the orientation of the drug box received in the drug receiving section. [Figure 9] This diagram shows an example of the operation of the first transport unit and the shutter when one medicine box is stacked on top of the medicine box already placed on the first transport unit. [Figure 10] This diagram shows an example of the operation of the first transport unit when the longitudinal direction of the medicine box is facing the forward feeding direction. [Figure 11] This is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the second transport unit. [Figure 12] This is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the gripping part. [Figure 13] This diagram shows examples of the operation when the second transport unit pulls out and grasps a medicine box on the third transport unit, and examples of the operation when the second transport unit pushes out the grasped medicine box and stores it on a storage shelf. [Figure 14] This diagram shows an example of the operation of the second transport unit when retrieving only the medicine boxes located at the back of the storage shelves. [Figure 15] This diagram shows another example of the operation of the second transport unit when retrieving only the medicine boxes located at the back of the storage shelf. [Figure 16] This is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the fifth transport unit. [Figure 17] This figure shows an example of the arrangement of the receiving and conveying unit relative to the discharge and conveying unit. [Figure 18] This is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the opening and closing mechanism. [Figure 19] This is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the sliding section. [Figure 20]It is a side cross-sectional view of the slide part. [Figure 21] It is a diagram showing a modified example of the input box. [Figure 22] It is a diagram showing an example of the process in which the medicine box placed on the first conveyance part is conveyed to the 3-1 conveyance part. [Figure 23] It is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of the storage device according to another embodiment. [Figure 24] It is a perspective view showing a state where a part of the outer wall of the storage device is removed. [Figure 25] It is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the storage device. [Figure 26] It is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the lift. [Figure 27] It is a diagram showing the configuration near the top surface part of the storage device. [Figure 28] It is a side view showing an example of the configuration of the robot arm. [Figure 29] It is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the lift when pulling out the container put into the container receiving part. [Figure 30] It is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the robot arm and the mounting table. [Figure 31] It is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the robot arm when causing the reading part to read medicine identification information. [Figure 32] It is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the robot arm when tipping over the medicine box on the mounting table. [Figure 33] It is a diagram showing an example of the image of the container imaged by the imaging part. [Figure 34] It is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the robot arm after the reading of the medicine identification information is completed. [Figure 35] It is a diagram showing an example of the reception image for receiving the payout instruction of the medicine box. [Figure 36] It is a perspective view showing an example of the third conveyance part. [Figure 37] It is a perspective view showing an example of the third conveyance part. [Figure 38] It is a flowchart showing an example of the process executed by the control part. [Figure 39]This diagram illustrates an example of the operation of the gripping part of the second transport unit when storing multiple drug boxes in a single row in the depth direction of the storage shelf, given that one drug box is already stored on the shelf. [Figure 40] This is a conceptual diagram illustrating the process of determining whether the medication boxes to be stored can be stored in a single row in the depth direction of the storage shelf, relative to a single medication box stored on the shelf. [Figure 41] This diagram illustrates an example of the operation of the gripping part of the second transport unit when storing multiple drug boxes in a row with other drug boxes stored on a storage shelf. [Figure 42] This is a conceptual diagram illustrating the process of determining whether a medicine box to be stored can be stored in a single row along with multiple other medicine boxes stored on a storage shelf. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] [Embodiment 1] ≪Medication Dispensing System≫ The outline of the drug dispensing system 100 of this embodiment will be explained with reference to Figure 1. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the drug dispensing system 100. The drug dispensing system 100 is a system capable of dispensing drugs and comprises, for example, a storage device 1 and a drug station 2, as shown in Figure 1.

[0012] Drug Station 2 is a device for storing, filling, and dispensing pharmaceuticals. Drug Station 2 comprises, for example, a main unit 201 and a picking unit 202.

[0013] The main unit 201 is a unit for storing pharmaceuticals. Specifically, the main unit 201 functions as a pharmaceutical storage rack capable of storing multiple cassettes (not shown) containing pharmaceuticals. The main unit 201 can store the types of pharmaceuticals expected to be used in a single facility such as a hospital or pharmacy (e.g., approximately 1500 to 2000 types). Examples of pharmaceuticals include tablets, powders, topical medications such as ointments or eye drops, or injectable drugs. The main unit 201 can store any type of pharmaceutical, regardless of the form of the container that holds the pharmaceutical (e.g., PTP (Press Through Package) sheets, bottles, tubes, or jars). Alternatively, the pharmaceuticals may be stored in the main unit 201 in the form of pharmaceutical boxes containing the aforementioned pharmaceuticals.

[0014] The picking unit 202 is a device that enables workers to handle the drugs stored in the main unit 201. To enable the dispensing of drugs, the picking unit 202 functions as a device for workers to perform picking operations, in which they take out the required number of drugs from the cassettes. Furthermore, the picking unit 202 functions as a device for workers to perform filling operations, in which they fill the cassettes stored in the main unit 201 with drugs. In other words, the picking unit 202 functions as a device for workers to take drugs from cassettes stored in the main unit 201, or to fill those cassettes with drugs.

[0015] In this embodiment, a picking unit 202 is provided on the front side of the main unit 201, along the width direction (±X axis direction) of the main unit 201. However, this is not the only configuration; one picking unit 202 may be provided, or three or more picking units 202 may be provided.

[0016] Drug Station 2 sequentially transfers cassettes stored in the main unit 201 to the picking unit 202, for example, based on prescription data. Workers at Drug Station 2 remove medications from the cassettes transferred to the picking unit 202 and place them into a transport tray (not shown). The medications placed in the transport tray are subject to visual inspection by healthcare professionals such as pharmacists.

[0017] Storage device 1 is a device for storing drug boxes containing drugs. In this embodiment, storage device 1 stores drug boxes that have been placed in the drug receiving section 11 (receiving section) by an operator of storage device 1.

[0018] Storage device 1 stores, for example, medicine boxes containing medicines that can be handled at drug station 2. If, for example, a certain type of medicine runs out at drug station 2, storage device 1 sends a medicine box containing that medicine, which is stored in storage device 1, to drug station 2.

[0019] The storage device 1 includes a fifth transport unit 19 that transports the stored drug boxes to the drug station 2. The fifth transport unit 19 is, for example, a belt conveyor. The fifth transport unit 19 includes a discharge transport unit 192. The discharge transport unit 192 is a transport unit that discharges the drug boxes stored in the storage device 1 from the storage device 1. The storage device 1 also includes an input box 40 into which the drug boxes transported by the fifth transport unit 19 are placed. In this embodiment, the discharge transport unit 192 and the input box 40 are located on the front side of the main unit 201 and above the picking unit 202. The input box 40 is located below the discharge transport unit 192.

[0020] In this embodiment, input boxes 40 are provided corresponding to each picking unit 202. Drug boxes transported by the discharge transport unit 192 are transported to the designated input box 40, where they are dropped. The input box 40 to which the drug boxes will be transported is designated, for example, by the drug station 2, and the control unit 21 of the storage device 1 (see Figure 4) causes the discharge transport unit 192 to transport the drug boxes to the designated input box 40 according to instructions from the drug station 2. The destination of the drug boxes may also be entered via the touch panel 20.

[0021] This allows the worker at drug station 2 to receive the drug boxes transported from storage device 1. The worker at drug station 2 can then fill drug station 2 with the received drug boxes or the drugs contained in the drug boxes at picking unit 202. The worker at drug station 2 can also place the drugs contained in the received drug boxes into transport trays (not shown) at picking unit 202 as drugs to be dispensed from drug station 2.

[0022] Furthermore, the input box 40 does not necessarily need to be provided in correspondence with the picking unit 202. The input box 40 may be provided in common with at least two picking units 202. Also, even if only one picking unit 202 is provided, the input box 40 does not need to be provided in correspondence with the picking unit 202.

[0023] However, the workers at drug station 2 perform the task of retrieving drugs from cassettes transferred to the picking unit 202, or filling drugs into the cassettes, in front of each picking unit 202. Considering this point, by providing the input box 40 in accordance with the picking unit 202, the efficiency of drug retrieval and filling operations can be improved.

[0024] Furthermore, the workers at Drug Station 2 and Storage Device 1 are those who retrieve drugs from Drug Station 2 and are unqualified individuals who do not possess qualifications such as pharmacist, nurse, or doctor. However, the workers may be qualified individuals who possess such qualifications.

[0025] ≪Overview of the Storage System≫ The general outline of the storage device 1 will be explained using Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the external appearance of the storage device 1. Reference numeral 2001 in Figure 2 indicates an example of the external appearance of the storage device 1 when the first door 51 and the second door 52 are closed, and reference numeral 2002 indicates an example of the external appearance of the storage device 1 when the first door 51 and the second door 52 are open. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the internal structure of the storage device 1.

[0026] As shown in Figure 2, the storage device 1 includes a touch panel 20, a first door 51, and a second door 52. The touch panel 20 is a display device that shows various information related to the storage device 1, and also functions as an input device that accepts input operations from the operator.

[0027] The first door 51 is a door that can block worker access to the drug receiving section 11. In this embodiment, the first door 51 is a shutter that can slide vertically upward (+Z axis direction). When the first door 51 is closed, it may be locked by a locking mechanism (not shown). For example, when the control unit 21 (see Figure 4) receives input via the touch panel 20 for filling drug boxes into the storage device 1 via the drug receiving section 11 (manual filling input), it releases the lock by the locking mechanism. This makes it possible for a worker to open the first door 51.

[0028] By providing the first door 51, the first door 51 can be kept closed when the worker does not place a drug box into the drug receiving section 11. This reduces the possibility of the worker inadvertently putting their hand into the drug receiving section 11. In other words, the safety of the storage device 1 can be enhanced. For example, in the storage device 1B described later, when automatic filling is performed, the possibility of the worker touching the operating first transport section 112 can be reduced.

[0029] The second door 52 is a door that allows an operator to access the inside of the storage device 1. In this embodiment, the second door 52 is a shutter that can slide vertically downward (in the Z-axis direction). When the second door 52 is closed, it may be locked by a locking mechanism (not shown). For example, the control unit 21 releases the lock by the locking mechanism when a transport error occurs in the storage device 1 (e.g., when the drug boxes become jammed) or when it receives input via the touch panel 20 to unlock the second door 52. This makes it possible for an operator to open the second door 52.

[0030] By providing the second door 52, the operator can visually inspect the third transport section 15 and the fifth transport section 19 inside the storage device 1. Therefore, for example, if a drug box becomes jammed in the third transport section 15 or the fifth transport section 19, the operator can remove the drug box and resume filling the storage device 1 with drug boxes.

[0031] As shown in Figure 3, the storage device 1 comprises a drug receiving section 11, a third transport section 15, a fifth transport section 19, and a storage shelf 30.

[0032] The drug receiving section 11 is the part that receives drug boxes placed in by the worker. The drug receiving section 11 is equipped with a first transport section 112 and a shutter 114. The first transport section 112 transports the drug boxes received in the drug receiving section 11 to the shutter 114 while they are placed on it. The shutter 114 prevents the drug boxes from moving while the first transport section 112 is transporting them toward the second transport section 17 (see Figure 11).

[0033] The storage shelf 30 is a shelf for storing medicine boxes. In this embodiment, at least one storage shelf 30 can be installed in the first storage compartment 31A, which is provided on the front side of the storage device 1, and in the second storage compartment 31B, which is provided on the back side of the storage device 1. The first storage compartment 31A is provided above the fifth transport section 19 and below the medicine receiving section 11 and the third transport section 15. The second storage compartment 31B is provided on one side of the back side of the storage device 1. Although Figure 3 only shows the case where one storage shelf 30 is provided above the fifth transport section 19 and one below the medicine receiving section 11 and the third transport section 15, multiple storage shelves 30 can be installed in the first storage compartment 31A and the second storage compartment 31B.

[0034] Furthermore, multiple drug boxes may be arranged in a line along the depth direction (±Y axis direction) of the storage device 1 on the storage shelf 30. In this case, at least two of the drug boxes may be of the same type or different types. The number of drug boxes stored in a line along the depth direction of the storage device 1 should be determined according to the depth of the storage shelf 30 and the length of the drug boxes.

[0035] When the shutter 114 is open, the drug boxes placed in the drug receiving section 11 are transported to the third transport section 15 by the first transport section 112. The third transport section 15 sequentially receives the drug boxes transported from the first transport section 112 and transports the received drug boxes at a predetermined distance apart. Then, the second transport section 17 grasps the drug boxes placed on the third transport section 15 and transports them to the storage shelves 30. This allows the drug boxes placed in the drug receiving section 11 to be stored in the storage shelves 30. The second transport section 17 also grasps the drug boxes stored in the storage shelves 30 and transports them to the fifth transport section 19. This allows the drug boxes stored in the storage shelves 30 to be transported from the storage device 1 to another device (in this embodiment, the drug station 2).

[0036] Details of the operation of the first transport unit 112, shutter 114, third transport unit 15, second transport unit 17, and fifth transport unit 19 will be described later.

[0037] ≪Specific configuration of the storage device≫ The specific configuration of the storage device 1 is described below. Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the storage device 1. In Figure 4, the white arrows indicate the flow from when the drug box is received in the drug receiving section 11 until it is stored in the storage shelf 30, and the flow from when the drug box is stored in the storage shelf 30 until it is discharged into the input box 40. Figure 4 shows only the main components necessary to explain the flow of drug boxes.

[0038] As shown in Figure 4, the storage device 1 includes a transport device 10 for transporting drug boxes within the storage device 1. The transport device 10 includes, for example, a drug receiving unit 11, a width detection unit 13, a third transport unit 15, a second transport unit 17, a fifth transport unit 19, a control unit 21, a storage unit 23, and a ejection detection unit 25. The specific configurations other than the control unit 21 and the storage unit 23 will be explained with reference to figures other than Figure 4.

[0039] <Control Unit and Memory Unit> The control unit 21 comprehensively controls the storage device 1 (specifically, the transport device 10). The memory unit 23 stores the information necessary for controlling the storage device 1 (specifically, the transport device 10).

[0040] The control unit 21 includes, for example, a transport control unit 211, a shutter control unit 212, a direction identification unit 213, a storage position management unit 214, and a touch panel control unit 215.

[0041] The transport control unit 211 controls the operation of the first transport unit 112, the third transport unit 15, the second transport unit 17, and the fifth transport unit 19. The shutter control unit 212 controls the opening and closing operation of the shutter 114. The touch panel control unit 215 controls the display of the touch panel 20.

[0042] The orientation determination unit 213 determines the orientation of the medicine box based on the detection result of the first detection unit 113. In this embodiment, the orientation determination unit 213 determines the orientation of the medicine box based on the detection result of the first detection unit 113 and the medicine identification information read by the reading unit 111. The orientation determination unit 213 also determines whether the orientation of the medicine is facing a predetermined direction. In this embodiment, the orientation determination unit 213 determines whether the longitudinal direction of the medicine box is facing the depth direction of the storage device 1. If the transport control unit 211 determines that the orientation of the medicine box determined by the orientation determination unit 213 is not facing a predetermined direction, it operates the first transport unit 112 for a predetermined time with the shutter 114 closed.

[0043] Drug identification information is information affixed to the surface of the drug box to identify the drug contained in the box (e.g., information indicating the type of drug). Drug identification information is, for example, an example of information included in a GS1 code and is affixed to the surface of the drug box in the form of a barcode. However, drug identification information only needs to be information that can identify the drug contained in the drug box, and may be implemented using information other than a GS1 code. Furthermore, drug identification information only needs to be in a format that the reader 111 can read, and may be affixed in a format other than a barcode. The information affixed to the surface of the drug box may include drug identification information indicating the type of drug, as well as information indicating the expiration date, lot number, and quantity of the drug contained in the drug box. Note that the expiration date may also be referred to as the use-by date.

[0044] Furthermore, the longitudinal direction of the medicine box is along the longest side of the sides that define the medicine box, and the transverse direction of the medicine box is along the shortest side of the sides that define the medicine box. In this embodiment, the shape of the medicine box is approximately a rectangular parallelepiped.

[0045] The storage location management unit 214 manages the storage location of the drug boxes received by the drug receiving unit 11 on the storage shelves 30.

[0046] The storage location management unit 214 identifies the size of the drug box received by the drug receiving unit 11 by referring to the drug database stored in the storage unit 23, for example, based on the drug identification information read by the reading unit 111. Based on the identified size of the drug box and the storage location information stored in the storage unit 23, the storage location management unit 214 determines the storage location of the drug box on the storage shelf 30.

[0047] A drug database manages information about multiple types of drugs, for example. The drug database manages information indicating the size of the drug box containing the drug (e.g., length, width, and height) associated with each of the multiple types of drugs. Storage location information indicates the storage location of the drug (specifically, the drug box) on the storage shelf 30. The storage location management unit 214 can identify available space on the storage shelf 30 by referring to the storage location information.

[0048] Furthermore, the storage location management unit 214 updates the storage location information, for example, when it determines the storage location of a medicine box and when it receives an instruction to remove a medicine box. When the storage location management unit 214 determines the storage location of a medicine box, it may update the storage location information to include the storage location of that medicine box. Also, when the storage location management unit 214 receives an instruction to remove a medicine box, it may update the storage location information to delete the storage location of that medicine box (to make it an empty area).

[0049] The storage location management unit 214 may update the storage location information when it determines that a medicine box has been stored in the storage shelf 30 by the second transport unit 17, or when it determines that a medicine box has been removed from the storage shelf 30 by the second transport unit 17. For example, when the storage location management unit 214 receives a detection signal indicating that a medicine box has been detected from the passage detection unit 1751 (see Figure 11) provided in the gripping unit 171 of the second transport unit 17, it refers to the storage location information to determine whether the medicine box has been stored or removed. The storage location management unit 214 may update the storage location information based on this determination result.

[0050] <Configuration of the drug receiving section and its surrounding area> Reference numerals 5001 and 5002 in Figure 5 are perspective views showing an example of the configuration of the drug receiving section 11 and its surroundings. The arrow in reference numeral 5001 in Figure 5 indicates the direction of transport of the drug box in the third transport section 15. Figure 6 is a perspective view showing an example of the drug receiving section 11.

[0051] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the drug receiving section 11 is a space formed by the first side wall 116, the second side wall 117, the shutter 114, the first transport section 112, and the top surface 118. The first side wall 116, the shutter 114, the first transport section 112, and the top surface 118 form an opening for receiving the drug box into the drug receiving section 11.

[0052] The first side wall portion 116 is the side wall portion facing the shutter 114. The second side wall portion 117 is the side wall portion facing the opening. The shutter 114 also functions as part of the side wall portion of the drug receiving portion 11, and the first transport portion 112 functions as the bottom portion of the drug receiving portion 11.

[0053] Furthermore, a reading unit 111 is provided inside the drug receiving unit 11 to read drug identification information attached to the surface of the drug box. In this embodiment, the drug identification information is attached to the surface of the drug box in the form of a barcode. Therefore, in this embodiment, the reading unit 111 is a barcode reader. The reading unit 111 can be any device capable of reading the drug identification information attached to the surface of the drug box. The reading unit 111 transmits the read drug identification information to the control unit 21.

[0054] When the reading unit 111 reads drug identification information, the control unit 21 outputs a sound (e.g., a beep) from the notification unit (not shown). In other words, the control unit 21 notifies via the notification unit that the reading unit 111 has read the drug identification information. This allows the operator to recognize that the reading unit 111 has read the drug identification information. Therefore, the operator can place the next drug box into the drug receiving unit 11 and have the reading unit 111 read the drug identification information attached to that drug box. In other words, the storage device 1 can continuously receive drug boxes in the drug receiving unit 11.

[0055] Furthermore, the control unit 21 may drive the reading unit 111 when it receives input for manual filling via the touch panel 20.

[0056] Furthermore, multiple reading units 111 are provided inside the drug receiving unit 11. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 6, reading units 111A to 111C are provided as reading units 111. Reading unit 111A is provided on the first side wall 116 such that the reading direction of the drug identification information is substantially perpendicular to the second side wall 117. Reading unit 111B is provided on the second side wall 117 such that the reading direction of the drug identification information is substantially perpendicular to the first side wall 116. Reading unit 111C is provided on the top surface 118 such that the reading direction of the drug identification information is substantially perpendicular to the top surface 118.

[0057] Here, the reading unit 111 may be provided as a single unit near the drug receiving unit 11 in the housing of the storage device 1. Even in this case, the reading unit 111 can still read the drug identification information attached to the drug box. However, in this case, the operator must first confirm where the barcode is attached to the drug box and then orient the surface with the barcode towards the reading unit 111 in order for the reading unit 111 to read the drug identification information.

[0058] Generally, the barcodes on drug boxes are relatively small relative to the box itself, and their placement varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Therefore, checking the location of the barcode on each drug box can be burdensome for workers. Furthermore, if this check takes time, it reduces the efficiency of drug box storage.

[0059] Because multiple reading units 111 are provided inside the drug receiving unit 11, the operator can have the reading units 111 read the drug identification information simply by placing the drug box into the drug receiving unit 11 or by rotating it up to 180° inside the drug receiving unit 11. Furthermore, as described above, the operator can confirm whether or not the drug identification information has been read. Therefore, the operator can have the reading units 111 read the drug identification information simply by rotating the drug box until a sound is emitted, without having to be conscious of the position of the barcode on the drug box. Consequently, the burden on the operator can be reduced, and the possibility of a decrease in the efficiency of storage work can be reduced.

[0060] In particular, as in this embodiment, when the reading directions of the reading units 111A to 111C are arranged to be perpendicular to each other, the reading units 111A to 111C can simultaneously irradiate the drug box inserted into the drug receiving unit 11 with reading light from three mutually perpendicular directions. Therefore, the efficiency of reading drug identification information can be further improved. However, if the drug receiving unit 11 is provided with multiple reading units 111, the burden on the operator to read the drug identification information can be reduced.

[0061] The first transport unit 112, under the control of the transport control unit 211, transports the drug boxes received by the drug receiving unit 11 to the shutter 114. In this embodiment, the first transport unit 112 is a belt conveyor. The transport control unit 211, for example, after receiving drug identification information read by the reading unit 111, moves the first transport unit 112 forward. Moving the first transport unit 112 forward means operating the transport belt of the first transport unit 112 to transport the placed drug boxes toward the shutter 114 side (+X axis direction). Note that when the transport control unit 211 operates the transport belt of the first transport unit 112 to transport the placed drug boxes toward the first side wall 116 side (-X axis direction), this is also referred to as moving the first transport unit 112 backward.

[0062] The shutter 114 is provided between the first transport unit 112 and the third transport unit 15, and is opened and closed by the control of the shutter control unit 212. The shutter 114 is in the closed state when the drug box can be received in the drug receiving unit 11. Also, when the shutter 114 is in the closed state, it prevents the movement of the drug box being transported towards the third transport unit 15 by the first transport unit 112.

[0063] When closed, the shutter 114 functions as a side contact portion having a side surface 1141 (contact surface) that contacts one side of the medicine box being transported by the first transport portion 112. In other words, in this embodiment, the first transport portion 112 transports the medicine box received by the medicine receiving portion 11, thereby bringing one side of the medicine box into contact with the side surface 1141.

[0064] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the shutter 114 opens and closes in the vertical direction (±Z axis direction).

[0065] The first detection unit 113 is a detection unit that detects a medicine box that is in contact with or close to the shutter 114. The first detection unit 113 includes a plurality of sensors 1131 that detect the presence or absence of an object by emitting light. In this embodiment, as shown by reference numeral 5001 in Figure 5, the plurality of sensors 1131 are provided along one side of the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 that is included in the side surface 1141 and is in contact with the first transport unit 112. That is, the plurality of sensors 1131 are provided at the lower end of the side surface 1141, along the ±Y axis direction. Furthermore, the plurality of sensors 1131 are provided on the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 so as to emit light in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. In addition, in this embodiment, the sensor 1131 is a reflective type sensor that includes an emitting unit that emits light and a light receiving unit that receives the reflected light after the emitted light has been reflected off an object.

[0066] The first detection unit 113 transmits a detection signal to the control unit 21 indicating that it has detected a medicine box. The first detection unit 113 also transmits to the control unit 21 information in the detection signal indicating which of the multiple sensors 1131 detected the medicine box. This allows the control unit 21 to determine whether or not a medicine box has been detected. The direction determination unit 213 compares the position of the sensor 1131 that detected the medicine box with the size of the medicine box obtained by referring to the medicine database based on the medicine identification information read by the reading unit 111. This allows the direction determination unit 213 to determine which surface of the medicine box is close to or in contact with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. Therefore, the direction determination unit 213 can determine whether the orientation of the medicine box that is close to or in contact with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 is facing a predetermined direction.

[0067] The first detection unit 113 only needs to be capable of determining how the medicine box is in contact with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. For example, the multiple sensors 1131 may be arranged in multiple rows, or they may emit electromagnetic waves other than light, or sound waves (e.g., ultrasound). Alternatively, the first detection unit 113 may be an imaging unit provided on the top surface 118 adjacent to the shutter 114. In this case, the orientation determination unit 213 can determine the orientation of the medicine box by analyzing the image of the medicine box captured by the imaging unit. That is, the orientation determination unit 213 can determine the orientation of the medicine box based on the detection result of the first detection unit 113 as an imaging unit.

[0068] The in / out detection unit 115 is located in the drug receiving unit 11 on the front side of the first transport unit 112 (the side that receives the drug box). The in / out detection unit 115 is equipped with multiple sensors that detect the presence or absence of an object by emitting light. In this embodiment, these multiple sensors are arranged in a line in the ±X axis direction. In this embodiment, these sensors are reflective sensors.

[0069] When the sensor detects an object, it transmits a detection signal to the control unit 21 indicating that an object has been detected. This allows the control unit 21 to determine whether or not the worker's hand and arm are inserted into the drug receiving section 11. Therefore, the shutter control unit 212 can prevent the shutter 114 from operating if the worker's hand and arm are inserted into the drug receiving section 11, and operate the shutter 114 only if the worker's hand and arm are not inserted into the drug receiving section 11. Consequently, the possibility of accidents such as the worker's hand and arm getting caught in the shutter 114 during operation can be reduced.

[0070] The entry / exit detection unit 115 only needs to be provided in a way that allows it to determine whether the worker's hand and arm are inserted into the drug receiving section 11. For example, the entry / exit detection unit 115 may be provided on the front side of the shutter 114, the first side wall 116, and / or the top surface 118. Alternatively, the entry / exit detection unit 115 may be realized as a transmissive sensor by providing an emitting section that emits light and a light receiving section that receives the emitted light at opposing positions of the parts forming the opening. Furthermore, the multiple sensors provided in the entry / exit detection unit 115 may be arranged in multiple rows and may emit electromagnetic waves other than light, or sound waves (e.g., ultrasound).

[0071] The third transport unit 15 is installed adjacent to the first transport unit 112 via the shutter 114 so that it can sequentially receive the drug boxes transported from the first transport unit 112 when the shutter 114 is open, under the control of the transport control unit 211. In this embodiment, the third transport unit 15 is a belt conveyor.

[0072] In this embodiment, the third transport unit 15 comprises a third-first transport unit 15A and a third-second transport unit 15B. The third-first transport unit 15A transports the medicine boxes received from the first transport unit 112 at a predetermined distance apart. The third-first transport unit 15A is installed adjacent to the first transport unit 112 via a shutter 114 so that it can sequentially receive the medicine boxes transported from the first transport unit 112. The third-second transport unit 15B transports the medicine boxes received from the third-first transport unit 15A at a predetermined distance apart. The third-second transport unit 15B is installed adjacent to the third-first transport unit 15A in the depth direction (±Y axis direction) of the storage device 1 and transports the medicine boxes in the opposite direction to the third-first transport unit 15A.

[0073] On the end of the 3-1 transport section 15A opposite to the drug receiving section 11, a drug transfer section 151 is provided for moving the drug box between (1) the end of the 3-1 transport section 15A and (2) the end of the 3-2 transport section 15B facing the end of the 3-1 transport section 15A.

[0074] The drug transfer unit 151 comprises an extrusion plate 1511, a timing belt 1512, and a drive unit 1513. The extrusion plate 1511 is fixed to a part of the timing belt 1512, and the timing belt 1512 is mounted on two drive shafts. One of the drive shafts is connected to the drive unit 1513. The transport control unit 211 can operate the timing belt 1512 by driving the drive unit 1513, and in response to this operation, can move the extrusion plate 1511 in the ±Y axis direction.

