Medication dispensing and packaging device and medication dispensing and packaging method

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of medication packaging, and discloses a medication dispensing and packaging device and a medication dispensing and packaging method. The medication dispensing and packaging device comprises a plurality of medication containers, a plurality of medication supply units, and a dispensing processing portion. Each medication container stores a medication to be dispensed, and on the basis of the number of occurrences of stored medications in a plurality of pieces of prescription data, the plurality of medication containers are divided into first-type medication containers having a larger number of occurrences and second-type medication containers having a smaller number of occurrences. The number of the medication supply units is the same as the number of the first-type medication containers, and the first-type medication containers are fixed on the medication supply units in preference to the second-type medication containers. The medication dispensing and packaging device and the medication dispensing and packaging method provided by the present application can reduce the number of medication container replacements, improving the medication packaging efficiency.

Description

Medicine dispensing device and medicine dispensing method

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 2024110941560, filed on August 9, 2024, entitled “Medicine dispensing device and medicine dispensing method”, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the technical field of medicine packaging, in particular to a medicine dispensing device and a medicine dispensing method. BACKGROUND

[0004] Medicine packaging is generally performed by dispensing medicines from each medicine box to a plurality of storage recesses in a tray in a longitudinal and horizontal grid shape according to prescription data, and then sealing and packaging the medicines after storage. Various medicines in the prescription data are sequentially allocated to each storage recess of the tray. The storage recesses of the tray correspond to the medicine taking period in the prescription data, and can accommodate the medicine taking amount for seven days and multiple times per day. The medicines in the prescription data are dispensed from the corresponding medicine box, and the prescribed dose of medicine packaging is in the storage recess of the tray.

[0005] The types of medicines in the prescription data are various, and a large number of medicine boxes are needed to store the medicines. However, the number of medicine boxes that can be arranged in the medicine dispensing device is limited, and the medicine boxes that cannot be arranged in the medicine dispensing device are stored on a shelf separate from the medicine dispensing device.

[0006] When dispensing medicines according to the prescription data, if the medicine dispensing device does not have a medicine box storing the corresponding medicine arranged therein, the corresponding medicine box needs to be taken out from the medicine boxes stored on the shelf and replace the medicine box already arranged in the medicine dispensing device. Then, the medicine dispensing device starts the packaging operation of the medicines.

[0007] Since replacing the medicine box will cause the machine to be shut down for a long time, when the medicine dispensing device encounters a need to replace the medicine box during the packaging of the medicines, it will occupy too much time, thereby prolonging the overall working time of the medicine packaging. Frequent replacement of the medicine box will seriously affect the packaging efficiency of the medicines. SUMMARY

[0008] The purpose of the present application is to provide a medicine dispensing device and a medicine dispensing method, which can reduce the number of times of replacing the medicine box and improve the packaging efficiency of the medicines.

[0009] To solve the above technical problems, the application provides a medicine dispensing device. The medicine dispensing device comprises a plurality of medicine boxes, a plurality of medicine dispensers, and a dispensing processing unit. Each medicine box stores medicine to be dispensed. The plurality of medicine boxes are divided into a first type of medicine box with a higher number of occurrences and a second type of medicine box with a lower number of occurrences according to the number of occurrences of the stored medicine in a plurality of prescription data. The number of medicine dispensers is the same as the number of the first type of medicine box. The first type of medicine box is fixed on the medicine dispensers in priority to the second type of medicine box. The dispensing processing unit receives the plurality of prescription data and adjusts the dispensing order of the prescription data without the occurrence of the medicine stored in the second type of medicine box to be in priority to the prescription data with the occurrence of the medicine stored in the second type of medicine box based on whether the medicine stored in the second type of medicine box occurs in the plurality of prescription data, so that the first type of medicine box fixed in priority is dispensed by the medicine dispensers.

[0010] The application also provides a medicine dispensing method. The medicine dispensing method comprises the following steps:

[0011] Dividing the plurality of medicine boxes into the first type of medicine box with a higher number of occurrences and the second type of medicine box with a lower number of occurrences based on the number of occurrences of the medicine stored in the plurality of medicine boxes in a plurality of prescription data;

[0012] Fixing the first type of medicine box on the medicine dispensers respectively;

[0013] Prioritizing the dispensing of the medicine of the prescription data without the occurrence of the medicine stored in the second type of medicine box based on whether the medicine stored in the second type of medicine box occurs in the plurality of prescription data.

[0014] According to the medicine dispensing device and the medicine dispensing method provided by the application, after the medicine boxes with a higher frequency of use are arranged on the medicine dispensers, the packaging process of the prescription data with only the occurrence of the medicine stored in the part of the medicine boxes is started. Unnecessary replacement is avoided, the time of equipment stop is reduced, and the efficiency of the packaging process is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] One or more embodiments are illustrated by way of example in the drawings that are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the application, in which elements having the same reference numbers designate like elements. The drawings in the accompanying drawings are not to scale.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a front view of a structure of a medicine dispensing device according to some embodiments of the application;

[0017] FIG. 2 is a side view of a structure of a medicine dispensing device according to some embodiments of the application;

