Medication support system

Abstract

A medication support system provided with a medication support apparatus for performing a medicine dispensing operation in which a medicine package stored in a storage is transferred to a corresponding medicine storage part to dispense the medicine. The medication support system includes: a plurality of medication support apparatuses having mutually different configurations related to the medicine dispensing operation; and a management apparatus that is communicatively connected to the plurality of medication support apparatuses and manages control information for controlling each medicine dispensing operation of the plurality of medication support apparatuses.

Description

MEDICATION SUPPORT SYSTEM

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a medication support system.

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a medication support system including a medication support apparatus configured to perform a medicine dispensing operation in which a medicine package stored in a storage is transferred to a corresponding medicine storage part for medicine dispensing.

[0003] For example, PTL 1 discloses a system including a medication support apparatus for performing the medicine dispensing operation in which a unit-dose medicine package (medicine package) taken out from a storage for storing the unit-dose medicine package is transferred to a specific position in a medicine dispensing tray (medicine storage part) for medicine dispensing. The control of the medicine dispensing operation of the medication support apparatus is performed by a control system provided in the medication support apparatus.

[0004] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2017-93708

[0005] Conventionally, there has been an issue that it is necessary to construct a control system corresponding to each configuration of a plurality of medication support apparatuses having different configurations related to the medicine dispensing operation.

[0006] The present disclosure provides a medication support system provided with a medication support apparatus for performing a medicine dispensing operation in which a medicine package stored in a storage is transferred to a corresponding medicine storage part to dispense the medicine, wherein the medication support system includes a plurality of medication support apparatuses having different configurations related to the medicine dispensing operation, is communicatively connected to the plurality of medication support apparatuses and is provided with a management apparatus configured to manage control information for controlling each medicine dispensing operation of the plurality of medication support apparatuses, wherein the management apparatus includes a memory configured to store setting information for setting the control information for the medicine dispensing operation with respect to the different configurations in association with the plurality of medication support apparatuses, and a transmitter configured to transmit the corresponding control information to each of the plurality of medication support apparatuses, and wherein each of the plurality of medication support apparatuses includes a controller configured to control the medicine dispensing operation based on the control information transmitted from the management apparatus.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to eliminate the need to separately construct at least some control systems in a plurality of medication support apparatuses having different configurations related to medicine dispensing operation.

[0008] FIG. 1A is a front view illustrating essential parts of a medicine dispensing apparatus included in a medication support apparatus according to an embodiment;FIG. 1B is a side view illustrating the essential parts of the medicine dispensing apparatus of FIG. 1A;FIG. 2A is a plan view illustrating a unit-dose medicine package;FIG. 2B is a side view illustrating the unit-dose medicine package of FIG. 1A as viewed from the direction of an arrow A;FIG. 2C is a side view illustrating a bundle of the unit-dose medicine packages;FIG. 2D is a diagram illustrating a general form of a strip of the unit-dose medicine packages;FIG. 3 is an external perspective view illustrating an example configuration of a medicine dispensing tray;FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of an attachment of a label with a QR code (registered trademark) arranged in a subdivision box;FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a display example of a label including the QR code;FIG. 5A is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating an example of a cartridge;FIG. 5B is a bottom view of the cartridge illustrated in FIG. 5A;FIG. 6A is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating an example of a cartridge that is different from the one illustrated in FIG. 5A;FIG. 6B is a bottom view of the cartridge illustrated in FIG. 6A;FIG. 7 is a plan sectional view illustrating essential parts of a cartridge attachment / detachment mechanism provided in a drawer;FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view illustrating a configuration for identifying cartridges provided in the drawer;FIG. 9A is a front view illustrating a configuration of a carriage;FIG. 9B is a plan view illustrating the configuration of the carriage of FIG. 9A;FIG. 10 is a front view of the carriage for illustrating an operational transition of the carriage;FIG. 11A is a front view of the carriage for illustrating the operational transition of the carriage following FIG. 10;FIG. 11B is a front view of the carriage for illustrating the operational transition of the carriage following FIG. 11A;FIG. 11C is a front view of the carriage for illustrating the operational transition of the carriage following FIG. 11B;FIG. 11D is a front view of the carriage for illustrating the operational transition of the carriage following FIG. 11C;FIG. 11E is a front view of the carriage for illustrating the operational transition of the carriage following FIG. 11D;FIG. 11F is a front view of the carriage for illustrating the operational transition of the carriage following FIG. 11E;FIG. 12A is a front view of the carriage for illustrating the operational transition of the carriage following FIG. 11F;FIG. 12B is a front view of the carriage for illustrating the operational transition of the carriage following FIG. 12A;FIG. 12C is a front view of the carriage for illustrating the operational transition of the carriage following FIG. 12B;FIG. 13 is a front view of the carriage for illustrating an operation for reading medication-related information displayed on the cartridge;FIG. 14A is a front view illustrating a configuration of essential parts of a transfer part;FIG. 14B is a side view illustrating the essential parts of the transfer part of FIG. 14A;FIG. 15 is a control block diagram illustrating a main control configuration of the medicine dispensing apparatus;FIG. 16A is a diagram for illustrating a cartridge detection sensor that detects attachment / detachment of the cartridge;FIG. 16B is a diagram for illustrating the cartridge detection sensor that detects attachment / detachment of the cartridge;FIG. 16C is a diagram for illustrating the cartridge detection sensor that detects attachment / detachment of the cartridge;FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a cartridge tray. Drawings in (1) illustrate a state in which the cartridge is not set in the cartridge tray. Drawings in (2) illustrate a state in which the cartridge is set in the cartridge tray;FIG. 18 is a bottom view illustrating a plurality of cartridge trays, each cartridge tray being provided with the cartridge detection sensor disposed thereon;FIG. 19 is a control block diagram illustrating a medication support system according to a present embodiment;FIG. 20 is a control block diagram illustrating an existing medicine dispensing apparatus;FIG. 21A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration related to the medicine dispensing operation of the medicine dispensing apparatus;FIG. 21B is an explanatory diagram illustrating another configuration related to the medicine dispensing operation of the medicine dispensing apparatus;FIG. 21C is an explanatory diagram illustrating yet another configuration related to the medicine dispensing operation of the medicine dispensing apparatus;FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which cartridge trays and medicine dispensing trays each having a different configuration (type) are set to be used in combination in a single medicine dispensing apparatus;FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a package extraction position (suction position) and a QR-code read position on the cartridge tray;FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of placement positions of packages and the QR-code read positions of the subdivision boxes on the medicine dispensing tray;FIG. 25A is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an order of reading QR codes that correspond to the cartridges on the cartridge tray;FIG. 25B is an explanatory diagram illustrating another example of the order of reading QR codes that correspond to the cartridges on the cartridge tray;FIG. 26A is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the order of reading QR codes that correspond to the subdivision boxes on the medicine dispensing tray;FIG. 26B is an explanatory diagram illustrating another example of the order of reading the QR codes that correspond to the subdivision boxes on the medicine dispensing tray;FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram illustrating yet another example of the order of reading the QR-codes that correspond to the cartridges on the cartridge tray;FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram illustrating yet another example of the order of reading the QR-codes that correspond to each subdivision box on the medicine dispensing tray;FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which each medicine dispensing apparatus is provided with a corresponding setting file that includes various types of setting information; andFIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which the setting information provided for each medicine dispensing apparatus includes two types of setting files: a setting file for common settings among the medicine dispensing apparatuses, and a setting file for setting individually in each medicine dispensing apparatus.

[0009] Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a medicine dispensing apparatus as a medication support apparatus included in a medication support system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1A is a front view schematically illustrating a main configuration of essential parts of the medicine dispensing apparatus. FIG. 1B is a side view schematically illustrating the configuration of FIG. 1A.

[0010] As illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the essential parts of a medicine dispensing apparatus 200 include a cartridge 10 that is also referred to as a first storage, a cartridge tray 20 that is also referred to as a second storage, a drawer 80, a medicine dispensing tray 30, a carriage 50 that is also referred to as an extractor, a transfer part 90, and a first access port 41 to a fourth access port 44. In FIGS. 1A and 1B, a left-right direction or a lateral direction (which is also a width direction) of the medicine dispensing apparatus 200 is defined as an X-direction, a front-rear direction or a depth direction is defined as a Y-direction, and an up-down direction or a vertical direction (which is also a gravitational direction) is defined as a Z-direction (the same applies to the following drawings).

[0011] The cartridge 10 has a function as a first storage of the present disclosure configured to store, in a stacked state, a unit-dose medicine package (hereinafter simply referred to as "package"), a bundle of unit-dose medicine package, or the like (described in the following) as a medicine package in which medicines are enclosed in one packaging. A plurality of the cartridges 10 are internally disposed via a cartridge tray 20, in a middle part and a lower part of a body frame 199 as a main body of the medicine dispensing apparatus 200. The cartridges 10 are detachably attached to the cartridge tray 20 as the second storage. Here, "storing in a stacked state" means storing the packages in a substantially horizontal or flat stacked state.

[0012] The cartridge tray 20 is configured to be capable of positioning and storing the plurality of cartridges 10 as described in the following. The cartridge tray 20 has a function as the second storage for placing and holding at least one cartridge 10.