[0075] In other words, the extrusion plate 1511 pushes the drug box that has reached the end of the 3-1 transport section 15A towards the 3-2 transport section 15B, thereby allowing the drug transfer section 151 to move the drug box from the 3-1 transport section 15A to the 3-2 transport section 15B. The transport control unit 211 controls the drive unit 1513 to move the drug box to the 3-2 transport section 15B, and then moves the extrusion plate 1511 towards the 3-1 transport section 15A. As a result, the drug transfer section 151 can sequentially move the drug boxes from the 3-1 transport section 15A to the 3-2 transport section 15B.

[0076] Furthermore, the transport control unit 211 may move the mounting surface of the third-second transport unit 15B toward the extrusion plate 1511 after the third-second transport unit 15B receives the drug box from the third-first transport unit 15A, in order to adjust the orientation of the drug box transported to the third-second transport unit 15B in the ±Y axis direction. That is, the transport control unit 211 may move the mounting surface of the third-second transport unit 15B in the opposite direction to the arrow shown in Figure 5 after the third-second transport unit 15B receives the drug box from the third-first transport unit 15A. This allows the orientation of the drug box to be adjusted by bringing the drug box into contact with the housing on which the timing belt 1512 is installed.

[0077] The transport control unit 211, for example, after the shutter control unit 212 has opened the shutter 114, sequentially moves the first transport unit 112 and the third transport unit 15. Sequentially moving the third transport unit 15 means operating the transport belt of the 3-1 transport unit 15A so that the placed medicine box is transported in the direction away from the shutter 114 (+X axis direction). Also, sequentially moving the third transport unit 15 means operating the transport belt of the 3-2 transport unit 15B so that the placed medicine box is transported in the direction closer to the shutter 114 (-X axis direction).

[0078] The transport control unit 211 operates the third transport unit 15 for a predetermined time and then stops it. This allows the third transport unit 15 to transport the drug boxes while maintaining a predetermined distance between them. In other words, the predetermined time for operating the third transport unit 15 is set to a time that allows adjacent drug boxes to be separated by a predetermined distance. The predetermined width should be set to a width such that when the gripping part 171 of the second transport unit 17 grips a drug box, the gripping part does not come into contact with the drug box being gripped and any adjacent drug boxes. In this embodiment, for example, it is set to 15 mm. The transport control unit 211 may also stop the first transport unit 112 when the third transport unit 15 is stopped.

[0079] For example, the transport control unit 211 may control the second transport unit 17 to sequentially transport the drug boxes placed on the third transport unit 15 to the storage locations determined by the storage location management unit 214. The transport control unit 211 may also control the second transport unit 17 to transport the drug boxes to the storage locations when it receives input to complete the filling operation via a touch panel, or when it determines that the number of drug boxes to be filled has been reached.

[0080] For example, the transport control unit 211 may control the second transport unit 17 to transport the first drug box to the storage location management unit 214 in order when the number of drug boxes on the third transport unit 15 matches the maximum number of drug boxes that can be placed on the third transport unit 15. In this case, the transport control unit 211 may sequentially move the drug boxes on the third transport unit 15 in accordance with the timing of the drug box gripping by the second transport unit 17. As a result, the control unit 21 can transport the drug box onto the third transport unit 15 even if the drug box whose drug identification information has been read by the reading unit 111 is placed on the first transport unit 112 when the maximum number of drug boxes are placed on the third transport unit 15. That is, after the drug box is gripped by the second transport unit 17, the shutter control unit 212 opens the shutter 114. Subsequently, the transport control unit 211 drives the first transport unit 112 and the third transport unit 15, thereby allowing the medicine box on the first transport unit 112 to be placed on the third transport unit 15.

[0081] The control unit 21 can count the number of drug boxes placed on the third transport unit 15, for example, by detecting the drug boxes with the width detection unit 13. The storage unit 23 stores information indicating the maximum number of drug boxes that can be placed on the third transport unit 15. The gripping position of the drug box by the second transport unit 17 may also be specified on the third transport unit 15. In this case, the number of drug boxes that can be placed on the third transport unit 15 between the shutter 114 and the gripping position will be the maximum number mentioned above.

[0082] The width detection unit 13 detects the width of the medicine box. The width detection unit 13 is, for example, a reflective sensor. The width detection unit 13 detects the medicine box passing in front of it. In this embodiment, the width detection unit 13 is located near the third-first transport unit 15A and the shutter 114, and is positioned such that the detection direction of the medicine box (the direction of light emission) is substantially perpendicular to the transport direction of the medicine box by the third-first transport unit 15A.

[0083] As will be described later, in this embodiment, the orientation of the medicine box is adjusted by the first transport unit 112 and the shutter 114 so that the longitudinal direction of the medicine box coincides with the depth direction of the storage device 1. Therefore, the medicine box passes in front of the width detection unit 13 so that the side perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the medicine box faces the width detection unit 13. The transport control unit 211 can calculate the width of the medicine box (width along the ±X axis direction when placed on the third-first transport unit 15A) based, for example, the detection time of the medicine box by the width detection unit 13 and the movement speed of the transport belt of the third-first transport unit 15A (transport speed of the medicine box). Therefore, when the gripping unit 171 of the second transport unit 17 grips the medicine box, the transport control unit 211 can open the gripping unit 171 in the ±X axis direction to a size greater than the calculated width of the medicine box.

[0084] The width detection unit 13 only needs to be provided in a way that allows it to identify the passage of the medicine box. For example, the width detection unit 13 may be implemented as a through-type sensor, or it may emit electromagnetic waves other than light, or sound waves (e.g., ultrasound). The width detection unit 13 may also be implemented as an imaging unit. In this specification, unless otherwise specified, the detection unit for detecting an object may be a reflective or through-type sensor, it may emit electromagnetic waves or sound waves, or it may be an imaging unit.

[0085] (modified version) In this embodiment, the third transport unit 15, which includes a third-first transport unit 15A and a third-second transport unit 15B, is preferably configured to allow the user to switch between a mode in which both the third-first transport unit 15A and the third-second transport unit 15B are operated, and a mode in which only the third-first transport unit 15A is operated. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the third transport unit 15 is realized by the third-first transport unit 15A and the third-second transport unit 15B, but is not limited to this. That is, the storage device 1 does not need to have multiple third transport units 15, and may be configured to have only one third transport unit 15 (third-first transport unit 15A).

[0086] However, in the storage device 1 of this embodiment, the operator inserts the drug box into the drug receiving unit 11, has the reading unit 111 read the drug identification information, and then places the drug box on the first transport unit 112, thereby transporting the drug box from the first transport unit 112 to the third transport unit 15. On the other hand, as will be described later, in the storage device 1B of Embodiment 3, for example, the robot arm 273 (see Figures 27 and 28) has the reading unit 277 (see Figure 24) read the drug identification information, and then places the drug box on the first transport unit 112. Therefore, in the case of manual filling, it is possible to transport the drug boxes from the drug receiving unit 11 to the third transport unit 15 in a shorter time compared to the case of automatic filling. In other words, in the case of manual filling, there is a high possibility that many drug boxes will be placed on the third transport unit 15 in a shorter time compared to the case of automatic filling.

[0087] By providing multiple third transport units 15 in the storage device 1, the area for placing drug boxes in the third transport unit 15 can be increased without changing the size of the storage device 1. Therefore, compared to a configuration with only one third transport unit 15, more drug boxes that are filled one after another by manual filling can be placed in the third transport unit 15. On the other hand, in the storage device 1B that can be automatically filled, a configuration with only one third transport unit 15 is acceptable.

[0088] If the storage device 1 is configured to have only one third transport unit 15 (here, it is assumed to have a third-first transport unit 15A), the storage device 1 may also be equipped with a position detection unit 121, as shown by reference numeral 5001 in Figure 5. The position detection unit 121 detects drug boxes that are close to or in contact with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. The position detection unit 121 may be, for example, a reflective sensor.

[0089] The position detection unit 121 is provided on the second side wall 117 at a position adjacent to the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. Furthermore, the position detection unit 121 is provided on the second side wall 117 at approximately the same height as the first detection unit 113. Similar to the first detection unit 113, the position detection unit 121 only needs to be provided in a position capable of detecting a medicine box that is close to or in contact with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114.

[0090] The control unit 21 determines the position of the medicine box in the depth direction of the storage device 1 in the first transport unit 112 based on the detection result of the position detection unit 121. The control unit 21 determines the position of the medicine box based on the time from when the position detection unit 121 emits light until the light is reflected by the medicine box and the reflected light is received. As a result, the control unit 21 can determine the position of the medicine box transported from the first transport unit 112 to the third-first transport unit 15A in the depth direction of the storage device 1 in the third-first transport unit 15A.

[0091] In the configuration where the third transport unit 15 consists only of the third-first transport unit 15A, the gripping unit 171 of the second transport unit 17 will remove the drug box from the third-first transport unit 15A. Here, the operator places the drug box on the first transport unit 112 without paying much attention to its position in the first transport unit 112. Therefore, the position of the drug box in the depth direction of the storage device 1 in the third-first transport unit 15A is likely to differ for each drug box. Accordingly, the transport control unit 211 needs to identify the position of the drug box in order to enable the removal of the drug box by the gripping unit 171.

[0092] As described above, by being able to identify the position of the medicine box, the gripping unit 171 can accurately grip the medicine box placed on the 3-1 transport unit 15A even when the position of the medicine box is different.

[0093] In this embodiment, the storage device 1 includes a third transport section 15 comprising a third-first transport section 15A and a third-second transport section 15B. A drug box placed on the third-first transport section 15A is transported to the third-second transport section 15B by the drug transfer section 151. The control unit 21 may determine the amount of movement of the drug transfer section 151 when performing this transport based on the detection result of the position detection section 121 and the size of the drug box obtained based on the reading of drug identification information by the reading section 111. In this case, the position of the drug box in the depth direction in the third-second transport section 15B can be aligned on the second transport section 17 side. Therefore, the gripping section 171 can accurately grip the drug box placed on the third-second transport section 15B.

[0094] Furthermore, the control unit 21 can determine which surface of the drug box is in close proximity to or in contact with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 at which position, based on the detection result of the first detection unit 113 and the size of the drug box obtained based on the reading of drug identification information by the reading unit 111. For this reason, the position detection unit 121 does not necessarily have to be provided on the second side wall 117. If the position detection unit 121 is provided, it functions as an auxiliary detection unit to the first detection unit 113.

[0095] Furthermore, the width detection unit 13 may also have the function of the position detection unit 121. In this case as well, the position detection unit 121 does not need to be provided on the second side wall 117.

[0096] Furthermore, the extruded plate 1511 may be provided so as to be able to reciprocate between a position on the 3-1 transport section 15A and the 3-2 transport section 15B and a position on the housing side where the timing belt 1512 is provided. For example, the extruded plate 1511 may be provided so as to be able to rotate around a rotating shaft that extends in the direction of movement of the extruded plate 1511 (±Y axis direction) and is provided inside the housing. In this case, for example, when the transport control unit 211 moves the extruded plate 1511 from the 3-1 transport section 15A to the 3-2 transport section 15B, it moves the extruded plate 1511 while it is positioned on the 3-2 transport section 15B. On the other hand, when the transport control unit 211 moves the extruded plate 1511 from the 3-2 transport section 15B to the 3-1 transport section 15A, it moves the extruded plate 1511 while it is retracted towards the housing side. This allows the operation of moving the extrusion plate 1511 from the 3-2 transport unit 15B to the 3-1 transport unit 15A (returning operation) and the operation of transporting the medicine box by the 3-1 transport unit 15A to be performed in parallel.

[0097] <Example of receiving drug boxes into storage equipment> An example of the operation of receiving drug boxes into the storage device 1 will be explained using Figures 7 to 10. In this embodiment, drug boxes are placed on the storage shelf 30 so that the longitudinal direction of the drug box coincides with the depth direction (±Y axis direction) of the storage device 1. The second transport unit 17 stores the drug boxes placed on the third transport unit 15 on the storage shelf 30 either in their original orientation or rotated 180 degrees. The orientation of the drug boxes is not changed during transport by the third transport unit 15. Therefore, in order to store the drug boxes on the storage shelf 30 as described above, the drug receiving unit 11 is adjusted so that the longitudinal direction of the drug box faces the ±Y axis direction.

[0098] Figure 7 shows an example of the process in which a drug box MB1 placed on the first transport unit 112 is transported to the third-first transport unit 15A. Figure 8 shows an example of the process in which the orientation of the drug box MB1 received in the drug receiving unit 11 is adjusted.

[0099] First, the worker places the drug box MB1 into the drug receiving section 11 while holding it. At this time, the entry / exit detection unit 115 transmits a detection signal to the control unit 21 indicating that it has detected an object (the worker's hand or arm). When the control unit 21 receives this detection signal, it activates the reading unit 111 to enable reading of the drug identification information.

[0100] When the reading unit 111 reads the drug identification information attached to the drug box MB1 placed in the drug receiving unit 11, the control unit 21 outputs a sound from the notification unit to notify that the drug identification information has been read. Also, when the reading unit 111 reads the drug identification information, the transport control unit 211 operates the first transport unit 112, as shown by reference numeral 7001 in Figure 7, to move the first transport unit 112 forward. As a result, as shown by reference numeral 7002 in Figure 7, the drug box MB1 is transported to the shutter 114.

[0101] Subsequently, the first detection unit 113, located on the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114, detects the drug box MB1. When the transport control unit 211 receives a detection signal from the first detection unit 113 indicating that the drug box MB1 has been detected, the transport control unit 211 temporarily stops the transport of the drug box MB1 by the first transport unit 112.

[0102] Based on the detection result of the first detection unit 113, the direction determination unit 213 determines whether the drug box MB1 detected by the first detection unit 113 is oriented in a direction (±Y axis direction) along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. In this embodiment, the direction determination unit 213 determines whether the longitudinal direction of the drug box MB1 is oriented in the ±Y axis direction.

[0103] The memory unit 23 stores information indicating the placement positions of multiple sensors 1131 on the shutter 114. The first detection unit 113 also includes information in the detection signal indicating which sensor 1131 detected the drug box. Furthermore, the control unit 21 can obtain information indicating the size of the drug box by referring to the drug database based on the drug identification information read by the reading unit 111. Therefore, based on this information, the control unit 21 can determine the size of the drug box in the direction along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. In other words, based on this information, the direction determination unit 213 can determine whether the longitudinal direction of the drug box MB1 is facing in the direction along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 and whether it is approaching or in contact with the shutter 114.

[0104] In the state indicated by reference numeral 7002, the direction identification unit 213 determines that the longitudinal direction of the drug box MB1 is aligned with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. At this time, the shutter control unit 212 determines whether or not it has received a detection signal from the entry / exit detection unit 115 indicating the detection of an object (worker's hand or arm). If the shutter control unit 212 determines that the longitudinal direction of the drug box MB1 is aligned with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114, and also determines that it has not received a detection signal from the entry / exit detection unit 115, it opens the shutter 114. In other words, the shutter control unit 212 starts the operation to open the shutter 114 when the worker's hand or arm is not inserted into the drug receiving unit 11.

[0105] Here, the multiple sensors 1131 of the first detection unit 113 provided on the shutter 114 are provided along one side of the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 that can come into contact with the first transport unit 112, as described above. The multiple sensors 1131 also emit light in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. Therefore, when the shutter 114 moves vertically upward, once it passes the upper end of the medicine box placed on the first transport unit 112, the multiple sensors 1131 can no longer detect the medicine box. The shutter control unit 212 may stop the operation of the shutter 114 after it has moved a predetermined distance or after a predetermined time has elapsed since the multiple sensors 1131 have lost the ability to detect the medicine box. In this case, it is not necessary to open the shutter 114 to the highest point of its movable range each time the shutter 114 is opened, and the shutter 114 can be opened to match the height of the medicine box.

[0106] The shutter control unit 212 determines whether the position at which the shutter 114 stops operating, that is, the height of the drug box detected by the first detection unit 113, is greater than or equal to a set value set for the drug box from which the drug identification information was read by the reading unit 111.

[0107] The shutter control unit 212 can obtain the height of the drug box received by the drug receiving unit 11 by referring to the drug database stored in the storage unit 23 based on the drug identification information read by the reading unit 111. The storage unit 23 has in advance stored a height for each drug box that is obtained by adding a predetermined value to the height of each drug box registered in the drug database, as a set value set for each drug box. The control unit 21 may also calculate the set value by adding the predetermined value when it obtains the height of the drug box received by the drug receiving unit 11. The predetermined value should be a margin (e.g., several mm) that allows the transport of one drug box to the 3-1 transport unit 15A when the shutter 114 is open, but does not allow the transport of the 3-1 transport unit 15A with other drug boxes stacked on top of it.

[0108] If the shutter control unit 212 determines that the position at which the shutter 114 stopped operating is less than the above-mentioned set value, the transport control unit 211 restarts the transport of the drug box MB1 by the first transport unit 112. At this time, the transport control unit 211 also moves the third transport unit 15 forward. As a result, as shown by reference numeral 7003, the drug box MB1 can be placed on the third-first transport unit 15A such that the distance between adjacent drug boxes is a predetermined width. In other words, the drug boxes MB1 to MB3 can be placed on the third-first transport unit 15A with the distance W2 between drug box MB2 and drug box MB3 already placed on the third-first transport unit 15A and the distance W1 between drug box MB2 and drug box MB1 transported to the third-first transport unit 15A being approximately the same.

[0109] On the other hand, as shown by reference numeral 8001 in Figure 8, even if the drug box MB1 is placed on the first transport unit 112 with its longitudinal direction not aligned with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114, the transport control unit 211 will still move the first transport unit 112 forward. As a result, the first transport unit 112 will transport the drug box MB1 towards the shutter 114. Subsequently, if the first detection unit 113 detects the drug box MB1, the transport control unit 211 will temporarily stop the transport of the drug box MB1 by the first transport unit 112.

[0110] In the state shown by reference numeral 8001, unlike the state shown by reference numeral 7002, the first detection unit 113 cannot detect the drug box MB1 along its entire length in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, as shown by reference numeral 8002, the transport control unit 211 restarts the transport of the drug box MB1 by the first transport unit 112 while the shutter 114 remains closed. This causes the first transport unit 112 to move forward with the drug box MB1 in contact with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114, so that the longitudinal direction of the drug box MB1 can be oriented along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114, as shown by reference numeral 8003.

[0111] While the first transport unit 112 is transporting the medicine box, the direction determination unit 213 determines, based on the detection result of the first detection unit 113, whether the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB1 is oriented in a direction aligned with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. If the direction determination unit 213 determines that the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB1 is oriented in a direction aligned with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114, and also determines that it has not received a detection signal from the entry / exit detection unit 115, the control unit 21 controls the shutter 114, the first transport unit 112, and the third transport unit 15 as described above. That is, as shown by reference numerals 7002 and 7003, the medicine box MB1 on the first transport unit 112 is transported onto the third-first transport unit 15A after the shutter 114 is opened.

[0112] Thus, regardless of the orientation of the drug boxes placed on the first transport unit 112, the first transport unit 112 and the shutter 114 ensure that the longitudinal direction of the drug boxes is aligned with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 when transporting them to the third transport unit 15. Therefore, the drug boxes received in the drug receiving unit 11 can be placed in the third transport unit 15 in an aligned orientation. Consequently, the second transport unit 17 can sequentially grasp the drug boxes with a simple mechanism. Furthermore, the drug boxes can be stored in the storage shelf 30 with their orientations aligned. In this embodiment, the drug boxes can be stored in the storage shelf 30 so that their longitudinal direction faces the depth direction of the storage device 1.

[0113] Furthermore, the shutter 114 obstructs the movement of the drug box being transported by the first transport unit 112, thereby allowing the longitudinal direction of the drug box received by the drug receiving unit 11 to be oriented along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. In other words, with the simple configuration of the first transport unit 112 and the shutter 114, the orientation of the drug box received by the drug receiving unit 11 can be adjusted in the above direction.

[0114] Furthermore, since the first transport unit 112 and the third transport unit 15 are separate units, the transport control unit 211 can control the first transport unit 112 and the third transport unit 15 independently. Therefore, if the longitudinal direction of the medicine box is not aligned with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114, the transport control unit 211 can keep the shutter 114 closed and the first transport unit 112 moving forward while the third transport unit 15 is stopped. Then, the transport control unit 211 drives the first transport unit 112 and the third transport unit 15 when the medicine box is positioned at the shutter 114 and the longitudinal direction of the medicine box is aligned with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. This allows multiple medicine boxes to be placed on the third transport unit 15 while maintaining a constant spacing between them.

[0115] Furthermore, since the transport control unit 211 can independently control the first transport unit 112 and the third transport unit 15, the feed rate of the first transport unit 112 and the feed rate of the third transport unit 15 can be set respectively. The feed rate is the speed at which the transport belt of the first transport unit 112 or the transport belt of the third transport unit 15 is moved sequentially. Therefore, for example, the positional distance between two drug boxes can be arbitrarily set according to the feed rate of the third transport unit 15 after the drug box has been transported from the first transport unit 112 to the third transport unit 15.

[0116] Figure 9 shows an example of the operation of the first transport unit 112 and the shutter 114 when another medicine box MB2 is stacked on top of medicine box MB1 which is placed on the first transport unit 112. Reference numeral 9001 in Figure 9 indicates the state in which the medicine box MB2 is stacked on top of medicine box MB1 which is placed on the first transport unit 112 and has been transported to the shutter 114. Reference numeral 9001 indicates that the direction determination unit 213 determines that the orientation of medicine box MB1 is facing in the direction along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. Therefore, if a detection signal is received from the in / out detection unit 115, the shutter control unit 212 opens the shutter 114, as shown by reference numeral 9002 in Figure 9.

[0117] However, the shutter control unit 212 closes the shutter 114 if the height of the drug box detected by the first detection unit 113 is greater than or equal to a set value set for the drug box from which the drug identification information was read by the reading unit 111.

[0118] In Figure 9, when the drug identification information of drug box MB1 is read, the shutter control unit 212 closes the shutter 114 if the height of the drug box detected by the first detection unit 113 is greater than or equal to the set value set for drug box MB1. In Figure 9, drug box MB2 is placed on top of drug box MB1. Therefore, the shutter control unit 212 determines that the heights of drug boxes MB1 and MB2 detected by the first detection unit 113 are greater than or equal to the set value set for drug box MB1, and closes the shutter 114 as shown by reference numeral 9003 in Figure 9. Then, as shown by reference numeral 9004, the transport control unit 211 reverses the movement of the first transport unit 112.

[0119] Thus, if the height of the medicine box detected by the first detection unit 113 is greater than or equal to the set value for the medicine box whose medicine identification information has been read by the reading unit 111, the transport control unit 211 will not transport the medicine box placed on the first transport unit 112 to the third transport unit 15. Therefore, in the third transport unit 15, the possibility of medicine boxes being placed on top of other medicine boxes is reduced, and medicine boxes can be placed one by one. Consequently, the second transport unit 17 can grasp the medicine boxes one by one.

[0120] Furthermore, as described above, the state in which the shutter 114 is open means that one drug box whose drug identification information has been read can pass through, but the shutter 114 is open to the extent that it does not allow multiple stacked drug boxes to pass through. Conversely, the state in which the shutter 114 is closed means that one drug box whose drug identification information has been read cannot pass through.

[0121] Furthermore, if the first detection unit 113 determines that the height of the medicine box detected is greater than or equal to a set value relative to the medicine box MB1, the shutter control unit 212 may maintain the closed state of the shutter 114. Also, the transport control unit 211 does not need to reverse the first transport unit 112. In addition, the control unit 21 may notify that the medicine box cannot be stored using the touch panel 20 or an illuminated member (not shown), etc.

[0122] Figure 10 shows an example of the operation of the first transport unit 112 when the longitudinal direction of the drug box MB is facing the forward feeding direction. In this embodiment, as described above, the shutter 114 opens when the longitudinal direction of the drug box MB is facing the direction along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114.

[0123] As shown in Figure 10, consider the case where the longitudinal direction of the drug box MB placed on the first transport unit 112 is oriented in the forward direction of the first transport unit 112, or in a direction close to the forward direction. In this case, even if the first transport unit 112 is moved forward and brought into contact with the shutter 114, it is not possible to orient the longitudinal direction of the drug box MB in a direction along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114.

[0124] Therefore, the first detection unit 113 detects the drug box MB along its entire length in the direction of its shorter side. In this case, the shutter control unit 212 maintains the closed state of the shutter 114. This prevents drug boxes MB that cannot be oriented with their longitudinal direction aligned with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114 from being transported to the third-first transport unit 15A. Consequently, the possibility of transporting drug boxes oriented in different directions onto the third transport unit 15 and the storage shelves 30 can be reduced.

[0125] Furthermore, the transport control unit 211 may reverse the first transport unit 112 if the first detection unit 113 detects the drug box MB along its entire length in the shorter direction. The control unit 21 may also notify the user that the drug box MB cannot be stored using the touch panel 20 or an illuminated member (not shown), etc.

[0126] <Second Transport Department> Figure 11 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the second transport unit 17. In Figure 11, the second storage unit 31B is not shown.

[0127] The second transport unit 17 is a device for grasping a medicine box containing medicine and transporting the medicine box to a desired location. For example, the second transport unit 17 transports the medicine box from the third transport unit 15 to a storage location determined by the storage location management unit 214, thereby storing the medicine box in the storage shelf 30. Furthermore, when the second transport unit 17 receives a medicine dispensing instruction from the drug station 2 or via the touch panel 20, it transports the medicine box containing the medicine from the storage shelf 30 to the fifth transport unit 19, thereby dispensing the medicine box to the outside.

[0128] As shown in Figure 11, the second transport unit 17 includes a gripping unit 171 and a transport mechanism (lifter) 172. The second transport unit 17 may be provided as a single unit or in multiple units within the storage device 1. For example, two second transport units 17 may be provided along the two first storage cabinets 31A and second storage cabinets 31B provided in the storage device 1, between the first storage cabinet 31A and the second storage cabinet 31B.

[0129] The transport mechanism 172 is an operating unit for moving the gripping unit 171 to any position within the storage device 1. As shown in Figure 11, the transport mechanism 172 comprises an X-axis rail unit 1721, a support column 1722, an X-axis timing belt 1723, a Z-axis drive unit 1724, a Z-axis timing belt 1725, an X-axis drive unit 1726, an auxiliary timing belt 1727, and a drive shaft 1728.

[0130] The X-axis rail section 1721 is provided along the width direction (±X-axis direction) of the storage device 1 and supports the support column 1722 so that it can slide in the ±X-axis direction. As shown in Figure 11, the X-axis rail section 1721 may be provided on both the top and bottom sides of the storage device 1. That is, the support column 1722 may be supported at both ends by the X-axis rail section 1721 so that it can slide in the ±X-axis direction.

[0131] The support column 1722 is provided along the vertical direction (±Z axis direction) and is supported by the X-axis rail section 1721. The support column 1722 is slidable along the X-axis rail section 1721 in the ±X axis direction and supports the gripping section 171. The support column 1722 is also connected to the X-axis timing belt 1723, which is positioned along the X-axis rail section 1721. In this embodiment, the X-axis timing belt 1723 on the top surface side of the storage device 1 is connected to one end of the drive shaft 1728. The other end of the drive shaft 1728 is connected to the X-axis drive unit 1726 via the auxiliary timing belt 1727. The X-axis timing belt 1723 on the floor surface side of the storage device 1 is also connected to the X-axis drive unit 1726. As a result, the X-axis timing belt 1723 can rotate according to the operation of the X-axis drive unit 1726 controlled by the transport control unit 211. Therefore, the support column 1722 can move along the X-axis rail section 1721.

[0132] Figure 12 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the gripping section 171. The gripping section 171 grips the medicine box and moves in conjunction with the operation of the transport mechanism 172, thereby moving the medicine box to any desired position. Specifically, as the support column 1722 moves along the X-axis rail section 1721, the gripping section 171 moves together with the support column 1722 in the width direction (±X-axis direction) of the storage device 1. The gripping section 171 is also movable vertically (±Z-axis direction) along the support column 1722. The gripping section 171 can move along the support column 1722 as the Z-axis timing belt 1725 provided on the support column 1722 rotates due to the operation of the Z-axis drive unit 1724.

[0133] As shown by reference numerals 12001 and 12002 in Figure 12, the gripping portion 171 mainly comprises a mounting portion 1711, an entry / exit portion 1712, and a temporary gripping portion 1713.