[0018] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a medicine dispensing device according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0019] FIG. 4 is a diagram of the correspondence between prescription data and medicine boxes according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0020] FIG. 5 is a diagram of the correspondence between medicine boxes and carrying machines according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0021] FIG. 6 is a diagram of the correspondence between prescription data and medicine boxes of carrying machines according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0022] FIG. 7 is a diagram of the correspondence between prescription data and the number of times of medicine box replacement according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0023] FIG. 8 is a diagram of the correspondence between the order of prescription data and the number of times of medicine box replacement according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0024] FIG. 9 is a diagram of a unified package according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0025] FIG. 10 is a diagram of packages to different trays according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0026] FIG. 11 is a diagram of packages to different grooves of the same tray according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0027] FIG. 12 is a diagram of an interface according to some embodiments of the present application;

[0028] FIG. 13 is a diagram of an operation according to some embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, those skilled in the art can understand that in the embodiments of the present application, many technical details are proposed in order to make the readers better understand the present application. However, the technical solutions claimed by the present application can be realized even without these technical details and various changes and modifications based on the following embodiments. The division of the following embodiments is for the convenience of description and should not constitute any limitation on the specific embodiments of the present application. The embodiments can be combined with each other under the premise of not contradicting.

[0030] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs; the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present application; the description and the claims of this application and the above description of drawings, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover not exclusively inclusive.

[0031] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless specifically defined and limited otherwise, the terms "mounting", "connection", "connecting", and the like should be interpreted broadly, for example, can be fixed connection, can also be detachable connection, or integral; can be mechanical connection, can also be electrical connection; can be direct connection, can also be indirect connection through an intermediate medium, can be internal communication of two elements or interaction relationship between two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the embodiments of the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0032] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the medicine dispensing device 11 includes a medicine storage portion 13 located at the upper half of a frame 12 and a dispensing portion 14 located at the lower half and protruding forward. The dispensing portion 14 has a tray insertion portion 1 and a tray discharge portion 2 inside. The tray insertion portion 1 and the tray discharge portion 2 each have an input drawer 23a and an output drawer 23b mounted on a support member 36. When the output drawer 23b is pulled out, a second placement table 30b is located at a tray processing position outside the dispensing portion 14, and when it is pushed in, the second placement table 30b is located at a tray processing position inside. A containing portion 11a is provided below. A plurality of medicine supply units 15 are provided in the medicine storage portion 13.

[0033] In addition, the direction of the medicine dispensing device 11 of the present embodiment is as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. That is, the width direction of the device is the X axis, the front-rear direction of the device is the Y axis, and the height direction of the device is the Z axis.

[0034] The medicine supply units 15 are provided in multiple stages in the medicine storage portion 13. The medicine supply units 15 include a medicine cassette 16 in which medicines are stored and a medicine feeder 17 in which the medicine cassette 16 is provided. The medicine cassette 16 is detachable from the medicine feeder 17. The medicine cassette 16 containing medicines required for packaging is provided on the medicine feeder 17. The medicine cassette 16 containing medicines not involved in the present packaging can be removed from the medicine feeder 17 and replaced with the medicine cassette 16 containing medicines involved in the present packaging.

[0035] The input device 100 is connected to the medicine dispensing device 11. The input device 100 includes a code reader (not shown) that reads a bar code, a QR code (registered trademark), or the like written on a prescription. The input device 100 provides prescription data based on the read data to the medicine dispensing device 11 using the code reader. The input device 100 has an operation input device (not shown) such as a keyboard in addition to the code reader, and can provide information such as prescription data to the medicine dispensing device 11 using the operation input device.

[0036] The medicine dispensing device 11 generates a prescription ID (Identity Document) corresponding to the received prescription data. The prescription ID is associated with the prescription data. The prescription data includes information required for packaging, such as the type of medicine, the amount of medicine, the time of administration, and patient information. The prescription ID is used when the associated prescription data is read out.

[0037] The input device 100 is constituted by, for example, a personal computer. The personal computer includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The CPU performs arithmetic processing in accordance with various programs stored in the ROM.

[0038] The input device 100 constituted by the personal computer then transmits the prescription data to the medicine dispensing device 11. In addition, based on the state information in the process provided from the medicine dispensing device 11, progress information of the medicine dispensing device 11, manual dispensing process information, and the like are displayed on the monitor 101.

[0039] Note that when the input device 100 is connected to a system such as a pharmacy, a nursing home, or a hospital via a communication network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet, the prescription data can be obtained from the system such as a pharmacy, a nursing home, or a hospital via communication. The input device 100 then provides the prescription data obtained from the system such as a pharmacy, a nursing home, or a hospital to the medicine dispensing device 11.

[0040] A plurality of medicine boxes 16 store a plurality of types of medicine. Then, according to the prescription data corresponding to the prescription ID, medicine is dispensed from the medicine boxes 16 by the medicine feeder 17, and the medicine falls into the medicine supply device 19. The medicine is counted when it passes through the passage of the medicine feeder 17, and a predetermined number of medicines fall into the medicine supply device 19 provided below. The medicine supply device 19 receives the medicine that falls from the medicine feeder 17. The received medicine is a corresponding number and type of medicine taken out from the medicine boxes 16 according to the prescription data. The medicine supply device 19 concentrates the received medicine in the center and delivers it to the medicine push-out portion 20 extending in the front and back directions. After the medicine is delivered forward in the medicine extrusion portion 20, the medicine is finally pushed out through the downward dispensing port.

