Device for measuring dimensions of medicine

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a device for measuring the dimensions of medicine that can easily and rapidly measure the dimensions of a tablet. The present invention comprises: a body part in which a mounting plate, a reference surface standing vertically with respect to the mounting plate, and a side surface provided so as to surround three sides of the mounting plate together with the reference surface are provided; a slide member that has a measurement surface facing the reference surface at an end and is movable in a slide direction perpendicular to the reference surface; a biasing member that biases the slide member towards the direction of the reference surface; and a measurement position information selection means that is provided in the body part and can select, via selection by an operator, measurement position information about a tablet mounted on the mounting plate. The slide member is characterized by including an opening and a transmission means that defines the distance between the reference surface and the measurement surface as dimension information about the tablet, and transmits the dimension information in association with the measurement position information selected by the measurement position information selection means.

Description

Drug size measuring device

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

[0002] In a pharmaceutical packaging machine that individually dispenses pharmaceuticals, particularly solid tablets, a configuration using a cassette with rotating blades to dispense tablets one by one is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Also, an alignment-feeding type pharmaceutical feeder that conveys tablets of the same shape while aligning them in a line has also been put to practical use (see, for example, Patent Document 2). When using such pharmaceutical packaging machines or pharmaceutical feeders, it is known that more efficient tablet movement can be achieved by changing the position of the regulating member that regulates the flow path of the pharmaceutical feeder or the division of the rotating blades according to the dimensions of each tablet. Therefore, configurations that are equipped in the pharmaceutical packaging machine main body and change the position of the regulating member depending on the shape and dimensions of the placed tablet, or that include a measuring unit that measures the dimensions of the placed tablet, are also known (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 to 5). However, tablets come in a variety of shapes, such as oval spheres and cylindrical shapes with a bulging base, and if the definitions of the length, width, and depth, or the measurement positions, are different, the resulting tablet dimensions will also change.

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

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-022428 International Publication No. 2017 / 094687 Japanese Patent No. 5950876 Japanese Patent No. 6984700 Japanese Patent No. 6736075

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

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

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

[0008] 7 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration including a medicine dimension measuring device. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the medicine packaging machine shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a medicine feeder mounted on the medicine packaging machine. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the configuration example of the medicine feeder shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the medicine feeder shown in FIG. 3 when transporting medicines. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the overall structure of a medicine dimension measuring device. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the operation when setting a tablet in the medicine dimension measuring device. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the internal structure of the medicine dimension measuring device and a mechanism for measuring the dimensions of a tablet. FIG. 8 is a diagram explaining a circuit board inside the medicine dimension measuring device. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the specific configuration of the slide member shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the display of identification information of medicines registered in the medicine packaging machine. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the operation for acquiring medicine dimension information. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the correspondence relationship between medicine dimension information and positions to be measured. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the correspondence relationship between medicine dimension information and positions to be measured. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another example of a system configuration including the medicine dimension measuring device of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another example of use including the medicine dimension measuring device of the present invention.

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

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

[0011] The drug packaging machine 200 is a device used alone or in combination with multiple devices connected to the dispensing server 500 via a network such as a LAN. The drug packaging machine 200 sequentially discharges appropriate drugs from each drug cassette 211 and packages the drugs in single packets by controlling the operation of the drug cassettes 211, drug feeders 240, and packaging unit 230 stored within the drug packaging machine 200 according to dispensing instructions received from the dispensing server 500 via the control device 250. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the term "drug" is used simply, and this term may include powdered drugs, liquid drugs, etc. However, the drug cassettes 211 and the drug dimension measuring device 100 described below primarily handle solid tablets due to their characteristics. However, the drug feeder 240 may handle so-called solid tablets divided into multiple pieces, and the drug dimension measuring device 100 may also be used to measure the dimensions of such pieces, so the term "drug" is used.