[0134] The mounting section 1711 is a platform for mounting drug boxes. The mounting section 1711 is a plate-shaped member that is larger than, for example, a drug box that can be stored in the storage device 1. Drug boxes that have been pulled in from the storage shelf 30 and are held in place by a pair of gripping sections 1715 provided on the entry / exit section 1712 are placed on the mounting section 1711. Multiple drug boxes may be mounted on the mounting section 1711 in a line along the longitudinal direction of the mounting section 1711 (the extension direction of the pair of gripping sections 1715; the ±X axis direction in Figure 12). In this case, the gripping section 171 can transport multiple drug boxes simultaneously.

[0135] The loading / unloading section 1712 is used to load and unload the medicine box from the mounting section 1711. In this embodiment, the loading / unloading section 1712 includes a pair of clamping sections 1715 and an extrusion section 1716.

[0136] A pair of gripping portions 1715 operate according to the control of the transport control unit 211 and grip the medicine box by gripping it. For example, the pair of gripping portions 1715 are a pair of flat plate-shaped members that extend along the longitudinal direction of the mounting portion 1711. The pair of gripping portions 1715 operate symmetrically in the width direction (±Y axis direction in Figure 12) of the mounting portion 1711 according to the control of the transport control unit 211. The pair of flat plate-shaped members can also be referred to as gripping plates 1715a and 1715b, respectively.

[0137] Specifically, the gripping section 171 is equipped with a Y-axis movement unit that moves a pair of clamping sections 1715 along the width direction of the mounting section 1711, on the side opposite to the side in which the medicine box enters and exits the mounting section 1711 (the side with the +X axis in Figure 12). In other words, the gripping section 171 is equipped with a Y-axis movement unit on the side opposite to the tip of the mounting section 1711 (the rear side of the mounting section 1711).

[0138] In this embodiment, the Y-axis operating unit comprises, for example, a gear drive unit 1731, a gear 1732, and a pair of movable bodies 1733. The gear drive unit 1731 rotates the gear 1732 and has a drive shaft aligned with the longitudinal direction of the mounting unit 1711. The gear 1732 is connected to the drive shaft of the gear drive unit 1731, and a pair of movable bodies 1733 extending along the width direction of the mounting unit 1711 are connected to the gear 1732. As the gear 1732 rotates in accordance with the operation of the gear drive unit 1731 controlled by the transport control unit 211, the pair of movable bodies 1733 move in opposite directions. A gripping plate 1715a and 1715b are connected to each of the pair of movable bodies 1733. Therefore, the pair of gripping parts 1715 can be opened and closed along the width direction of the mounting unit 1711 by the operation of the pair of movable bodies 1733. Furthermore, it is also possible that only one of the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b moves in the width direction of the mounting portion 1711.

[0139] The gripping unit 171 can grip the medicine box by narrowing the gap between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b until it is wide enough to touch the sides of the medicine box that are between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b and are facing each of the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b. Specifically, the Y-axis movement unit, in accordance with the control of the transport control unit 211, widens the gap between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b to be wider than the width of the medicine box, and then narrows the gap until it is approximately the same as the width of the medicine box. The transport control unit 211 can determine the width of the medicine box by referring to the medicine database based on the medicine identification information read by the reading unit 111. Alternatively, the transport control unit 211 may determine the width of the medicine box based on the detection result by the width detection unit 13.

[0140] Furthermore, the pair of gripping sections 1715 move in the longitudinal direction of the mounting section 1711 (the front-to-back direction of the gripping section 171; ±X axis direction in Figure 12) according to the control of the transport control unit 211. Specifically, the gripping section 171 includes an X-axis movement unit that moves the pair of gripping sections 1715 along the longitudinal direction of the mounting section 1711. In this embodiment, the X-axis movement unit includes, for example, a gripping drive shaft 1741 and a gripping drive unit 1742. The gripping drive shaft 1741 extends in the longitudinal direction of the mounting section 1711 and is provided on the gripping section 171. A gripping support section 1720 that supports the pair of gripping sections 1715 and the Y-axis movement unit is movably connected to the gripping drive shaft 1741 in the longitudinal direction of the mounting section 1711. As the clamping drive unit 1742 operates according to the control of the transport control unit 211, the clamping drive shaft 1741 rotates around its central axis, which is aligned with the extension direction of the clamping drive shaft 1741. The clamping support unit 1720 can move in the longitudinal direction of the mounting unit 1711 as a result of this rotation. In other words, the pair of clamping units 1715 can move in the longitudinal direction of the mounting unit 1711 due to the rotation of the clamping drive shaft 1741.

[0141] When the gripping portion 171 grips a medicine box located outside the gripping portion 171 (e.g., a medicine box stored on the storage shelf 30), it operates as follows: The fully open gripping plates 1715a and 1715b move in a direction that protrudes from the mounting portion 1711 to the outside of the mounting portion 1711 (in the -X axis direction in Figure 12). Then, the width of the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b is narrowed to be approximately the same width as the medicine box located outside the gripping portion 171. This allows the gripping portion 171 to grip the medicine box. Furthermore, while gripping the medicine box, a pair of clamping portions 1715 move in a direction that returns to the mounting portion 1711 from outside the mounting portion 1711 (in the +X axis direction in Figure 12), thereby pulling the medicine box located outside the gripping portion 1711 towards the mounting portion 1711.

[0142] Furthermore, when viewing the mounting section 1711 from above, the pair of gripping sections 1715 are inclined inward from the connection side with the gripping support section 1720 to the tip (towards the -X axis in Figure 12). In other words, the distance between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b is narrower towards the tip than towards the connection side with the gripping support section 1720. It can also be said that the pair of gripping sections 1715 are inclined inward from the rear side to the front side of the mounting section 1711 (from the rear to the front of the mounting section 1711). For example, if multiple drug boxes are stored in a row in the longitudinal direction of the storage device 1 on the storage shelf 30, the pair of gripping sections 1715 will grip the drug box furthest from the gripping section 171 and pull the multiple drug boxes towards the mounting section 1711. In this case, if the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b are provided at an angle as described above, the multiple drug boxes can be easily pulled into the mounting section 1711.

[0143] The extrusion section 1716 is a component for extruding the medicine box from the gripping section 171. As an example, as shown in Figure 12, the extrusion section 1716 is a rod-shaped component that can move in the longitudinal direction of the mounting section 1711 (in the ±X axis direction in Figure 12). The extrusion section 1716 moves in the longitudinal direction of the mounting section 1711 by the operation of an unshown operating part controlled by the transport control unit 211. When a medicine box is placed on the mounting section 1711, the extrusion section 1716 can move the medicine box outside the mounting section 1711 by moving in a direction that protrudes from the mounting section 1711 to the outside of the mounting section 1711 (in the -X axis direction in Figure 12). When the extrusion section 1716 extrudes the medicine box placed on the mounting section 1711, the pair of gripping sections 1715 also function as guides for extruding the medicine box to the desired position.

[0144] In this manner, the loading / unloading section 1712 pulls the drug box into the loading section 1711 from the front (in the -X axis direction in Figure 12), and also pushes the drug box placed on the loading section 1711 forward.

[0145] In this embodiment, the extrusion unit 1716 pushes the medicine box placed on the mounting unit 1711 out of the mounting unit 1711. However, the medicine box placed on the mounting unit 1711 may be transported out of the mounting unit 1711 by a pair of clamping units 1715 performing the reverse operation of pulling the medicine box into the mounting unit 1711.

[0146] The temporary gripping section 1713 temporarily grips the medicine box placed on the front side of the mounting section 1711 (the -X axis side in Figure 12). As shown in Figure 12, the temporary gripping section 1713 is provided near the tip of the mounting section 1711 and includes a movable section 1717 and a suction section 1718.

[0147] The movable part 1717 is connected to the mounting part 1711, supports the suction part 1718, and is a movable part that can move vertically (in the ±Z axis direction in Figure 12) according to the control of the transport control unit 211. In other words, the movable part 1717 moves the suction part 1718 vertically relative to the mounting part 1711.

[0148] The suction part 1718 is designed to attract the medicine box placed on the front side of the mounting part 1711. Specifically, the suction part 1718 is a suction cup that can move vertically according to the operation of the moving part 1717 controlled by the transport control unit 211. As shown in Figure 12, the suction part 1718 may also consist of multiple suction cups, for example, three suction cups arranged in a row. By attracting the medicine box with multiple suction cups as the suction part 1718, the medicine box can be gripped more stably than if it were attracted with a single suction cup. Furthermore, by providing multiple suction cups, the medicine box can be stably attracted while allowing slight misalignment of the medicine box in the longitudinal direction of the mounting part 1711.

[0149] In the case of having two suction cups, the temporary gripping part 1713 can grip the medicine box stably to some extent. However, due to the positional misalignment mentioned above, depending on the size of the medicine box, it may not be possible to grip the medicine box stably. Furthermore, in order to stably adsorb the medicine box, it is necessary to precisely adjust the positional relationship of the two suction cups, taking into account the positional misalignment and the size of the medicine box. By using three suction cups, the medicine box can be stably adsorbed without having to adjust the positional relationship of adjacent suction cups as much as in the case of two suction cups.

[0150] With the medicine box positioned below the suction part 1718, the suction part 1718 moves vertically downward as the moving part 1717 operates, causing the medicine box to be attracted to it. Furthermore, while the medicine box is attracted, the suction part 1718 moves vertically upward, lifting the medicine box and temporarily gripping it. By temporarily gripping the medicine box with the temporary gripping part 1713, the gripping part 171 can grip another medicine box with the mounting part 1711.

[0151] For example, consider a case where two medicine boxes are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the storage device 1 on the storage shelf 30. In this case, the gripping part 171 first grips the medicine box located on the near side from the perspective of the gripping part 171, and then the temporary gripping part 1713 temporarily grips that medicine box. This makes it possible for the gripping part 171 to grip the medicine box located on the far side from the perspective of the gripping part 171 at the placement part 1711.

[0152] Thus, by including a movable part 1717 and a suction part 1718, the temporary gripping part 1713 can temporarily grip a medicine box placed on the front side of the mounting part 1711 with a simple configuration.

[0153] Furthermore, when the medicine box is positioned below the suction unit 1718, the transport control unit 211 may move the suction unit 1718 vertically downward in conjunction with the movement of the moving unit 1717, causing the medicine box to be held between the suction unit 1718 and the placement unit 1711. In this state, the transport control unit 211 may transport the gripping unit 171 to any position. That is, with the medicine box being held in this state, the transport control unit 211 may transport the gripping unit 171 from the third transport unit 15 to the storage shelf 30, or from the storage shelf 30 to the fifth transport unit 19. Alternatively, the transport control unit 211 may temporarily hold the medicine box with the gripping unit 1713, and then, with another medicine box placed on the placement unit 1711, transport the gripping unit 171 to any position.

[0154] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 12, the gripping unit 171 includes a gripping detection unit 1714 and a passage detection unit 1751.

[0155] The grip detection unit 1714 is a sensor positioned outside the pair of gripping parts 1715 in the width direction (±Y axis direction in Figure 12) of the mounting part 1711. Specifically, the grip detection unit 1714 is provided on the outside of the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b of the gripping support part 1720. For example, the grip detection unit 1714 may be a reflective sensor having an emitting part that emits light toward the front of the gripping part 171, substantially parallel to the long side of the pair of gripping parts 1715, and a light receiving part that receives reflected light reflected by the object. The grip detection unit 1714 detects, for example, a medicine box located in front of the gripping part 171. When the grip detection unit 1714 transmits a detection signal to the control unit 21 indicating that it has detected a medicine box, the transport control unit 211 can determine whether the pair of gripping parts 1715 can be moved.

[0156] For example, if the drug box to be retrieved is placed on the third transport unit 15 or storage shelf 30 such that its longitudinal direction is approximately parallel to the depth direction (±Y axis direction) of the storage device 1, the grip detection unit 1714 will not detect the drug box. In this case, the transport control unit 211 can grip the drug box by moving a pair of gripping units 1715 forward of the placement unit 1711 (in the -X axis direction in Figure 12).

[0157] On the other hand, for example, if the medicine box to be retrieved is placed diagonally with respect to the depth direction of the storage device 1 in the third transport unit 15 or the storage shelf 30, the grip detection unit 1714 detects the medicine box. In this case, if the pair of gripping parts 1715 move forward of the placement unit 1711, the tips of the pair of gripping parts 1715 may collide with the medicine box. Therefore, when the grip detection unit 1714 detects the medicine box, the transport control unit 211 widens the gap between the pair of gripping parts 1715 (i.e., gripping plates 1715a and 1715b) slightly (e.g., a few mm). The transport control unit 211 repeats this operation until the grip detection unit 1714 no longer detects the medicine box. When the grip detection unit 1714 no longer detects the medicine box, the transport control unit 211 moves the pair of gripping parts 1715 forward of the placement unit 1711. This allows the pair of gripping parts 1715 to grasp the medicine box.

[0158] However, even if the pair of gripping parts 1715 are opened to their maximum extent, if the gripping detection unit 1714 detects the medicine box, the control unit 21 may use the touch panel 20 or an illuminated member (not shown) to notify that the medicine box cannot be gripped.

[0159] The passage detection unit 1751 detects drug boxes being pulled into the mounting unit 1711 or being pushed out from the mounting unit 1711. For example, the passage detection unit 1751 may be a reflective sensor having an emitting unit that emits light in a vertical upward direction and a light receiving unit that receives reflected light that has been reflected by an object. The passage detection unit 1751 is located below the mounting unit 1711 on the tip side (the -X axis side in Figure 12). When the passage detection unit 1751 transmits a detection signal to the control unit 21 indicating that it has detected a drug box, the control unit 21 can determine the passage status of the drug box at the tip side of the mounting unit 1711. In other words, based on the detection result of the passage detection unit 1751, the control unit 21 can determine whether the gripping unit 171 has pulled in and gripped the medicine box, or whether the medicine box has been pushed out of the gripping unit 171. In other words, based on the detection result of the passage detection unit 1751, the control unit 21 can determine the movement of the medicine box between the gripping unit 171 and the area outside the gripping unit 171. Furthermore, the control unit 21 can calculate the longitudinal width of the medicine box (width along the ±Y axis direction) based, for example, the detection time of the medicine box by the passage detection unit 1751 and the movement speed of the pair of gripping units 1715 (the transport speed of the medicine box). This allows the control unit 21 to determine whether the object being transported by the gripping unit 171 is the desired medicine box.

[0160] Furthermore, as shown by reference numeral 12002 in Figure 12, the gripping portion 171 is equipped with a rotational drive unit 1755 that rotates the gripping portion 171 in a vertical direction (specifically, around the rotation axis Ax1 of the rotational drive unit 1755). In this embodiment, the rotational drive unit 1755 is provided below the mounting portion 1711. The rotational drive unit 1755 operates in accordance with the control of the transport control unit 211, so that the tip ends of a pair of gripping portions 1715 can be directed toward the third transport unit 15, the storage shelf 30 of the first storage unit 31A, the storage shelf 30 of the second storage unit 31B, and the fifth transport unit 19, respectively.

[0161] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the storage device 1 is equipped with two second transport units 17. In this case, when one second transport unit 17 passes another second transport unit 17, the positions of the two gripping units 171 are controlled so that the gripping units 171 do not collide with each other. For example, the transport control unit 211 controls the rotation drive unit 1755 in the two second transport units 17 to rotate the gripping units 171 so that the longitudinal direction of the gripping unit 171 faces the direction of travel (the width direction of the storage device 1; ±X axis direction). The transport control unit 211 also controls the Z-axis drive unit 1724 to adjust the height of the two gripping units 171 so that they do not collide. Then, the transport control unit 211 controls the X-axis drive unit 1726 to move the two gripping units 171 in the width direction of the storage device 1, thereby causing the two gripping units 171 to pass each other.

[0162] <Storage operation> The operation of the second transport unit 17 when storing the drug box MB1, which has been transported from the first transport unit 112 to the third transport unit 15, on the storage shelf 30 will be explained below using Figure 13. Figure 13 shows an example of the operation when the second transport unit 17 pulls out and grips the drug box MB1 on the third transport unit 15, and an example of the operation when the second transport unit 17 pushes out the gripped drug box and stores it on the storage shelf 30.

[0163] In Figure 13, and in Figures 14 and 15 described later, figures denoted by the symbol A, such as 13001A, show the gripping portion 171 viewed from the side (in the +Y axis direction of Figure 12). Figures denoted by the symbol B, such as 13001B, show the gripping portion 171 viewed from the front (in the -X axis direction of Figure 12). When referring collectively to figures denoted by symbols A and B, they are referred to only by the numbers such as "13001" which are not shown.

[0164] First, the transport control unit 211 operates the second transport unit 17 with the medicine box placed on the third transport unit 15. Specifically, as shown by reference numeral 13001 in Figure 13, the transport control unit 211 moves the gripping unit 171 so that it is positioned opposite the medicine box MB1 placed on the third transport unit 15. The transport control unit 211 aligns the widthwise position of the gripping unit 171 and the medicine box MB1 of the storage device 1 by moving the support column 1722 along the X-axis rail unit 1721. The transport control unit 211 also aligns the Z-axis position of the gripping unit 171 and the medicine box MB1 by moving the gripping unit 171 along the support column 1722.

[0165] Next, as shown by reference numeral 13002 in Figure 13, the transport control unit 211 opens the pair of gripping parts 1715 (i.e., gripping plates 1715a and 1715b) so that the distance between them is wider than the width of the medicine box MB1 to be transported. Then, as shown by reference numeral 13003 in Figure 13, the transport control unit 211 moves the pair of gripping parts 1715 toward the third transport unit 15.

[0166] The transport control unit 211 moves a pair of gripping parts 1715 toward the third transport unit 15, and then narrows the gap between the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b as shown by reference numeral 13004 in Figure 13. Specifically, the transport control unit 211 operates the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b so that the gap between them becomes approximately the same as or slightly narrower than the width of the medicine box MB1. The width of the medicine box MB1 may be determined based on the size of the medicine box MB1 stored in the storage unit 23, or the width detected by the width detection unit 13. As a result, the medicine box MB1 is gripped by the gripping parts 171.

[0167] Subsequently, as shown by reference numeral 13005 in Figure 13, the transport control unit 211 moves a pair of clamping parts 1715 toward the placement part 1711. As a result, the drug box MB1 is pulled out from the third transport unit 15 and placed on the placement part 1711.

[0168] The transport control unit 211 may move the gripping unit 171 to a position opposite another drug box MB1, and then repeat the above operation to cause the gripping unit 171 to grip multiple drug boxes MB1.

[0169] Furthermore, the transport control unit 211 causes the second transport unit 17 to grasp the drug box MB1 and then dispenses it at the desired location. Specifically, the transport control unit 211 moves the gripping unit 171, which is gripping the drug box MB1, to the storage position on the storage shelf 30 where the drug box MB1 is stored. The storage position is, for example, a position identified by the storage position management unit 214. The method for moving the gripping unit 171 to the storage position is the same as when the gripping unit 171 is moved to a position opposite the drug box MB1.

[0170] The transport control unit 211 moves the gripping unit 171 to the storage position, and then slightly widens the pair of clamping units 1715. After that, the transport control unit 211 moves the gripping unit 171 towards the storage shelf 30, and then extends the extrusion unit 1716. As a result, the drug box MB1 placed on the placement unit 1711 is moved to the storage shelf 30.

[0171] The transport control unit 211 may also extend the extrusion unit 1716 while moving the pair of gripping units 1715 toward the storage shelf 30. The drug box MB1 should be moved such that the tips of the pair of gripping units 1715 are located on the side of the direction of movement of the pair of gripping units 1715 or the extrusion unit 1716, rather than the center of gravity of the drug box MB1 being pushed by the extrusion unit 1716. This allows the pair of gripping units 1715 to function as guides to move the drug box MB1 to the desired position when moving the drug box MB1 from the gripping unit 171 to outside the gripping unit 171.

[0172] After the transport control unit 211 places the drug box MB1 on the storage shelf 30, it moves a pair of clamping parts 1715 toward the placement part 1711, as shown by reference numeral 13006 in Figure 13, and then moves the extrusion part 1716 toward the placement part 1711. In this case, while the pair of clamping parts 1715 are being moved toward the placement part 1711, the position of the drug box MB1 placed on the storage shelf 30 can be fixed by the extrusion part 1716. Therefore, the possibility of the drug box MB1 shifting position due to contact between the pair of clamping parts 1715 and the drug box MB1 during its movement can be reduced.

[0173] When storing a medicine box on the storage shelf 30, the transport control unit 211 may first grip the medicine box placed on the placement unit 1711 with a pair of gripping units 1715, and then move the pair of gripping units 1715 holding the medicine box to the storage shelf 30. Alternatively, the transport control unit 211 may control the opening and closing of the pair of gripping units 1715 after storing the medicine box on the storage shelf 30. Specifically, the transport control unit 211 may open the pair of gripping units 1715 that have stored the medicine box on the storage shelf 30, then close them, and then open them again. In this closing operation, it is preferable to operate the gripping plates 1715a and 1715b so that the distance between the pair of gripping units 1715 becomes slightly narrower than the width of the medicine box MB1. This opening and closing operation of the pair of gripping units 1715 allows the orientation of the medicine box stored on the storage shelf 30 to be adjusted to the ±Y axis. Furthermore, the speed of the opening and closing operation performed to adjust the orientation of the medicine box may be slower than the speed of the initial opening operation. In this case, the orientation of the medicine box (shift in the ±Y axis direction) associated with the storage operation on the storage shelf 30 can be prevented or reduced.

[0174] Furthermore, when removing the drug box MB1 from the storage shelf 30, the same operations as those described by reference numerals 13001 to 13005 may be performed. Also, when dispensing the drug box MB1 removed from the storage shelf 30 to the fifth transport unit 19, the same operations as those described by reference numeral 13006 may be performed.

[0175] <Example of First-In, First-Out operation> The following describes an example of the operation of the second transport unit 17 when retrieving only the medicine box MB2 located at the back of the storage shelf 30, using Figure 14. Figure 14 shows an example of the operation of the second transport unit 17 when retrieving only the medicine box MB2 located at the back of the storage shelf 30 as the target of transport.

[0176] Furthermore, "the back of the storage shelf 30" refers to the side of the storage shelf 30 that is farther away from the second transport unit 17, and "the front of the storage shelf 30" refers to the side of the storage shelf 30 that is closer to the second transport unit 17. In addition, "first-in, first-out" means that when multiple identical drug boxes are stored in the storage shelf 30 arranged in the depth direction of the storage device 1, drug boxes with an approaching expiration date (drug boxes whose expiration date is approaching earlier) will be dispensed before drug boxes with a farther expiration date (drug boxes whose expiration date is approaching later). The explanation uses the expiration date as the basis, but the same applies if the date obtained by adding a predetermined period to the drug's manufacturing date is used as the basis. However, if the manufacturing date is used as the basis, it means that drug boxes with a farther manufacturing date (drug boxes whose manufacturing date has been extended for a longer period) will be dispensed before drug boxes with a closer manufacturing date (drug boxes whose manufacturing date has been extended for a shorter period). Figure 14 shows an example where drug boxes MB1, which are not to be retrieved (not to be transported) and have a long expiration date, are stored on the front side of storage shelf 30, and drug boxes MB2, which are to be retrieved (to be dispensed) and have a short expiration date, are stored on the back side of storage shelf 30.

[0177] First, when the transport control unit 211 receives an instruction to retrieve the medicine box MB2, it moves the gripping unit 171 to the storage position where the medicine box MB2 is stored on the storage shelf 30. Next, as shown by reference numeral 14001 in Figure 14, the transport control unit 211 operates a pair of clamping units 1715 to grip the medicine box MB1 stored on the storage shelf 30. Subsequently, as shown by reference numeral 14002 in Figure 14, the transport control unit 211 moves the pair of clamping units 1715 toward the placement unit 1711, thereby pulling the medicine box MB1 out of the storage shelf 30 and placing it on the placement unit 1711. The method of gripping and pulling out the medicine box MB1 using the pair of clamping units 1715 is the same as the method described using Figure 13.

[0178] Next, the transport control unit 211 operates the temporary gripping unit 1713 to temporarily grip the drug box MB1. Specifically, as shown by reference numeral 14003 in Figure 14, the transport control unit 211 operates the moving unit 1717 (see Figure 12) to move the suction unit 1718 vertically downward (in the direction where the drug box MB1 is located), causing the suction unit 1718 to pick up the drug box MB1. Subsequently, as shown by reference numeral 14004 in Figure 14, the transport control unit 211 operates the moving unit 1717 to move the suction unit 1718 vertically upward. At this time, as shown by reference numerals 14003B and 14004B in Figure 14, the transport control unit 211 widens the gap between the pair of gripping units 1715, making the drug box MB1 movable. As a result, the drug box MB1 is temporarily gripped by the temporary gripping unit 1713.

[0179] Next, as shown by reference numerals 14005 and 14006 in Figure 14, with the temporary gripping unit 1713 gripping the drug box MB1, the transport control unit 211 pulls out the drug box MB2 to be transported from the storage shelf 30. The method for pulling out the drug box MB2 from the storage shelf 30 is the same as the method described using reference numerals 14001 and 14002, so the explanation is omitted. Note that, as shown by reference numeral 14006A in Figure 14, the drug box MB2 is pulled out so that it is positioned further back on the mounting unit 1711 than the drug box MB1.

[0180] After the drug box MB2 is pulled out, as shown by reference numeral 14007 in Figure 14, the transport control unit 211 widens the gap between the pair of gripping units 1715 and moves the suction unit 1718 vertically downward. After the transport control unit 211 places the drug box MB1 on the placement unit 1711, it releases the temporary grip of the drug box MB1 by the temporary gripping unit 1713. In other words, the transport control unit 211 releases the suction of the drug box MB1 by the suction unit 1718.

[0181] Subsequently, the transport control unit 211 moves the drug box MB1 towards the storage shelf 30 by moving the pair of gripping parts 1715 toward the storage shelf 30, or while moving them, and extending the extrusion part 1716. After the transport control unit 211 has moved the drug box MB1 until it is fully placed on the storage shelf 30, it returns the pair of gripping parts 1715 toward the placement part 1711, as shown by reference numeral 17008 in Figure 14. Subsequently, the transport control unit 211 returns the extrusion part 1716 toward the placement part 1711, as shown by reference numeral 14009 in Figure 14. Then, the transport control unit 211 operates the pair of gripping parts 1715 again, causing the drug box MB2 located toward the gripping part 171 to be gripped by the pair of gripping parts 1715 and placed on the placement part 1711.

[0182] As described above, by operating each part of the second transport unit 17, the transport control unit 211 can make the gripping unit 171 grip only the medicine box MB2, even if another medicine box MB1 that is not to be transported is located in front of the medicine box MB2 that is to be transported, as seen from the gripping unit 171.

[0183] In other words, when the loading / unloading section 1712 loads two medicine boxes, it may change the order in which the two medicine boxes are gripped. Specifically, the temporary gripping section 1713 temporarily grips the medicine box (first medicine box) that the loading / unloading section 1712 loads into the mounting section 1711 first. Furthermore, while the temporary gripping section 1713 is temporarily gripping the medicine box, the loading / unloading section 1712 may load another medicine box (second medicine box), which is the next medicine box to be loaded, to a position behind the position where the medicine box was placed on the mounting section 1711 (towards the +X axis in Figure 12).

[0184] In a normal retrieval operation, the first medicine box retrieved is positioned on the rear side of the placement section 1711, and the next medicine box retrieved is positioned on the front side of the placement section 1711. However, with the above configuration, the first medicine box retrieved can be placed on the front side of the placement section 1711, and the next medicine box retrieved can be placed on the rear side of the placement section 1711. Therefore, the second transport unit 17 can reverse the arrangement order of the two medicine boxes in the placement section 1711 compared to the normal retrieval operation.

[0185] Furthermore, the temporary gripping unit 1713 may place the temporarily gripped medicine box (first medicine box) on the storage unit 1711 after the loading / unloading unit 1712 has pulled the medicine box (second medicine box) to the rear side of the storage unit 1711. Subsequently, the loading / unloading unit 1712 may push the temporarily gripped medicine box forward of the storage unit 1711 by pushing down on the medicine box placed on the storage unit 1711 from the rear side of the storage unit 1711. With this configuration, the second transport unit 17 can return the medicine box that was located on the front side as viewed from the gripping unit 171 to the storage shelf 30, which is its original location, and transport only the medicine box that was located on the rear side as viewed from the gripping unit 171.