[0013] The cartridges 10 are arranged in a corresponding drawer 80 via the cartridge tray 20. The cartridges 10 are arranged internally and at a plurality of places of the body frame 199 via the cartridge trays 20. The cartridges 10 are arranged at the middle part and the lower part of the body frame 199 which is the body of the medicine dispensing apparatus 200. Referring to the example of FIGS. 1A and 1B, the cartridges 10, total of 4 × 5 = 20 cartridges, are placed and held in one drawer 80 (via the cartridge tray 20) (see FIG. 7 to be described in the following). Hereinafter, in order to simplify the description, the drawer 80 is sometimes referred to as the cartridge tray 20.

[0014] Each of the plurality of cartridges 10 is placed and housed in a space partitioned by lattice-like side walls and a bottom wall arranged on the cartridge tray 20. In the bottom wall of the cartridge tray 20 corresponding to each cartridge 10, a rectangular penetrating opening 21 (see FIG. 7 to be described in the following) is formed for extracting a package from the bottom of the cartridge 10 by utilizing the elasticity or free deformation of the package as described in the operation described in the following.

[0015] The drawer 80 is configured to position and hold the cartridge tray 20. Two slide rails 81, which are provided as a pair, are attached to the outer walls of the drawer 80, respectively, and a pair of main rail bodies is disposed in the body frame 199 to be engageable with the slide rails 81 of the drawer 80. By such an engagement structure between the main rail bodies and the slide rails 81, the drawer 80 in which the cartridge tray 20 is stored and held can be drawn out from the body frame 199.

[0016] The medicine dispensing tray 30 has a function as a medicine storage part for placing a specific package transferred by the transfer part 90. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, two medicine dispensing trays 30 are arranged further above the cartridge 10 mounted on the cartridge tray 20 in the uppermost drawer 80. Installation parts 29 of the medicine dispensing trays 30 are destinations of the packages to which the packages are automatically transferred.

[0017] The carriage 50 is a part configured to extract a specific package from the cartridge 10 and has a function as the extractor. The transfer part 90 has a function to transfer the package taken out from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50. The carriage 50 and the transfer part 90 in association extract the specific package from the cartridge 10 and transfer the package to a specific position in the medicine dispensing tray 30.

[0018] The first access port 41 and the second access port 42 are places for moving the cartridge 10 and the cartridge tray 20 in and out of the body frame 199 through the corresponding drawer 80. When inserting and setting the cartridge 10 into the body frame 199, the cartridge is set through the first access port 41 and the second access port 42. An access door of the first access port 41 or the second access port 42, depending on the target, is opened, the drawer 80 in which the cartridge tray 20 is set is pulled out toward an operating person, and the cartridge 10 or the cartridge tray 20 is attached or detached.

[0019] The third access port 43 and the fourth access port 44 are places for moving the two medicine dispensing trays 30 in and out of the body frame 199. The two medicine dispensing trays 30 are arranged side by side at an uppermost stage of the medicine dispensing apparatus 200, and each medicine dispensing tray 30 is moved in and out of the body frame 199 through a corresponding access port. The third access port 43 and the fourth access port 44 are provided such that the package can be taken out from the body frame 199 immediately after the package is placed (hereinafter also referred to as "set" or "insert") in the medicine dispensing tray 30. In the medicine dispensing apparatus 200, as described above, two medicine dispensing trays 30 are disposed. As described in the following, the medicine dispensing tray is provided separately for each medication timing such as morning, noon, evening, and before going to bed. Since the third access port 43 and the fourth access port 44 are provided to correspond to the respective medicine dispensing trays, a target medicine dispensing tray can be taken out even when the medicine dispensing operation is being performed to the other medicine dispensing tray.

[0020] The two cartridge trays 20 as illustrated in FIG. 1 are provided at two locations below the uppermost medicine dispensing tray 30 in the vertical direction, but the locations are not limited to these. The cartridge trays 20 may be collectively provided on the upper side or the lower side of the medicine dispensing tray 30. Depending on the number of persons in a nursing facility, the cartridge trays 20 may be provided in three levels to obtain the same effect.

[0021] Referring to FIGS. 2A to 2D, an outline of the medicine package for the present disclosure will be described. FIG. 2A is a plan view illustrating a general form of a single unit-dose medicine package. FIG. 2B is a side view of the unit-dose medicine package of FIG. 2A as seen from the direction of an arrow A. FIG. 2C is a side view of a bundle of the unit-dose medicine packages in which unit-dose medicine packages are stacked and bundled together. FIG. 2D is a diagram illustrating a general form of a strip of the unit-dose medicine packages. It should be noted that FIGS. 2B and 2C are somewhat schematically illustrated without illustrating medicines.

[0022] The form of the medicine package of the present embodiment includes a single unit-dose medicine package 2, a unit-dose medicine bundled package 2A (hereinafter also simply referred to as "bundled package 2A") in which a plurality of the unit-dose medicine packages 2 (two in FIG. 2C) are stacked in a stacking direction and bundled together, and the like, for example, by stapling. In FIGS. 2 and the like, the single unit-dose medicine package 2 is mainly illustrated as a representative, but it is needless to say that the bundled package 2A and the like are also included.

[0023] As illustrated in FIG. 2A, one unit-dose medicine package 2 is formed of, for example, a resin film, and medicines 3 such as capsules and tablets that are divided into small portions and packed in bags. The unit-dose medicine package 2 includes a bag portion 2a for covering the medicines 3 and a pressure-sealed portion 4 in which three sides indicated in FIG. 2A by hatching are pressure-sealed or welded. The side of the resin film or the like on a bag portion 2a side is usually folded in two, and the medicines 3 are sandwiched between the folded resin film or the like. The pressure-sealed portion 4 forms a spill-out preventing portion for preventing the medicines 3 from spilling out from the bag portion 2a. The medicines 3 in one unit-dose medicine package 2 is usually adjusted to a unit dose to be taken by a medication user.

[0024] The unit-dose medicine package 2 is prepared (divided) by a medicine packaging machine installed in a pharmacy or the like. The packaging paper (package sheet) used for the division, which is an outer packaging portion, is a rolled long sheet which is rolled in a folded and overlapped state. The medicines 3 to be taken are sandwiched between the sheets. A plurality of doses of the medicines 3 are sequentially divided into unit-dose portions and then sealed by the pressure-sealed portion 4 on three sides around the enclosed medicines 3, except for the folded side, and the unit-dose medicine packages 2 for the required number of doses are formed into a sheet-like strip of connected packages. The connected unit-dose medicine package in the form of sheet is hereinafter referred to as a "strip of connected packages".

[0025] A strip of connected packages 1 as illustrated in FIG. 2D is a state in which a plurality of (three unit-doses in the example illustrated in FIG. 2D) unit-dose medicine packages 2 are connected in a band shape. The strip of connected packages 1 is a general form of providing and selling medicines to medication users (including persons who actually take the medicines contained in the unit-dose medicine package and persons who assist and support the use of the medicines, as well as staff or the like of various nursing facilities, medical facilities, etc. (including pharmacists, nurses, caregivers, or medication supporters) at pharmacies and the like. From the viewpoint of simplifying the description, the following description illustrates a case in which medicines of the same form (capsules, tablets, etc.) are enclosed in one pack, but it is needless to say that medicines enclosed in one package may have different forms depending on the usage and purpose of using the medicines by the medication user.

[0026] The unit-dose medicine package 2 is rectangular in a plan view in the example as illustrated in FIG. 2A. A packaging method in which three sides of the package are pressed together and sealed as in the present example is generally called three-way packaging, and most of the medicine packaging machines on the market produce packages in this method.

[0027] The pressure-sealed portion 4 has a belt-like width of approximately 10 to 15 mm and has higher rigidity than that of the bag portion 2a that is formed of a transparent or translucent film and thus the enclosed medicines 3 can be seen from the outside. In the preparation (packaging) of the medicine packaging machine, the strip of connected packages 1 is made such that the unit-dose medicine packages 2 are sequentially connected from an upstream side to a downstream side. Between each unit-dose medicine package 2 included in the strip of connected packages 1, a boundary portion 2b is formed. In the center of each boundary portion 2b, a perforation 5 is formed. A medication user or the like who has no impairment in his / her hands can obtain one unit-dose medicine package 2 by tearing off along the perforations 5 by hand, or by cutting near the perforations 5 with scissors or a dedicated cutter.

[0028] As illustrated in FIG. 2C, the bundled package 2A is sometimes used. The bundled package 2A may be made by combining a plurality of unit-dose medicine packages 2 (two packages are illustrated in FIG. 2C) to one by stapling 8 (see FIG. 2C) or taping. The stapling may be performed on a side in between remaining two sides among the three sides of the pressure-sealed portion 4 of the unit-dose medicine packages 2. Furthermore, the bundled package 2A may be made by combining Chinese herbal medicine packages, press-through package (PTP) sheets, etc.