[0041] The medicine supply device 19 dispenses one dose of the prescribed medicine at a time from the dispensing port. And the medicine is intermittently dispensed, for example, four times a day for one week, three times a day for five days, three times a day for one month, and the like.

[0042] The medicine dispensing device 11 has a tray 24 (a lattice plate) that stores a plurality of medicines in one storage recess, and a tray 24 (a lattice plate) that stores one kind of medicine in one storage recess. After the medicines are stored in the storage recesses of the tray 24, a lid is attached according to the prescription data to form a blister pack.

[0043] The medicine cartridges 16 and the medicine feeder 17 of the medicine supply unit 15 are stored in a medicine cartridge rack 350, which is opened and closed in the up-and-down direction by a gate-type shutter 18 as shown in FIG. 1. The medicines in the medicine cartridge 16 stored in the medicine cartridge rack 350 are dispensed by the medicine feeder 17. The medicines dispensed from the medicine cartridge 16 fall down and are guided into the medicine supply device 19 located below the medicine feeder 17. The medicines are transported to the medicine extruding portion 20 in the medicine supply device 19, and are pushed out from the medicine extruding portion 20 to the dispensing port, and are packed into each storage recess of the tray 24 by the dispensing portion 14.

[0044] When looking at a plurality of medicine supply units 15, in principle, different types of medicines are stored in separate medicine supply units 15. However, for frequently used medicines, the same type of medicine can be stored in a plurality of medicine supply units 15. Each of the plurality of medicine supply units 15 can discharge the medicine contained in the corresponding medicine cartridge 16. The medicine cartridge 16 can be provided with a handle for the operator to hold when fixing and detaching the medicine cartridge 16. In the present embodiment, 60 medicine supply units 15 are arranged in multiple stages in the up-and-down direction in the medicine storage portion 13, but this is only an example and is not limited to the method shown here.

[0045] As described above, the tray 24 includes a plurality of storage recesses, and there are two types: a so-called single-dose type tray that stores only one tablet in each storage recess, and a so-called multi-dose type tray that can store a plurality of tablets in each storage recess. In addition, there are various multi-dose type trays having storage recesses of different sizes and shapes. As described above, the tray has different types of storage recesses, such as the size, shape, and number of storage recesses.

[0046] In addition, the medicine dispensing device 11 can also perform a manual medicine dispensing process, that is, the medicines that are not in the medicine cartridge 16 and are required by the prescription can be manually taken out from the storage container such as a medicine shelf, a medicine bottle, etc., and then put into the corresponding storage recess of the above-mentioned tray 24 by the operator such as a pharmacist. The manual medicine dispensing can be combined with the automatic medicine dispensing to complete the medicine dispensing process required by the prescription. It is also possible to complete the medicine dispensing process required by the prescription only by the automatic medicine dispensing without performing the manual medicine dispensing.

[0047] The dispensing processing section of the medicine dispensing device 11 controls the drive units of the medicine suppliers 17 of the plurality of medicine supply units 15 to dispense medicines from the medicine cartridges 16 in accordance with the received prescription data, and stores the medicines in the corresponding storage recesses of the trays 24. In this medicine supply operation, the drive units of the corresponding medicine suppliers 17 are operated based on the prescription data and the medicine cartridge 16 information, so that the types and amounts of medicines corresponding to the prescription data are supplied. If the dispensing of medicines corresponding to a certain prescription data is completed, and a prescription data for dispensing a different medicine appears, i.e., the prescription data for dispensing the completed medicine is replaced by a prescription data for dispensing a new medicine, the medicine cartridge 16 corresponding to the prescription data for dispensing the new medicine also supplies the medicines required by the prescription as the medicine to be dispensed changes.

[0048] The dispensing processing section can dispense the medicine information of the medicines to be dispensed included in the plurality of prescription data to the medicine suppliers 17 based on the plurality of prescription data. In addition, the medicine information is information capable of identifying the types of medicines. More specifically, the dispensing processing section dispenses the medicine information of the medicines to be dispensed included in the plurality of prescription data to each medicine supplier 17 in units of the plurality of prescription data according to a predetermined dispensing rule. In addition, the dispensing rule is described later.

[0049] The types of medicines of the prescriptions are various, and the number of medicine cartridges 16 that contain medicines also increases. The number of medicine cartridges 16 that can be provided in the medicine dispensing device 11 is limited to the number of medicine suppliers 17. That is, the medicine dispensing device 11 provided with 60 medicine suppliers 17 can provide 60 medicine cartridges 16. For example, if there are 120 medicine cartridges, 60 medicine cartridges 16 can be provided in the medicine dispensing device 11. However, the remaining 60 medicine cartridges 16 will be stored on a shelf separate from the medicine dispensing device 11.

[0050] If the medicine cartridge 16 corresponding to the prescription data of the medicine to be dispensed is not provided in the medicine dispensing device 11, the corresponding medicine cartridge 16 stored on the shelf needs to be taken out and replaced with a medicine cartridge 16 that has not been used in the prescription data. The medicine dispensing device 11 is given a plurality of prescription data, the dispensing processing section receives the plurality of prescription data, and performs the packaging processing based on each prescription data extracted in order.