[0012] The dispensing server 500 is capable of transmitting and receiving data with the higher-level prescription ordering system 400 and the lower-level drug packaging machine 200. It receives and stores prescription data from the prescription ordering system 400, and issues dispensing instructions to the drug packaging machine 200 and other drug packaging machines (not shown) based on the prescription data. The dispensing server 500 also stores the operating status of the drug packaging machine 200 as packaging machine status 501, and stores drug master data 502 in which known drug information for various drugs is pre-registered. When the drug packaging machine 200 detects that a drug cassette 211 has become empty and can no longer dispense drugs, it transmits a shortage notification to the dispensing server 500. Furthermore, each drug cassette 211 is assigned identification information. When the association between the identification information and the drug cassette 211 is registered in the control device 250, it is transferred to the dispensing server 500 and registered in the drug master data 502. With this configuration, the dispensing server 500 can select a drug packaging machine 200 from the multiple connected drug packaging machines 200 that has the appropriate drug cassette 211 according to the prescription data and issue a dispensing instruction.

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

[0014] The drug cassette 211 is detachable and contains a large number of drugs 5 of any one type of drug, and can be sequentially discharged one tablet at a time in response to instructions from the control device 250. The base part 212 is a fixed part to which the drug cassettes 211 can be attached and detached one by one, and can drive the drug cassette 211 mounted on the base part 212 to discharge the drugs 5. The drugs 5 discharged from the drug cassette 211 fall through a drug drop path 220 provided inside the drug storage cabinet 210 and reach the packaging part 230.

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

[0016] The configurations of the drug cassette 211, packaging unit 230, drug drop path 220, etc. are similar to those of conventional tablet packaging machines, and for example, tablet packaging machines of a type other than that described in this embodiment may be used, and the overall component arrangement, etc., is substantially the same as that of the previously described products, so detailed description thereof will be omitted. Furthermore, the so-called packaging operation of the drug packaging machine 200, in which the drug cassette 211, packaging unit 230, and drug drop path 220 are used to discharge drugs 5 and package them as a single or multiple batches in packaging paper, is also similar to the configurations described in, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2, and therefore description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

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

[0018] Fig. 3 shows a schematic cross section of drug feeder 240, and Fig. 4 shows the main structure of drug feeder 240 with the transparent top cover removed. Drug feeder 240 includes peripheral wall 241 located at the top and having a hollow central portion cut out in a circular shape, an annular rotor 242 installed with its upper end loosely fitted in the hollow of peripheral wall 241 or installed directly below the hollow of peripheral wall 241, an inclined rotor 243 installed within the hollow of annular rotor 242, a support mechanism 40 that rotatably supports both inner inclined rotor 243 and outer annular rotor 242, a drive mechanism 213 that drives their rotation, and a sorting unit 60 and a regulating mechanism 70 provided above peripheral wall 241.

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

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

[0021] 4 and 5, in this embodiment, the sorting unit 60 includes a first sorting member 610 disposed upstream of the restriction mechanism 70 in the medicine transport path at the upper end peripheral portion 245 of the annular rotor 242, and a second sorting member 620 disposed in the medicine transport path at a position aligned with the restriction mechanism 70. Both the first sorting member 610 and the second sorting member 620 are attached via support members 611 to the peripheral wall 241, which is a plate that includes the discharge guide 246 and supports the restriction mechanism 70.

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

[0023] The second sorting member 620 has a middle-level pendant member 622 and a rear-level pendant member 632 attached to a portion near the tip of the support member 611 and moving up and down along with the support member 611. Like the first sorting member 610, the middle-level pendant member 622 and the rear-level pendant member 632 are each composed of a plurality of loosely connected spherical bodies in a chain shape. However, compared to the front-level pendant member 612, the spherical bodies are smaller and the number of connected bodies is increased. The spherical bodies of the middle-level pendant member 622 and the rear-level pendant member 632 may have different diameters or different numbers of connected bodies. Furthermore, the shape of the spherical bodies is not limited to a spherical shape. When the sorting unit 60 contacts the medicines 5 in the medicine delivery path, it gently pushes the medicines 5 by a reaction force, thereby preventing the medicines 5 from overlapping.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0032] Additionally, the side of the main body 10 is provided with a measurement position selection button 31 labeled "SELECT" and a send button 34 labeled "MEASURE," which are measurement position selection means that allow the operator to select measurement position information for the drug 5. The upper surface of the side wall 13 is provided with display LEDs 41, 42, and 43 that indicate the number of times the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed and which measurement position is selected. When the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed once, the display LED 41 lights up; when pressed twice, the display LED 42 lights up; and when pressed three times, the display LED 43 lights up. Furthermore, when pressed four times, the display LED 41 lights up again. Thus, only one display LED is lit at a time, and when the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed repeatedly, the display LED corresponding to the number of times it is pressed lights up. This configuration allows the operator to select which measurement position of the drug 5 to measure depending on the number of times the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed. Furthermore, the results of the selection made by the measurement position selection button 31 can be visually confirmed by the operator by the display LEDs 41 , 42 , and 43 .