[0186] <Another example of first-in, first-out> Below, using Figure 15, we will explain another example of the operation of the second transport unit 17 when retrieving only the medicine box MB2 located at the back of the storage shelf 30. Figure 15 is a diagram showing another example of the operation of the second transport unit 17 when retrieving only the medicine box MB2 located at the back of the storage shelf 30.

[0187] First, as shown by reference numeral 15001 in Figure 15, the transport control unit 211 moves a pair of gripping parts 1715 forward, narrowing the gap between the pair of gripping parts 1715, thereby causing the drug box MB2 on the rear side of the storage shelf 30 to be gripped by the pair of gripping parts 1715. Next, as shown by reference numeral 15002 in Figure 15, with the drug box MB2 being gripped by the pair of gripping parts 1715, the transport control unit 211 moves the pair of gripping parts 1715 toward the rear of the mounting section 1711. This causes the drug box MB2 to be pulled into the mounting section 1711. At this time, the drug box MB1 located on the front side of the storage shelf 30 is also pulled into the mounting section 1711 together with the drug box MB2.

[0188] After the drug box MB2 is pulled in, as shown by reference numeral 15003 in Figure 15, the transport control unit 211 lowers the suction unit 1718 to pick up the drug box MB2. Subsequently, as shown by reference numeral 15004 in Figure 15, the transport control unit 211 raises the suction unit 1718 to temporarily grip the drug box MB2 with the temporary gripping unit 1713.

[0189] Subsequently, as shown by reference numeral 15005 in Figure 15, the transport control unit 211 moves the extrusion unit 1716 forward while widening the gap between the pair of clamping units 1715. As a result, only the drug box MB1 placed on the mounting unit 1711 returns to the storage shelf 30. After returning the drug box MB1 to the storage shelf 30, as shown by reference numeral 15006 in Figure 15, the transport control unit 211 moves the extrusion unit 1716 behind the mounting unit 1711.

[0190] Next, as shown by reference numeral 15007 in Figure 15, the transport control unit 211 lowers the suction unit 1718, releasing the temporary grip on the drug box MB2. Finally, as shown by reference numeral 15008 in Figure 15, the transport control unit 211 raises the suction unit 1718, which has released the suction on the drug box MB2.

[0191] As a result of the above operation, even if drug box MB1 is located on the front side of storage shelf 30, only drug box MB2, which is stored on the back side of storage shelf 30, can be placed on the mounting section 1711.

[0192] That is, when the loading / unloading section 1712 has pulled the two medicine boxes into the mounting section 1711, the temporary gripping section 1713 may temporarily grip the medicine box that the loading / unloading section 1712 has placed on the front side of the mounting section 1711. After that, the loading / unloading section 1712 may push the medicine box that has been placed on the rear side of the mounting section 1711 forward of the mounting section 1711.

[0193] In a normal extrusion operation, the drug box placed on the front side of the mounting section 1711 (the drug box that was pulled into the mounting section later) is pushed forward of the mounting section 1711 before the drug box placed on the rear side of the mounting section 1711 (the drug box that was pulled into the mounting section first).

[0194] However, in this embodiment, as described above, the temporary gripping unit 1713 temporarily grips the drug box placed on the front side of the mounting unit 1711 (the drug box that was later pulled into the mounting unit). This allows the drug box placed on the rear side of the mounting unit 1711 (the drug box that was first pulled into the mounting unit 1711) to be pushed forward into the mounting unit 1711 first. Therefore, the second transport unit 17 can return the drug box that was first pulled into the mounting unit 1711 to its original location, the storage shelf 30, and transport only the drug box that was later pulled into the mounting unit 1711.

[0195] Furthermore, for example, the transport control unit 211 can cause the gripping unit 171 to simultaneously grip multiple drug boxes by performing the operations shown by reference numerals 15001 and 15002 in Figure 15. Also, for example, the transport control unit 211 can move multiple drug boxes simultaneously outside the mounting unit 1711 by pushing out the multiple drug boxes gripped by the gripping unit 171 with the pushing unit 1716.

[0196] <5th Transport Department> Figure 16 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the fifth transport unit 19. In Figure 16, only the portion of the fifth transport unit 19 located inside the storage device 1 is shown. The fifth transport unit 19 is a transport unit for dispensing drug boxes from the storage device 1 to the outside. In this embodiment, the fifth transport unit 19 dispenses drug boxes from the storage device 1 to an external device (e.g., a drug station 2). As shown in Figure 16, the fifth transport unit 19 includes a receiving transport unit 191 and a discharge transport unit 192.

[0197] The receiving and transporting section 191 is a transporting section that receives the drug boxes that have been taken out from the storage racks 30 and transported by the second transporting section 17, and transports them toward the discharge transporting section 192. For example, the receiving and transporting section 191 is a belt conveyor capable of transporting drug boxes placed on the receiving and transporting section 191 from the second transporting section 17 side toward the discharge transporting section 192 side, in other words, in the direction of the -Y axis.

[0198] As shown in Figure 16, in this embodiment, multiple receiving and conveying sections 191 are provided as receiving and conveying sections 191. Specifically, the receiving and conveying sections 191 include a first receiving and conveying section 191A, a second receiving and conveying section 191B, a third receiving and conveying section 191C, and a fourth receiving and conveying section 191D. In the first receiving and conveying section 191A, two belt conveyors are arranged adjacent to each other. The second receiving and conveying section 191B, the third receiving and conveying section 191C, and the fourth receiving and conveying section 191D are each composed of a single belt conveyor. However, the number of receiving and conveying sections 191 may be determined by the size of the storage device 1, etc., and may be just one. Furthermore, the number of belt conveyors in the first receiving and conveying sections 191A to 191D may be determined by experiments to confirm the conveyance of drug boxes to the discharge conveying section 192.

[0199] The discharge conveying section 192 is, for example, a belt conveyor located downstream of the receiving conveying section 191 in the forward direction. The forward direction of the receiving conveying section 191 refers to operating the conveyor belt of the receiving conveying section 191 to transport the placed drug boxes toward the discharge conveying section 192 (-Y axis direction). The forward direction of the discharge conveying section 192 refers to operating the conveyor belt of the discharge conveying section 192 to transport the placed drug boxes toward the outside of the storage device 1 (+X axis direction).

[0200] The discharge conveying unit 192 further conveys the drug boxes transported from the receiving conveying unit 191 and discharges them to the outside of the storage device 1. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, the discharge conveying unit 192 extends to the picking unit 202, which is located outside the storage device 1 and distal to the storage device 1. In this embodiment, at a position corresponding to the picking unit 202 of the discharge conveying unit 192, an input box 40 into which the drug boxes transported from the discharge conveying unit 192 are placed is provided below the discharge conveying unit 192. The drug boxes transported by the discharge conveying unit 192 fall into the input box 40. This allows the worker to retrieve the drug boxes from the input box 40.

[0201] The discharge conveying section 192 is provided with a guide section 1921 that guides the drug boxes conveyed from the first receiving conveying section 191A in the +X axis direction. The guide section 1921, together with the outer wall 1911 of the first receiving conveying section 191A and the outer wall 1922 of the discharge conveying section 192, constitutes the outer wall of the fifth conveying section 19. The guide section 1921 connects the outer wall 1911, which extends in the ±Y axis direction, and the outer wall 1922, which extends in the ±X axis direction. When the fifth conveying section is viewed from above, the guide section 1921 has a curved shape. This allows the drug boxes conveyed from the first receiving conveying section 191A to be smoothly conveyed to the discharge conveying section 192.

[0202] Of the two belt conveyors that make up the first receiving and transporting section 191A, the first receiving belt conveyor 191Aa has a faster forward feed speed than the second receiving belt conveyor 191Ab. The first receiving belt conveyor 191Aa is a belt conveyor located on the outer circumference in the transporting direction of the medicine box, and the second receiving belt conveyor 191Ab is a belt conveyor located on the inner circumference in the transporting direction of the medicine box. The outer circumference in the transporting direction refers to the position outside the central axis when the medicine box rotates along the guide section 1921 as it is transported from the receiving and transporting section 191 to the discharge transporting section 192, and the inner circumference in the transporting direction refers to the position inside the said central axis.

[0203] By setting the forward feed speed of the first receiving belt conveyor 191Aa to be faster than the forward feed speed of the second receiving belt conveyor 191Ab, the transport of drug boxes from the first receiving transport section 191A to the discharge transport section 192 can be made smoother.

[0204] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the diameter of the pulley that rotates the conveyor belt of the first receiving belt conveyor 191Aa is made larger than the diameter of the pulley that rotates the conveyor belt of the second receiving belt conveyor 191Ab. As a result, with a simple configuration in which both pulleys are connected coaxially and driven by a single drive unit (not shown), the forward feed speed (rotation speed of the conveyor belt) of the first receiving belt conveyor 191Aa can be made faster than the forward feed speed of the second receiving belt conveyor 191Ab.

[0205] Figure 17 shows an example of the arrangement of the receiving conveying unit 191 relative to the discharge conveying unit 192. As shown by reference numeral 17001 in Figure 17, when the fifth conveying unit 19 is viewed from above, the receiving conveying unit 191 may be arranged so as to be approximately perpendicular to the discharge conveying unit 192. On the other hand, as shown by reference numeral 17002 in Figure 17, when the fifth conveying unit 19 is viewed from above, the receiving conveying unit 191 may be arranged relative to the discharge conveying unit 192 such that the forward feeding direction of the receiving conveying unit 191 is inclined with respect to the discharge conveying unit 192. In other words, one end of the receiving conveying unit 191 that is in contact with the discharge conveying unit 192 may be located downstream in the forward feeding direction (-X axis direction) of the discharge conveying unit 192 than the other end of the receiving conveying unit 191.

[0206] Furthermore, in the cross-section obtained by cutting the receiving and conveying section 191 and the discharge and conveying section 192 with a vertical plane perpendicular to the ±X axis direction, the conveying surfaces on which the drug boxes are conveyed in the receiving and conveying section 191 and the discharge and conveying section 192 may be substantially horizontal. On the other hand, as shown by reference numeral 17003 in Figure 17, in the above cross-section, the conveying surface of the receiving and conveying section 191 and the conveying surface of the discharge and conveying section 192 may form an obtuse angle.

[0207] Furthermore, the fifth transport section 19 includes an opening / closing section 193. Figure 18 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the opening / closing section 193.

[0208] The opening / closing section 193 is a belt conveyor located downstream of the discharge conveying section 192 in the forward direction and above the input box 40. The opening / closing section 193 rotates the conveyor belt in the same direction as the discharge conveying section 192, in accordance with the control of the conveying control unit 211, thereby enabling the conveying of the drug boxes in the same direction as the discharge conveying section 192.

[0209] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 18, the opening / closing section 193 is rotatable around the axis of rotation Ax2, which is the edge located at the downstream end of the opening / closing section 193 in the forward feeding direction. In other words, the opening / closing section 193 can be opened and closed around the aforementioned edge. When the opening / closing section 193 is open, the drug box is transported from the storage device 1 side, causing the drug box to fall into (be stored in) the input box 40 located below the opening / closing section 193. The forward feeding direction of the opening / closing section 193 is the same as the forward feeding direction of the discharge transport section 192.

[0210] In this embodiment, the input boxes 40 are provided in accordance with each picking unit 202. In this embodiment, an opening / closing section 193 is provided above the input box 40 provided in accordance with the picking unit 202 provided in proximity to the storage device 1. If there are multiple input boxes 40, an opening / closing section 193 is provided above the input boxes 40 other than the input box 40 provided furthest from the storage device 1 (the input boxes 40 provided in the middle of the discharge conveying section 192).

[0211] For example, when a drug box is to be placed into an input box 40 located in conjunction with a picking unit 202 located proximal to the storage device 1, the transport control unit 211 opens the opening / closing section 193 located above the input box 40. On the other hand, consider the case where a drug box is to be placed into an input box 40 located in conjunction with a picking unit 202 located distal to the storage device 1. In this case, the transport control unit 211 keeps the opening / closing section 193 located above the input box 40 located in conjunction with at least one picking unit 202 located proximal to the storage device 1 than the picking unit 202 in question closed. Furthermore, if the picking unit 202 located distal to the storage device 1 is not the most distal picking unit 202, the transport control unit 211 opens the input box 40 into which the drug box is to be placed. This allows the drug box to be placed into an input box 40 located distal to the storage device 1.

[0212] In other words, the transport control unit 211 opens only the opening / closing section 193 located above the input box 40 to which the drug boxes are transported, while keeping the other opening / closing sections 193 closed, thereby enabling the drug boxes to be placed into the input box 40 to which they are transported.

[0213] (Modified version of the 5th transport section) The fifth transport section 19 may be equipped with a slide section 194 instead of an opening / closing section 193. Figure 19 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the slide section 194. Reference numeral 19001 in Figure 19 indicates the state in which the slide section 194 is not extended, and reference numeral 19002 indicates the state in which the slide section 194 is extended. Figure 20 is a side cross-sectional view of the slide section 194. Reference numeral 20001 in Figure 20 indicates the state in which the slide section 194 is not extended, and reference numeral 20002 indicates the state in which the slide section 194 is extended.

[0214] The discharge conveying section 192 includes a slide section 194. The slide section 194 is a belt conveyor that connects to a belt conveyor (also referred to as an internal belt conveyor) which is part of the discharge conveying section 192 located inside the storage device 1. As shown in Figure 19, at least a portion of the slide section 194 is provided above the input box 40 and extends and retracts according to the control of the control unit 21. As shown in Figure 20, the slide section 194 includes a slide base 1941 and a slide movable section 1942. The slide base 1941 and the slide movable section 1942 suspend a conveyor belt 1943 so that the drug boxes can be conveyed in the same direction as the internal belt conveyor.

[0215] The slide base 1941 is connected to an internal belt conveyor and includes a first base rotation shaft 1944 and a second base rotation shaft 1945. The first base rotation shaft 1944 suspends the conveyor belt 1943 at the upstream end of the slide 194 in the forward direction and rotates the conveyor belt 1943 in the forward direction (clockwise in Figure 20). As shown in Figure 20, the position of the first base rotation shaft 1944 determines the position of the upstream end of the surface of the conveyor belt 1943 that contacts the medicine box (conveying surface) in the forward direction. The second base rotation shaft 1945 suspends the conveyor belt 1943 downstream of the first base rotation shaft 1944 in the forward direction and rotates in the same direction as the first base rotation shaft 1944. Also, as shown in Figure 20, the second base rotation shaft 1945 is positioned below the first base rotation shaft 1944.

[0216] The sliding movable part 1942 is slidably mounted relative to the slide base 1941 in the ±X axis direction and includes a first movable part rotation axis 1946 and a second movable part rotation axis 1947. The first movable part rotation axis 1946 suspends the conveyor belt 1943 at the downstream end of the sliding part 194 in the forward feeding direction and rotates in the same direction as the first base rotation axis 1944 and the second base rotation axis 1945. As shown in Figure 20, the position of the first movable part rotation axis 1946 determines the position of the downstream end of the surface of the conveyor belt 1943 that contacts the medicine box in the forward feeding direction. The second movable part rotation axis 1947 suspends the conveyor belt 1943 upstream of the first movable part rotation axis 1946 in the forward feeding direction and rotates in the same direction as the first movable part rotation axis 1946. Also, as shown in Figure 20, the second movable part rotation axis 1947 is positioned below the first movable part rotation axis 1946.

[0217] As shown by reference numeral 19001 in Figure 19 and reference numeral 20001 in Figure 20, when the slide base 1941 and the slide movable part 1942 are in close proximity, the conveyor belt 1943 is shortened. In this state, the top surface of the input box 40 is open. Therefore, in this state, as the rotation shaft (rotation shaft indicated by reference numerals 1944 to 1947) rotates, the drug boxes that have been conveyed from the internal belt conveyor and transferred onto the conveyor belt 1943 are placed into the input box 40.

[0218] Furthermore, as shown by reference numeral 19002 in Figure 19 and reference numeral 20002 in Figure 20, when the slide base 1941 and the slide movable part 1942 are in close proximity, the slide movable part 1942 moves in the +X direction, causing the conveyor belt 1943 to extend in the +X direction. In this state, the top surface of the input box 40 is covered by the conveyor belt 1943. Therefore, in this state, as the rotation axis (rotation axis indicated by reference numerals 1944 to 1947) rotates, the drug boxes that have been transported from the internal belt conveyor and transferred onto the conveyor belt 1943 are transported downstream from the slide part 194.

[0219] Therefore, similar to the opening / closing section 193, even if multiple input boxes 40 are provided below the discharge / transport section 192, the drug boxes can be loaded into the input boxes 40 that will be transported to them by the movement of the transport belt 1943 in the ±X axis direction. The timing of the movement of the transport belt 1943 may be the same as the opening / closing timing of the opening / closing section 193.

[0220] Furthermore, if only one input box 40 is provided for the discharge transport section 192, the fifth transport section 19 may be configured without either the opening / closing section 193 or the sliding section 194. In this case, the input box 40 may be provided at the distal end of the discharge transport section 192, and the drug boxes that fall from that end may be placed into the input box 40.

[0221] (A modified version of the input box) The following describes a modified version of the input box 40 using Figure 21. Figure 21 shows an input box 40A, which is a modified version of the input box 40. Reference numeral 21001 in Figure 21 is a cross-sectional view of the input box 40 when cut in a horizontal plane. Reference numeral 21002 in Figure 21 is a cross-sectional view of the input box 40A when cut in a horizontal plane. Reference numerals 21001 and 21002 are cross-sectional views of the input boxes 40 and 40A, respectively, when viewed from above. Reference numeral 21003 in Figure 21 is a cross-sectional view of the input box 40A taken along the line X1-X2.

[0222] The input box 40 has a hollow section that is roughly rectangular in shape. The hollow section is defined by a first input side wall 402, a second input side wall 403, a third input side wall 404, an input bottom 405, and an opening / closing section 193 (not shown in Figure 21), as shown by reference numeral 21001. The input opening 401 is also defined by the first input side wall 402, the third input side wall 404, the input bottom 405, and the opening / closing section 193.

[0223] The second input side wall 403 is a side wall facing the input opening 401. The first input side wall 402 and the third input side wall 404 are side walls extending from both ends of the second input side wall 403. When the opening / closing part 193 that constitutes the top surface of the input box 40 is in the open state, the drug box inserted from the discharge conveying part 192 is placed on the input bottom 405. This allows the worker to remove the drug box from the input opening 401. The top surface of the input box 40 may be defined by a sliding part 194 instead of the opening / closing part 193.

[0224] On the other hand, as shown by reference numerals 21002 and 21003, the input box 40A is provided with a first input side wall portion 402a, a third input side wall portion 404a, and an input bottom portion 405a, respectively, instead of a first input side wall portion 402, a third input side wall portion 404, and an input bottom portion 405. As shown by reference numeral 21002, the inner walls of the first input side wall portion 402a and the third input side wall portion 404a are inclined such that, when the input box 40A is viewed from the input opening 401 side, the width of the second input side wall portion 403 is greater than the width of the input opening 401. Here, "width" refers to the length in the ±X axis direction. In other words, in the cross-section when the input box 40A is cut in a horizontal plane, the hollow portion of the input box 40A is wider on the side of the second input side wall portion 403 than on the side of the input opening 401.

[0225] As shown in reference numerals 21001 and 21002, when drug boxes are fed from the discharge conveying section 192 into the input boxes 40 and 40A, they may collide with the inner wall of the third input side wall 404 or 404a and be placed on the input bottom 405 or 405a. In this case, in input box 40, as indicated by the arrow in reference numeral 21001, the drug box may bounce back towards the input opening 401 at the third input side wall 404 and fly out of the input opening 401. In input box 40A, as described above, the inner wall of the third input side wall 404a is inclined. Therefore, in input box 40A, as indicated by the arrow in reference numeral 21002, it is possible to bounce the drug box back towards the second input side wall 403 at the third input side wall 404a. This reduces the possibility of the drug box flying out of the input opening 401 at the third input side wall 404a.

[0226] Here, by increasing the distance between the input opening 401 and the second input side wall 403 (i.e., the distance in the depth direction (±Y axis direction) of the input box 40), the possibility of the drug box bouncing off the third input side wall 404 flying out of the input opening 401 can also be reduced. However, in this case, the size of the input box 40 will increase. With input box 40A, the possibility of the drug box flying out of the input opening 401 can be reduced without changing the size of the input box 40.

[0227] The inclination angle α1 of the inner walls of the first input side wall 402a and the third input side wall 404a in the above horizontal plane should be set considering the ease with which the worker can remove the drug box (i.e., not causing the worker any discomfort when removing the drug box), based on experiments or other means.

[0228] Furthermore, as shown in reference numeral 21003, in the input box 40A, the inner wall of the input bottom 405a is inclined such that, when the input box 40A is viewed from the input opening 401 side, the height of the second input side wall 403 is greater than the height of the input opening 401. In other words, in the cross-section when the input box 40A is cut in a vertical plane, the hollow portion of the input box 40A is wider on the side of the second input side wall 403 than on the side of the input opening 401. Here, "vertical plane" refers to a vertical plane perpendicular to the ±X axis direction.

[0229] As described above, the inclination of the input bottom 405a increases the likelihood that the drug box, which is fed in from the discharge conveying section 192 and placed on the input bottom 405a, will move toward the second input side wall 403. Therefore, the possibility of the drug box flying out of the input opening 401 can be reduced.

[0230] The inclination angle α2 of the inner wall of the input bottom 405a in the above vertical plane should be set based on experiments or other considerations, taking into account the ease with which the worker can remove the drug box (i.e., not causing the worker any discomfort when removing the drug box).

[0231] Furthermore, in the input box 40A, the inner wall of the first input side wall 402a is inclined. This makes it possible to bounce a drug box that has collided with the third input side wall 404a and then with the first input side wall 402a back towards the second input side wall 403. However, considering that the possibility of a drug box colliding with the first input side wall 402a is lower than that of the third input side wall 404a, the inner wall of the first input side wall 402a does not need to be inclined.

[0232] Furthermore, in the input box 40A, the inner walls of the first input side wall 402a and the third input side wall 404a, and the inner wall of the input bottom 405a are inclined. However, in the input box 40A, it is sufficient if at least one of the inner walls of the third input side wall 404a and the inner wall of the input bottom 405a is inclined. Even in this case, it is possible to bounce the drug box back towards the second input side wall 403.

[0233] <Protrusion detection section> The ejection detection unit 25 detects drug boxes that have ejected from the storage shelf 30 to the side where the second transport unit 17 is located. If multiple storage units are provided (in this embodiment, the first storage unit 31A and the second storage unit 31B), multiple ejection detection units 25 may be provided to correspond to each of the multiple storage units. In Figure 11, only the ejection detection unit 25 provided on the first storage unit 31A side is shown, but an ejection detection unit 25 is also provided on the second storage unit 31B side. Here, we will explain using the ejection detection unit 25 provided on the first storage unit 31A side as an example.

[0234] As shown in Figure 11, the ejection detection unit 25 is supported so as to be slidable along the ejection rail section 251. The ejection rail section 251 is provided near the top surface of the storage device 1, along the width direction (±X axis direction) of the storage device 1. By moving along the ejection rail section 251, the ejection detection unit 25 can move from one end to the other end of the first storage compartment 31A. Furthermore, the ejection rail section 251 is provided near the top surface of the storage device 1 so as to be located at the boundary between the area where the second transport section 17 is provided and the first storage compartment 31A when the storage device 1 is viewed from above.

[0235] The projectile detection unit 25 is a sensor capable of detecting an object, and is positioned so that the area capable of detecting an object faces vertically downward. The projectile detection unit 25 may be a reflective sensor having an emitting unit that emits light and a light receiving unit that receives reflected light that has been reflected by the object. The projectile detection unit 25 moves from one end of the first storage unit 31A to the other end under the control of the control unit 21 and outputs the detection result to the control unit 21.

[0236] The control unit 21, for example, when the storage device 1 is powered on, moves the ejection detection unit 25 along the ejection rail 251 and determines whether or not there is a medicine box that has ejected from the storage shelf 30. If the control unit 21 determines, based on the detection result of the ejection detection unit 25, that there is a medicine box that has ejected from the storage shelf 30, it may notify the operator that the medicine box has ejected from the storage shelf 30 using the touch panel 20 or an illuminated member (not shown), etc. This allows the operator to return the medicine box that has ejected from the storage shelf 30 to the storage shelf 30.

[0237] In this way, the ejection detection unit 25 detects the drug box that has been ejected from the storage shelf 30, thereby reducing the possibility that the second transport unit 17 may operate and come into contact with the drug box.

[0238] ≪Additional information≫ It is not necessarily required that the drug boxes be stored in the storage shelf 30 with their longitudinal direction facing the depth direction of the storage device 1. For example, the drug boxes may be stored in the storage shelf 30 with their short direction facing the depth direction of the storage device 1. In this case, in the above description, the longitudinal direction of the drug box should be read as the short direction of the drug box, and vice versa. Unless otherwise specified, similar reinterpretations can be made for other embodiments.

[0239] Furthermore, if the orientation of the medicine box is adjusted so that its longitudinal (or transverse) direction aligns with the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114, the medicine box will be transported to the third transport unit 15. In other words, whether the medicine box is placed vertically or horizontally, as long as the orientation of the medicine box is facing the predetermined direction, the medicine box will be transported to the third transport unit 15. Therefore, the medicine box can be placed on the storage shelf 30 regardless of how it is placed in the medicine receiving unit 11.

[0240] When the medicine box is placed vertically, in the cross-section obtained by cutting the medicine box placed on the first transport unit 112 along its shorter side, the vertical length of the medicine box is longer than the length of one side that is in contact with the first transport unit 112. Also, when the medicine box is placed horizontally, in the above cross-section, the vertical length of the medicine box is shorter than the length of one side that is in contact with the first transport unit 112.

[0241] When placed vertically, the medicine box may become unstable depending on its shape. Therefore, if the vertical length of the medicine box is more than a predetermined multiple of the length of one side that is in contact with the first transport unit 112, the shutter control unit 212 may close the shutter 114, and the transport control unit 211 may prevent the medicine box from being transported to the third transport unit 15 while it is still in a vertical position. Whether or not a vertically placed medicine box can be transported is determined for each medicine box (for each type of medicine), and information indicating whether or not it can be transported may be stored in the storage unit 23.

[0242] Furthermore, in order for the control unit 21 to manage whether the drug boxes are stored vertically or horizontally on the storage shelf 30, the dimensions (length, width, and height) of each drug box to be stored may be stored in the storage unit 23.

[0243] Furthermore, if, for example, the first detection unit 113 is implemented in the imaging unit and the height of the medicine box is not determined using the first detection unit 113, the shutter 114 does not necessarily need to operate in the vertical direction. The shutter 114 may be, for example, a double door.

[0244] Furthermore, the gripping portion 171 of the second transporting portion 17 does not necessarily have to be equipped with a temporary gripping portion 1713.

[0245] ≪Alternative expressions for this invention≫ (1) Based on the detailed description above, the conveying device 10 according to one aspect of the present invention can also be described as follows.

[0246] A transport device (10) according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a receiving section (medication receiving section 11) for receiving a medicine box containing medicine; a side contact section (shutter 114) having a contact surface (side surface 1141) that contacts one side of the medicine box received in the receiving section; a first transport section (112) that transports the medicine box received in the receiving section to the side contact section with the medicine box placed on it, bringing one side of the medicine box into contact with the contact surface; and a second transport section (17) that grasps the medicine box after it has come into contact with the contact surface and transports it to a storage shelf (30) for storing the medicine box.

[0247] With the above configuration, the conveying device can align the orientation of the drug boxes received sequentially in the receiving section along the contact surface by conveying the drug by the first conveying section. As a result, the second conveying section can easily grasp the drug boxes. Therefore, the user (worker) does not need to orient the drug boxes in a predetermined direction when placing them in the receiving section so that the second conveying section can grasp them. In other words, the conveying device can transport drug boxes to the storage shelves with reduced burden on the user.

[0248] In a conveying device according to one aspect of the present invention, the first conveying unit conveys the medicine box after it has come into contact with the contact surface toward the second conveying unit, the side contact portion is a shutter (114) that prevents the movement of the medicine box while the first conveying unit is conveying it toward the second conveying unit, and the contact surface may be the side surface (1141) of the shutter that comes into contact with the medicine box during conveying.