[0029] First medication-related information is added to the surface of the bag portion 2a of the unit-dose medicine package 2 as information related to medication, such as the name of the medication user and medication timing (also referred to as timing of administration). In the package 2 illustrated in FIG. 2A, medication-related information 6a representing the name of the medication user who takes the medicines 3 enclosed in the package 2 as a character string, medication-related information 6b representing the timing of taking the medicines 3 (medication timing) as a character string, and medication-related information 6c representing the name of the medication user and medication timing as a QR code (registered trademark) are added as medication-related information. In the package 2 as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2D, two types of medication-related information 6a and 6b are provided in the form of character strings and medication-related information 6c is provided in the form of the QR code. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above, and an RFID tag or the like in which tag information is read by using a bar code or short-range radio may be used.

[0030] Furthermore, the type of medication (including the shape of the medicine) and the number of tablets enclosed in the package, information stamped on the medicine itself, and the like may be cited as examples of medication-related information. Medication-related information may be obtained and used individually or in combination with a plurality of pieces of information. For example, when only confirming the medication user, only the medication username information may be used, and when it is desired to prevent forgetting to take an important medicine, the medication username, the number of medicine tablets in the package, and the shape of the medicine may be confirmed together. That is, the medication-related information includes at least one of the following: the medication username, the timing of taking the medicine in the package (medication timing), and the type of medicine and the number of medicine tablets enclosed in the package.

[0031] Next, the medicine dispensing tray will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view illustrating one configurational example of the medicine dispensing tray. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the medicine dispensing tray 30 includes partition walls 31 serving as a plurality of partition members for arranging a specific package, and each compartment includes four partition walls 31. Twenty compartments 33 formed in the medicine dispensing tray 30 can be expressed as components of a matrix consisting of five columns in the X-direction and four rows in the Y-direction. As a result, each of the 20 compartments 33 of the medicine dispensing tray 30 can be uniquely positioned by components or address of a matrix consisting of five columns and four rows.

[0032] The medicine dispensing tray 30 also includes a bottom wall 32 for placing the arranged package 2. As described above, the medicine dispensing tray 30 is configured to include the plurality of partition walls 31 (four walls) and the common bottom wall 32 such that the specific package placed in a specific compartment 33 is surely accommodated in the specific compartment 33 so as not to be mixed with another package in another compartment 33 or fall off from the bottom wall 32.

[0033] In the medicine dispensing tray 30 as illustrated in FIG. 3, "floor A after-lunch medicine dispensing tray" displayed on a front outer wall surface indicates that the tray is a medicine dispensing tray for accommodating packages to be taken after lunch (or "at breakfast" as the medication-related information 6b of the package 2 as illustrated in FIG. 2D may be indicated) by a plurality of medication users residing on the same floor A, for example, in a nursing facility.

[0034] The medicine dispensing tray 30 of FIG. 3 is based on a case where a detachable subdivision box 34 is used in each compartment 33. Each subdivision box 34 holds a corresponding package 2 for medicines to be taken after lunch for a total of 20 persons from Mr. A to Ms. T, who are residents of the nursing facility, for example. That is, the medicine dispensing tray 30 as illustrated in FIG. 3 is used when a specific package is placed in a predetermined (specific) compartment 33 divided by the plurality of partitions via the subdivision box 34. The operation of placing the package 2 in the medicine dispensing tray 30 need not necessarily use the subdivision box 34.

[0035] Next, an example of a label with the QR code arranged in the subdivision box used for the medicine dispensing tray will be described. FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of an attachment of a label with the QR code arranged in the subdivision box used for the medicine dispensing tray. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a display example of a label including the QR code.

[0036] In order to specify the medicine delivery location of the package 2 taken out from the cartridge 10, a label 7 with the QR code on which the medication-related information 6a representing the name of the person taking the medicine, the medication-related information 6b representing the timing of taking the medicine, and the medication-related information 6c representing the medication-related information 6a and 6b by the QR code are printed is attached to a bottom surface inside the subdivision box 34 of the medicine dispensing tray 30 and arranged.

[0037] The QR code of the label 7 with the QR code is read by a lower QR code reader 67 described in the following with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B. Coordinates of the X-position and the Y-position as positional information of the carriage 50 and the QR code (name of medication user and timing of administration) are associated with each other, such that a package taken out from the cartridge can be placed at an appropriate position. The label 7 with the QR code may be attached directly to the subdivision box 34 in the form of a seal, or may be attached to a plate and then placed in the subdivision box 34.

[0038] Furthermore, the label with the QR code may be attached to each compartment 33 of the medicine dispensing tray 30, or the plate described above may be installed (when the subdivision box 34 is not used). In this case, by using the subdivision box 34, the subdivision box 34 in which the package 2 is stored can be taken out from the medicine dispensing tray 30, and the appropriate package 2 can be delivered to a target resident (medication user), such that there is no worry that the package is misplaced or dropped.

[0039] In each compartment 33 of the medicine dispensing tray 30, a setting or insertion position of the package is predetermined for each medication user depending on the package to be taken. In other words, the plurality of compartments 33 in the medicine dispensing tray 30 may be allocated to a plurality of medication users of the same dosing timing, respectively. In addition, when a specific medication user does not need to take a medicine at a specific dosing timing, it is also possible to prevent the package from being placed into the compartment in the medicine dispensing tray 30 designated for the specific medication user at the specific dosing timing.

[0040] In addition to the above-described medicine dispensing tray 30, a plurality of compartments 33 of the medicine dispensing tray 30 may be allocated for each medication user by medication timing. Specifically, the plurality of compartments 33 may be allocated in accordance with the medication timing corresponding to the package 2, such as in the morning, noon, evening, and before going to bed, based on each medication user. In the medicine dispensing tray 30 of such an example, it is possible to manage the medicine dispensing tray 30 for each floor or each room in which a plurality of medication users reside, and to place the package 2 to be taken for that day (or several days) into the medicine dispensing tray 30 in advance.

[0041] According to the above-described example, by allocating the compartments based on each medication timing, for example, morning, noon, evening, and before going to bed, it is possible to avoid mistakes in the medication timing of each medication user. In addition to the above-described configuration of the medicine dispensing tray 30, various examples may be considered depending on a combination of the medication user and the medication timing.

[0042] Next, an example of a cartridge will be described. FIG. 5A is a longitudinal sectional view of a cartridge, FIG. 6A is a longitudinal sectional view of a cartridge that is different from the one illustrated in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B is a bottom view of the cartridge of FIG. 5A, and FIG. 6B is a bottom view of the cartridge of FIG. 6A.

[0043] In the longitudinal sectional views of FIGS. 5A and 6A, to simplify the drawings, illustration of the pressure-sealed portion 4 (see FIGS. 2A and 2B) of the package 2 stored in the cartridge 10 is omitted and the package 2 is schematically illustrated. Cross-sectional hatching of supports (right support 12, left support 13, etc.) are also omitted and the supports are schematically illustrated for the same purpose. The cartridges 10 as illustrated in FIGS. 5A to 6B have the same configuration in terms of shape and the like, but have different display positions and display members for the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c. The configuration in terms of shape and the like will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B.

[0044] The cartridge 10 mainly includes a casing 11, a lid 14, a package-extraction opening 17, a movable plate 16, a package posture holder 15, and the right support 12 and the left support 13.

[0045] The casing 11 has a function of storing a plurality of packages 2 and a bundled package 2A (typically described as package 2 in the following). The casing 11 is integrally or separately formed by including, for example, a resin. The lid 14 has a function of allowing the package 2 to be inserted. The package-extraction opening 17 is formed in a lower or bottom portion of the casing 11, is an opening for extracting the package 2 from the cartridge 10, and has a function of allowing the package 2 taken out from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50 (see FIGS. 1A, 1B, 9A, 9B, etc.) to pass therethrough.

[0046] The movable plate 16 has a function of preventing the package 2 from losing posture sideways and moving the lowermost package 2 to the vicinity of the package-extraction opening 17 after the first package out of the maximum number of packages 2 that can be stored in the casing 11 is taken out. The package posture holder 15 has a function of holding the posture of the packages 2. The right support 12 and the left support 13 also have a function of supporting or holding the packages 2 in the casing 11.

[0047] In the present embodiment, an extraction port portion for extracting the package 2 from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50 is provided in a lower portion or a bottom portion of the cartridge 10. That is, the extraction port portion includes the right support 12 and the left support 13 as the supports or support members configured to support the package 2 to be taken out from the cartridge 10 at a plurality of locations, and the package-extraction opening 17.

[0048] In order to allow the package 2 to be taken out from the cartridge 10 by using the carriage 50, the right support 12 and the left support 13 are configured to allow the package 2 to pass through therebetween. In contrast to this, when the package 2 is not to be taken out from the cartridge 10, the right support 12 and the left support 13 are configured to restrict the passage of the package 2 so as to store and hold a plurality of packages 2 in the casing 11.

[0049] As described above, the right support 12 and the left support 13 are the supports configured to support or hold the packages 2 inside the cartridge 10, and are provided in an immovable manner so as to stabilize the operation of extracting the package 2 from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50. The right support 12 and the left support 13 are fixed members. The right support 12 is provided in a state fixed to a bottom-wall inner surface 11e of a right-end portion of the package-extraction opening 17, and the left support 13 is provided in a state fixed to the bottom-wall inner surface 11e of a left-end portion of the package-extraction opening 17.