[0033] The gripping portion 30 is a cover-like enclosure with a rounded top surface and a convex hemispherical curve. The gripping portion 30 and the main body 10 are shaped like a mouse used in personal computers. The gripping portion 30 allows the operator to easily hold the drug size measuring device 100 with one hand. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , the main body 10 includes a mounting plate 11 for mounting the drug 5 on its top surface, three side walls 12, 13, and 14 that stand perpendicular to the mounting plate 11, and a spring 15, which is a biasing member located on the back side of the mounting plate 11 and has one end connected to the main body 10 and the other end connected to the spring receiving portion 22 of the slide member 20. Note that Figure 8 also illustrates parts that are normally covered and not visible, in order to illustrate the positional relationship between the spring 15 and the control unit 16 (described later).

[0034] As shown in Figure 8, when a drug 5 is placed on drug size measuring device 100, a magnet 19 for attaching drug size measuring device 100 to any position on housing 201 of drug packaging machine 200 is mounted in a recessed manner in main body 10 on the rear or back side. With this configuration, as shown in Figure 1, for example, drug size measuring device 100 can be attached to any position on housing 201 with magnet 19, so there is no need to provide a special location for installing drug size measuring device 100 on drug packaging machine 200, and it can be easily attached, detached, and carried.

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

[0036] As shown in Figures 8 and 9, a control unit 16, which is an electronic circuit board, is attached to the back side of the mounting plate 11 of the main body 10. A gap 17 is provided on the control unit 16 to prevent the spring 15 and a spring support 22 (described later) from interfering with the control unit 16, and a linear variable resistor 18 is provided along direction A. The variable resistor 18 is provided with a sliding volume 18a, the resistance value of which varies depending on the position of the sliding volume 18a. The control unit 16 also has a send button 34 and a measurement position selection button 31, which are provided as electrical contact switches, and when the operator presses these buttons, the control unit 16 recognizes them as electrical signals.

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

[0038] The operation of the drug dimension measuring device 100 will now be described. Here, as an example, a method for editing drug master information recorded in the control device 250 or the drug master 502 by operating the drug packaging machine 200 using the touch panel 251 will be described. Prior to operating the drug dimension measuring device 100, the operator uses the touch panel 251 to select the drug for which they wish to register dimensional information from the drug identification information already registered in the control device 250 or the drug master 502 within the drug packaging machine 200. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a portion of the information registered in the drug master 502 for, for example, drug 5. The drug master 502 records identification information such as the type of drug 5, product name, and YJ code, as well as whether the drug cassette 211 or drug feeder 240 is used, the drug shape, the drug size, and so on. Conventionally, when registering dimensions L1, L2, and L3 as drug sizes in the drug master 502, the operator manually inputs this dimensional information. However, in this embodiment, the medicine selected in the medicine master 502 can be easily input using the medicine size measuring device 100 .

[0039] As previously described, the drug dimension measuring device 100 is a portable dimension measuring device that can be connected to the USB terminal of the drug packaging machine 200 and exchange data. First, as shown in FIG. 12(a), the operator places a finger on the opening 21 and pulls the slide member 20 in the -A direction, creating a space between the reference surface 12a and the measurement surface 20a, which is the tip end surface of the slide member 20. Next, the operator places the drug 5 on the mounting plate 11, which appears in the space created in FIG. 12(a), and then releases their hand from the opening 21. The slide member 20 is then pulled toward the reference surface 12a by the spring 15. Naturally, the slide member 20 abuts against the drug 5 placed on the mounting plate 11 and stops with the drug 5 sandwiched between it and the side wall 12. Therefore, the measurement surface 20a, which is the tip end of the slide member 20, and the reference surface 12a face each other, separated by a distance L1, which is the distance when the drug 5 is placed.