[0249] According to the above configuration, the conveying device can adjust the orientation of the medicine box in a direction along the side of the shutter by having the shutter obstruct the movement of the medicine box during conveyance in the first conveying section. In other words, the conveying device can adjust the orientation of the medicine box received in the receiving section in the above direction with a simple configuration.

[0250] In a conveying device according to one aspect of the present invention, the first conveying unit may adjust the longitudinal direction of the drug box to a direction aligned with the side surface of the shutter by conveying the drug box.

[0251] With the above configuration, the conveying device can align the longitudinal orientation of the drug boxes sequentially received in the receiving section with the direction aligned with the side of the shutter. Furthermore, as long as the longitudinal direction of the drug box is aligned with the side of the shutter, the conveying device can accept the drug box as an object to be conveyed in the second conveying section (i.e., an object to be stored on the storage shelf), regardless of how the drug box is placed in the receiving section (vertically or horizontally).

[0252] In a transport device according to one aspect of the present invention, the shutter is closed in a state in which the drug box can be received in the receiving section, and the shutter is equipped with a detection unit (first detection unit 113) for detecting a drug box that is in contact with or close to the shutter, and when the detection unit detects the drug box, the first transport unit temporarily stops transporting the drug box, and if the drug box detected by the detection unit is not facing in a direction along the side of the shutter, the first transport unit may restart transporting the drug box with the shutter still closed.

[0253] According to the above configuration, if the drug box detected by the detection unit is not facing in a direction aligned with the side of the shutter, the transport device can adjust the orientation of the drug box to face in a direction aligned with the side of the shutter by transporting the drug box while the shutter remains closed.

[0254] A transport device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a shutter control unit (212) that controls the opening and closing operation of the shutter, and when the drug box detected by the detection unit is facing in a direction along the side of the shutter, the shutter control unit opens the shutter, and the first transport unit may restart the transport of the drug box.

[0255] According to the above configuration, when the drug box detected by the detection unit is facing in a direction aligned with the side of the shutter, the transport device opens the shutter and transports the drug box to the second transport unit, thereby aligning the orientation of the drug boxes to be received sequentially in a direction aligned with the side of the shutter and transporting them to the second transport unit.

[0256] A transport device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a shutter control unit (212) that controls the opening and closing operation of the shutter, a detection unit (first detection unit 113) that detects a medicine box in contact with or close to the shutter, and a reading unit (111) that reads medicine identification information attached to the surface of the medicine box for identifying the medicine stored in the medicine box. The shutter control unit may close the shutter when the height of the medicine box detected by the detection unit is equal to or greater than a preset value for the medicine box from which the reading unit has read the medicine identification information.

[0257] According to the above configuration, when the height of the medicine box received by the receiving unit is equal to or greater than a preset value for the medicine box from which the reading unit has read the medicine identification information, the transport device does not permit conveyance to the second transport unit side. For example, when a plurality of medicine boxes are stacked and placed on the first transport unit, the transport device does not permit conveyance of the medicine box to the second transport unit side. Therefore, the second transport unit can grip the medicine boxes one by one.

[0258] In a transport device according to an aspect of the present invention, the detection unit includes a plurality of sensors (1131) that detect the presence or absence of an object by emitting electromagnetic waves or sound waves, and the plurality of sensors may be provided along one side included in the side surface of the shutter and along one side that can contact the first transport unit.

[0259] According to the above configuration, the transport device can specify the actual length of the medicine box received by the receiving unit along one side of the shutter.

[0260] In a transport device according to an aspect of the present invention, the plurality of sensors emit the electromagnetic waves or sound waves in a direction perpendicular to the side surface of the shutter, and the shutter may perform an opening and closing operation in the vertical direction.

[0261] According to the above configuration, since a plurality of sensors are provided along one side of the shutter, the transport device can specify the actual height of the medicine box received by the receiving unit by the opening operation of the shutter.

[0262] In one aspect of the present invention, a transport device is provided which sequentially receives the drug boxes transported from the first transport unit and transports the received drug boxes at a predetermined distance apart, and the second transport unit may grasp the drug boxes placed on the third transport unit and transport them to the storage shelf.

[0263] According to the above configuration, by including a third transport unit, the second transport unit can sequentially grasp the drug boxes transported from the first transport unit and transport them to the storage shelves.

[0264] Furthermore, since the first and third transport units are separate, the possibility of the drug boxes on the third transport unit moving in conjunction with the operation of the first transport unit due to adjustment of the orientation of the drug boxes can be reduced. Therefore, even when the orientation of the drug boxes is adjusted, the transport device can maintain a constant distance between the multiple drug boxes placed on the third transport unit. In addition, the transport device can arbitrarily set the distance between two drug boxes according to the amount the third transport unit feeds after the drug boxes have been transported from the first transport unit to the third transport unit.

[0265] In a transport device according to one aspect of the present invention, a plurality of reading units (111) for reading drug identification information attached to the surface of the drug box for identifying the drug contained in the drug box may be provided inside the receiving unit.

[0266] With the above configuration, the user can have the drug identification information read simply by rotating the drug box inside the receiving section.

[0267] A storage device (1) according to one aspect of the present invention may include the storage shelf and the conveying device described above.

[0268] According to the above configuration, the storage device can store drug boxes on storage shelves while reducing the burden on the user.

[0269] (2) Furthermore, based on the detailed description above, the second transport unit 17 (transport device) according to one aspect of the present invention can also be described as follows.

[0270] A transport device (second transport unit 17) according to one aspect of the present invention is a transport device for transporting a medicine box containing medicine, and comprises a gripping unit (171) for gripping the medicine box, the gripping unit comprising a placement unit (1711) for placing at least one of the medicine boxes, an entry / exit unit (1712) for pulling the medicine box into the placement unit from the front and pushing the medicine box placed on the placement unit forward, and a temporary gripping unit (1713) for temporarily gripping the medicine box placed on the front side of the placement unit.

[0271] For example, the robotic arm in the storage device described in Patent Document 1 includes a belt conveyor and a gripper composed of two rod-shaped members. The robotic arm can place at least one pharmaceutical product onto the belt conveyor using the belt conveyor and the gripper. However, the storage device described in Patent Document 1 does not envision the ability to retrieve only a desired pharmaceutical product from a plurality of pharmaceutical products arranged in the direction of movement of the gripper on a storage shelf, or to rearrange the order of multiple pharmaceutical products placed on the belt conveyor of the robotic arm before dispensing them.

[0272] According to the above configuration, the transport device according to one aspect of the present invention can temporarily grip a drug box placed on the front side of the loading section while another drug box is being loaded or unloaded from the loading section. Therefore, the transport device can efficiently load and unload multiple pharmaceuticals.

[0273] In a transport device according to one aspect of the present invention, when the loading / unloading section loads two of the drug boxes into the storage section described above, the temporary gripping section may temporarily grip the first drug box that the loading / unloading section initially loaded into the storage section described above, and while the loading / unloading section is temporarily gripping the first drug box, it may load the second drug box, which is the next drug box to be loaded after the first drug box, to a position behind the position where the first drug box was placed in the storage section described above.

[0274] In a normal retrieval operation, the first drug box, which is retrieved first, ends up on the rear side of the placement area, and the second drug box, which is retrieved next, ends up on the front side of the placement area. With the above configuration, the first drug box can be placed on the front side of the placement area and the second drug box on the rear side of the placement area. Therefore, the conveying device can reverse the arrangement order of the two drug boxes in the placement area compared to the normal retrieval operation.

[0275] In a conveying device according to one aspect of the present invention, the temporary gripping unit may, after the loading / unloading unit has pulled in the second drug box, place the temporarily gripped first drug box on the aforementioned placement unit, and the loading / unloading unit may push the second drug box placed on the aforementioned placement unit from the rear side of the aforementioned placement unit, thereby pushing the first drug box forward of the aforementioned placement unit.

[0276] With the above configuration, the transport device can return the first drug box to its original location (e.g., storage shelf) and transport only the second drug box.

[0277] In one aspect of the present invention, when the loading / unloading section has drawn two of the drug boxes into the storage section, the temporary gripping section may temporarily grip the drug box that the loading / unloading section has placed on the front side of the storage section, and the loading / unloading section may push the drug box that has placed on the rear side of the storage section forward of the storage section.

[0278] In a normal extrusion operation, the drug box placed on the front side of the mounting section (the drug box that was drawn into the mounting section later) is pushed forward of the mounting section before the drug box placed on the rear side of the mounting section (the drug box that was drawn into the mounting section first).

[0279] With the above configuration, by temporarily gripping the drug box placed on the front side of the loading section (the drug box that was later drawn into the loading section), the drug box placed on the rear side of the loading section (the drug box that was first drawn into the loading section) can be pushed forward into the loading section first. Therefore, the conveying device can return the drug box that was first drawn into the loading section to its original location (e.g., storage shelf) and convey only the drug box that was later drawn into the loading section.

[0280] In the conveying device according to one aspect of the present invention, the temporary gripping portion may include an adsorption portion (1718) that adsorbs a medicine box placed on the front side of the placement portion, and a moving portion (1717) that moves the adsorption portion in the vertical direction with respect to the placement portion.

[0281] According to the above configuration, the temporary gripping portion can temporarily grip the medicine box placed on the front side of the placement portion with a simple configuration.

[0282] A storage device (1) according to one aspect of the present invention includes a storage shelf for storing the medicine box and the conveying device described above, and the conveying device may take the medicine box in and out of the storage shelf.

[0283] According to the above configuration, in the storage device, the conveying device can efficiently take in and out a plurality of pharmaceuticals.

[0284] 〔Embodiment 2〕 Another embodiment of the present invention will be described below. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as the members described in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated. The same applies to the following embodiments.

[0285] In Embodiment 1, the first conveying unit 112 adjusted the orientation of the medicine box so that one side surface of the medicine box contacted the shutter 114 in the closed state, such that the longitudinal direction of the medicine box faced in a direction along the side surface 1141 of the shutter 114. In Embodiment 2, a case where the first conveying unit 112 adjusts the orientation of the medicine box so that one side surface of the medicine box contacts the second side wall portion 117 (side wall) such that the medicine box faces a predetermined direction will be described using FIG. 22. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a process in which a medicine box placed on the first conveying unit 112 is conveyed to the third-first conveying unit 15A (not shown). In FIG. 22, illustration of the shutter 114 is omitted.

[0286] The drug receiving unit of this embodiment differs from the drug receiving unit 11 of Embodiment 1 in that it includes a second detection unit 119 and a fourth transport unit 120. In this embodiment, the drug receiving unit comprising the second detection unit 119 and the fourth transport unit 120 is referred to as the drug receiving unit 11A. Furthermore, the transport device comprising the drug receiving unit 11A is referred to as the transport device 10A, and the storage device comprising the transport device 10A is referred to as the storage device 1A.

[0287] The second detection unit 119 detects a medicine box that is in contact with or close to the second side wall 117. The second detection unit 119 includes a plurality of sensors 1191 that detect the presence or absence of an object by emitting light. In this embodiment, as shown by reference numeral 22001 in Figure 22, the plurality of sensors 1191 are provided along one side of the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117 that is included in the side surface 1171 and is in contact with the first transport unit 112. That is, the plurality of sensors 1191 are provided at the lower end of the side surface 1171, along the ±X axis direction. The plurality of sensors 1191 are provided on the second side wall 117 so as to emit light perpendicular to the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117. In this embodiment, the sensor 1191 may be a reflective type sensor comprising an emitting unit that emits light and a light receiving unit that receives the reflected light after the emitted light has been reflected off an object.

[0288] The second detection unit 119 transmits a detection signal to the control unit 21 indicating that it has detected a medicine box. The second detection unit 119 also transmits to the control unit 21 information in the detection signal indicating which of the multiple sensors 1191 detected the medicine box. This allows the control unit 21 to determine whether or not it has detected a medicine box and to identify how the medicine box is in contact with the second side wall 117. Based on this identification, the direction identification unit 213 can then determine the orientation of the medicine box.

[0289] The second detection unit 119 only needs to be capable of determining how the medicine box is in contact with the second side wall 117. For example, the multiple sensors 1191 may be arranged in multiple rows, or they may emit electromagnetic waves other than light, or sound waves (e.g., ultrasound). Alternatively, the second detection unit 119 may be an imaging unit provided on the top surface 118 adjacent to the second side wall 117. In this case, the orientation determination unit 213 can determine the orientation of the medicine box by analyzing the image of the medicine box captured by the imaging unit.

[0290] The fourth transport section 120 transports the medicine box, which has been placed on the first transport section 112 and made contact with the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117, along the second side wall 117 towards the second transport section 17 (specifically, the third-first transport section 15A). In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 22, the fourth transport section 120 includes a pressing plate 1201 that moves in the width direction (±X axis direction) of the storage device 1A. The pressing plate 1201 presses down on the medicine box placed on the first transport section 112 by moving in the +X axis direction. The fourth transport section 120 only needs to be a mechanism capable of transporting the medicine box, which has been placed on the first transport section 112 and made contact with the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117, towards the third-first transport section 15A.

[0291] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 22, the first transport unit 112 transports the drug box placed on the first transport unit 112 to the second side wall unit 117, rather than to the shutter 114. This allows one side of the drug box received by the drug receiving unit 11A to come into contact with the side surface 1171 of the second side wall unit 117. In other words, in this embodiment, the side surface 1171 of the second side wall unit 117 is the contact surface to which one side of the drug box received by the drug receiving unit 11A and being transported by the first transport unit 112 comes into contact. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the second side wall unit 117 functions as a side contact area.

[0292] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 22, the first transport unit 112 adjusts the longitudinal direction of the drug box to be perpendicular to the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117 (±Y axis direction) by transporting the drug box placed on the first transport unit 112. The fourth transport unit 120 transports the drug box, whose longitudinal direction is oriented in the ±Y axis direction, to the third-first transport unit 15A. Therefore, through the above adjustment, similar to Embodiment 1, the longitudinal direction of the drug boxes sequentially received by the drug receiving unit 11A can be aligned in the ±Y axis direction and transported to the third-first transport unit 15A.

[0293] ≪Example of receiving drug boxes into storage equipment≫ An example of the operation of receiving a drug box into the storage device 1A will be explained using Figure 22. Similar to Embodiment 1, the worker places the drug box MB1 into the drug receiving section 11A while holding it. At this time, the entry / exit detection unit 115 transmits a detection signal to the control unit 21 indicating that it has detected an object (the worker's hand or arm). The control unit 21 activates the reading unit 111 to enable reading of the drug identification information.

[0294] When the reading unit 111 reads the drug identification information attached to the drug box MB1 placed in the drug receiving unit 11A, the control unit 21 outputs a sound from the notification unit to notify that the drug identification information has been read. Also, when the reading unit 111 reads the drug identification information, the transport control unit 211 operates the first transport unit 112, as shown by reference numeral 22001 in Figure 22, to move the first transport unit 112 forward. As a result, as shown by reference numeral 22002 in Figure 22, the drug box MB1 is transported to the second side wall unit 117.

[0295] In this embodiment, forward movement of the first transport unit 112 refers to operating the transport belt of the first transport unit 112 to transport the placed medicine box toward the second side wall 117 (+Y axis direction). In this embodiment, when the transport control unit 211 operates the transport belt of the first transport unit 112 to transport the placed medicine box toward the opening side (-Y axis direction), this is also referred to as reverse movement of the first transport unit 112.

[0296] Subsequently, the second detection unit 119, located on the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117, detects the drug box MB1. When the transport control unit 211 receives a detection signal from the second detection unit 119 indicating that the drug box MB1 has been detected, the transport control unit 211 temporarily stops the transport of the drug box MB1 by the first transport unit 112.

[0297] Based on the detection result of the second detection unit 119, the direction determination unit 213 determines whether the drug box MB1 detected by the second detection unit 119 is oriented perpendicular to the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117 (i.e., in the ±Y axis direction). In this embodiment, the direction determination unit 213 determines whether the longitudinal direction of the drug box MB1 is oriented in the ±Y axis direction.

[0298] In this embodiment, the storage unit 23 stores information indicating the placement positions of multiple sensors 1191 on the second side wall 117. The second detection unit 119 also includes information in the detection signal indicating which sensor 1191 detected the medicine box. Furthermore, the control unit 21 can obtain information indicating the size of the medicine box by referring to the medicine database based on the medicine identification information read by the reading unit 111. Therefore, based on this information, the control unit 21 can determine the size of the medicine box in the direction along the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117. That is, based on this information, the direction determination unit 213 can determine whether the longitudinal direction of the medicine box MB1 is oriented perpendicular to the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117 and whether it is approaching or in contact with the second side wall 117. In other words, the direction determination unit 213 can determine that the longitudinal direction of the drug box MB1 is perpendicular to the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117 when the second detection unit 119 detects the drug box MB1 along its entire length in the direction of its shorter side.

[0299] In the state indicated by reference numeral 22002, the second detection unit 119 cannot detect the drug box MB1 along its entire length in the direction of its shorter side. Therefore, the transport control unit 211 restarts the transport of the drug box MB1 by the first transport unit 112. This causes the first transport unit 112 to move forward with the drug box MB1 in contact with the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117, so that the longitudinal direction of the drug box MB1 can be oriented perpendicular to the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117, as shown by reference numeral 22003.

[0300] In the state indicated by reference numeral 22003, the direction determination unit 213 determines that the longitudinal direction of the drug box MB1 is perpendicular to the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117. In this case, the transport control unit 211 stops the transport of the drug box MB1 by the first transport unit 112, and then starts the transport of the drug box MB1 by the fourth transport unit 120. Subsequently, if the transport control unit 211 receives a detection signal from the first detection unit 113 indicating that the drug box MB1 has been detected, it temporarily stops the transport of the drug box MB1 by the fourth transport unit 120.

[0301] In this state, if the shutter control unit 212 determines that it has not received a detection signal from the entry / exit detection unit 115, it opens the shutter 114. In other words, the shutter control unit 212 opens the shutter 114 when the worker's hand or arm is not inserted into the drug receiving unit 11A.

[0302] The shutter control unit 212 stops the operation of the shutter 114 after it has started to open, after it has traveled a predetermined distance or after a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the first detection unit 113 lost the ability to detect the drug box MB1. The shutter control unit 212 then determines whether the position at which the shutter 114 stopped, i.e., the height of the drug box detected by the first detection unit 113, is greater than or equal to a set value set for the drug box from which the drug identification information was read by the reading unit 111.

[0303] If the shutter control unit 212 determines that the position at which the shutter 114 stops operating is less than the above-mentioned set value, the transport control unit 211 restarts the transport of the drug box MB1 by the fourth transport unit 120. At this time, the transport control unit 211 also moves the third transport unit 15 forward. As a result, as shown by reference numeral 22004, the drug box MB1 can be placed on the third-first transport unit 15A such that the distance between adjacent drug boxes is a predetermined width.

[0304] Furthermore, if the longitudinal direction of the medicine box that is close to or in contact with the second side wall 117 is oriented in the ±X axis direction, the second detection unit 119 detects the medicine box along its entire length in the longitudinal direction. In this case, the transport control unit 211 does not drive the fourth transport unit 120. Also, the shutter control unit 212 maintains the closed state of the shutter 114.

[0305] This prevents drug boxes whose longitudinal direction cannot be oriented perpendicular to the side surface 1171 of the second side wall 117 from being transported to the 3-1 transport section 15A. Consequently, the possibility of transporting drug boxes oriented in different directions onto the 3 transport section 15 and the storage shelves 30 is reduced.

[0306] Furthermore, if the control unit 21 detects the drug box MB1 along its entire length in the longitudinal direction, the second detection unit 119 may use the touch panel 20 or an illuminated member (not shown) to notify that the drug box MB1 cannot be stored.

[0307] ≪Alternative expressions for this invention≫ Based on the detailed description above, the conveying device 10A according to one aspect of the present invention can also be described as follows.

[0308] A transport device (10A) according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a receiving section (drug receiving section 11A), a side contact section having a contact surface, a first transport section (112), and a second transport section (17). In the transport device, the side contact section is the side wall of the receiving section and is a side wall (second side wall section 117) facing the opening for receiving the drug box, and the contact surface may be the side surface (1171) of the side wall.

[0309] According to the above configuration, the conveying device can adjust the orientation of the drug boxes in a direction perpendicular to the side wall by conveying the drug boxes by the first conveying unit. In other words, the conveying device can adjust the orientation of the drug boxes received in the receiving unit in the aforementioned vertical direction with a simple configuration.

[0310] In a conveying device according to one aspect of the present invention, the first conveying unit may adjust the longitudinal direction of the drug box to be perpendicular to the side surface of the side wall by conveying the drug box.

[0311] According to the above configuration, the conveying device can align the longitudinal orientation of the drug boxes sequentially received in the receiving section with a direction perpendicular to the side wall. Furthermore, as long as the longitudinal direction of the drug box is oriented perpendicular to the side wall, the conveying device can accept the drug box as an object to be conveyed in the second conveying section (i.e., an object to be stored on the storage shelf), regardless of how the drug box is placed in the receiving section (vertically or horizontally).

[0312] In one aspect of the present invention, a transport device may be provided that transports the drug box, after it has come into contact with the contact surface, along the side wall toward the second transport unit.

[0313] According to the above configuration, the transport device can transport the drug box to the second transport section without changing the orientation of the drug box after it has come into contact with the contact surface.

[0314] A storage device (1A) according to one aspect of the present invention may include the storage shelf (30) and the conveying device described above.

[0315] According to the above configuration, the storage device can store drug boxes on storage shelves while reducing the burden on the user.

[0316] [Embodiment 3] Below, storage device 1B, another example of storage device 1, will be described using Figures 23 to 34. Figure 23 is a perspective view showing an example of the external appearance of storage device 1B. Figure 24 is a perspective view showing storage device 1B with a portion of its outer wall removed. Figure 25 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of storage device 1B. In Figure 25, the shaded arrows indicate the movement of container C containing the drug boxes. The white arrows indicate the flow from when the drug boxes are received by the robot arm 273 or the drug receiving unit 11 until they are stored in the storage shelf 30, and the flow from when the drug boxes are stored in the storage shelf 30 until they are discharged into the input box 40. Figure 25 shows only the main components for explaining the flow of container C and drug boxes.

[0317] The storage device 1B of this embodiment differs from the storage device 1 in that it includes a transport device 10B. As shown in Figure 25, the transport device 10B includes a sixth transport unit 27 in addition to the configuration of the transport device 10. As shown in Figures 24 and 25, the sixth transport unit 27 includes a container receiving unit 271, a lift 272 (container removal unit), a robot arm 273 (removal unit), an imaging unit 274, a mounting table 275, a sensor 276, a reading unit 277, and a retrieval unit 278. Furthermore, the transport device 10B includes a control unit 21B instead of the control unit 21. In addition to the configuration of the control unit 21, the control unit 21B includes a lift control unit 216, a robot control unit 217, a region determination unit 218 (determination unit), a mounting table control unit 219, a distance determination unit 220, and a reading determination unit 221. Although the storage device 1B is equipped only with the 3-1 transport section 15A as the 3rd transport section 15, it may also be equipped with the 3-2 transport section 15B, as in Embodiment 1.

[0318] Each part of the transport device 10B performs the following operations when the control unit 21B receives input (automatic filling input) from container C to storage device 1 via the touch panel 20.

[0319] Specifically, a robot arm 273, equipped with a tip rotating section 2731 and a suction section 2732, grasps the medicine box contained in container C received from the container receiving section 271, and the robot arm 273 rotates the medicine box. As the medicine box rotates, information such as medicine identification information attached to the medicine box is read by the reading section 277, and the control unit 21B identifies, for example, the type and number of medicines contained in the medicine box. Alternatively, for example, the control unit 21B identifies the size of the medicine box by referring to a medicine database based on the type of medicine that has been read.

[0320] The drug box, whose information has been identified as described above, is placed on the first transport unit 112 by the operation of the robot arm 273. The drug box placed on the first transport unit 112 is then transported to the drug receiving unit 11. In the drug receiving unit 11, the reading unit 111 does not read the drug identification information, and the first transport unit 112 and shutter 114 do not adjust the orientation of the drug box. This is because the reading unit 277 reads the drug identification information instead of the reading unit 111. Also, the robot arm 273 places the drug box on the first transport unit 112 so that its orientation is in a predetermined direction (in this embodiment, so that the longitudinal direction of the drug box is in the depth direction (±Y axis direction) of the storage device 1B). In other words, the drug box that has been transported to the drug receiving unit 11 is then transported to the third transport unit 15. The second transport unit 17 then transports the drug box (the drug box removed from container C by the robot arm 273) from the third transport unit 15 to the storage shelf 30. Note that the various operations performed on the drug box after it has been transported from the drug receiving unit 11 to the third transport unit 15 are the same as those performed in the transport device 10 according to Embodiment 1, and therefore will not be described.

[0321] As described above, in the conveying device 10B according to this embodiment, the drug box can be stored in the storage shelf 30 simply by placing the container C containing the drug box into the container receiving section 271. Therefore, there is no need for the operator to read the drug identification information on the drug box, and the drug box can be stored in the storage shelf 30 with reduced burden on the operator. The following describes the more specific configuration of the conveying device 10B.

[0322] <Container receiving section 271> The container receiving section 271 is a housing having an area (space) capable of receiving a container C that contains a medicine box containing medicine.

[0323] As an example, as shown in Figure 23, the conveying device 10B is provided with a door 271A that allows access to the container receiving section 271. When the door 271A is closed, it may be locked by a locking mechanism (not shown). When the control unit 21B receives an input for automatic filling, it releases the lock from the locking mechanism. This makes it possible for an operator to open the door 271A. By opening the door 271A, the operator can place a container C into the container receiving section 271.

[0324] The container receiving section 271 may be capable of receiving multiple containers C. Furthermore, the container receiving section 271 may be capable of receiving multiple types of containers C. The size or shape of containers C may vary slightly depending on the supplier of the pharmaceutical product. Even within the same supplier, the size or shape of containers C may differ. For example, the same supplier may use a container of a certain size and a smaller container with approximately half the capacity of that container as container C. The container receiving section 271 is configured to accommodate multiple such multiple types of containers C.

[0325] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 24, the container receiving section 271 has two adjacent areas, one above the other, and is configured to receive containers C in these two areas. In each area, multiple containers C (e.g., two small containers) can be arranged side by side in the depth direction of the storage device 1B.

[0326] <Lift 272> Figure 26 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the lift 272. The lift 272 operates according to the control of the lift control unit 216.

[0327] Specifically, the lift 272 pulls the container C, which has been placed in the container receiving section 271, towards the rear (+Y axis direction) of the transport device 10B and supports the container C in a standby position vertically below the imaging section 274. This operation is started after the control unit 21B receives an input for automatic filling, for example, and locks the door 271A with the locking mechanism.

[0328] Furthermore, after the robot arm 273 has removed all the drug boxes contained in container C, the lift 272 moves container C to the front side (-Y axis direction) of the transport device 10B and returns the empty container C to the container receiving unit 271. This operation is started, for example, when the control unit 21B determines that it cannot detect drug boxes in the image of container C captured by the imaging unit 274, or when it determines that the last drug box removed from container C has been placed on the first transport unit 112 or the recovery unit 278.

[0329] As shown in Figure 26, the lift 272 comprises a lift gripping section 2711, a lift support column 2712, and a lift rail section 2713.

[0330] The lift gripping section 2711 grips the container C in order to move the container C. The lift column 2712 supports the lift gripping section 2711 so that it can slide vertically (up and down direction; ±Z axis direction). The lift rail section 2713 supports the lift column 2712 so that it can slide in the depth direction (front and back direction; ±Y axis direction) of the storage device 1B. Therefore, as the lift column 2712 moves along the lift rail section 2713 in accordance with the control of the lift control unit 216, the lift gripping section 2711 also moves together with the lift column 2712.

[0331] Furthermore, the lift gripping section 2711 is connected to the drive unit 2714 via a ball screw (not shown) provided along the lift column 2712. When the drive unit is driven according to the control of the lift control unit 216, the ball screw rotates on its axis of rotation with the extension direction of the ball screw as the axis of rotation. As the ball screw rotates, the lift gripping section 2711 moves vertically along the lift column 2712. Similarly, the lift column 2712 may also move in the ±Y axis direction by a timing belt and a drive unit (both not shown).