[0050] The package-extraction opening 17 is configured to pass therethrough suction pads 52 of the carriage 50 as illustrated in FIGS. 9A and in other drawings, which will be described in the following, in order to take the package 2 out from the cartridge 10, and to pass therethrough the package 2 while being sucked by the suction pads 52. That is, the package-extraction opening 17, and the bottom wall right-end portion and the bottom wall left-end portion provided in a state of surrounding the package-extraction opening 17, in together serve as a package extraction passage portion.

[0051] In the cartridge 10 as illustrated in FIG. 5B, positions 52' (hereinafter also referred to as "suction pad positions") where the suction pads 52 (see FIG. 11B described in the following) suck the package 2 stored in the cartridge 10 is indicated by a circular two-dot chain line in FIG. 5B. The right support 12 and the left support 13 support the packages 2 in the cartridge 10 such that the packages 2 in the cartridge 10 do not fall through the package-extraction opening 17. As will be described in the operation of the carriage 50 in the following, when the package 2 at the lowest position in the cartridge 10 is taken out while being sucked by the suction pads 52, the suction pads 52 suck the package 2 at two positions in the Y-direction near both ends of the right support 12. When the package 2 at the lowest position in the cartridge 10 is taken out by the suction pads 52, the two suction pads 52 pass near both ends in the Y-direction of the right support 12 toward the package 2 to suck and hold the package 2.

[0052] As illustrated in FIG. 5B, by arranging the suction pads at two positions near both ends in the Y-direction of the right support 12, it is possible to extract the package 2 while avoiding the possibility of a failure in which the suction pads 52 cannot suck the package 2. That is, since both sides in the Y-direction of the package 2 are sucked by the suction pads 52, the bag portion 2a formed of a film in the package 2 is formed into a taut shape by the suction of the two suction pads and can withstand deformation. Thus, it is possible to achieve both of reliable support or holding of the package 2 in the cartridge 10 and smooth extraction of the package 2 from the cartridge 10.

[0053] The package posture holder 15 includes a sponge rubber having appropriate elasticity. The movable plate 16 includes, for example, a resin or a metal. The package posture holder 15 and the movable plate 16 hold (As illustrated in FIG. 5A, the postures of the packages 2 are maintained in an orderly and substantially horizontal state along the Z-direction.) the postures of the plurality of packages 2 stored in the casing 11 to an appropriate posture. The movable plate 16 is set so as to surely move at least one package 2 remaining in the casing 11 to the vicinity of the package-extraction opening 17 by descending downward in the Z-direction in the casing 11 by its own weight in order to exert the above function.

[0054] As illustrated in FIG. 5A, a long groove 11a that extends in the Z-direction with a predetermined width in the X-direction is formed on a side wall of the casing 11. A flanged shaft 16a is provided at one end portion of the movable plate 16 so as to project from the long groove 11a. The movable plate 16 can hold the posture of the packages 2 in the Z-direction by guiding the shaft 16a in the Z-direction along the long groove 11a. In FIG. 5A, the packages 2 in the cartridge 10 are stacked in a substantially horizontal state, and are stored in a posture in which the medicine-enclosed portion on the left side in the drawing is swollen, but a detailed state of these packages 2 is omitted.

[0055] In order to set the packages 2 in the casing 11, the packages 2 are sequentially stored in a stacked manner toward the top of the casing 11 from the package-extraction opening 17 between the right support 12 and the left support 13. The timing for replenishing the packages 2 into the cartridge 10 may be, for example, the timing for examining a medication user (resident) in a nursing facility (usually performed every two weeks) or the timing when the packages 2 in the cartridge 10 are completely used up. When any of the packages 2 remain in the cartridge 10 at the time of replenishment, the packages 2 to be replenished are replenished from below continuing from the remaining package(s) 2. The above-described setting and replenishment of the packages 2 into the cartridge 10 are performed by the staff or the like of the nursing facility, however, this is not the case in a configuration in which the storage is made in the form of a cartridge and the replenishment is automatically performed.

[0056] The lid 14 is configured to enable the staff or the like of the nursing facility to add and remove the packages 2 into and from the cartridge 10, and as illustrated in FIG. 5A, it is formed to be long in the Z-direction of the casing 11 and to have a predetermined opening width.

[0057] As illustrated in FIG. 5B, the type of packages 2 to be stored in the cartridge 10 is determined according to the timing of taking the medicine, for example, the medicines that correspond to the amount of 14 days of the medicine to be taken in the morning by a person A (Midori Ebina in the illustrated example). Therefore, when the person A (Midori Ebina) takes the medicine not only in the morning but also in the afternoon, evening, and before going to bed, a total of four cartridges 10 are required. The configuration is not limited to the above example, and a single cartridge 10 designated for each medication user (person taking the medicine) and the like may be used. In this case, the packages 2 may be accommodated in the cartridge 10 in an order of "morning of the first day → noon → evening → before going to bed → morning of the second day → noon → evening ..." from the bottom of the package-extraction opening 17, from which the package 2 is taken out upon use.

[0058] The technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2021-185976 proposed by the present applicant discloses a technique relating to a combination of a left flap portion (in which a torsion coil spring having a predetermined biasing force is mounted between a rotation shaft and an end portion of a right bottom wall) and a right flap portion (being provided such that the right flap portion can be swung and opened / closed about the rotation shaft provided in the right-end portion of the bottom wall of the package-extraction opening) of a flap mechanism as illustrated in FIG. 8A. However, in the above-described technique, when the package is taken out from the cartridge (storage), the package is caught between the left flap portion or the right flap portion and the inner surface of the bottom wall of the package-extraction opening, resulting in an unstable operation for extracting the package.

[0059] In the present embodiment, in order to solve the above-described issue, the right support 12 and the left support 13 are fixed as fixing members to the bottom-wall inner surface 11e of the package-extraction opening 17 of the casing 11 such that the operation for extracting the package 2 from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50 is always stable. In other words, the right support 12 and the left support 13 are arranged in a state in which the right support 12 and the left support 13 for holding both ends of the medicine package (such as the package 2, the bundled package 2A, etc.) are fixed to the package-extraction opening 17 at the lower portion of the cartridge 10.

[0060] An end portion to be supported on a suction side of the package 2 is supported by the right support 12, and the end portion to be supported on the opposite side is supported by the left support 13 such that the packages 2 stored and set in the cartridge 10 are prevented from falling when in the set state. X-directional lengths of areas supported by the right support 12 and the left support 13 with respect to the package 2 are made to be different, and the X-directional length supported by the right support 12 is made short. With this configuration, when the lowermost (lowest in position) package 2 stored in the cartridge 10 is sucked by the suction pads 52 and pulled out from the cartridge 10, the medicine package such as the package 2 is flexed due to elasticity or free deformation characteristics and is readily pulled out (see FIG. 11C described in the following).

[0061] At this time, since the supports (the right support 12 and the left support 13) are fixed, corresponding ends of the next package 2 can be securely held, and the package 2 does not jump out or fall while being caught by the previous package 2 that has been pulled out. Furthermore, since the supports (the right support 12 and the left support 13) do not swing or rotate, the package 2 is not pinched or deformed by pushing in during a return operation, and the package 2 is held in a stable state.

[0062] As illustrated in FIG. 5B, the medication-related information 6a, 6b, and 6c displayed on the medicine package (package 2, bundled package 2A, and the like) are exposed from the package-extraction opening 17 of the cartridge 10. The medication-related information 6c of the medicine package can be read by an upper QR code reader 66 mounted on the carriage 50 as illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B described in the following. In FIG. 5B, in order to simplify the drawing, the medication-related information 6c is displayed only on the package 2, bundled package 2A, or the like stored at a lowermost portion of the cartridge 10, but it is needless to say that the medication-related information 6c is displayed on all the packages 2, bundled package 2A, and the like stored in the cartridge 10.

[0063] Furthermore, when the medication-related information 6c provided such as by the QR code cannot be attached to the medicine package (package 2, bundled package 2A, or the like) (for example, when the packaging machine for producing the package 2 or the like cannot support the printing of the QR code), the method as illustrated in FIG. 6B may be employed. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 6B, a label to which the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c is provided is attached to the bottom surface of the left support 13 near the package-extraction opening 17. In this way, the medication-related information 6c of the medicine package (package 2, bundled package 2A, or the like) stored in the cartridge 10 can be obtained. To obtain the medication-related information 6c, instead of attaching the label with the QR code, the medication-related information 6c may be directly printed onto the cartridge 10.

[0064] Next, a cartridge attachment / detachment mechanism provided in each drawer will be described. FIG. 7 is a plan sectional view illustrating essential parts of the cartridge attachment / detachment mechanism provided in the drawer. FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view illustrating a configuration for identifying cartridges provided in the drawer.

[0065] As illustrated in FIG. 7, the drawer 80 is configured such that a plurality of cartridges 10 are detachable via the cartridge tray 20. The cartridge 10 configured to be detachable in this manner is also generally referred to as a "storage". The drawer 80 is integrally configured with the cartridge tray 20 to hold the cartridge tray 20. The slide rails 81 are provided on left and right outer wall surfaces of a casing portion 22 of the cartridge tray 20 of the drawer 80. Each slide rail 81 is configured to be slidable with respect to a main rail body disposed each on two facing sides of the body frame 199 (see FIG. 1). Thus, the drawer 80 (together with the cartridge tray 20) can be pulled out from the inside of the body frame 199 (see FIG. 1) for detachment or inserted into the body frame 199 for attachment, through the engagement between the slide rails 81 and the main rail bodies.