[0051] In this case, if the packaging processing is performed in the order of the input prescription data, the medicine packaging processing will be performed by replacing the medicine cartridge 16 if the medicine cartridge 16 for the packaging processing is not placed in the medicine dispensing device 11. For this reason, when the medicine cartridge 16 is replaced, the machine will be stopped for a long time.

[0052] Therefore, the present application extracts the medicine box 16 with a high frequency of occurrence based on a plurality of input prescription data, determines the medicine box 16 with a high frequency of use in the plurality of prescription data, and preferentially fixes the medicine box 16 with a high frequency of occurrence in the medicine supply 17. When the medicine box 16 is not fixed in the medicine supply 17, the medicine box 16 required for use is selected based on the prescription data, and the unused medicine box 16 in the medicine supply 17 is replaced, so that the work of replacing the medicine box 16 is reduced as much as possible, the time of stopping the machine due to the work of replacing the medicine box 16 is reduced, and the efficiency of the packaging process is effectively improved.

[0053] When the number of medicine boxes 16 that can be provided in the medicine supply 17 exceeds the upper limit, all of the medicine boxes 16 provided in the medicine supply 17 are necessary for the prescription data of the medicine to be preferentially distributed.

[0054] If the medicine box 16 not fixed in the medicine supply 17 exists in the extracted prescription data, the operator takes out the unused medicine box 16 in the medicine supply 17 and replaces it with the medicine box 16 required for use.

[0055] The number of replacements of the medicine box 16 is related to the distribution order of the plurality of prescription data. By adjusting the distribution order of the plurality of prescription data, unnecessary replacement of the medicine box 16 can be reduced.

[0056] In this way, after the medicine box 16 with a high frequency of use is partially provided in the medicine supply 17, the packaging process is started. Unnecessary replacement is avoided, the time of stopping the equipment is reduced, and the efficiency of the packaging process is improved.

[0057] The plurality of medicine boxes 16 are divided into a first type of medicine box with a high frequency of occurrence and a second type of medicine box with a low frequency of occurrence according to the number of occurrences of the stored medicine in the plurality of prescription data. The number of the first type of medicine box is the same as the number of the medicine supply 17, and the first type of medicine box is preferentially fixed in the medicine supply 17 than the second type of medicine box.

[0058] In the case shown in Fig. 4, 15 medicine supply devices 17 and 10 prescription data are taken as examples, and the number of times each medicine box 16 appears in each prescription data is counted. The medicine box 16 of No. 1 appears in the prescription data of No. 2, and the total number of times is 1. The medicine box 16 of No. 2 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 1, 2, 7, and 9, and the total number of times is 4. The medicine box 16 of No. 3 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 2, 4, 6, and 7, and the total number of times is 4. The medicine box 16 of No. 4 appears in the prescription data of No. 6, and the total number of times is 1. The medicine box 16 of No. 5 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 1, 8, and 10, and the total number of times is 3. The medicine box 16 of No. 6 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 1, 2, and 5, and the total number of times is 3. The medicine box 16 of No. 7 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 1, 3, and 5, and the total number of times is 3. The medicine box 16 of No. 8 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 3 and 7, and the total number of times is 2. The medicine box 16 of No. 9 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 2, 7, and 8, and the total number of times is 3. The medicine box 16 of No. 10 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 6 and 8, and the total number of times is 2. The medicine box 16 of No. 11 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 1, 3, and 9, and the total number of times is 3. The medicine box 16 of No. 12 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 1, 3, 5, and 9, and the total number of times is 4. The medicine box 16 of No. 13 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 5 and 8, and the total number of times is 2. The medicine box 16 of No. 14 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 2, 5, 7, 8, and 10, and the total number of times is 5. The medicine box 16 of No. 15 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 2, 6, 7, and 10, and the total number of times is 4. The medicine box 16 of No. 16 does not appear in the prescription data, and the total number of times is 0. The medicine box 16 of No. 17 appears in the prescription data of No. 4, and the total number of times is 1. The medicine box 16 of No. 18 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 4 and 7, and the total number of times is 2. The medicine box 16 of No. 19 appears in the prescription data of Nos. 4 and 7, and the total number of times is 2. The medicine box 16 of No. 20 does not appear in the prescription data, and the total number of times is 0.

[0059] Therefore, as shown in Fig. 5, the medicine boxes 16 with reference numerals 14, 2, 3, 12, 15, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 8, 10, 13, 18, 19 are classified as the first type medicine boxes and are sequentially fixed to the 15 medicine dispensers 17. The medicine boxes 16 with reference numerals 1, 4, 17, 16, 20 are classified as the second type medicine boxes and are not fixed to the medicine dispensers 17. The medicine boxes 16 with reference numerals 16, 20 are not fixed to the medicine dispensers 17 when dispensing medicines according to the listed multiple prescription data because the medicines stored in the medicine boxes 16 do not appear in the listed multiple prescription data. If the medicines appear in other prescription data, the medicine boxes 16 can be replaced with the first type medicine boxes together with other second type medicine boxes and fixed to the medicine dispensers 17.