[0332] Furthermore, a container mounting section 2715 for placing container C may be connected to the lift support column 2712. The container mounting section 2715, together with the lift gripping section 2711, is movable in the vertical and horizontal directions of the storage device 1B.

[0333] <Photography Section 274> Figure 27 shows the configuration near the top surface of the storage device 1B. As shown in Figure 27, the imaging unit 274 is a three-dimensional vision sensor provided near the top surface of the storage device 1B. The imaging unit 274 is pulled out by the lift 272 and images the container C which is in a standby position. In other words, the imaging unit 274 images the container C from the opening side. As a result, the imaging unit 274 acquires an image of the container C as seen from the opening side. This image also includes an image of the medicine box contained in the container C. The imaging unit 274 outputs the captured image to the region determination unit 218.

[0334] Furthermore, by using a 3D vision sensor as the imaging unit 274, the control unit 21B can easily identify each individual medicine box contained in container C. Therefore, the robot control unit 217 can reliably grasp the medicine boxes contained in container C with the robot arm 273. Note that, as long as it is possible to identify each individual medicine box contained in container C, a sensor other than a 3D vision sensor may be used as the imaging unit 274.

[0335] Furthermore, the imaging unit 274 is connected to a timing belt 2741 provided along the ±Y axis direction near the top surface of the transport device 10B. The imaging unit 274 may be movable along the timing belt 2741 under the control of the control unit 21B.

[0336] <Robot Arm 273> Figure 28 is a side view showing an example of the configuration of the robot arm 273. The robot arm 273 is a device capable of picking up and moving drug boxes. The robot arm 273 operates according to the control of the robot control unit 217. In this embodiment, the robot arm 273 is configured to pick up drug boxes and remove them from container C, but it is not limited to this configuration; any configuration that allows for the removal of drug boxes one by one from container C (a configuration that allows for gripping) is acceptable.

[0337] The robot arm 273 removes the medicine box from container C by suction, which is contained in container C received by the container receiving section 271. After removing the medicine box from container C, the robot arm 273 places the medicine box on the mounting table 275 and then suctions the medicine box again.

[0338] Furthermore, the robot arm 273 causes the reading unit 277 to read the drug identification information of the drug box, and moves the drug box according to the reading result by the reading unit 277. Specifically, if the reading unit 277 is able to read the drug identification information, the robot arm 273 transports the drug box to the first transport unit 112. If the reading unit 277 is unable to read the drug identification information, the robot arm 273 transports the drug box to the retrieval unit 278.

[0339] As shown in Figure 28, the robot arm 273 comprises a robot base 273A and a robot tip 273B. The robot base 273A has a tip rotating part 2731 at its end. The robot base 273A is located behind the first transport unit 112 and supports the robot tip 273B. The robot base 273A operates according to the control of the robot control unit 217 and moves the robot tip 273B to a desired position. The robot tip 273B is connected to the end of the robot base 273A. As shown in Figure 28, the robot tip 273B comprises a suction part 2732 and a tip shaft part 2733 extending vertically downward from the end of the robot base 273A.

[0340] The tip rotating part 2731 rotates according to the control of the robot control unit 217, and is a movable part that rotates the robot tip 273B around the central axis of the robot tip 273B as the axis of rotation.

[0341] The suction part 2732 is a member capable of adsorbing an object that comes into contact with or is close to it, and is provided at the tip of the tip shaft part 2733. When the robot base part 273A is driven, the suction part 2732 comes into contact with or is close to the upper surface of the medicine box (the surface facing the suction part 2732) and adsorbs the upper surface. As an example, the suction part 2732 may adsorb the medicine box by having a suction mechanism (not shown) suck air from the outside through a hollow part formed in the tip shaft part 2733. The suction mechanism starts or stops the suction operation according to the control of the robot control unit 217. By adsorbing the medicine box using the suction part 2732, the robot arm 273 can move the medicine box to any position and rotate it in any direction.

[0342] While the suction unit 2732 is holding the medicine box in suction, the tip rotating unit 2731 rotates the medicine box in front of the reading direction of the reading unit 277. Specifically, as the tip rotating unit 2731 rotates, the medicine box rotates around an axis (axis Ax3 shown in Figure 28) that passes through the first and second surfaces of the medicine box. The first and second surfaces are two opposing surfaces on the medicine box. That is, as the tip rotating unit 2731 rotates, the suction unit 2732 rotates around the suction direction of the medicine box as the axis of rotation, causing the medicine box to rotate around that axis of rotation. At this time, the tip rotating unit 2731 rotates the medicine box around an axis of rotation that is approximately perpendicular to the reading direction.

[0343] If the control unit 21B determines that the reading unit 277 was unable to read the drug identification information due to this rotation, the drug box is placed on the mounting base 275 so that a third or fourth surface, different from the first and second surfaces, faces the mounting base 275. The third and fourth surfaces are two opposing surfaces on the drug box. That is, the robot arm 273 tilts the drug box on the mounting base 275 so that the third or fourth surface faces the mounting base 275. Here, we assume that the third surface faces the mounting base 275 and the drug box is placed on the mounting base 275.

[0344] Subsequently, the robot arm 273 uses the suction unit 2732 to again pick up the fourth surface, which is the top surface of the drug box placed on the mounting table 275. Then, the tip rotating unit 2731 rotates the drug box using the axis passing through the third and fourth surfaces (axis Ax3 shown in Figure 28) as the axis of rotation. At this time as well, the tip rotating unit 2731 rotates the drug box around the axis of rotation which is approximately perpendicular to the reading direction. This allows the first and second surfaces, which could not be directed towards the reading unit 277 when the suction unit 2732 was picking up the first or second surface, to be directed towards the reading unit 277. Therefore, even if drug identification information is attached to the first or second surface, the reading unit 277 can read the drug identification information.

[0345] Furthermore, if the reading unit 277 is unable to read the drug identification information when the fourth surface is adsorbed, in other words, if the reading unit 277 is unable to read the drug identification information from any surface of the drug box, the robot arm 273 transports the drug box to the retrieval unit 278.

[0346] Furthermore, the robot arm 273 may be configured such that the robot tip 273B can be detached from the robot base 273A. For example, the robot base 273A and the robot tip 273B may be connected by magnetic force. With this configuration, if the robot tip 273B collides with an object (such as a medicine box, container C, or storage device 1B) from a direction other than vertical, the robot tip 273B will detach from the robot base 273A. This reduces the possibility of the robot tip 273B being damaged by the impact of the collision with the object.

[0347] Furthermore, even if the robot tip 273B detaches from the robot base 273A, the robot tip 273B and the robot base 273A may be connected by, for example, a string-like member to reduce the possibility of the robot tip 273B falling and being damaged. The string-like member only needs to be long enough so that even when fully extended, the robot tip 273B does not come into contact with the mounting table 275 located in the standby position.

[0348] Furthermore, the robot tip 273B is extendable and retractable in the vertical direction (±Z axis direction) relative to the robot base 273A. Specifically, the tip shaft portion 2733 of the robot tip 273B has an internally extendable elastic member (e.g., a spring) (not shown), and under normal circumstances, this elastic member may be extended, resulting in the robot tip 273B being in an extended state. The robot base 273A may also be provided with a sensor (not shown) capable of detecting the extension and retraction of the robot tip 273B. In addition, when the suction portion 2732 is in contact with an object, if the robot tip 273B moves further vertically downward (-Z axis direction) due to the movement of the robot base 273A, the elastic member may contract. In this case, the robot tip 273B will contract vertically.

[0349] For example, if, within container C, one medicine box MB2 is placed on top of another medicine box MB1, and the robot control unit 217 controls the robot arm 273 to pick up medicine box MB1, the suction part 2732 may come into contact with medicine box MB2. In this case, the robot base 273A moves the robot tip 273B to the height where medicine box MB1 is located. Therefore, the robot tip 273B continues to move vertically downward even after coming into contact with medicine box MB2. If the robot tip 273B continues to move vertically downward even after the suction part 2732 has come into contact with medicine box MB2, the elastic member of the tip shaft 2733 contracts, causing the robot tip 273B to contract. When a sensor on the robot tip 273B detects the contraction or extension of the robot tip 273B, the robot control unit 217 stops the vertical downward movement of the robot tip 273B.

[0350] Therefore, even if another drug box MB2 is placed on top of the drug box MB1 to be adsorbed, and the adsorption unit 2732 comes into contact with the drug box MB2, the possibility of the drug box MB2 being crushed by the robot's tip 273B can be reduced.

[0351] Furthermore, when the robot control unit 217 comes into contact with or is close to the drug box MB2, it picks up the drug box MB2 which is not intended for picking. If the sensor on the robot tip 273B detects the extension or retraction of the robot tip 273B, the robot control unit 217 stops picking up the drug box MB2. This reduces the possibility that the drug box MB2 which is not intended for picking will be mistakenly picked up as the drug box MB1 which is intended for picking.

[0352] <Mounting platform 275> The mounting platform 275 is a platform on which the robot arm 273 places the drug box removed from container C, and operates according to the control of the mounting platform control unit 219. For example, as shown in Figures 24 and 27, the mounting platform 275 is a plate-shaped member placed on top of the container receiving section 271, and can be moved to the rear of the storage device 1 according to the control of the mounting platform control unit 219.

[0353] <Sensor 276> Sensor 276 is a sensor capable of detecting a medicine box removed from container C by the robot arm 273. Sensor 276 is installed on the storage device 1B above the stand 275 when it is pulled out to the standby position, such that the detection direction of the object is approximately horizontal. Sensor 276 may be a reflective type sensor having an emitting unit that emits light and a light receiving unit that receives reflected light that has been reflected by the object. Sensor 276 outputs the detection result of the medicine box to the stand control unit 219.

[0354] <Reading section 277> The reading unit 277 reads the drug identification information attached to the surface of the drug box. As shown in Figure 24, the reading unit 277 is located near the inner wall of the storage device 1B, and is positioned so that the reading direction faces the inside of the storage device 1B (above the pulled-out platform 275). When the robot arm 273 positions the drug box in front of the reading unit 277, the reading unit 277 reads the drug identification information attached to the surface of the drug box. The reading unit 277 also outputs the read drug identification information to the control unit 21B.

[0355] <Recovery Unit 278> The retrieval unit 278 is, for example, a box-shaped member with an open top, and it retrieves drug boxes from which the reading unit 277 was unable to read the drug identification information. Specifically, if the reading unit 277 is unable to read the drug identification information, the robot arm 273 moves the drug box to the retrieval unit 278 and places it on the retrieval unit 278. This allows the operator to retrieve the drug boxes from the retrieval unit 278 from which the drug identification information could not be read.

[0356] <Example of operation of conveying device 10B> The following describes the operations performed by the transport device 10B, along with details of the processing in the control unit 21B.

[0357] Figure 29 shows an example of the operation of the lift 272 when pulling out container C that has been placed in the container receiving section 271. The lift control unit 216 controls the operation of the lift 272. When container C is placed in the container receiving section 271 and an input is made to instruct the start of the operation to store the drug box MB1 in the storage device 1B (automatic filling input), the lift control unit 216 operates the lift gripping section 2711 of the lift 272 to pull out container C, as shown in Figure 29.

[0358] Specifically, as shown by reference numeral 29001 in Figure 29, the lift control unit 216 causes the lift gripping unit 2711 to grip the container C in the container receiving unit 271. Subsequently, as shown by reference numeral 29002 in Figure 29, the lift control unit 216 moves the lift support column 2712 backward (+Y-axis direction) along the lift rail unit 2713. As a result, the container C, supported by the lift gripping unit 2711, is pulled out of the container receiving unit 271 to a standby position behind it. Once the container C is pulled out of the container receiving unit 271, the imaging unit 274 images the container C from above, and the imaging result is output to the region determination unit 218. After that, the region determination unit 218 determines the area in the container C from which the medicine box will be removed, based on the image of the container C.

[0359] After all the medicine boxes contained in container C have been removed (or after the last removed medicine box has been placed on the first transport unit 112 or the recovery unit 278), the lift control unit 216 causes the lift 272 to perform the reverse operation of when container C was pulled out. This allows the empty container C to be returned to the container receiving unit 271.

[0360] Subsequently, the robot control unit 217 controls the movement of the robot arm 273. Specifically, the robot control unit 217 obtains an image of container C captured by the imaging unit 274 and information indicating the extraction area from the area determination unit 218, and then identifies the shape of the medicine box located within that extraction area. If container C contains multiple medicine boxes, the robot control unit 217 identifies one of the medicine boxes that is not covered by other medicine boxes.

[0361] If the robot arm 273 is unable to remove the medicine box from container C, the lift control unit 216 may reciprocate the lift column 2712 along the lift rail 2713 in the forward / backward direction (±Y axis direction). This allows the container C held by the lift gripping unit 2711 to vibrate, thereby changing the posture or position of the medicine box inside container C.

[0362] Figure 30 shows an example of the operation of the robot arm 273 and the mounting platform 275. As shown by reference numeral 30001 in Figure 30, the robot control unit 217 moves the robot tip 273B of the robot arm 273 so that the suction part 2732 of the robot arm 273 faces the upper surface (here referred to as the first surface) of the identified drug box MB1. Subsequently, as shown by reference numeral 30002 in Figure 30, the robot control unit 217 lowers the robot tip 273B by operating the robot base 273A, bringing the suction part 2732 into contact with the first surface of the drug box MB1. As a result, the first surface of the drug box MB1 is adsorbed by the suction part 2732. After that, as shown by reference numeral 30003 in Figure 30, the robot control unit 217 raises the robot tip 273B by operating the robot base 273A. As a result, the drug box MB1 is removed from the container C.

[0363] Furthermore, based on the detection result of the drug box MB1 by the sensor 276, the mounting platform control unit 219 determines that the drug box MB1 removed from container C has passed in front of the sensor 276. In this case, as shown by reference numeral 30003 in Figure 30, the mounting platform control unit 219 moves the mounting platform 275 from the upper position of the container receiving section 271 to the rear. That is, when the robot arm 273 picks up the drug box MB1 and lifts it, and places the drug box MB1 at a height higher than the height where the mounting platform 275 is located, the mounting platform control unit 219 moves the mounting platform 275 in the +Y axis direction. As a result, the mounting platform 275 is positioned below the drug box MB1 that the robot arm 273 has picked up, making it possible for the robot arm 273 to place the drug box MB1 onto the mounting platform 275. Once the reading determination unit 221 has completed its determination, the mounting platform control unit 219 moves the mounting platform 275 towards the front (-Y axis direction) and returns the mounting platform 275 to the upper position of the container receiving unit 271.

[0364] After the mounting platform control unit 219 moves the mounting platform 275 from the upper position of the container receiving unit 271 to the rear, the robot control unit 217 operates the robot base 273A to lower the robot tip 273B, as shown by reference numeral 30004 in Figure 30. Then, when the drug box MB1 comes into contact with the mounting platform 275, the robot control unit 217 stops the suction by the suction unit 2732 and raises the robot tip 273B. As a result, the drug box MB1 is placed on the mounting platform 275. Once the drug box MB1 is placed on the mounting platform 275, the imaging unit 274 captures a three-dimensional image of the drug box MB1 and outputs it to the distance determination unit 220.

[0365] The distance determination unit 220 determines the position in front of the reading unit 277 where the robot arm 273 will place the medicine box, based on the size of the medicine box identified from the imaging results of the imaging unit 274.

[0366] Specifically, when a medicine box is placed on the mounting platform 275, the imaging unit 274 images the medicine box. The distance determination unit 220 acquires a three-dimensional image of the medicine box captured by the imaging unit 274. Based on this three-dimensional image, the distance determination unit 220 determines the size of the medicine box (length, width, and height). Based on the determined size of the medicine box, the distance determination unit 220 determines the position in which the medicine box should be placed by determining the distance between the medicine box held by the robot arm 273 and the reading unit 277 when the medicine identification information of the medicine box is read. This distance is such that at least one surface of the medicine box is included within the readable range of the reading unit 277.

[0367] The distance determination unit 220 determines the position of the medicine box so that the larger the medicine box is, the further it is from the reading unit 277. That is, if the medicine box is small, the distance determination unit 220 determines the distance so that the distance between the medicine box and the reading unit 277 is short. If the medicine box is large, the distance determination unit 220 determines the distance so that the distance between the medicine box and the reading unit 277 is longer than when the medicine box is small. As a result, the reading unit 277 can read the medicine identification information attached to the medicine box, regardless of the size of the medicine box.

[0368] The above distance (the position where the medicine box is placed) may be set in stages according to the size of the medicine box. For example, the storage unit 23 may store information indicating the correspondence between the size of the medicine box and the above distance, and the distance determination unit 220 may determine the above distance corresponding to the size of the medicine box identified from the imaging results of the imaging unit 274 by referring to this information. Alternatively, a calculation formula for determining the above distance may be set, and the distance determination unit 220 may calculate the distance based on the calculation formula and the size of the medicine box.

[0369] Furthermore, when attaching the suction unit 2732 to a medicine box, if the suction unit 2732 comes into contact with an object at a position higher than the height of the identified medicine box, the robot control unit 217 will stop attaching the medicine box, identify another medicine box, and attach that other medicine box to the suction unit 2732. When the suction unit 2732 comes into contact with an object at a position higher than the height of the identified medicine box, for example, this refers to a case where a different medicine box is placed on top of the medicine box in question. With the above configuration, the possibility of a medicine box placed on top of another medicine box being crushed by the robot arm 273 can be reduced.

[0370] Figure 31 shows an example of the operation of the robot arm 273 when the reading unit 277 reads drug identification information. The robot control unit 217 places the drug box MB1, which has been removed from container C, onto the mounting table 275, then lowers the suction unit 2732 again to pick up the drug box MB1 with the suction unit 2732. After that, as shown in Figure 31, the robot control unit 217 operates the robot base 273A to position the drug box MB1 in front of the reading direction of the reading unit 277 (the area shown by the dashed line in Figure 31).

[0371] The robot control unit 217 moves the robot tip 273B to the position where the drug box MB1 is to be placed, as determined by the distance determination unit 220. Furthermore, the robot control unit 217 rotates the tip rotation unit 2731, rotating it around an axis passing through the first and second surfaces of the drug box MB1. If drug identification information is affixed to a surface other than the first and second surfaces of the drug box MB1, this rotation allows the reading unit 277 to read the drug identification information.

[0372] If the reading unit 277 is unable to read the drug identification information even after the robot control unit 217 rotates the drug box MB1 using the axis passing through the first and second surfaces as the axis of rotation, the robot control unit 217 places the drug box MB1 so that surfaces other than the first and second surfaces face the mounting table 275. Then, the robot control unit 217 controls the robot arm 273 to pick up the drug box MB1 again. In other words, the robot control unit 217 controls the robot arm 273 to pick up the drug box MB1 again after it has been tilted on the mounting table 275.

[0373] Figure 32 shows an example of the operation of the robot arm 273 when tilting the medicine box MB1 on the mounting table 275. When tilting the medicine box MB1, for example, first the robot control unit 217 calculates the center of gravity G1 of the medicine box MB1 from the shape of the medicine box MB1 captured by the imaging unit 274. Next, as shown by reference numeral 32001 in Figure 32, the robot control unit 217 controls the robot arm 273 to place the medicine box MB1 on the mounting table 275. After that, as shown by reference numeral 32002 in Figure 32, the robot control unit 217 tilts the medicine box MB1 until the angle between the mounting table 275 and the line segment L1 exceeds 90 degrees. The line segment L1 is a line segment connecting (1) a cross section perpendicular to one side of the second surface of the medicine box MB1 which is the axis of rotation when the medicine box MB1 is tilted, and which also contains the center of gravity G1 of the medicine box MB1, and (2) that side in that cross section. Here, we assume that the second surface faces the mounting base 275. As shown by reference numeral 32003 in Figure 32, the robot control unit 217 releases the suction of the robot arm 273 when it determines that the angle between the mounting base 275 and the line segment L1 exceeds 90 degrees. As a result, the drug box MB1 falls over on the mounting base 275, and the mounting base 275 faces a surface other than the first and second surfaces (in this case, the third surface).

[0374] If drug identification information cannot be read even when the drug box MB1 is rotated using the axis passing through the first and second surfaces as the axis of rotation, it is possible that the drug identification information is attached to the first or second surface. In this case, the robot control unit 217 controls the tip rotation unit 2731 to rotate the drug box MB1 using the axis passing through the third and fourth surfaces as the axis of rotation, thereby orienting the first and second surfaces towards the reading direction of the reading unit 277. By re-applying the drug box MB1 as described above, it becomes possible to rotate the drug box MB1 using the axis passing through the third and fourth surfaces as the axis of rotation. As a result, the robot arm 273 can orient all surfaces of the drug box MB1 towards the reading direction of the reading unit 277, thereby increasing the accuracy of reading the drug identification information.

[0375] Figure 33 shows an example of an image of container C captured by the imaging unit 274. The region determination unit 218 acquires the image captured by the imaging unit 274. Based on the image, the region determination unit 218 identifies the size and orientation of container C and determines the drug box removal area according to the identified size and orientation of container C. The removal area is the area from which the drug box can be removed by the robot arm 273. The removal area can also be described as the movable area of ​​the robot tip 273B of the robot arm 273 when removing the drug box from container C. For example, the removal area is the area inside the outline of container C (the area indicated by the symbol CA in Figure 33) when container C is viewed from above. As a result, only the drug boxes located inside container C (for example, drug boxes MB1 to MB5 in Figure 33) are identified as drug boxes from which drug identification information should be read.

[0376] Here, the containers C loaded into the transport device 10B may vary in size depending on the pharmaceutical supplier. Furthermore, even the same supplier may use containers C of different sizes. Moreover, suppliers do not necessarily load the containers C into the container receiving section 271 with them oriented in a consistent direction. In this embodiment, the area determination unit 218 determines the retrieval area based on an image of the container C, according to the size and orientation of the container C. Therefore, the area determination unit 218 can determine the retrieval area regardless of the type of container C handled by the supplier or the way the container C is loaded into the container receiving section 271.

[0377] Furthermore, holes or other features are provided on the upper surface of the rim forming the opening of container C, and different characteristics can be found for each type of container C due to these holes or features. Therefore, information showing the correspondence between an image (feature image) representing the characteristics of each container C and the retrieval area may be stored in the storage unit 23. The area determination unit 218 may determine the type of container C and the retrieval area present in the standby position by comparing the image of container C with the feature image included in the information.

[0378] Figure 34 shows an example of the operation of the robot arm 273 after the reading of drug identification information has been completed. Reference numeral 34001 in Figure 34 indicates the state in which the robot arm 273 has grasped the drug box MB1 after the reading of drug identification information has been completed.

[0379] If the reading unit 277 is unable to read drug identification information from any surface of the drug box MB1, the robot control unit 217 will transport the drug box MB1 to the retrieval unit 278. In other words, if the robot control unit 217 receives information from the reading determination unit 221 indicating twice that drug identification information could not be read, it will transport the drug box MB1 to the retrieval unit 278. Specifically, as shown by reference numeral 34002 in Figure 34, the robot control unit 217 operates the robot arm 273 to place the drug box MB1 on the retrieval unit 278, and then releases the suction by the suction unit 2732.

[0380] Meanwhile, if the reading unit 277 is able to read the drug identification information of the drug box MB1, the robot control unit 217 operates the robot arm 273, as shown by reference numeral 34003 in Figure 34, to transfer (place) the drug box MB1 to the first transport unit 112. That is, if the robot control unit 217 obtains information from the reading determination unit 221 indicating that the drug identification information has been read, it operates the robot arm 273 to place the drug box MB1 on the first transport unit 112. After that, the robot control unit 217 releases the suction by the suction unit 2732. After the drug box MB1 is placed on the first transport unit 112, it is transported to the drug receiving unit 11.

[0381] Here, the reading determination unit 221 acquires the drug identification information read by the reading unit 277. Upon acquiring the drug identification information, the reading determination unit 221 refers to the storage unit 23 and, based on the drug identification information, acquires information about the drug box, such as the type of drug contained in the drug box and the size of the drug box. If the information about the drug box can be identified, the reading determination unit 221 outputs information to the robot control unit 217 indicating that the drug identification information has been identified. The reading determination unit 221 may also output information such as the type and size of the identified drug box to the storage location management unit 214. On the other hand, if the information about the drug box cannot be identified, the reading determination unit 221 outputs information to the robot control unit 217 indicating that the information about the drug box could not be identified.

[0382] Furthermore, when the robot control unit 217 places the drug box MB1 on the first transport unit 112, it determines the direction in which to place the drug box MB1 based on the shape of the drug box MB1 identified based on the drug identification information of the drug box MB1, or the shape of the drug box MB1 captured by the imaging unit 274. For example, the robot control unit 217 places the drug box MB1 on the first transport unit 112 such that its longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the transport direction.

[0383] As described above, the conveying device 10B receives the container C containing the drug boxes, removes the drug boxes from the container C, and transports them to the storage shelf 30. Therefore, the worker does not need to remove the drug boxes to be stored in the storage shelf 30 from the container C and put them into the storage device 1B. Thus, the conveying device 10B can transport drug boxes to the storage shelf 30 while reducing the burden on the worker. However, it is still possible to load drug boxes from the drug receiving section 11 into the storage device 1B.

[0384] Furthermore, the transport device 10B can store drug boxes from which drug identification information can be read in the storage shelf 30, and retrieve drug boxes from which drug identification information cannot be read in the retrieval unit 278. Therefore, even if there are drug boxes from which drug identification information could not be read, the transport device 10B can still perform subsequent operations to read drug identification information and to store them in the storage shelf 30 or retrieve them in the retrieval unit 278.

[0385] ≪Alternative expressions for this invention≫ Based on the detailed description above, the conveying device 10B according to one aspect of the present invention can also be described as follows.

[0386] A transport device (10B) according to one aspect of the present invention includes a container receiving section (271) for receiving a container (C) for containing a medicine box containing medicine, a removal section (robot arm 273) for removing the medicine box from the container received by the container receiving section, and a transport section (second transport section 17) for transporting the medicine box removed by the removal section to a storage shelf (30) for storing the medicine box.

[0387] For example, the storage device described in Patent Document 1 is equipped with a separate input unit capable of receiving a large volume of pharmaceuticals, in addition to the input port. The input unit uses a belt conveyor and a transfer robot arm to transfer the received pharmaceuticals to the robot arm. However, in the storage device described in Patent Document 1, the objects to be received at the input port or input unit are pharmaceuticals. In other words, the storage device described in Patent Document 1 does not have a configuration that allows it to receive containers containing at least one pharmaceutical, which are used by pharmaceutical suppliers to deliver pharmaceuticals. Therefore, the user is required to remove the pharmaceuticals one by one from the containers and put them in at the input port or input unit. Furthermore, in the storage device described in Patent Document 1, when pharmaceuticals are put in at the input port, the user is burdened with the task of placing them in a predetermined position.

[0388] According to the above configuration, a transport device according to one aspect of the present invention receives a container containing drug boxes, removes the drug boxes from the container, and transports them to a storage shelf. Therefore, the user does not need to remove the drug boxes to be stored on the shelf from the container and place them into a storage device equipped with a storage shelf. Accordingly, the transport device can transport drug boxes to the storage shelf with reduced burden on the user. In other words, it is possible to reduce the burden on the user who stores the drug boxes.

[0389] A transport device according to one aspect of the present invention may include a reading unit (277) for reading drug identification information attached to the surface of the drug box for identifying the drug contained in the drug box, and a rotating unit (tip rotating unit 2731) for rotating the drug box removed from the container by the removal unit in front of the reading direction of the reading unit.

[0390] According to the above configuration, the storage device can read drug identification information by rotating the drug box.

[0391] In a conveying device according to one aspect of the present invention, the rotating part rotates the drug box around a rotation axis perpendicular to the reading direction. If the drug identification information cannot be read even when the rotating part rotates the drug box with an axis passing through the opposing first and second surfaces of the drug box as the rotation axis, the rotating part may rotate the drug box with an axis passing through a third and fourth surface, which are different from the first and second surfaces, as the rotation axis.

[0392] According to the above configuration, if drug identification information cannot be read even when the drug box is rotated using an axis passing through the opposing first and second surfaces as the axis of rotation, it is possible that the drug identification information is attached to either the first or second surface. In this case, the conveying device can rotate the drug box using an axis passing through the third and fourth surfaces as the axis of rotation, thereby orienting the first and second surfaces towards the reading direction of the reading unit. As a result, the conveying device can orient all surfaces of the drug box towards the reading direction of the reading unit, thereby increasing the accuracy of reading the drug identification information.