[0066] Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the cartridge 10 is attached to or detached from the cartridge tray 20 in the drawer 80 through engagement and detachment of a pair of projections 23a projecting inwardly from an inner wall surface of the casing portion 22 of the drawer 80 with and from a pair of recesses 11c formed on an outer wall surface of the casing 11 of the cartridge 10, as well as the engagement and detachment of four hemispherical projections 11d formed on outer wall surfaces of the casing 11 with and from the inner wall surfaces of the casing portion 22. According to the above-described attachment and detachment configuration of the drawer 80, the attachment and detachment of the plurality of cartridges 10 can be performed simply and with good operability.

[0067] In the example described above, the cartridge 10 is attached and detached through the fitting and engagement of the recesses and projections, but the configuration is not limited to the above. The same effect as described above can be obtained by providing an elastic material in a space between the inner wall surfaces of the casing portion 22 and the outer wall surfaces of the casing 11 or adopting a configuration that utilizes magnetic force or a snap fit structure. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the bottom wall of the cartridge tray 20 of the drawer 80 is provided with a plurality of openings 21. Each of the plurality of openings 21 communicates with the package-extraction opening 17 (see FIGS. 5A to 6B) of the corresponding cartridge 10 when the cartridges 10 are attached to storages 23 of the cartridge tray 20, respectively. Although the shape of each opening 21 of the cartridge tray 20 as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 is schematically shown slightly smaller and in a penetrating rectangular shape, it is needless to say that each opening 21 is formed according to embodiments as illustrated in FIGS. 17, 18, and the like described in the following.

[0068] As illustrated in FIG. 8, the cartridge tray 20 of the drawer 80 includes the storage 23 configured to store 20 cartridges 10. The cartridge tray 20 includes four columns A to D in the horizontal direction and five rows 1 to 5 in the vertical direction. The drawer 80 is provided with guide display portions, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 25a1 to 25d5, in the vicinity of a handle 26 which is gripped by a hand during an attachment / detachment operation, such that the locations where the cartridges 10 are installed can be readily recognized. Thus, it is possible to readily determine where the target cartridge 10 is located in the cartridge tray 20 of the drawer 80. In FIG. 8, the LED 25a1 detects the presence / absence of the cartridge 10 attached or detached to and from a storage A1 (representing a portion or compartment that has been uniquely determined based on a vertical column and a horizontal row) in the cartridge tray 20. Similarly, the LED 25a2 corresponds to the storage A2 in the cartridge tray 20, the LED 25a3 corresponds to the storage A3 in the cartridge tray 20, the LED 25a4 corresponds to the storage A4 in the cartridge tray 20, and the LED 25a5 corresponds to the storage A5 in the cartridge tray 20. Similarly, as illustrated in FIG. 8, LEDs for indicating the presence or absence of the cartridges 10 attached or detached to and from the respective storages are also provided for the storages 1 to 5 in columns B to D.

[0069] When using such as the LEDs 25a1 to 25d5 for the guide display portions, there is a possibility that the cartridge 10 may be attached (erroneously attached) to a storage other than the storage 23 predetermined by a staff member who is in charge of attaching the cartridge 10 to the storage 23 by misunderstanding the position of the illuminated LED among the LEDs 25a1 to 25d5. Therefore, instead of the guide display portions such as the LEDs 25a1 to 25d5, a detector such as a sensor or a switch may be provided in the respective storages 23 to electrically (automatically) identify the presence or absence of the cartridge 10.

[0070] Furthermore, in order to identify the presence or absence of the cartridge 10 in each storage, a number, a bar code, a QR code, or a non-contact IC tag may be provided in the storages, and the system may store information on whose medicine is in which storage. Then, after setting the drawer in which the storages are attached to the apparatus main body, identification of each storage is performed on the apparatus main body side. Thus, the apparatus can pick and extract the target package without mistake.

[0071] The cartridge tray 20 provided in the drawer 80 as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 is also provided with a configuration for detecting the attachment / detachment (insertion / removal) of the cartridge 10 by a sensor, as will be described in the following, and since this is an essential part of the present embodiment, its details will be described in the following with reference to FIG. 15 and the like.

[0072] Next, the configuration and operation of the carriage will be described. FIG. 9A is a front view illustrating the configuration of the carriage, FIG. 9B is a plan view illustrating the configuration of the carriage of FIG. 9A, and FIGS. 10 to 12 are front views illustrating an operational transition of the carriage. In order to simplify the drawings, a connection relationship diagram of a negative pressure generator 45 and the like in relation to the configuration of the carriage is illustrated only in FIG. 9A, and will be omitted in FIGS. 10, 13, and the like described in the following.

[0073] As illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the carriage 50 includes a suction portion 51 configured to extract and hold the package 2 from the cartridge 10. The suction portion 51 has a function of sucking and separating the package 2. When the package 2 is adsorbed, it has a function of adsorbing the package 2 by using the negative-pressure air converted by the negative pressure generator 45 as a negative-pressure switching means. When the package 2 is separated, it has a function of separating the package 2 by using the pressurized air converted by the negative pressure generator 45.

[0074] As illustrated in FIG. 9A, the suction portion 51 converts the positive pressure from an air compressor 46, which is the air compressing part, into negative pressure by the negative pressure generator 45 through an air tank 47, thereby sucking the package 2 in a negative pressure state. The air compressor 46 is installed outside the transfer part 90 and is connected to the suction portion 51 by a communication member such as an air piping 49 through the air tank 47 and the negative pressure generator 45. The air piping 49 between the negative pressure generator 45 and the suction portion 51 is provided such that suction of the package 2 by the suction portion 51 can be determined when a value of the negative pressure measured by a pressure sensor becomes a predetermined value or less.

[0075] The air piping 49 is provided through a cable pair or the like together with a harness or the like so as not to be strained even when the carriage 50 is moved inside the medicine dispensing apparatus 200. That is, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the air piping 49 includes paths of one turn in the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis, respectively. The air piping 49 first extends in a Z direction from the negative pressure generator 45 and makes one turn, then extends in the X-direction and makes one turn, and finally extends in the Y-direction and makes one turn, and is connected to the suction portion 51.

[0076] The suction portion 51 also includes the suction pads 52 configured to suck the package 2 and suction ducts 53 connected to the suction pads 52, respectively. The negative pressure generator 45, also called a vacuum ejector valve, communicates with the suction ducts 53 through the air piping 49. Each suction pad 52 functions as an air suction part or a suction member configured to suck and extract the package 2 from the cartridge 10. The upper end of the suction pad 52 as illustrated in FIG. 9A, which is one end of the suction pad 52, is arranged to suck the package 2 as described above. The lower end of the suction pad 52 as illustrated in FIG. 9A, which is the other end of the suction pad 52, is fixed to the upper end of the suction duct 53 as illustrated in FIG. 9A, which is one end of the suction duct 53. The lower end of the suction duct 53 as illustrated in FIG. 9A, which is the other end of the suction duct 53, is fixed to a suction pad support 54. Two sets of a pair of the suction pad 52 and suction duct 53 are provided in the Y-direction.

[0077] The carriage 50 also includes a posture changer configured to change the posture of the package 2 taken out from the cartridge 10 to a substantially vertical state. The posture changer in the carriage 50 includes, as main constituent members, a suction pad support 54 connected to a suction-portion base 57 via a rotary shaft 55, a pair of guides 59 each provided with a guide groove 59a of a specific shape, a guide shaft 56 which is always fitted into the guide grooves 59a of the guides 59 and configured to guide the suction pad support 54, and a suction-portion vertical mover.

[0078] The suction pad support 54 is connected to the suction-portion base 57 via the rotary shaft 55. The suction pad support 54 may be provided to be rotatable (i.e., swingable) within a predetermined angle range about the rotary shaft 55 fixed to the suction pad support 54, or may be provided to be swingable about the rotary shaft 55 fixed to the suction-portion base 57. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 9A, the distance in the X-direction between the center of the rotary shaft 55 and the center of each guide rod 58 described in the following is set to be constant when the suction-portion base 57 vertically moves in the Z-direction, along a pair of guide rods 58.

[0079] The suction-portion vertical mover includes the pair of guide rods 58 provided in the Y-direction for guiding the suction-portion base 57 in the Z-direction, an endless belt 62 wound around a drive pulley 60 and a driven pulley 61, and a drive motor 63 connected to the drive pulley 60 via a drive transmission member such as a gear or a belt. The drive motor 63 is a driver or a drive source for the suction-portion vertical mover.

[0080] The suction-portion base 57 is connected and fixed to the belt 62 by a belt gripper 62a fixed to the right end of the suction-portion base 57. The guide rods 58 extend in the Z-direction and are provided in a pair in the Y-direction, and their lower ends are fixed to a bottom frame 50b of an extraction frame 50a provided to the carriage 50. Guide holes 57a to which the guide rods 58 are inserted, respectively, are formed on a right end side of the suction-portion base 57. The drive pulley 60 and the driven pulley 61 include pulley shafts (not illustrated) rotatably supported by immovable members on an extraction frame 50a side. The drive motor 63 is fixed to the immovable member on the extraction frame 50a side of the carriage 50.