[0060] The dispensing processing unit receives the multiple prescription data and adjusts the dispensing order of the prescription data in which the medicines stored in the second type medicine boxes do not appear to be prior to the prescription data in which the medicines stored in the second type medicine boxes appear based on whether the medicines stored in the second type medicine boxes appear in the multiple prescription data, so that the first type medicine boxes to be fixed preferentially are dispensed with the medicines stored therein through the medicine dispensers 17.

[0061] As shown in Fig. 6, according to the statistical data, the first type medicine boxes corresponding to the No. 1 prescription data are 6 and the second type medicine boxes do not appear. The first type medicine boxes corresponding to the No. 2 prescription data are 6 and the second type medicine boxes are 1. The first type medicine boxes corresponding to the No. 3 prescription data are 4 and the second type medicine boxes do not appear. The first type medicine boxes corresponding to the No. 4 prescription data are 3 and the second type medicine boxes are 1. The first type medicine boxes corresponding to the No. 5 prescription data are 5 and the second type medicine boxes do not appear. The first type medicine boxes corresponding to the No. 6 prescription data are 3 and the second type medicine boxes are 1. The first type medicine boxes corresponding to the No. 7 prescription data are 8 and the second type medicine boxes do not appear. The first type medicine boxes corresponding to the No. 8 prescription data are 5 and the second type medicine boxes do not appear. The first type medicine boxes corresponding to the No. 9 prescription data are 3 and the second type medicine boxes do not appear. The first type medicine boxes corresponding to the No. 10 prescription data are 3 and the second type medicine boxes do not appear.

[0062] Therefore, after reordering the dispensing order of the multiple prescription data, as shown in Fig. 7, the dispensing order of the No. 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 prescription data is prior to the dispensing order of the No. 2, 4, 6 prescription data. As shown in Fig. 8, when dispensing medicines according to the No. 7, 1, 5, 8, 3, 9, 10 prescription data, the medicine boxes 16 do not need to be replaced. When dispensing medicines according to the No. 2, 4, 6 prescription data, the medicine boxes 16 need to be replaced only once.

[0063] In the actual situation, the unified dispensing process of the medicine can be performed in a group of ten prescriptions or a group of twenty prescriptions. The dispensing order of the prescription data in the same group is adjusted so that the packing efficiency of the medicine is improved in the case of group adjustment. The number of object prescriptions in the unified adjustment can be reduced, and the timely packing of each prescription medicine is ensured.

[0064] Note that the statistical ordering of the prescription data described above and in the present application can be implemented by setting a corresponding computer program. If the statistical calculation is performed manually or by a table, first, since the object prescriptions have been issued (sent) to the device, all of the prescription data needs to be canceled. Then, the canceled prescription data is output as a dispensing history in the form of a CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file. For example, using an Excel (spreadsheet) table or the like, the number of occurrences of the relevant medicine is counted, and top 60 is calculated. At this time, if it is manually calculated, it takes about 15 minutes, and if it is calculated with the aid of a table, it takes about 5 minutes. After that, it is confirmed by visual method whether the calculated top 60 is inserted in the device, and the replacement work of the medicine box is performed. This work takes about 10 minutes. Finally, the prescription is reissued with the prescription content after the optimized order. Either way, the work takes about 2 minutes. In contrast, using a corresponding computer program, the statistical ordering can be implemented by one button operation, which takes about 0.1 minutes, and the replacement operation of the medicine box indicated by the light display takes about 1 minute. In this way, the operation time can be greatly saved.

[0065] After the reordering according to whether the medicine stored in the second type of medicine box appears, the dispensing processing unit can also cause the corresponding medicine feeder 17 to dispense the medicine contained in each prescription data according to the dispensing order according to the pre-set dispensing rule.

[0066] Specifically, the dispensing processing unit is provided with a first dispensing rule, in which, for the prescription data in which the medicine stored in the second type of medicine box appears, the dispensing processing unit adjusts the dispensing order of the prescription data in which the number of times the medicine stored in the second type of medicine box appears is less than that of the prescription data in which the number of times the medicine stored in the second type of medicine box appears is more, based on the number of times the medicine stored in the second type of medicine box appears in each prescription data. That is, in the actual situation, the dispensing order of the prescription data in which the number of times the medicine stored in the second type of medicine box appears is two can be adjusted to be prior to the dispensing order of the prescription data in which the number of times the medicine stored in the second type of medicine box appears is three or more. In this way, the number of medicine boxes replaced at a time is increased once, and the replacement in order can be ensured.

[0067] Further, the dispensing processing section is provided with a second dispensing rule. In the second dispensing rule, for the prescription data in which the same drug stored in the second type of medicine box appears the same number of times, the dispensing processing section adjusts the order of dispensing the prescription data in which the same drug appears to be adjacent in the front and back positions based on whether the same drug appears in a plurality of the prescription data. That is, in an actual situation, if the drug stored in the medicine box 16 labeled 20 is needed to be replaced when dispensing the drug for the prescription data No. 12, the drug stored in the medicine box 16 labeled 21 is needed to be replaced when dispensing the drug for the prescription data No. 13, and the drug stored in the medicine box 16 labeled 20 is needed to be replaced again when dispensing the drug for the prescription data No. 14, the order of dispensing the prescription data No. 12 and the prescription data No. 14 is adjusted to be adjacent in the front and back positions. After dispensing the drug for the prescription data No. 12 is completed, dispensing the drug for the prescription data No. 14 can be performed immediately. Thus, the order of dispensing the prescription data in which the same drug appears is adjusted to be adjacent in the front and back positions.