[0393] A transport device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a loading platform (275) on which the retrieval unit places the drug box removed from the container, the retrieval unit includes a suction unit (2732) that suctions the upper surface of the drug box, the suction unit rotates with the rotation axis being the direction of suction of the drug box by the rotating unit, and if the drug identification information cannot be read even when the retrieval unit rotates the drug box with the rotation axis passing through the first surface and the second surface, the retrieval unit may place the drug box so that surfaces other than the first surface and the second surface face the loading platform described above, and then suction the drug box again.

[0394] According to the above configuration, by re-attaching the material as described above, it becomes possible to rotate the drug box using the axis passing through the third and fourth surfaces as the axis of rotation.

[0395] A transport device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a recovery unit (278) for recovering drug boxes in which the reading unit was unable to read the drug identification information, and the retrieval unit may, if the reading unit was able to read the drug identification information, transfer the drug box to the transport unit, and if the reading unit was unable to read the drug identification information, transport the drug box to the recovery unit.

[0396] According to the above configuration, the transport device can store drug boxes from which drug identification information can be read on the storage shelves, and retrieve drug boxes from which drug identification information cannot be read in the retrieval unit. Therefore, even if there are drug boxes from which drug identification information could not be read, the transport device can still perform the drug identification information reading operation and the operation of storing them on the storage shelves or retrieving them in the retrieval unit.

[0397] A transport device according to one aspect of the present invention may include an imaging unit (274) that images the container from the opening side of the container, and a determination unit (region determination unit 218) that determines the dispensing area of ​​the medicine box according to the size and orientation of the container based on the image captured by the imaging unit.

[0398] The size of the containers may vary depending on the pharmaceutical supplier. Furthermore, even the same supplier may use containers of different sizes. Additionally, suppliers do not necessarily ensure that the containers are oriented in a consistent direction when placing them into the container receiving area.

[0399] According to the above configuration, the determination unit determines the retrieval area based on the image of the container, according to the size and orientation of the container. Therefore, the determination unit can determine the retrieval area regardless of the type of container handled by the supplier or how the container is placed into the container receiving section.

[0400] A storage device (1B) according to one aspect of the present invention may include the storage rack and the conveying device described above.

[0401] According to the above configuration, the storage device can store drug boxes on storage shelves while reducing the burden on the user.

[0402] [Embodiment 4] As shown in Figure 16, in the fifth transport section 19 of the storage device 1 of Embodiment 1, the receiving transport section 191 and the discharge transport section 192 are provided at approximately the same height. Although the receiving transport section 191 is positioned slightly higher than the discharge transport section 192, depending on the size of the pulley (not shown) that moves the transport surface of the receiving transport section 191, the receiving transport section 191 is not intentionally positioned higher.

[0403] In this configuration, once the drug box is transferred from the receiving conveying section 191 to the discharge conveying section 192, the drug box may be conveyed by the discharge conveying section 192 while rotating with the vertical direction as its axis of rotation. In this case, depending on the size of the drug box or the degree of rotation, the drug box may come into contact with the side wall of the receiving conveying section 191 downstream of the receiving conveying section 191 that conveyed the drug box to the discharge conveying section 192, and with the outer wall 1922 of the discharge conveying section 192. In this case, the conveying of the drug box by the discharge conveying section 192 is hindered.

[0404] In the storage device 1 of this embodiment, the conveying surfaces of the second receiving conveying section 191B, the third receiving conveying section 191C, and the fourth receiving conveying section 191D, which may obstruct the transport of drug boxes, are raised by a predetermined distance or more above the conveying surface of the discharge conveying section 192. This reduces the possibility that drug boxes transported by the discharge conveying section 192 may come into contact with the side walls of the second receiving conveying section 191B, the third receiving conveying section 191C, or the fourth receiving conveying section 191D. Therefore, the possibility of obstruction to the transport of drug boxes by the discharge conveying section 192 is reduced. The predetermined distance can be determined by experiments or other means to be a distance such that the drug boxes do not come into contact with the side walls of the second receiving conveying section 191B, the third receiving conveying section 191C, and the fourth receiving conveying section 191D.

[0405] [Embodiment 5] The operation of the storage device 1 of this embodiment will be explained, for example, with reference to Figures 1 to 4. The storage device 1 of Embodiment 1 dispenses drug boxes stored on the storage shelves 30 from the fifth transport unit 19 to the input box 40 provided on the drug station 2 side, in accordance with a dispensing instruction from the drug station 2. On the other hand, the storage device 1 of this embodiment can dispense drug boxes stored on the storage shelves 30 from the drug receiving unit 11 in accordance with a dispensing instruction received on the touch panel 20.

[0406] For example, the transport control unit 211 controls the second transport unit 17 (see Figure 11) to transport the medicine box containing the medicine based on the dispensing instruction to the third transport unit 15. The transport control unit 211 transports the medicine box placed on the third transport unit 15 to the shutter 114 of the medicine receiving unit 11. The shutter control unit 212 opens the shutter 114, for example, when the width detection unit 13 (see Figure 5) detects that the medicine box has been transported to the shutter 114 side. Subsequently, the transport control unit 211 controls the third transport unit 15 and the first transport unit 112 to transport the medicine box on the third transport unit 15 from the third transport unit 15 to the first transport unit 112. The transport control unit 211 stops the first transport unit 112, for example, after a predetermined time has elapsed since opening the shutter 114. This allows the user to retrieve the medicine box stored in the storage rack 30 from the medicine receiving section 11. The predetermined time may be, for example, the time elapsed from when the shutter 114 is opened until the medicine box received from the third transport section 15 is transported to the vicinity of the center of the first transport section 112 in the medicine receiving section 11. The transport control unit 211 does not need to transport the medicine box transported to the third transport section 15 all the way to the first transport section 112. In this case, the user can retrieve the medicine box from the third transport section 15 by opening the second door 52 (see Figure 2).

[0407] Figure 35 shows an example of a reception image (reception screen) IM1 that receives a dispensing instruction for a medicine box. The reception image IM1 includes an inventory display area A11, a dispensing medicine display area A12, an add button A13, and a dispensing button A14. The reception image IM1 is the image displayed on the touch panel 20 shown in Figure 2.

[0408] The inventory display area A11 is an area capable of displaying records of information about the searched drug among all the drugs stored in the storage device 1. The inventory display area A11 displays information about the drug, such as the drug's name, the number of drugs in stock, and the number of drug boxes containing the drug.

[0409] Dispensed drug display area A12 is an area capable of displaying records related to drugs dispensed from storage device 1. Dispensed drug display area A12 displays records selected by the user from among the records displayed in inventory display area A11. Dispensed drug display area A12 displays information related to the drugs, such as the drug name, inventory quantity, and quantity per box (the number of drugs contained in each drug box).

[0410] The add button A13 is used to move a record selected by the user from the displayed records in the inventory display area A11 (e.g., a record in which "○" is selected in the "Target" column of the inventory display area A11) to the dispensed drug display area A12. Upon receiving user input for the add button A13, the touch panel control unit 215 displays the record selected by the user in the inventory display area A11 in the dispensed drug display area A12.

[0411] The dispensing button A14 is a button for dispensing a medicine box containing the medicine displayed in the dispensing medicine display area A12 from the storage device 1. Upon receiving user input for the dispensing button A14, the transport control unit 211 sequentially retrieves the medicine boxes containing the medicines displayed in the dispensing medicine display area A12 from the storage shelves 30 and hands them over to the third transport unit 15. As a result, the storage device 1 can transport the medicine boxes that the user requests to be dispensed from the storage shelves 30 to the medicine receiving unit 11.

[0412] [Embodiment 6] The configuration of the storage device 1C will be explained using Figures 4 and 36 to 38. Figures 36 and 37 are perspective views showing an example of the third transport unit 15 of this embodiment. As shown in Figures 36 and 37, the storage device 1C differs from the storage device 1 in that the third transport unit 15 is fitted with a first encoder 155A and a second encoder 155B.

[0413] As shown in Figure 36, the 3-1 transport unit 15A includes a first transport surface 152A for transporting the medicine boxes transported from the first transport unit 112 (see Figure 1), a first pulley 153A for moving the first transport surface 152A, and a first motor 154A for rotating the first pulley 153A. Furthermore, a first encoder 155A for detecting the actual amount of the first transport surface 152A is provided at a position that contacts the first transport surface 152A but does not hinder the transport of the medicine boxes by the first transport surface 152A.

[0414] As shown in Figure 37, the third-second transport unit 15B includes a second transport surface 152B for transporting the medicine boxes transported from the first transport surface 152A, a second pulley 153B for moving the second transport surface 152B, and a second motor 154B for rotating the second pulley 153B. A second encoder 155B for detecting the actual amount of the second transport surface 152B is provided at a position that contacts the second transport surface 152B but does not hinder the transport of the medicine boxes by the second transport surface 152B.

[0415] The first transport surface 152A and the second transport surface 152B are examples of transport surfaces that transport the medicine boxes transported from the first transport unit 112. The first encoder 155A and the second encoder 155B are examples of detection units that detect the actual feed amount of the first transport surface 152A and the second transport surface 152B.

[0416] The transport control unit 211 shown in Figure 4 controls the feed amount of the first transport surface 152A by controlling the first motor 154A. The transport control unit 211 also controls the feed amount of the second transport surface 152B by controlling the second motor 154B. The transport control unit 211 controls the first motor 154A and the second motor 154B so that they move the first transport surface 152A or the second transport surface 152B by a predetermined set value. The set value refers to the feed amount of the first transport surface 152A instructed by the transport control unit 211 to the 3-1 transport unit 15A, or the feed amount of the second transport surface 152B instructed by the 3-2 transport unit 15B. These two feed amounts (the set value set for the first transport surface 152A and the set value set for the second transport surface 152B) may be the same or different. The set value may also be set for each size of the medicine box detected by the width detection unit 13.

[0417] The feed rate of the second transport surface 152B is controlled in the same way as the feed rate of the first transport surface 152A. Therefore, in the following description, the control of the feed rate of the first transport surface 152A will be used as an example. As with Embodiment 1, the third transport unit 15 may be configured to include only the 3-1 transport unit 15A.

[0418] In this embodiment, the transport control unit 211 determines whether the feed amount of the first transport surface 152A is appropriate based on a comparison between the set value set for the first transport surface 152A and the actual feed amount of the first transport surface 152A detected by the first encoder 155A. This allows the transport control unit 211 to determine whether the third-first transport unit 15A has transported the medicine box appropriately based on whether the first transport surface 152A has actually moved by the amount of the feed amount of the third-first transport unit 15A instructed to be transported by the transport control unit 211.

[0419] Specifically, the transport control unit 211 determines whether the difference between the set value set for the first transport surface 152A and the actual feed amount of the first transport surface 152A detected by the first encoder 155A is greater than or equal to a threshold. The threshold is set to a value that may cause problems, for example, with the transport of the medicine box from the third-first transport unit 15A to the third-second transport unit 15B, or with the gripping of the medicine box by the second transport unit 17.

[0420] If the transport control unit 211 determines that the above difference is greater than or equal to a threshold, the touch panel control unit 215 (notification control unit) shown in Figure 4 will notify via the touch panel 20 that the first transport surface 152A has not moved by the set value relative to the first transport surface 152A. This notification may also be made by a notification member other than the touch panel 20 (e.g., a speaker).

[0421] Figure 38 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the control unit 21. The transport control unit 211 controls the first motor 154A to move the first transport surface 152A by the feed amount indicated by the set value (S1). The first encoder 155A detects the feed amount of the first transport surface 152A that has been moved by the control of the first motor 154A. The transport control unit 211 obtains the actual value of the feed amount detected by the first encoder 155A (S2).

[0422] The transport control unit 211 compares the set value of the feed amount with the actual value of the feed amount and determines whether the difference between the set value and the actual value is greater than or equal to a threshold (S3). If the transport control unit 211 determines that the difference is greater than or equal to a threshold (YES in S3), the touch panel control unit 215 notifies the touch panel 20 that the first transport surface 152A has not moved by the amount of the feed amount indicated by the set value.

[0423] The movement of the first conveying surface 152A is performed by the rotation of the first pulley 153A, which is controlled by the first motor 154A. In other words, the movement of the first conveying surface 152A is mechanically controlled. Therefore, there is a risk that the actual feed amount may differ from the set value. For example, the movement of the first conveying surface 152A may not be linked to the rotation of the first pulley 153A, and the actual feed amount may be smaller than the set value.

[0424] If the above difference exceeds a threshold, the system notifies that the first transport surface 152A has not moved by the amount indicated by the set value, allowing the user to understand that there is an abnormality in the transport of the drug box by the 3-1 transport unit 15A. Therefore, the user can take necessary measures such as maintenance of the 3-1 transport unit 15A.

[0425] If the transport control unit 211 determines that the above difference is less than the threshold (NO in S3), it determines that the first transport surface 152A is moving normally. Therefore, the control unit 21 terminates the process shown in Figure 38.

[0426] [Embodiment 7] This section explains examples of determining the storage location (placement) of drug boxes on storage shelf 30 (see Figure 3), and examples of determining which drug boxes to dispense from storage shelf 30.

[0427] <Example of determining the storage location for medicine boxes> The transport control unit 211 (see Figure 4) compares the height of the medicine box to be stored with the height of each storage shelf 30, and selects the storage shelf 30 that is taller than the medicine box to be stored. The height of the storage shelf 30 is the height of the comparison storage shelf 30, and is the distance from the comparison storage shelf 30 to the storage shelf 30 located in the +Z axis direction (vertically upward direction). If the comparison storage shelf 30 is the uppermost storage shelf 30, the height of the storage shelf 30 is the distance from the comparison storage shelf 30 to the top surface of the first storage cabinet 31A (see Figure 3) or the top surface of the second storage cabinet 31B (see Figure 3). Information indicating the height of each storage shelf 30 is stored in the storage unit 23 (see Figure 4).

[0428] In this embodiment, the height of each storage shelf 30 differs so that various drug boxes can be stored. For example, there may be storage shelves 30 of a standard height, and storage shelves 30 that are a few millimeters smaller or larger than the standard height. The standard height may be predetermined based on the height of the drug boxes that can be stored in the storage shelf 30. It is also possible to configure storage shelves 30 of various heights (several shelves of different heights) by removing some storage shelves 30. In this case, larger drug boxes or cardboard boxes containing multiple drug boxes can be stored. Furthermore, when storing a particular drug box, the storage shelf 30 may be used as a temporary storage shelf (temporary storage shelf) for temporarily storing drug boxes of various heights stored in the storage shelf 30. If only drug boxes within a certain height range are to be stored, the height of each storage shelf 30 may be set to the same or approximately the same height.

[0429] Furthermore, the storage unit 23 may store information indicating the storage order for the storage shelves 30 or storage area where the drug boxes to be stored are stored. The storage unit 23 also stores information indicating the storage status of the drug boxes on the storage shelves 30. The transport control unit 211 determines the storage position of the drug boxes based on this information. The storage order may be set, for example, so that the drug boxes are stored starting from the position closest to the fifth transport unit 19.

[0430] However, for drug boxes containing special drugs, a storage shelf 30 or storage area capable of storing only such drug boxes may be predetermined. In this case, the memory unit 23 stores information indicating the storage shelf 30 or storage area. Also, for example, in the drug database, special drugs may be assigned information indicating that they are special drugs. Based on this information and the drug identification information read from the drug box by the reading unit 111 (see Figures 5 and 6), the transport control unit 211 determines that a drug box to be stored contains a special drug, and stores the drug box in a storage shelf 30 or storage area dedicated to that drug box. Special drugs are, for example, drugs whose handling is strictly regulated by law. Examples include highly potent drugs or psychotropic drugs. Managing special drugs together makes it easier to comply with legal regulations.

[0431] As described above, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage position of the drug boxes by referring to information indicating the height of the storage shelf 30, information indicating the storage order, and information indicating special drugs.

[0432] Furthermore, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage position of drug boxes containing the same type of drug (i.e., drug boxes of the same size) so that they are arranged in a single row in the depth direction (±Y axis direction) of the storage device 1, provided there is available space on the storage shelf 30. In other words, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage position of the drug boxes so that they are arranged in a single row in the depth direction of the storage device 1, whether the drug boxes are placed vertically or horizontally on the storage shelf 30. However, even if drug boxes contain the same type of drug, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage position of the drug boxes so that vertically placed drug boxes and horizontally placed drug boxes are in separate rows.

[0433] Furthermore, the transport control unit 211 considers a case where at least one drug box is stored along the depth direction of the storage device 1, and further drug boxes containing the same type of drug as the drug contained in that drug box are to be stored. In this case, the transport control unit 211 determines whether the drug box to be stored can be stored in the same row as at least one drug box stored along the depth direction of the storage device 1 (i.e., whether there is available space). If the transport control unit 211 determines that the drug box to be stored cannot be stored in the same row as the drug box stored on the storage shelf 30, it may, for example, determine the storage position for the drug box to be stored as the available space closest to the drug box stored on the storage shelf 30.

[0434] Furthermore, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage position of drug boxes so that they are arranged in a single row in the depth direction of the storage device 1, even if they contain different types of drugs, as long as the drug boxes are approximately the same size. In addition, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage position of drug boxes so that they are arranged in a single row in the depth direction of the storage device 1, regardless of whether they contain the same type of drug or different types of drug, as long as certain conditions are met. An example of operation when storing multiple drug boxes arranged in a single row in the depth direction of the storage device 1 will be described later.

[0435] Furthermore, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage position of the drug boxes so that they are stored in the position closest to the second transport unit 17 (see Figure 11) (transport unit) on the storage shelf 30. When the drug boxes are arranged in a single row in the depth direction of the storage device 1, the transport control unit 211 controls the second transport unit 17 so that the drug boxes to be stored are pushed towards the back of the storage shelf 30.

[0436] Furthermore, even when multiple drug boxes are arranged in a single line in the depth direction of the storage device 1, the pair of clamping parts 1715 may perform the operation described in Embodiment 1. That is, the transport control unit 211 may, in order to adjust the orientation of the drug boxes, open the pair of clamping parts 1715 that store the drug boxes on the storage shelf 30, then close them, and then open them again.

[0437] <Example of actions when arranging medicine boxes in a single line 1> Figure 39 illustrates an example of the operation of the gripping section 171 of the second transport section 17 when storing multiple drug boxes in a single row in the depth direction (±Y axis direction) of the storage shelf 30, with respect to one drug box already stored in the storage shelf 30. Figure 40 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the process of determining whether the drug boxes to be stored can be stored in a single row in the depth direction of the storage shelf 30 with respect to one drug box already stored in the storage shelf 30.

[0438] As described with reference to Figure 12 in Embodiment 1, the gripping portion 171 of the second transport portion 17 comprises a placement portion 1711, a pair of clamping portions 1715, and an extrusion portion 1716. The placement portion 1711 is a member on which the drug box received by the drug receiving portion 11 is placed. The pair of clamping portions 1715 are members that clamp both sides of the drug box to be stored in the storage shelf 30 and pull it into the placement portion 1711. The extrusion portion 1716 is a member that pushes the drug box, which has been pulled into the placement portion 1711 by the pair of clamping portions 1715, towards the storage shelf 30.

[0439] Here, when we say that the pair of clamping parts 1715 pull in the medicine box, we mean that the pair of clamping parts 1715 move approximately parallel to the mounting surface of the storage shelf 30 and the mounting surface of the mounting part 1711 without rising, thereby pulling the medicine box into the mounting part 1711. The mounting surface of the storage shelf 30 means the surface on the storage shelf 30 on which the medicine box is placed. The mounting surface of the mounting part 1711 means the surface on the mounting part 1711 on which the medicine box is placed. Furthermore, when we say that the pair of clamping parts 1715 move approximately parallel to the two mounting surfaces without rising, we mean that they move approximately parallel to the two mounting surfaces without lifting the clamped medicine box to a height that exceeds, for example, any height of the medicine box. In other words, the pair of clamping parts 1715 may move the medicine box while in contact with the two mounting surfaces. Alternatively, the pair of clamping parts 1715 may move the medicine box without contacting the two mounting surfaces (slightly lifted from the mounting surfaces) to the extent that the medicine box can be moved smoothly and substantially parallel to the two mounting surfaces.

[0440] Furthermore, the height of the standard storage shelf 30 is set based on the height of drug boxes that can be stored in the storage shelf 30, excluding drug boxes or cardboard boxes of special sizes, and is specified to be a height such that two drug boxes cannot be stacked on top of each other. In other words, in one storage shelf 30, it is possible to store multiple drug boxes along the depth direction of the storage shelf 30, but it is not possible to store multiple drug boxes along the vertical direction (±Z axis direction) of the storage shelf 30. By specifying the height of the standard storage shelf 30 in this way, it is possible to create multiple levels of storage shelves 30 in the vertical direction of the storage device 1. Due to the height constraint of the storage shelf 30 for this multi-level setup, the pair of clamping parts 1715 are structured to pull the drug boxes out of the storage shelf 30 without rising and lifting the drug boxes (except when the second transport part 17 is raised slightly to eliminate frictional resistance between the drug box and the mounting surface).

[0441] Furthermore, the pair of clamping parts 1715 operate as described above even when pulling the medicine box from the third transport part 15.

[0442] Furthermore, in this specification, the second transport unit 17 is described as moving between the storage shelf 30 and the third transport unit 15 or the fifth transport unit 19 while gripping the medicine box with the gripping unit 171. However, the second transport unit 17 may have any configuration as long as it is capable of transporting the medicine box between the storage shelf 30 and the third transport unit 15 or the fifth transport unit 19. For example, the second transport unit 17 may be equipped with a suction mechanism to suction and transport the medicine box.

[0443] In the following explanation using Figures 39 and 40, drug box MB11 is an example of a first drug box stored in the storage shelf 30 at the position closest to the second transport section 17. Drug box MB12 is a second drug box newly stored in the storage shelf 30, and is an example of a second drug box placed on the mounting section 1711 of the gripping section 171. In Figure 39, the width W12 of drug box MB12 is smaller than the width W11 of drug box MB11. However, the width W11 of drug box MB11 and the width W12 of drug box MB12 may be the same. Also, drug boxes MB11 and MB12 may be identical in shape and contain the same type of drug. In this case, in Figure 39, drug box MB11 is shown in a horizontal position, and drug box MB12, when stored in the storage shelf 30, is shown in a vertical position. Furthermore, in the following explanation, storing the second medicine box in a single row in the depth direction of the storage shelf 30 relative to the first medicine box may be simply referred to as "storing in a single row."

[0444] When storing the drug box MB12 in a row with the drug box MB11, the transport control unit 211 compares the width W11 of drug box MB11 with the width W12 of drug box MB12. In this example, the transport control unit 211 determines that drug box MB12 can be stored in a row with drug box MB11 if the width W12 of drug box MB12 is less than or equal to the width W11 of drug box MB11. That is, as shown in Figure 39, drug box MB12 is stored in a row with drug box MB11.

[0445] Specifically, the transport control unit 211 identifies the empty area SP shown by reference numeral 40002 in Figure 40 and determines whether the drug box MB12 can be stored in the empty area SP. As shown by reference numeral 40002 in Figure 40, the transport control unit 211 identifies the area that extends further towards the second transport unit 17 than the drug box MB11 when the drug box MB11 shown by reference numeral 40001 in Figure 40 is virtually moved to the furthest back of the storage shelf 30 as the empty area SP. The transport control unit 211 may, for example, identify the width W11 of the drug box MB11 as the width of the empty area SP, and identify the length obtained by subtracting the length D11 of the drug box MB11 in the depth direction from the length D17 of the storage shelf 30 in the depth direction as the length DSP of the empty area SP in the depth direction.

[0446] The transport control unit 211 may determine that the drug box MB12 can be stored in the empty area SP if the width W12 of the drug box MB12 is less than or equal to the width W11 of the drug box MB11, and the length D12 of the drug box MB12 in the depth direction is less than or equal to the length DSP of the empty area SP in the depth direction. In other words, the transport control unit 211 may determine that the drug box MB12 can be stored in a line with the drug box MB11.

[0447] In this example, the transport control unit 211 determines that the drug box MB12 can be stored in a row with the drug box MB11 if it determines that the width W12 of the drug box MB12 is greater than or equal to a reference value set based on the width W11 of the drug box MB11. In other words, even if the size of the mounting surface of the drug box MB12 on the storage shelf 30 is less than or equal to the empty area SP, the transport control unit 211 determines that the drug box MB12 cannot be stored in a row with the drug box MB11 if the width W12 of the drug box MB12 is less than the reference value.

[0448] The reference value is set to a value less than the width W11 of the medicine box MB11. The reference value may also be determined as follows: Consider the case where the second transport unit 17 grasps the medicine box stored at the very back of the storage shelf 30, out of at least two medicine boxes stored on the storage shelf 30, and pulls it towards the second transport unit 17. In this case, the reference value may be set to a value such that the lateral position of the medicine box on the second transport unit 17 side does not shift (in the direction approximately perpendicular to the depth direction in the XY plane; X-axis direction). The reference value may also be set to a value such that the lateral position of the medicine boxes does not shift when the medicine boxes are stored in a line with at least one medicine box stored on the storage shelf 30. The reference value may be set to a value such that the lateral position of these medicine boxes does not shift.

[0449] In this way, the second transport unit 17 can store the medicine box MB12 in a line with the medicine box MB11 when the width W12 of the medicine box MB12 is equal to or greater than the standard value. This reduces the possibility that the position of the medicine box MB12 stored on the second transport unit 17 side of the medicine box MB11 will shift laterally when the second transport unit 17 pulls in the medicine boxes MB11 and MB12 stored on the storage shelf 30. Also, when storing the medicine box MB12 in a line with the medicine box MB11 stored on the storage shelf 30, the possibility of the positions of the medicine boxes MB11 and MB12 shifting laterally is reduced.

[0450] In this example, when determining whether the width W12 of drug box MB12 is less than or equal to the width W11 of drug box MB11, the transport control unit 211 may determine the width W11 of drug box MB11 and the width W12 of drug box MB12 to be used for comparison as follows. That is, the transport control unit 211 may use the smaller of the width W11 of drug box MB11 that has been measured in advance and the width of drug box MB11 detected by the width detection unit 13 (see Figure 5) as the width W11 of drug box MB11 to be compared with the width W12 of drug box MB12. Alternatively, the transport control unit 211 may use the larger of the width W12 of drug box MB12 that has been measured in advance and the width of drug box MB12 detected by the width detection unit 13 as the width W12 of drug box MB12 that has been measured in advance. This allows the transport control unit 211 to perform the above determination with high accuracy. The information indicating the width of the drug boxes that has been measured in advance may be stored in the storage unit 23.

[0451] If the transport control unit 211 determines that the drug box MB12 can be stored in a row with the drug box MB11, it may perform the storage operation for the drug box MB12 as shown in Figure 39.

[0452] As shown by reference numeral 39001 in Figure 39, the transport control unit 211 moves the gripping unit 171 in front of the storage area where the medicine box MB11 is stored, with the medicine box MB12 placed on the mounting unit 1711 of the gripping unit 171. In reference numeral 39001 in Figure 39, the pair of clamping units 1715 are in a state of clamping the medicine box MB12. As shown by reference numeral 39002 in Figure 39, the transport control unit 211 opens the width W1715 of the pair of clamping units 1715 to be wider than the width W11 of the medicine box MB11.

[0453] Subsequently, as shown by reference numerals 39003 and 39004 in Figure 39, the transport control unit 211 moves a pair of clamping units 1715 to the storage shelf 30. In this state, the transport control unit 211 pushes the drug box MB12 toward the storage shelf 30 by controlling the extrusion unit 1716. As the drug box MB12 moves, it comes into contact with drug box MB11 and pushes drug box MB11. This allows drug box MB12 to be stored in a row with drug box MB11.

[0454] As shown by reference numeral 39003 in Figure 39, when the extrusion unit 1716 pushes the drug box MB12 toward the storage shelf 30, a pair of clamping units 1715 are moved toward the storage shelf 30. As a result, the pair of clamping units 1715 function as guides for the drug box MB12, which is moved by the extrusion unit 1716, and for the drug box MB11, which is moved by being pushed by the drug box MB12. This guiding allows for stable storage of drug boxes on the storage shelf 30 when drug boxes of different sizes are stored in a row.