[0081] When the suction-portion base 57 is moved up and down by the operation of the drive motor 63, the suction-portion base 57 moves in the Z-direction along the guide rods 58, such that the posture of the suction-portion base 57 in an XY-plane can be substantially fixed to a horizontal state. The suction-portion vertical mover is not limited to the above-described up-and-down reciprocating mechanism driven by a belt, but may be a reciprocating linear motion mechanism using a rack and pinion or the like.

[0082] The pair of guides 59 are provided on both sides of the suction portion 51 in the Y-direction with the suction pad support 54 sandwiched between the guides 59, and their lower ends are fixed to the bottom frame 50b. The guide shaft 56 is provided to project outward from both ends of the suction pad support 54 in the Y-direction, and always fitted into the guide grooves 59a of the guides 59 to guide the suction pad support 54. As illustrated in FIG. 9A, the guide shaft 56 is provided on the lower side of the rotary shaft 55 of the suction pad support 54 in the Z-direction at a fixed distance from the rotary shaft 55.

[0083] When the suction-portion base 57 is moved in the Z-direction by the operation of the drive motor 63, the posture of the suction-portion base 57 in the XY-plane is kept constant in a substantially horizontal state, and the guide shaft 56 of the suction pad support 54 is moved in the Z-direction along the guide grooves 59a having a specific shape, such that the postures of the suction pads 52 can be rotated by approximately 90 degrees (In FIG. 9A, a state when the suction portion 51 is rotated approximately 90 degrees is illustrated by a thick broken line.). Here, the substantially horizontal state means a state including a horizontal state and a state within a predetermined angular tolerance range with respect to the horizontal state.

[0084] Each of the guide grooves 59a having a specific shape includes a first guide groove and a second guide groove. The first guide groove extends relatively long in the Z-direction to hold the posture of the suction pads 52 upward as illustrated by a solid line in FIG. 9A through the suction pad support 54 having a substantially horizontal state by being guided by the guide shaft 56. The second guide groove is connected to the first guide groove while being communicated with the first guide groove, is formed so as to gradually draw a gentle arc toward the right side as it goes downward, and is configured to rotate the postures of the suction pad support 54 and the suction pads 52 by approximately 90 degrees.

[0085] As illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the carriage 50 is equipped with an upper QR code reader 66 serving as an information reader configured to read the medication-related information 6c (see FIG. 5B) provided in the form of the QR code displayed on the package 2 or the like stored in the cartridge 10. The upper QR code reader 66 includes, on its upper portion, an upper reader 66a configured to read the medication-related information 6c and to function also as a medication-related information reader 65 (See FIGS. 15 and 16 described in the following.). The upper QR code reader 66 is attached to a side surface of the carriage 50. The upper QR code reader 66 is also used for reading the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c displayed on a label (see FIG. 6B) attached to the left support 13 of the package-extraction opening 17 in the cartridge 10. The operation of reading the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c by the upper reader 66a of the upper QR code reader 66 will be described assuming that the operation is performed immediately before the operation of extracting the package 2 from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50.

[0086] In FIGS. 9A and 9B, the carriage 50 is also equipped with the medication-related information reader 65 or the lower QR code reader 67 as the information reader configured to read the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c of the label 7 attached to the subdivision box 34 described in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The lower QR code reader 67 includes at its lower portion a lower reader 67a that functions also as the medication-related information reader 65 and is attached to the side surface of the carriage 50 below the upper QR code reader 66. The operation of reading the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c of the subdivision box 34 by the lower reader 67a of the lower QR code reader 67 will be described assuming that the operation is performed immediately before the operation of dispensing the package 2 taken out from the cartridge 10 into the subdivision box 34 of the medicine dispensing tray 30.

[0087] Next, the operation of the carriage 50 will be described. Here, in order to simplify the description and make it easier to understand, it is assumed that the carriage 50 is positioned in the vicinity of the lower portion of the cartridge tray 20 held by the upper drawer 80 of the two drawers 80 arranged in the upper and lower part inside the body frame 199 as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, by the operation of the transfer part 90. Furthermore, it is assumed that the cartridge 10 as illustrated in FIG. 5A and the cartridge tray 20 as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B are used. Furthermore, in order to simplify the diagram and make it easier to understand, in FIGS. 11A to 11F and FIGS. 12B and 12C, the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c, the upper QR code reader 66, and the lower QR code reader 67 are not illustrated.

[0088] In FIG. 10, the carriage 50 can be moved in the X- and Y-directions in the vicinity of the lower portions of the cartridge 10 and the cartridge tray 20 by the transfer part 90 as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. First, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the carriage 50 moves below the cartridge tray 20 holding the cartridge 10 that stores the package 2 to be taken out, and occupies a position that achieves the following state. That is, the upper reader 66a of the upper QR code reader 66 of the carriage 50 occupies a position that is substantially directly below the cartridge tray 20 and the cartridge 10 (a reading range 9 in which the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c of the package 2 stored in the lowermost portion of the cartridge 10 can be read from the opening 21 of the cartridge tray 20). While occupying the above position, the carriage 50 reads the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c displayed on the package 2 by the upper reader 66a of the upper QR code reader 66.

[0089] Next, as illustrated in FIG. 11A, the transfer part 90 as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B moves the carriage 50 slightly in an opposite direction of the X-direction from the position as illustrated in FIG. 10, to reach a position where the package 2 at the lowest position can be taken out from the cartridge 10 in concern, and then the carriage 50 comes to a movement-stop state. At this time, the drive motor 63 of the suction-portion vertical mover is stopped, and the suction pads 52 are positioned below an upper surface position of the extractor (meaning the upper surface position of the extraction frame 50a of the carriage 50). Thereafter, as illustrated in FIG. 11B, by the operation of the drive motor 63, the suction pads 52 move upward, enter through the package-extraction opening 17 between the right support 12 and the left support 13, contact the package 2 positioned at the lowest position of the cartridge 10, and simultaneously suck the package 2. At this time, the negative pressure generator 45 is driven to generate negative pressure in advance, and the suction pads 52 are in a state where the suction of the package 2 is possible.

[0090] Then, as illustrated in FIG. 11C, by a reverse operation of the drive motor 63, the suction pads 52 are moved downward while the package 2 is sucked by the suction pads 52, and a front end (This means the side adsorbed by the suction pads 52. The same shall apply hereinafter.) as one end of the package 2 is pulled out from the cartridge 10.

[0091] Then, as illustrated in FIG. 11D, the carriage 50 is moved in the X-direction, which is the lateral direction, by the operation of the transfer part 90, and a rear end of the package 2 is pulled out from the cartridge 10. Immediately thereafter, as illustrated in FIGS. 11E and 11F, by the operation of the drive motor 63, the posture of the package 2 which is sucked and held by the suction pads 52 in the substantially horizontal state is rotated by approximately 90 degrees. The posture of the package 2 is put into a state that is substantially perpendicular (hereinafter also referred to as a substantially vertical state) with respect to the substantially horizontal state. At this time, since the guide shaft 56 provided in the suction pad support 54 moves along the guide grooves 59a of the guides 59 and changes its position, the posture of the package 2 can be changed from the substantially horizontal state to the substantially vertical state. In the case described above, a series of operations performed by a single drive source, which is the drive motor 63, enables the above-described posture change of the package 2.

[0092] Then, as illustrated in FIG. 12A, the carriage 50 including the suction pads 52 holding the package 2 in the substantially vertical posture is carried to a predetermined position by the transfer part 90. When the lower reader 67a of the lower QR code reader 67 of the carriage 50 occupies the predetermined position where the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c displayed at the lower part of the predetermined subdivision box 34 (or predetermined compartment 33) of the medicine dispensing tray 30 is within the reading range 9, the lower reader 67a reads the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c.

[0093] Then, the carriage 50 is moved slightly in the opposite direction of the X-direction as illustrated in FIG. 12B from the position as illustrated in FIG. 12A by the transfer part 90 as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, and is brought into the movement-stop state at a position where the package 2 that has been taken out can be inserted into the predetermined subdivision box 34 (or predetermined compartment 33) of the same medicine dispensing tray 30. When the carriage 50 is moved to a position substantially directly above the predetermined subdivision box 34 (or predetermined compartment 33) of the medicine dispensing tray 30 into which the package 2 is to be inserted, the negative pressure generator 45 is driven for a short time to generate pressure (positive pressure) from the negative pressure. Thus, pressurized air is blown from the suction pads 52 to the package 2, thereby releasing the suction holding of the package 2, and the package 2 is inserted into the predetermined subdivision box 34 (or predetermined compartment 33) of the medicine dispensing tray 30 (see FIG. 12C).

[0094] After the above-described operation is performed a plurality of times and the required package 2 is inserted into the predetermined compartment 33 of the medicine dispensing tray 30, the medicine dispensing tray 30 is discharged from the apparatus through the third access port 43 (see FIGS. 1A and 1B), and is received by the staff or the like of the nursing facility or the like or the medication support person.