[0068] Further, the dispensing processing section is provided with a third dispensing rule. In the third dispensing rule, for the prescription data in which the same drug stored in the second type of medicine box appears, the dispensing processing section adjusts the order of dispensing the prescription data in which the same drug appears more frequently to be prior to the prescription data in which the same drug appears less frequently based on how many times the same drug appears in each of the prescription data. That is, the second type of medicine box that needs to be replaced can be replaced at one time in a larger number. Thus, when dispensing the drug subsequently, the same second type of medicine box does not need to be replaced, and the number of times of stopping the device to replace the medicine box is reduced.

[0069] Further, the dispensing processing section is provided with a fourth dispensing rule. In the fourth dispensing rule, for the prescription data in which the drug stored in the second type of medicine box does not appear, the dispensing processing section controls the drug supply device to dispense the drug in the order of the prescription data being received. That is, as shown in the figure, for the prescription data No. 5 and the prescription data No. 8 in which the drug stored in the five first type of medicine boxes appears, the drug can be dispensed in the order of the prescription data No. 5 being prior to the prescription data No. 8. At this time, the order of dispensing the prescription data is not adjusted. The number of times of adjustment can be reduced, and the degree of confusion caused by too much adjustment can be reduced.

[0070] The above allocation rules can be selectively used or used in a certain priority. For example, the allocation rules can be set according to the number of types of the medicine stored in the second medicine box appearing in the prescription data, the number of times the same medicine appears in a plurality of prescription data, whether the same medicine appears or not, the order in which the same medicine appears, or the order in which the prescription data is received. Different priorities can also be set for different allocation rules, for example, different priorities can be set for different factors according to the weight of the influence of each factor on the efficiency of medicine packaging. In order to prioritize the use of allocation rules according to a factor that will seriously affect the efficiency of medicine packaging.

[0071] In addition, for prescription data containing separately packaged medicines, the dispensing processing section controls the medicine feeder 17 to dispense the separately packaged medicines to different trays 24, or the dispensing processing controls the medicine feeder 17 to dispense the separately packaged medicines to different recesses in the same tray 24 according to the time of taking.

[0072] It should be noted that for medicines that are easily affected by moisture or light, if they are packaged together, it will cause the medicine to lose its effectiveness. Especially in the case of a long prescription period, it is best not to be packaged together. As an example of a medicine that is further best not to be packaged together, there are medicines that require strict medication management (clinical trial drugs, anesthetics, stimulant raw materials, anticancer drugs, etc.), or medicines that can be changed according to the patient's symptoms (one-time use drugs such as laxatives, sleeping pills, antidiarrheal drugs, and cough suppressants, and medicines that can be adjusted according to symptoms). That is, regarding separately packaged medicines, each pharmacy, nursing home, or hospital can set it to be best not to be packaged together or absolutely not to be packaged together according to the specific situation, but for anesthetics, stimulant raw materials, and anticancer drugs, it is an absolutely not to be packaged together medicine.

[0073] By separating the packaging, it is possible to continue to dispense to other square recesses or packages in the case where there are medicines that cannot be packaged together or there are many medicines to be dispensed into one square recess. The dispensing method can be selected to dispense using other packages or to dispense uniformly according to the time of taking.

[0074] As shown in FIG. 9, taking the case where medicines A-D are divided into 4 times / 7 days as an example, when there is no need to separate the packaging, 1 piece of medicine A, 1 piece of medicine B, 1 piece of medicine C, and 1 piece of medicine D can be dispensed in one square recess.

[0075] When medicine D is a separately packaged medicine (packaged together NG medicine), the medicine can be allocated according to the packaging shown in FIG. 10 to different trays 24. The medicine can also be allocated according to the packaging shown in FIG. 11 to different recesses in the same tray 24.

[0076] When the medicine is dispensed in a square recess, the medicine is dispensed in the separate package as shown in Fig. 11.

[0077] By standardizing the dispensing method, the dispensing method can be unified regardless of the user. Further, by rearranging the dispensing method according to the time of taking the medicine, the number of times of opening the package can be reduced when the medicine is taken by the patient in a nursing home or the like. The time of judgment at the time of inputting the prescription can be reduced, and the dispensing method can be unified. The square recess or the package is dispensed separately.

[0078] Further, when the medicine stored in the medicine box 16 is dispensed, the dispensing processing section controls the medicine feeder 17 to dispense the medicine of the same ingredient.

[0079] When the medicine is short during the dispensing of the medicine, the medicine of the same ingredient from another manufacturer can be dispensed, and the time of dispensing the medicine can be effectively reduced. In practice, the object prescription can be selected from the screen for instructing the dispensing of the prescription, and the prescription change dialog box can be opened. The other medicine can be selected in the prescription change dialog box. Even when the medicine does not exist in the master, the medicine can be dispensed after the medicine name or the bar code is input. The prescription can be issued from the dialog box, and the embedding function is additionally added. In the case of embedding, it is the next prescription (second) to be embedded in the dispensing of the prescription. When the same medicine is accepted thereafter, the dialog box is called up as shown in Fig. 12, and the changed medicine is used.