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

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

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

[0043] Therefore, in order to minimize such confusion, the drug size measurement device 100 of the present invention has a measurement position selection button 31 on the side 13, which is the side that the operator can easily operate with his thumb, and has three display LEDs 41, 42, and 43, which are light-emitting elements that respectively emit light corresponding to the number of times that the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed. Note that in Figure 12 and other figures, the display LED 41 lights up when the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed once, the display LED 42 lights up when the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed twice, and the display LED 43 lights up when the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed three times, but any configuration is acceptable as long as the display LEDs 41, 42, and 43 can be used to indicate which position is being measured based on the number of times it is pressed. Furthermore, the shapes of the display LEDs 41, 42, and 43 are modeled after the shapes of a typical oval tablet or a bale-shaped drug, so that it is easy to understand at a glance which position on the drug 5 should be measured in response to the respective number of times the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, the display LEDs 41, 42, and 43 are formed so that the measurement positions of the dimensions L1, L2, and L3 correspond to the way the drug 5 is placed on the mounting plate 11 when measuring these measurement positions. Here, for example, the direction shown in FIG. 13 corresponding to the display LED 41 is defined as the "diameter" dimension of the drug 5, the direction shown in FIG. 14 corresponding to the display LED 42 is defined as the "width" dimension of the drug 5, and the direction shown in FIG. 15 corresponding to the display LED 43 is defined as the "depth" dimension of the drug 5. The names of the dimensions corresponding to "length," "width," "thickness," etc. may be written on each of the measurement position selection buttons 31 arranged on the side of the drug dimension measurement device 100 or on each of the display LEDs 41, 42, 43. In this embodiment, "Diameter," "Width," and "Depth" are displayed.

[0044] The operator presses measurement position selection button 31, places drugs 5 on mounting plate 11 so that they are positioned in the same way as shown in Fig. 12(c), and performs measurement as shown in Fig. 12(c). When the operator presses send button 34 in the state shown in Fig. 12(c), control unit 16 calculates distance L between reference surface 12a and measurement surface 20a from the resistance value of variable resistor 18 at this time, and transmits this distance L to drug packaging machine 200 as dimension L1 when measurement position selection button 31 is selected.

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

[0046] As described above, in the present invention, the operator can easily and quickly measure the dimensions of the drug 5 by lighting up the corresponding display LEDs 41, 42, and 43 based on the selection made by pressing the measurement position selection button 31. This eliminates confusion about the placement of the drug 5 on the mounting plate 11 and prevents the placement from changing depending on the operator. Therefore, measurement can be performed without any hassle. While the present embodiment describes a configuration in which the display LEDs 41, 42, and 43 light up when the respective measurement position selection buttons 31 are pressed, this configuration is not limited to this. For example, the drug dimension measurement device 100 may be provided with a display unit such as a display, and the position where the drug 5 should be measured, i.e., the measurement position, may be displayed on the display. Furthermore, while the display LEDs 41, 42, and 43 are described as LEDs shaped to resemble the length, width, and thickness of an oval tablet, they may also be displays simulating any tablet shape whose dimensions vary depending on the measurement position of the length, width, and thickness. Thus, the present invention allows easy and fast measurement of the dimensions of the drug 5 by providing the measurement position selection button 31 and a display means that visually indicates which measurement position the operator has selected.

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

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

[0049] In this embodiment, the drug 5 is described as an oval-shaped solid tablet. However, this configuration is not limited to this, and various shapes of drug 5 are contemplated. For example, for a spherical tablet, the only required dimension is the tablet's diameter, making it meaningless to select the measurement position selection button 31 for L1, L2, and L3. In such a case, for example, if information on the shape of a spherical tablet is listed in the drug master 502, the drug packaging machine 200, which references the drug master 502, can determine that this is the diameter of the spherical tablet if dimensional information is listed only for L1, which corresponds to "length" or "diameter." Therefore, the operator simply presses the measurement position selection button 31 and measures the dimensions of the drug 5 according to the method shown in FIG. 12. Furthermore, as with an oval tablet, the drug dimension measurement device 100 records this dimensional information by transmitting the measurement position selection button 31 and the dimensions of the drug 5 corresponding to the measurement position selection button 31 to the drug master 502 as dimensional information, so no particular problems arise.