[0095] Next, an operation for reading the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c of the cartridge 10 as illustrated in FIG. 6B by the upper reader 66a of the upper QR code reader 66 as illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B will be described. The cartridge 10 as illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B differs from the cartridge 10 illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B only in that the display-position of the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c is changed from the bag portion 2a of the package 2 to the bottom wall surface of the left support 13 of the cartridge 10.

[0096] Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 13, in order to read the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c displayed on the bottom wall surface of the left support 13 of the cartridge 10, the carriage 50 may be moved in the opposite direction of the X-direction to a position where the upper reader 66a of the upper QR code reader 66 of the carriage 50 has a reading range 9 in which the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c displayed on the bottom wall surface of the left support 13 of the cartridge 10 can be read. With the carriage 50 occupying the above position, the upper reader 66a of the upper QR code reader 66 reads the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c displayed on the bottom wall surface of the left support 13 left of the cartridge 10. Other operations of the carriage 50 are the same as those described in FIGS. 11A to 11F and FIGS. 12A and 12B.

[0097] As described above, in the present embodiment, when the package 2 is taken out from the cartridge 10, the carriage 50 is positioned below the cartridge 10 and the cartridge tray 20, and the package 2 is taken out from the lower side of the cartridge 10. As described above, when the package 2 is taken out from the lower side of the cartridge 10, the next package 2 is automatically moved downward (in the direction of the package-extraction opening 17) by the dead weight of the package 2 remaining in the cartridge 10 and the movable plate 16, such that the carriage 50 can perform the same operation with a simple configuration regardless of the remaining amount of the package 2 in the cartridge 10.

[0098] Next, the configuration and operation of the transfer part 90 will be described. FIG. 14A is a front view illustrating a configuration of essential parts of the transfer part, and FIG. 14B is a side view illustrating the essential parts of the transfer part of FIG. 14A. As shown in the configuration of the medicine dispensing apparatus 200 illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the cartridges 10 are arranged on the same plane below the medicine dispensing tray 30 arranged in the upper portion of the body frame 199 in the Z-direction. The medicine dispensing tray 30 is located further above the upper cartridge 10, such that the carriage 50 moves in 3 directions, namely, the X-direction, the Y-direction, and the Z-direction. As described above, the transfer part 90 is configured to move the carriage 50 in the X-direction, the Y-direction, and the Z-direction in order to transfer the package 2 taken out from the cartridge 10 by the carriage 50 to the medicine dispensing tray 30.

[0099] The carriage 50 is moved in the X-direction by an X-directional transfer part 91, the carriage 50 is moved in the Y-direction by a Y-directional transfer part 101, and the carriage 50 is moved in the Z-direction by a Z-directional transfer part 111.

[0100] The X-directional transfer part 91 includes an X-adapter 96 attached to the carriage 50, an X-guide 97 configured to guide the carriage 50 in the X-direction via the X-adapter 96, an endless belt 94 wound between a drive pulley 92 and a driven pulley 93, and a drive motor 95 for transfer in the X-direction connected to the drive pulley 92 via a drive force transmission member such as a gear or a belt. The X-adapter 96 is rotatably mounted with three rollers 98 (two of the three rollers are hidden by the carriage 50 and cannot be seen) in a state of pinching the X-guide 97. The X-adapter 96 is connected and fixed to the endless belt 94 via a belt gripper.

[0101] With the configuration of the X-directional transfer part 91, when the drive motor 95 is driven, a drive force is transmitted to the endless belt 94 via the drive force transmission member and the drive pulley 92 to rotate the endless belt 94, and the carriage 50 moves in the X-direction along the X-guide 97 together with the X-adapter 96.

[0102] The Y-directional transfer part 101 includes a Y-adapter 106 mounted to the carriage 50, a Y-guide 107 guiding the carriage 50 in the Y-direction via the Y-adapter 106, an endless belt 104 wound between a drive pulley 102 and a driven pulley 103, and a drive motor 105 for Y-directional transfer connected to the drive pulley 102 via a drive force transmission member such as a gear or a belt. The Y-adapter 106 is rotatably mounted with three rollers 108 in a state of pinching the Y-guide 107. The Y-adapter 106 is coupled and fixed to the endless belt 104 via a belt gripper 104a.

[0103] When the drive motor 105 is driven by the configuration of the Y-directional transfer part 101, the drive force is transmitted to the endless belt 104 via the drive force transmission member and the drive pulley 102, and the endless belt 104 rotates and travels, and the carriage 50 moves in the Y-direction along the Y-guide 107 together with the Y-adapter 106.

[0104] The Z-directional transfer part 111 includes a pair of Z-adapters 116 mounted on both ends of the X-guide 97 in the X-direction, a pair of Z-guides 117 guiding the carriage 50 in the Z-direction via the X-guide 97 and the pair of Z-adapters 116, an endless belt 114 wound between a drive pulley 112 and a driven pulley 113, and a drive motor 115 for Z-directional transfer connected to the drive pulley 112 via a drive force transmission member such as a gear or a belt. In the Z-directional transfer part 111, the drive pulley 112, the driven pulley 113, and the endless belt 114 are provided on both sides in the X-direction, but the drive motor 115 is provided only on one drive pulley 112. Each of the Z-adapters 116 includes three rollers 118 rotatably mounted in a state of pinching Z-guides 117. Furthermore, each of the Z-adapters 116 is connected and fixed to a corresponding endless belt 114 via a corresponding belt gripper 114a.

[0105] When the drive motor 115 is driven by the above-described configuration of the Z-directional transfer part 111, the drive force is transmitted to the endless belt 114 via the drive force transmission member and the drive pulley 112, whereby the endless belt 114 rotates and travels, and the carriage 50 moves in the Z-direction along the Z-guides 117 together with the X-guide 97 and the Z-adapters 116.

[0106] In FIGS. 14A and 14B, the carriage 50 moves in three axial directions of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis, but in a configuration in which, for example, the cartridge 10 is disposed on the upper side and the medicine dispensing tray 30 is disposed on the lower side with the carriage 50 sandwiched therebetween, the carriage 50 only needs to move in the X-direction and the Y-direction, such that the movement axis can be reduced by one.

[0107] As described above, in the present embodiment, the QR code reader as the information reader is divided into two portions, i.e., the upper QR code reader 66 including the upper reader 66a and the lower QR code reader 67 including the lower reader 67a, but the QR code reader may be collected to one section.

[0108] As will be described in the following, the QR code reading operation may be controlled to be automatically started upon detection of housing of the cartridge, the medicine dispensing tray, or both. Furthermore, the QR code reading operation may be performed immediately before extracting the medicine package from the cartridge, immediately before dispensing the medicine to the medicine dispensing tray, or may be set at any timing by user operation.

[0109] The QR code on the side of the carriage and the QR code on the side of the medicine dispensing tray (subdivision box) are read, and respective information is stored for use in data comparison during medicine dispensing (see FIGS. 16A to 16C to be described in the following).

[0110] Next, the control configuration of the medicine dispensing apparatus 200 will be described. FIG. 15 is a control block diagram illustrating a main control configuration of the medicine dispensing apparatus. As illustrated in FIG. 15, the medicine dispensing apparatus 200 includes a central processing unit (CPU) having a function as a controller 150 serving as a controller for controlling the operation of each component of the medicine dispensing apparatus 200. The CPU includes a storage, a timer, and the like. The CPU issues a notification to the staff or the like and instructions for the operation of the apparatus at a timing in accordance with a program based on various inputs such as from sensors described in the following. The CPU may include a timer function in addition to calculation and control functions.

[0111] A storage 152 on the controller 150 side includes a random access memory (RAM) (memory which can be read and written at any time), also called a main storage (main memory), and a read-only memory (ROM). A program readable by the CPU (for example, a program such as a control flowchart described in the following), various types of data, and the like are stored in advance in the ROM. The various types of data include, for example, relationship data between the compartment 33 and the plurality of subdivision boxes 34 of the medicine dispensing tray 30 and the medicine package allocated to each medication user, relationship data between the compartments 33 and the plurality of subdivision boxes 34 of the medicine dispensing tray 30 and the medicine package allocated to each medication timing, and relationship data between the compartments 33 and the plurality of subdivision boxes 34 of the medicine dispensing tray 30 and the medicine package allocated according to the order of taking medicines.

[0112] A touch panel 151 is electrically connected to the input / output port of the CPU as a user interface. The user interface is not limited to the touch panel 151, but may be a combination of, for example, a keyboard and an LED display in which the input part and the display part are separate.