[0080] Further, it is inconvenient to call up the dialog box many times, and therefore, when the same medicine is selected, the option of not calling up the dialog box can be selected.

[0081] Therefore, when the prescription including the medicine AA before the change is received from the upper side, AA' is automatically switched.

[0082] Further, when the medicine is replenished in the medicine box 16 after the medicine is dispensed, the dispensing processing section controls the medicine feeder 17 to suspend the dispensing of the medicine of the same ingredient, and to dispense the medicine after the replenishment.

[0083] That is, when the short medicine is replenished, in order to use the medicine after the replenishment, the list of the change of the medicine is maintained, and the operation of dispensing the original medicine is performed as shown in Fig. 13.

[0084] Further, in order to confirm whether the medicine tablet is normally dispensed into each square recess of the package when the medicine tablet is dispensed into the blister pack, a sensor can be provided in the path of the package grid plate provided on the main body device, and whether the medicine tablet is clogged in the path without falling is detected. Whether the medicine tablet (tablet) is normally dispensed into the package is thereby known.

[0085] In the detection process, there are 28 squares (square recesses) of medicine paths in the packaging lattice board. Therefore, the packaging lattice board can be moved in the XY direction, and detection can be performed using a sensor, so as to determine whether the medicine is loaded in the packaging.

[0086] In addition, the medicine dispensing device 11 includes a manual dispensing unit. When dispensing by hand, the manual dispensing container is exposed by pulling up the manual dispensing cover 22b. The hand delivery container is provided above the standby position of the tray discharge portion 2. The manual dispensing container is provided inside the dispensing portion 14. The manual dispensing cover 22b is provided on the cover 22 of the dispensing portion 14, and is aligned with the observation window 22a in the X direction. By pulling up the manual dispensing cover 22b, the manual dispensing container is exposed, and the manually dispensed tablets can be placed in the manual dispensing container. In addition, in the case of so-called single dose, one medicine is placed in each storage recess of the tray 24, and the tray 24 is placed on the cover 22 without using the manual dispensing container, and the manually dispensed tablets are placed.

[0087] It should be noted that when using the prescription sequence optimization function, the user can confirm all the manually dispensed medicines appearing in the prescription. Therefore, the user usually performs the work of moving all the manually dispensed objects from the medicine shelf to the medicine dispensing device 11, and after all the manually dispensed objects are dispensed, the work of returning them to the medicine shelf.

[0088] However, in the case of using the information list function of the prescription object medicine, or in the case of using the prescription sequence optimization function, if the manually dispensed medicine just used is included, the medicine needs to be taken from the medicine shelf again, which wastes the labor and time of the operator.

[0089] In addition, in the case where the same medicine needs to be manually dispensed in another prescription at an interval, for example, in the case where three prescriptions are issued, and the same manually dispensed medicine is included in the first and third prescriptions, even if it is not returned to the medicine shelf, the work of taking it from the medicine box and returning it again is required.

[0090] In order to solve the above problems, the following technical solutions can be adopted:

[0091] I. When all the prescriptions are dispensed, for example, when a dispensing instruction for a total of 10 prescriptions is issued, in the case of dispensing using a manual dispensing method or using a non-fixed universal medicine box (different from a medicine box dedicated to storing a specific medicine, the non-fixed universal medicine box is capable of being put in a required medicine at the time of use and becoming a dispensable state, and automatically adjusts an ejection passage from the medicine box), the medicine dispensed is also included in the next group of 10 prescriptions, and when the same medicine can be used again, the user is notified by sound or image that there is no need to return the medicine manually dispensed this time.

[0092] II. When a plurality of prescriptions have been issued, and a dispensing instruction for a plurality of prescriptions has been sent to the main device, that is, when dispensing processing is performed based on the prescriptions sequentially, the user is notified by sound or image that there is no need to return the manually dispensed medicine when the same manually dispensed medicine is included in the prescriptions for which dispensing has not been completed or when a non-fixed universal medicine box is involved, without taking the plurality of manually dispensed medicines out of the box.

[0093] In addition, a weight detection sensor can be provided on the manually dispensing unit, and weight checking is performed when manually dispensing, to check whether there is an "excessive manual dispensing, manual dispensing omission" problem. The weight is measured in one package unit, for example, it can be measured in 0.1 g (gram) unit.

[0094] Since the weights of the medicines are different, by previously inputting the weight in the medicine master file, when a prescription is issued, the weight (expected value) is calculated based on the total number of tablets, and for each medicine, it is judged whether the weight of the manually dispensed medicine reaches the expected value.

[0095] If the next medicine (judged based on the bar code or the completion button) is to be processed in a state where the weight does not reach the expected value, the user's attention is drawn by a sound notification. If the weight reaches the expected value, an "OK" sound notification is made, and the processing of the next medicine is performed. If the weight exceeds the expected value, an attention-drawing sound notification is made.

[0096] For example, in the case of manually dispensing an incorrect medicine in the prescription data for dispensing one tablet in a square recess (a total of 28 tablets), if the incorrect medicine is lighter than the correct medicine, even if 28 tablets are manually dispensed, the weight does not reach it. Therefore, an "OK" sound is not emitted. If the incorrect medicine is heavier than the correct medicine, the weight is reached before 28 tablets are manually dispensed, and therefore, an attention-drawing sound notification is emitted. Accidents due to "excessive manual dispensing, manual dispensing omission" are prevented.