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

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

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

[0053] Next, as a second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 16, an embodiment will be described which uses a dispensing server 500, a drug packaging machine 200, and a drug dimension measuring device 100 placed in a remote location and connected via a network 505.

[0054] In this embodiment, the configuration of the drug dimension measuring device 100 is substantially the same as that shown in Fig. 6, and therefore description thereof will be omitted where appropriate. However, in this embodiment, the drug dimension measuring device 100 is connected via a mobile terminal 300 connected to a network 505. In this configuration, a case where dimensional information of a drug 5 is input using the drug dimension measuring device 100 will be described. In the drug master 502 in this embodiment, as in Fig. 11, drug identification information and dimensional information can be linked and recorded.

[0055] When the operator opens the drug master 502 via the network 505 using the mobile terminal 300, the operator accesses the data describing the identification information of the drug 5 and opens a screen similar to that shown in Fig. 11. The operator measures the dimensions L1, L2, and L3 of the drug 5 using the drug dimension measuring device 100 in the same manner as shown in Figs. 12(a) to 12(e), and presses the send button 34 to rewrite the drug master 502 via the network 505.

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

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

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

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

[0060] <3> In addition to the configuration described in <1> or <2>, the drug size measurement device 100 of the present invention is characterized in that the display means has at least three light-emitting elements, i.e., display LEDs 41, 42, and 43, and the shapes of the three light-emitting elements, i.e., display LEDs 41, 42, and 43, correspond to the measurement positions of the length, width, and thickness of the tablet, respectively. With this configuration, the placement direction of the drug 5 when selected by the operator by pressing the measurement position information selection button is visually clearly displayed, making it less likely for the operator to make an error and eliminating the need to be confused about the orientation of the drug 5, thereby enabling efficient work.

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

[0062] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims. For example, in this embodiment, the operator selects measurement position information indicating the position at which the drug dimension was measured based on the number of times the measurement position selection button 31 is pressed. However, for example, a configuration may be adopted in which multiple measurement position selection buttons corresponding to the display LEDs 41, 42, and 43 are provided, and measurement position information corresponding to the pressed measurement position selection button is transmitted depending on which measurement position selection button is pressed.

[0063] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10...Main body 11...Placement plate 12a...Reference surface 15...Spring (biasing member) 18...Variable resistor (guide portion) 19...Magnet 20...Sliding member 20a...Measurement surface 21...Opening 23...Protrusion (position detection convex portion) 31...Measurement position selection button (measurement position information selection means) 34...Send button (sending means) 41, 42, 43...Display LED (display means) (light-emitting portion) 100...Drug dimension measuring device 200...Drug packaging machine 300...Mobile terminal 500...Dispensing server 502...Drug master A...Sliding direction L1, L2, L3...Dimension information

Claims

1. A drug dimension measuring device comprising: a mounting plate; a main body portion having a reference surface standing perpendicular to the mounting plate and side surfaces formed to surround three sides of the mounting plate together with the reference surface; a slide member having a measurement surface at an end thereof facing the reference surface and movable in a sliding direction perpendicular to the reference surface; a biasing member for biasing the slide member toward the reference surface; and a measurement position information selection means provided on the main body portion and enabling an operator to select measurement position information of a tablet placed on the mounting plate, wherein the slide member has an opening, and is further provided with a transmission means for transmitting the distance between the reference surface and the measurement surface as dimensional information of the tablet in association with the measurement position information selected by the measurement position information selection means.

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

3. A drug size measuring device as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the display means has at least three light emitting elements, and the shapes of the three light emitting elements correspond to the measurement positions of the length, width and thickness of the tablet.

4. A drug dimension measuring device as described in claim 1, comprising: a guide portion attached to the mounting plate and extending along the sliding direction; and a position detection convex portion provided on the sliding member so as to move along the guide portion, wherein the guide portion measures the distance between the reference surface and the measurement surface by detecting the position of the position detection convex portion.

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

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