[0455] As described above, in this example of operation, the second transport unit 17 can store the second medicine box side by side with the first medicine box in the depth direction of the storage shelf 30 when the width of the second medicine box is less than or equal to the width of the first medicine box. When medicine boxes are stored in a row under these conditions, the following effect is achieved. That is, when the second transport unit 17 pulls the medicine boxes stored in a row towards the second transport unit 17, if it grasps the medicine box stored furthest back as seen from the second transport unit 17, it becomes possible to pull all of the medicine boxes stored in a row towards the second transport unit 17. Therefore, it is possible to improve the dispensing efficiency of the medicine boxes.

[0456] Furthermore, as described above, it is possible to store drug boxes with different surface sizes in a single row. Therefore, compared to a system that only allows drug boxes with the same surface size to be stored in a single row, this creates more versatility in determining the storage location of drug boxes in the available space. In other words, it becomes possible to store more drug boxes on the storage shelf 30.

[0457] Even among drug boxes containing the same type of drug, the size of the placement surface may differ depending on whether they are placed horizontally or vertically. If only drug boxes with the same placement surface size are allowed to be stored in a single row, there is a risk that drug boxes cannot be stored in a single row depending on whether they are placed horizontally or vertically. On the other hand, according to this example, even if there is a difference in whether they are placed horizontally or vertically, if the width of the second drug box is less than or equal to the width of the first drug box, it is possible to store the second drug box in a single row with the first drug box. In other words, by allowing both horizontal and vertical placement of drug boxes in the storage device 1, the workload on the user when loading drug boxes can be reduced, and it becomes possible to achieve high stacking of storage shelves 30.

[0458] <Example of actions when arranging medicine boxes in a single line 2> Figure 41 illustrates an example of the operation of the gripping section 171 of the second transport section 17 when storing a drug box to be stored in a row with multiple drug boxes stored on the storage shelf 30. Figure 42 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the process of determining whether a drug box to be stored can be stored in a row with multiple drug boxes stored on the storage shelf 30.

[0459] In the explanation using Figures 41 and 42, drug boxes MB11 and MB12 are examples of multiple first drug boxes stored on the storage shelf 30. Drug box MB12 is stored in the storage shelf 30 at the position closest to the second transport section 17, while drug box MB11 is stored further back on the storage shelf 30 than drug box MB12, and adjacent to drug box MB11. Drug box MB13 is a second drug box newly stored on the storage shelf 30, and is an example of a second drug box placed on the mounting section 1711 of the gripping section 171. Also, in Figure 41, the shapes of drug boxes MB12 and MB13 are identical when viewed from above. That is, the width W12 of drug box MB12 and the width W13 of drug box MB13 are the same and smaller than the width W11 of drug box MB11. However, the width W12 of drug box MB12 and the width W13 of drug box MB13 are not the same; the width W13 of drug box MB13 may be smaller than the width W12 of drug box MB12. Also, drug boxes MB11, MB12, and MB13 may be identical in shape and contain the same type of drug. In this case, Figure 41 will show drug box MB11 in a horizontal position, drug box MB12 in a vertical position, and drug box MB13 in a vertical position when stored on the storage shelf 30.

[0460] Furthermore, this example uses the case of storing three medicine boxes in a single row as an example, but the same processes and operations described below may be performed even when storing four or more medicine boxes in a single row.

[0461] In this example, when storing drug box MB13 in a row with drug boxes MB11 and MB12, the transport control unit 211 compares the width W13 of drug box MB13 with the width W12 of drug box MB12. In this example, the transport control unit 211 determines that drug box MB13 can be stored in a row with drug boxes MB11 and MB12, as shown in Figure 41, if the width W13 of drug box MB13 is less than or equal to the width W12 of drug box MB12. As mentioned above, the width W12 of drug box MB12 is less than or equal to the width W11 of drug box MB11. In other words, the transport control unit 211 determines that a newly stored drug box can be stored in a row with the multiple drug boxes stored on the storage shelf 30 if the width of the newly stored drug box is less than or equal to the width of the multiple drug boxes already stored on the storage shelf 30.

[0462] Specifically, the transport control unit 211 identifies the empty area SP shown by reference numeral 42002 in Figure 42 and determines whether the drug box MB13 can be stored in the empty area SP. As shown by reference numeral 42002 in Figure 42, the transport control unit 211 identifies the area that extends further towards the second transport unit 17 than drug box MB12 when drug boxes MB11 and MB12 shown by reference numeral 42001 in Figure 42 are virtually moved to the furthest back of the storage shelf 30 as the empty area SP. For example, the transport control unit 211 identifies the width W11 of the drug box MB11 stored at the furthest back (i.e., the width of the widest drug box among the stored drug boxes) as the width of the empty area SP. Alternatively, the transport control unit 211 may identify the length obtained by subtracting the depth of drug box MB11 D11 and the depth of drug box MB12 D12 from the depth of the storage shelf 30 D17 as the depth of the empty area SP DSP.

[0463] The transport control unit 211 may determine that the drug box MB13 can be stored in the empty area SP if the width W13 of the drug box MB13 is less than or equal to the width W12 of the drug box MB12, and the length D13 of the drug box MB13 in the depth direction is less than or equal to the length DSP of the empty area SP in the depth direction. In other words, the transport control unit 211 may determine that the drug box MB13 can be stored in a line with the drug boxes MB11 and MB12.

[0464] In this example, the transport control unit 211 determines that drug box MB13 can be stored in a row with drug boxes MB11 and MB12 if it determines that the width W13 of drug box MB13 is greater than or equal to a reference value set based on the width W11 of drug box MB11. In other words, even if the size of the mounting surface of drug box MB13 on the storage shelf 30 is less than or equal to the empty area SP, the transport control unit 211 determines that drug box MB13 cannot be stored in a row with drug boxes MB11 and MB12 if the width W13 of drug box MB13 is less than the reference value. The reference value is set to a value less than the width W11 of drug box MB11, which is stored furthest back as seen from the second transport unit 17. The reference value may also be set as described above.

[0465] In this way, the second transport unit 17 can store the medicine box MB13 in a line with medicine boxes MB11 and MB12 when the width W13 of the medicine box MB13 is equal to or greater than the standard value. This reduces the possibility that when the second transport unit 17 pulls in the medicine boxes MB11, MB12 and MB13 stored on the storage shelf 30, the positions of medicine boxes MB12 and MB13, which are stored on the side of the second transport unit 17 closer to medicine box MB11, will shift laterally. Also, when storing medicine box MB13 in a line with medicine boxes MB11 and MB12 stored on the storage shelf 30, the possibility of the positions of medicine boxes MB11, MB12 and MB13 shifting laterally is reduced.

[0466] In this example, when determining whether the width W13 of drug box MB13 is less than or equal to the width W12 of drug box MB12, the transport control unit 211 determines the width W12 of drug box MB12 and the width W13 of drug box MB13 to be used for comparison as follows: The transport control unit 211 may use the smaller of the width of drug box MB11 that has been measured in advance and the width of drug box MB11 detected by the width detection unit 13 as the width W12 of drug box MB12 to be compared with the width W13 of drug box MB13. Alternatively, the transport control unit 211 may use the larger of the width of drug box MB13 that has been measured in advance and the width of drug box MB13 detected by the width detection unit 13 as the width W13 of drug box MB13 to be compared with the width W12 of drug box MB12. This allows the transport control unit 211 to perform the above determination with high accuracy.

[0467] If the transport control unit 211 determines that drug box MB13 can be stored in a row with drug boxes MB11 and MB12, it may perform the storage operation for drug box MB12 as shown in Figure 41.

[0468] As shown by reference numeral 41001 in Figure 41, the transport control unit 211 moves the gripping unit 171 in front of the storage area where the drug boxes MB11 and MB12 are stored, with the drug box MB13 placed on the mounting unit 1711 of the gripping unit 171. In reference numeral 41001 in Figure 41, the pair of clamping units 1715 are in a state of clamping the drug box MB13.

[0469] As shown by reference numeral 41002 in Figure 41, the transport control unit 211 opens the width W1715 of the pair of clamping parts 1715 to be wider than the width W11 of the drug box MB11. Then, as shown by reference numerals 41003 and 41004 in Figure 41, the transport control unit 211 moves the pair of clamping parts 1715 toward the storage shelf 30. In this state, the transport control unit 211 pushes the drug box MB13 toward the storage shelf 30 by controlling the extrusion part 1716. As the drug box MB13 moves, it comes into contact with the drug box MB12, pushing the drug box MB12, and the drug box MB12 pushes the drug box MB11. This allows the drug box MB13 to be stored in a row with the drug boxes MB11 and MB12.

[0470] As shown by reference numeral 41003 in Figure 41, when the extrusion unit 1716 extrudes the drug box MB13 toward the storage shelf 30, a pair of clamping units 1715 are moved toward the storage shelf 30. As a result, the pair of clamping units 1715 function as guides for the drug box MB13, which is moved by the extrusion unit 1716, the drug box MB12, which is moved by being pushed by the drug box MB13, and the drug box MB11, which is moved by being pushed by the drug box MB12.

[0471] As described above, in this example of operation, the second transport unit 17 can store the second drug box in a row with multiple first drug boxes when the width of the second drug box is less than or equal to the width of all the first drug boxes combined. When drug boxes are stored in a row under these conditions, it is possible to increase the efficiency of dispensing drug boxes, as described in Operation Example 1. In addition, since there is more versatility in determining the storage position of drug boxes in the available space, it becomes possible to store more drug boxes on the storage shelf 30.

[0472] <Optimizing storage location> The drug boxes stored in storage device 1 are dispensed based on a dispensing instruction received on the touch panel 20 of storage device 1 or a dispensing instruction from drug station 2. Therefore, empty spaces in storage shelf 30 do not occur regularly but randomly. In this case, for example, depending on the location of the empty space, the type of drug contained in the drug box to be stored, and the size of the drug box, it may not be possible to store the drug box in the empty space.

[0473] In this embodiment, the transport control unit 211 may perform a process to optimize the storage location at a predetermined time. That is, the transport control unit 211 may perform a process to aggregate randomly generated empty spaces and generate a somewhat cohesive empty space (an empty space larger than the randomly generated empty spaces). In this case, after the optimization of the storage location is performed, it becomes possible to store the drug boxes more densely.

[0474] Storage location optimization may be performed based on a setting selected from among several settings. Examples of such settings include a first setting that prioritizes the number of drug boxes to be stored (loading capacity) and stores drug boxes in a consolidated manner, and a second setting that stores drug boxes in a consolidated manner according to the type of drug.

[0475] (In the case of setting 1) In the first setting, the transport control unit 211 prioritizes consolidating the drug boxes in order of their size (i.e., the size of the surface on which the drug boxes are placed relative to the storage shelf 30) and re-determines the storage position of the drug boxes housed in the storage shelf 30. In the first setting, it becomes possible to store the drug boxes as densely as possible.

[0476] For example, the memory unit 23 stores information indicating the width (length in the ±X-axis direction) and the depth (length in the ±Y-axis direction) of each drug box stored in the storage rack 30, associated with the storage location of each drug box. Also, for example, the memory unit 23 stores information indicating the number of dispensing history entries, the expiration date, and, if the drug box containing the drug has been opened, the date it was opened, for each type of drug (e.g., drug code). The dispensing history entry indicates the number of times the drug has been dispensed from the storage device 1 in the past.

[0477] The transport control unit 211 determines the storage order of the medicine boxes for optimization, for example, in the following order: (1) from largest to smallest width of the medicine box, (2) from largest to smallest depth of the medicine box, (3) from largest to smallest number of dispensing history entries, and (4) from oldest to newest expiration date or opening date (from earliest to newest expiration date or from longest to oldest period since opening).

[0478] In the first setting, for example, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage order of the drug boxes in the order of (1) to (4) above. After determining the storage order of the drug boxes in order of the largest width, the transport control unit 211 may then determine the storage order of drug boxes with the same width in order of the largest depth. For drug boxes with the same depth, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage order of drug boxes in order of the number of dispensing history entries. For drug boxes with the same number of dispensing history entries, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage order of drug boxes in order of the oldest expiration date or opening date.

[0479] In the above, the transport control unit 211 determines the storage order of the drug boxes in the order of (1), (2), (3), and (4) above, but it is not limited to this, and the storage order of the drug boxes can be determined in order of size. For example, the order in which (1) and (2) are applied, and the order in which (3) and (4) are applied, can be set arbitrarily.

[0480] The transport control unit 211 determines the storage position of each drug box according to the determined storage order of the drug boxes. For example, the transport control unit 211 determines the storage position of each drug box so that the drug boxes can be stored in order from a reference position on the storage shelf 30. The reference position may be set, for example, at the end of the storage shelf 30 that is closer to the receiving transport unit 191 (see Figure 16) of the fifth transport unit 19.

[0481] For example, if the transport control unit 211 determines that the drug boxes can be stored in a single row in the depth direction of the storage shelf 30 using the method described above, it determines the storage position of each drug box so that multiple drug boxes can be stored in a single row. Also, if the transport control unit 211 determines that there is no available space in a certain storage shelf 30 where the drug box to be stored can be stored, it may determine another storage shelf 30 as a storage shelf 30 where the drug box can be stored. The storage shelves 30 may be determined according to a predetermined order. As described above, this order may be set so that the drug boxes are stored starting from a position close to the fifth transport unit 19.

[0482] (In the case of setting 2) In the second setting, the transport control unit 211 prioritizes consolidating drug boxes by type and re-determines the storage location of the drug boxes stored in the storage shelf 30. In the second setting, it becomes possible to store drug boxes in groups by type while making effective use of available space.

[0483] In the second setting, for example, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage order of the drug boxes in the order of (3), (1), (2), and (4) above. In this embodiment, the transport control unit 211 can determine the storage order of drug boxes for each type of drug by first determining the storage order of drug boxes in descending order of the number of dispensing history entries. Subsequently, for drugs with the same number of dispensing history entries but different types, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage order of drug boxes in descending order of the width of the drug box. For drug boxes with the same width, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage order of drug boxes in descending order of the depth of the drug box. For drug boxes with the same depth, the transport control unit 211 may determine the storage order of drug boxes in descending order of the expiration date or opening date.

[0484] In the above, the transport control unit 211 determines the drug boxes in the order of (3), (1), (2), and (4) above, but it is not limited to this, and the storage order of drug boxes can be determined for each type of drug. For example, the application order other than (3) above can be set arbitrarily. However, by applying (1) or (2) above after (3) above, the transport control unit 211 can store each type of drug in the storage shelf 30 in order of the size of the drug box. In other words, in this case, high integration can be achieved while taking into account the type of drug.

[0485] <Example of determining which medicine box to dispense> When the control unit 21 receives a dispensing instruction from a user via the touch panel 20 of the storage device 1, or a dispensing instruction from the drug station 2, the transport control unit 211 may determine the drug box to be dispensed, for example, as follows.

[0486] For example, after the control unit 21 determines at least one drug box from which the number of drugs indicated in the dispensing instruction can be dispensed, the transport control unit 211 determines which drug box stored in which storage position on the storage shelf 30 will be the drug box to be dispensed.

[0487] For example, the transport control unit 211 may determine which drug boxes to be dispensed in order, starting with the drug boxes stored closest to the fifth transport unit 19. Alternatively, the transport control unit 211 may determine which drug boxes to be dispensed in order, starting with the drug box containing the drug with the earliest expiration date. The storage unit 23 stores information indicating the expiration date and / or lot number of the drug contained in the drug boxes stored in the storage device 1.

[0488] However, the user may be able to set whether to prioritize the dispensing time or the expiration date. If the setting is to prioritize the expiration date, as described above, the transport control unit 211 will determine the drug boxes to be dispensed in order, starting with the drug box containing the drug whose expiration date is the earliest. If there are two or more drug boxes containing drugs with the same expiration date, the transport control unit 211 may determine the drug boxes to be dispensed in order, starting with the drug box stored closest to the fifth transport unit 19. On the other hand, if the setting is to prioritize the dispensing time, the transport control unit 211 will determine the drug boxes to be dispensed in order, starting with the drug box stored closest to the fifth transport unit 19, regardless of the expiration date. The expiration date may be the date obtained by adding a predetermined period to the drug's manufacturing date. Furthermore, the transport control unit 211 may determine the drug boxes to be dispensed in order, starting with the drug box containing the drug with the furthest manufacturing date. The storage unit 23 stores information indicating the manufacturing date and / or lot number of the drug contained in the drug boxes stored in the storage device 1. The user may be able to set whether to prioritize the dispensing time or the manufacturing date.

[0489] Furthermore, if a lot number is indicated in the dispensing instruction, the transport control unit 211 may determine the drug box containing the drug assigned that lot number as the drug box to be dispensed. If there are two or more drug boxes containing the drug assigned that lot number, the transport control unit 211 may determine the drug boxes to be dispensed in order from the drug box stored closest to the fifth transport unit 19.

[0490] Furthermore, the storage device 1 may store not only unopened drug boxes but also opened drug boxes. The user may be able to set whether to prioritize dispensing unopened drug boxes or opened drug boxes. If the device is set to prioritize dispensing unopened drug boxes, the transport control unit 211 will determine the unopened drug box to be dispensed from among at least one drug box containing the drug indicated in the dispensing instruction. If the device is set to prioritize dispensing opened drug boxes, it will determine the opened drug box to be dispensed from among at least one drug box containing the drug indicated in the dispensing instruction.

[0491] If there are two or more drug boxes to be dispensed, whether unopened or opened, the transport control unit 211 may determine which drug boxes to dispense in order, starting with the drug boxes stored closest to the fifth transport unit 19. Furthermore, if the number of drugs indicated in the dispensing instruction exceeds the number of drugs contained in one opened drug box, the transport control unit 211 may also determine another opened drug box to be dispensed. If the number of drugs indicated in the dispensing instruction exceeds the total number of drugs contained in all opened drug boxes, the transport control unit 211 may determine an unopened drug box to be dispensed.

[0492] Furthermore, the memory unit 23 may store information indicating whether the drug boxes stored in the storage device 1 are unopened or opened. For example, for opened drug boxes, the memory unit 23 may be assigned management information to manage them as opened.

[0493] Furthermore, when multiple drug boxes are lined up in a row in the depth direction of the storage shelf 30, the transport control unit 211 can determine which drug boxes to be dispensed in such a way that the movement of the second transport unit 17 along the storage shelf 30 is reduced. For example, if multiple drug boxes included in a dispensing instruction are stored in the same row, the transport control unit 211 will determine the multiple drug boxes stored in the same row as the drugs to be dispensed, even if those drug boxes are stored in other storage locations. Also, if there is a mix of a first state where multiple drug boxes included in a dispensing instruction are lined up in the same row and a second state where each of the multiple drug boxes is stored in a different row, the transport control unit 211 may prioritize determining the multiple drug boxes in the first state as the drugs to be dispensed.

[0494] [Embodiment 8] As shown in Figure 6, the drug receiving section 11 may be provided with a lighting element 122. The control unit 21 controls the lighting state of the lighting element 122 to notify the user whether a drug box can be placed in the drug receiving section 11. Furthermore, by controlling the lighting state, the user can be notified if the size and orientation of the drug box placed in the drug receiving section 11 are not permitted by the storage device 1.

[0495] For example, the control unit 21 may light the lighting member 122 in the first color (e.g., green) when the drug box can be inserted into the drug receiving unit 11. The state in which it can be inserted means, for example, that the shutter 114 is closed and no drug box has been inserted into the drug receiving unit 11 (the reading unit 111 or the first transport unit 112 is in a non-operating state).

[0496] For example, if the size and orientation of the drug box placed in the drug receiving unit 11 are not permitted by the storage device 1, the control unit 21 may light the lighting member 122 in a second color (e.g., red) different from the first color. For example, as shown in Figure 9, the control unit 21 may light the lighting member 122 in a second color if the height of the drug box detected by the first detection unit 113 is greater than or equal to a set value set for the drug box from which the drug identification information was read by the reading unit 111. Also, as shown in Figure 10, the control unit 21 may light the lighting member 122 in a second color if, even after moving the first transport unit 112 forward and bringing it into contact with the shutter 114, the drug box could not be oriented in a predetermined direction.

[0497] Furthermore, the control unit 21 may turn off the lighting member 122 from the first color after the reading unit 111 has read the drug identification information. Subsequently, the control unit 21 may turn on the lighting member 122 in the first color after the shutter 114 has opened, the drug box has been transported from the first transport unit 112 to the third transport unit 15, and then the shutter 114 has closed. This visually prompts the user to insert the drug boxes one by one into the drug receiving unit 11.

[0498] [Embodiment 9] If the orientation of a medicine box stored on the storage shelf 30 is deviated from a predetermined direction (e.g., ±Y axis direction), and the second transport unit 17 is unable to retrieve the medicine box, the control unit 21 may manage the storage location of the medicine box as a storage location where retrieval failed. In this case, the transport control unit 211 may control the second transport unit 17 to retrieve a medicine box containing the same type of medicine as the medicine box in question from a different storage location. Furthermore, by managing storage locations where retrieval failed, the touch panel control unit 215 can notify the user of the storage location where retrieval failed via the touch panel 20, based on the user's instructions. That is, the user can check the storage location where retrieval failed at any time and retrieve the medicine box from that storage location. In addition, by managing storage locations where retrieval failed, the control unit 21 does not need to have the second transport unit 17 scan the storage shelf 30 to identify the storage location (the location where the misaligned medicine box was stored) when the user retrieves the medicine b...

Claims

1. A receiving section that receives drug boxes containing drugs, The receiving section has a side contact portion which has a contact surface that comes into contact with one side of the medicine box received in the receiving section, A first transport unit that transports the drug box received in the receiving unit to the side contact unit while it is placed on the receiving unit, and brings one side of the drug box into contact with the contact surface, A second transport unit that grasps the medicine box after it has come into contact with the contact surface and transports it to a storage shelf for storing the medicine box, A third transport unit is attached to the first transport unit via the side contact portion and controlled independently of the first transport unit, the third transport unit sequentially receives the drug boxes transported from the first transport unit and transports the received drug boxes at a predetermined width distance apart, The second transport unit is a transport device that grasps the medicine box placed on the third transport unit and transports it to the storage shelf.

2. The first transport unit transports the drug box, after it has come into contact with the contact surface, to the second transport unit. The aforementioned side contact portion is a shutter that prevents the movement of the medicine box while the first transport unit is transporting it toward the second transport unit. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the contact surface is the side surface of the shutter that the drug box in transit contacts.

3. The conveying device according to claim 2, wherein the first conveying unit conveys the drug box, thereby adjusting the longitudinal direction of the drug box to a direction aligned with the side surface of the shutter.

4. The shutter is closed in a state where the drug box can be received in the receiving section. The system includes a detection unit for detecting a drug box that is in contact with or close to the shutter, When the detection unit detects the medicine box, the first transport unit temporarily stops transporting the medicine box. If the drug box detected by the detection unit is not facing in a direction along the side of the shutter, the first transport unit restarts transporting the drug box while the shutter remains closed, as described in claim 2 or 3.

5. The system includes a shutter control unit that controls the opening and closing operation of the shutter, The transport device according to claim 4, wherein if the drug box detected by the detection unit is facing in a direction along the side of the shutter, the shutter control unit opens the shutter, and the first transport unit restarts transporting the drug box.

6. A receiving section for receiving a medicine box containing medicine, The receiving section has a side contact portion which has a contact surface that comes into contact with one side of the medicine box received in the receiving section, A first transport unit that transports the drug box received in the receiving unit to the side contact unit while it is placed on the receiving unit, and brings one side of the drug box into contact with the contact surface, The system includes a second transport unit that grasps the medicine box after it has come into contact with the contact surface and transports it to a storage shelf for storing the medicine box, The first transport unit transports the drug box, after it has come into contact with the contact surface, to the second transport unit. The aforementioned side contact portion is a shutter that prevents the movement of the medicine box while the first transport unit is transporting it toward the second transport unit. The aforementioned contact surface is the side surface of the shutter that comes into contact with the drug box during transport. Furthermore, a shutter control unit that controls the opening and closing operation of the shutter, A detection unit for detecting a drug box that is in contact with or close to the shutter, The device comprises a reading unit that reads drug identification information attached to the surface of the drug box for identifying the drug contained in the drug box, The shutter control unit is a transport device that closes the shutter when the height of the drug box detected by the detection unit is greater than or equal to a set value set for the drug box from which the reading unit reads the drug identification information.

7. The detection unit includes a plurality of sensors that detect the presence or absence of an object by emitting electromagnetic waves or sound waves. The transport device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the plurality of sensors are provided along one side that is included in the side surface of the shutter and that is in contact with the first transport unit.

8. Multiple sensors emit electromagnetic waves or sound waves perpendicular to the side surface of the shutter. The conveying device according to claim 7, wherein the shutter performs an opening and closing operation in the vertical direction.

9. The transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a plurality of reading units are provided inside the receiving unit for reading drug identification information attached to the surface of the drug box for identifying the drug contained in the drug box.

10. A third transport unit having a transport surface for transporting the drug boxes transported from the first transport unit, A transport control unit that controls the amount of feed on the transport surface, The system includes a detection unit for detecting the actual amount of material being fed from the transport surface, The conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the conveying control unit determines whether the amount of the conveying surface is appropriate based on a comparison between the amount of the conveying surface instructed to the third conveying unit and the actual amount of the conveying surface detected by the detection unit.

11. The conveying device according to claim 10, further comprising a notification control unit that, when the conveying control unit determines that the difference between the amount of feed the conveying surface instructed to the third conveying unit and the actual amount of feed the conveying surface detected by the detection unit is greater than or equal to a threshold, notifies the third conveying unit that the conveying surface has not moved by the amount of feed instructed to the third conveying unit.

12. A receiving section that receives drug boxes containing drugs, The system comprises a transport unit that transports the drug boxes received by the receiving unit to a storage shelf for storing the drug boxes, and stores them there. When a second medicine box is newly stored in the storage shelf in the position where the first medicine box is stored, the second medicine box has a width less than or equal to the width of the first medicine box. The transport unit is capable of storing the second drug box side by side with the first drug box in the depth direction of the storage shelf. Furthermore, the receiving unit includes a width detection unit that detects the width of the medicine box received by the receiving unit, The system includes a transport control unit that controls the transport unit, The transport control unit, When determining whether the width of the second medicine box is less than or equal to the width of the first medicine box, A conveying device that, when comparing the width of the first medicine box with the width of the second medicine box, uses the smaller of the width of the first medicine box that has been measured in advance and the width of the first medicine box detected by the width detection unit.

13. The aforementioned transport unit is The receiving section includes a placement section on which the received drug boxes are placed, A pair of clamping parts that grip both sides of the medicine box stored in the aforementioned storage shelf and pull it into the aforementioned storage section, The pair of clamping parts comprises an extrusion part that pushes the drug box, which has been pulled into the aforementioned storage part, onto the storage shelf, The first drug box is stored in the storage shelf at the position closest to the transport section. The second medication box mentioned above is the medication box placed on the previously described storage area. The conveying device according to claim 12, wherein the pair of clamping parts move to the storage shelf with an opening wider than the width of the first medicine box, and guide the second medicine box which is moved by the extrusion part, and the first medicine box which is moved by being pushed by the second medicine box.

14. The conveying device according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the conveying unit is capable of storing the second medicine box side by side with the first medicine box in the depth direction of the storage shelf when the width of the second medicine box is equal to or greater than a standard value set based on the width of the first medicine box (provided that the value is less than the width of the first medicine box).

15. When multiple first drug boxes are stored side by side along the depth direction, The conveying device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the conveying unit is capable of storing the second drug boxes side by side with the first drug boxes in the depth direction of the storage shelf when the width of the second drug boxes is less than or equal to the width of all the first drug boxes.

16. The transport unit is capable of storing the second medicine box side by side with the first medicine box in the depth direction of the storage shelf when the width of the second medicine box is equal to or greater than a standard value set based on the width of the first medicine box stored furthest back from the transport unit (however, a value less than the width of the first medicine box).

17. The transport control unit is: When determining whether the width of the second medicine box is less than or equal to the width of the first medicine box, further, The conveying device according to any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein the width of the second medicine box to be compared with the width of the first medicine box is the larger of the width of the second medicine box that has been measured in advance and the width of the second medicine box detected by the width detection unit.

18. The aforementioned storage shelf, A storage device comprising a conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

Images