[0097] In the case where the drug types are different but the weights are the same, the bar code is checked before each drug is manually dispensed in the blister packaging. Thus, the problem of mistakenly putting different types of drugs can be prevented when using the visual method. In the case where the wrong drug is lighter than the correct drug, even if 28 pieces are manually dispensed, the weight does not reach the weight of 28 pieces. Thus, the "OK" sound is not emitted. In the case where the wrong drug is heavier than the correct drug, the weight reaches the weight before 28 pieces are manually dispensed. Thus, the attention-drawing sound is emitted to notify.

[0098] In addition, instead of the method of checking the weight after all 28 square recesses are manually dispensed as described above, the weight can be checked when each square recess is put in the drug, and "OK" or "NG" can be notified.

[0099] Further, in the case of checking in units of square recesses, the number of pieces of the drug manually dispensed into the square recess is displayed in the manual dispensing instruction screen in the blister packaging. At this time, the part manually dispensed is checked using the weight checking function, and thus it is confirmed whether the drug is accurately manually dispensed. In this case, the number of pieces can be gradually reduced and the remaining number of pieces can be displayed. When the number of pieces becomes 0, "OK" is displayed for the square recess, and when the weight exceeds, "NG" is displayed or "0 pieces are reduced" is displayed. When all the square recesses are OK, it is determined that the dispensing of all the square recesses is completed, and the process of the next drug is entered.

[0100] Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of the present application and that various changes in form and detail can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the application.

Claims

1. A medicine dispensing apparatus comprising: a plurality of medicine boxes each storing a medicine to be dispensed, the plurality of medicine boxes being classified into a first category of medicine boxes in which the stored medicines appear more frequently and a second category of medicine boxes in which the stored medicines appear less frequently, according to the number of times the stored medicines appear in a plurality of prescription data; a plurality of medicine suppliers, the number of the medicine suppliers being the same as the number of the first category of medicine boxes, the first category of medicine boxes being fixed to the medicine suppliers in preference to the second category of medicine boxes; a dispensing processing section that receives the plurality of prescription data and adjusts the dispensing order of the prescription data in which the stored medicines of the second category of medicine boxes do not appear to be in preference to the prescription data in which the stored medicines of the second category of medicine boxes appear, based on whether the stored medicines of the second category of medicine boxes appear in the plurality of prescription data, so that the first category of medicine boxes fixed in preference are caused to dispense the stored medicines by the medicine suppliers.

2. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the dispensing processing section causes the corresponding medicine suppliers to dispense the medicines contained in each of the prescription data in the dispensing order according to a dispensing rule set in advance.

3. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: the dispensing processing section is provided with a first dispensing rule in which, for the prescription data in which the stored medicines of the second category of medicine boxes appear, the dispensing processing section adjusts the dispensing order of the prescription data in which the stored medicines of the second category of medicine boxes appear less frequently to be in preference to the prescription data in which the stored medicines of the second category of medicine boxes appear more frequently, based on how frequently the stored medicines of the second category of medicine boxes appear in each of the prescription data.

4. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: the dispensing processing section is provided with a second dispensing rule in which, for the prescription data in which the stored medicines of the second category of medicine boxes appear the same number of times, the dispensing processing section adjusts the dispensing order of the plurality of prescription data in which the same medicines appear to be adjacent in the front and back positions, based on whether the same medicines appear in the plurality of prescription data.

5. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: the dispensing processing section is provided with a third dispensing rule in which, for the prescription data in which the stored medicines of the second category of medicine boxes appear, the dispensing processing section adjusts the dispensing order of the prescription data in which the same medicines appear more frequently to be in preference to the prescription data in which the same medicines appear less frequently, according to how frequently the same medicines appear in each of the prescription data.

6. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: the dispensing processing section is provided with a fourth dispensing rule in which, for the prescription data in which the stored medicines of the second category of medicine boxes do not appear, the dispensing processing section controls the medicine suppliers to dispense the medicines in the order in which the prescription data is received.

7. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: For the prescription data containing separately packaged medicines, the dispensing processing section controls the medicine feeder to dispense the separately packaged medicines to different trays, or the dispensing processing controls the medicine feeder to dispense the separately packaged medicines to different recesses of the same tray according to the time of taking.

8. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: After the medicine stored in the medicine cassette is dispensed, the dispensing processing section controls the medicine feeder to dispense the medicine of the same ingredient.

9. The medicine dispensing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein: After the medicine cassette is replenished with medicine after the medicine is dispensed, the dispensing processing section controls the medicine feeder to suspend dispensing the medicine of the same ingredient and to dispense the replenished medicine.

10. A medicine dispensing method, comprising: dividing a plurality of medicine cassettes into a first type of medicine cassette in which the medicines stored therein appear more frequently and a second type of medicine cassette in which the medicines stored therein appear less frequently, based on the number of times the medicines stored in the plurality of medicine cassettes appear in a plurality of prescription data; fixing the first type of medicine cassette to a medicine feeder, respectively; based on whether the medicines stored in the second type of medicine cassette appear in the plurality of prescription data, preferentially performing medicine dispensing for the prescription data in which the medicines stored in the second type of medicine cassette do not appear.

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