[0113] A medicine dispensing tray detection sensor 156 configured to detect the type of the medicine dispensing tray 30 housed in the apparatus and the presence / absence of the medicine dispensing tray 30, and a cartridge detection sensor 157 configured to detect the presence / absence of the cartridge 10 are electrically connected to an input port of the CPU. Also electrically connected to the input port of the CPU are, as various sensors, drawer and access port open / close detection sensors 159a and 159b configured to detect the opening / closing of the first access port 41 and the second access port 42, and medicine dispensing tray access port open / close detection sensors 160a and 160b configured to detect the opening / closing of the third access port 43 and the fourth access port 44. The medicine dispensing tray detection sensor 156, the cartridge detection sensor 157, the drawer and access port open / close detection sensors 159a and 159b, and the medicine dispensing tray access port open / close detection sensors 160a and 160b are illustrated only in FIG. 15. Also electrically connected to the input port of the CPU are an HP sensor 99 for an HP sensor X configured to detect a home position (hereinafter abbreviated as "HP") of an X-directional transfer part 91 in the carriage 50, an HP sensor 109 for an HP sensor Y configured to detect the HP of the Y-directional transfer part 101 in the carriage 50, and an HP sensor 119 for an HP sensor Z configured to detect the HP of the Z-directional transfer part 111 in the carriage 50. Also electrically connected to the input port of the CPU is an HP sensor 158 for an HP sensor P configured to detect the HP of the suction portion 51 (especially the suction pads 52) in the carriage 50.

[0114] The input port of the CPU is electrically connected to the upper QR code reader 66 (upper reader 66a) as the medication-related information reader 65 and the lower QR code reader 67 (lower reader 67a) as the medication-related information reader 65, which are disposed in the carriage 50.

[0115] The input port of the CPU is electrically connected to a cartridge detection sensor 70 as an example of a storage detector configured to detect or sense the attachment / detachment of the cartridge 10 from / to the body frame 199 of the medicine dispensing apparatus 200. The storage detector, the cartridge detection sensor 70, and the like will be described in the following in detail.

[0116] The output port of the CPU is electrically connected to the drive motor 95 for the X-directional transfer part 91, the drive motor 105 for the Y-directional transfer part 101, the drive motor 115 for the Z-directional transfer part 111, and the drive motor 63 for changing the posture of the suction pads 52 via various motor drivers X to Z and P, respectively. The output port of the CPU is electrically connected to a negative pressure generator (ejector valve) 45 as an actuator for a negative pressure generator via a negative pressure generator driver. A notifier may be electrically connected to the output port of the CPU. This notifier notifies the state of the apparatus and each component by light such as an LED, sound including a speech sound, and vibration. A loudspeaker, light, or the like is provided for informing the staff or the like of the medication timing or the like even when they are away from the apparatus.

[0117] External medication information is also input to the CPU through an input / output part, stored in the storage 152, and used for dispensing of the medicine to the medication user. The LEDs 25a1 to 25d5 or the like of the drawer 80 may be electrically connected.

[0118] When input information from the touch panel 151, and various signals from various HP sensors 99, 109, 119, and 158 as well as other sensors are input to the CPU, the CPU outputs the following command signal. That is, the CPU outputs an instruction to an audio apparatus or an optical apparatus of the display (including the notifier) of the touch panel 151, the LEDs 25a1 to 25d5, the negative pressure generator 45, the drive motor 63, the drive motor 95, the drive motor 105 or the drive motor 115, or a driver corresponding to the LED.

[0119] The HP sensor 158 for the HP sensor P and the drive motor 63 in which output is made via the motor driver P are used for driving and controlling the suction portion vertical mover. The CPU has a function for executing various control operations shown in a description and control flowchart to be described in the following.

[0120] Next, the principle of detecting the attachment / detachment (insertion / removal) of a cartridge by a sensor will be described. FIGS. 16A and 16B are explanatory views of the cartridge detection sensor 70 configured to detect the attachment / detachment (insertion / removal) of a cartridge. As illustrated in FIG. 16A, it is assumed that there is a cartridge 10X to be detected, and that the cartridge 10X is detected by an optical sensor which is, for example, a reflective photosensor as the storage detector. The cartridge detection sensor 70 including an optical sensor emits detection light 71a from a light emitter 71, and when there is a cartridge 10X, a light receiver 73 receives the reflected light 72a from the cartridge 10X, thereby detecting the presence / absence of the cartridge 10X to be detected. In contrast to this, as illustrated in FIG. 16B, when there is no cartridge 10X to be detected, the absence of the cartridge 10X to be detected can be detected because the light receiver 73 does not receive light as there is no reflected light of the detection light 71a.

[0121] As illustrated in FIG. 16C, the cartridge detection sensor 70 including such an optical sensor is arranged on the cartridge tray 20 (for example, attached and fixed via a mounting plate 74), thereby detecting the attachment / detachment (insertion / removal) of the cartridge 10. When the cartridge detection sensor 70 is arranged on the cartridge tray 20, it is needless to say that the cartridge detection sensor 70 is arranged on the mounting plate 74 so as not to interfere with the carriage 50 or the like during the reading operation by the upper reader 66a of the upper QR code reader 66 as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 13.

[0122] In addition to the above optical sensor, instead of the cartridge detection sensor 70, a method of detecting the attachment / detachment (insertion / removal) of the cartridge 10 by confirming a change in the distance from the cartridge 10 by using a distance sensor, or a method of detecting the attachment / detachment (insertion / removal) of the cartridge 10 by detecting a change in the weight of the cartridge 10 by using a weight sensor may be used. The cartridge detection sensor 70 is not limited to the above optical sensor, distance sensor, and weight sensor, but may be a push switch or the like which detects the attachment / detachment (insertion / removal) of the cartridge 10 by contacting with the cartridge 10.

[0123] An embodiment in which the attachment / detachment (insertion / removal) of the cartridge 10 is detected by the cartridge detection sensor 70 including an optical sensor provided for each of a plurality of cartridges will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. FIG. 17 (1) illustrates views illustrating the cartridge tray 20 in which the cartridge 10 is not set. FIG. 17 (2) illustrates a state in which the cartridge 10 is set in the cartridge tray 20. FIG. 17 (1) (a) is a sectional view of the cartridge tray 20 with its surroundings in a state in which the cartridge 10 is not set. FIG. 17 (1) (b) is a bottom view of the cartridge tray 20 in a state in which the cartridge 10 is not set. FIG. 17 (2) (a) is a sectional view of the cartridge 10 and the cartridge tray 20 in a state in which the cartridge 10 is set. FIG. 17 (2) (b) is a bottom view of the cartridge 10 and the cartridge tray 20 in a state in which the cartridge 10 is set. FIG. 18 is a bottom view of a plurality of cartridge trays 20 in which the cartridge detection sensors 70 are respectively arranged.

[0124] As illustrated in FIG. 17 (2), when the cartridge 10 is mounted and set in the cartridge tray 20, the cartridge detection sensor 70 arranged on the outer bottom surface of the cartridge tray 20 detects and responds to the bottom surface of the cartridge 10, and thus, it is possible to recognize that the cartridge 10 is mounted and set in the cartridge tray 20.

[0125] By providing the cartridge detection sensor 70 in the cartridge tray 20 as described above, it is possible to confirm whether or not each cartridge 10 is inserted into or removed from the cartridge tray 20. Furthermore, these cartridge trays 20 may be connected together as illustrated in FIG. 18.

[0126] In the embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 18, by detecting the insertion or removal of a cartridge for each cartridge, it is possible to accurately identify the cartridge in which an operation has been performed. However, by providing the sensor for each cartridge, there are concerns such as causing an issue in the sensor due to an applied stress and / or the necessity to electrically wire the storage detector such as the cartridge detection sensor 70 for each cartridge detection sensor 70.

[0127] Next, a description will be given of a control configuration of a medication support system 300 including a plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses and a management apparatus including a personal computer (PC) communicably connected to these medicine dispensing apparatuses. FIG. 19 is a control block diagram illustrating the medication support system of the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 19, the medication support system 300 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C having the same basic configuration as the above-described medicine dispensing apparatus 200, and a management apparatus 210 communicably connected to these medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C. The basic configuration of the plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C is the same as that of the above-described medicine dispensing apparatus 200, but the configurations related to the medicine dispensing operation are different from each other, as will be described in the following.

[0128] The management apparatus 210 includes a personal computer and has five well-known hardware configurations. That is, the management apparatus 210 includes a control device, a computation device, a storage device, an input device, and an output device. The control device includes a CPU and executes a program or issues instructions to other devices. The computation device executes a program or performs calculations. The storage device includes a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device and stores data such as a program or text. The input device includes a mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, or the like and transmits data or instructions to a computer. The output device includes a display, a printer, a loudspeaker, or the like and outputs data from the computer.

[0129] The management apparatus 210 of the present embodiment manages control information for controlling a series of medicine dispensing operations in each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C in which the package 2 stored in the cartridge 10 is transferred to a corresponding subdivision box 34 on the medicine dispensing tray 30 for dispensing. More specifically, the management apparatus 210 stores setting information for setting control information for respective medicine dispensing operations in association with each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C and transmits the corresponding control information to each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C. In each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C, medicine dispensing operation is controlled based on the control information transmitted from the management apparatus 210.

[0130] Specifically, the management apparatus 210 includes an external medicine-dispensing control system 220 achieved by a hardware configuration of the management apparatus 210. The external medicine-dispensing control system 220 mainly includes a medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 221, a medicine-dispensing information management system 222, a package information management system 223, a medicine dispensing controller 224, an apparatus-information management part 225, and a communication controller 226. In the external medicine-dispensing control system 220 of the present embodiment, a part of the control system provided in an existing medicine dispensing apparatus is transferred and provided in the management apparatus 210 such that control information different for each medicine dispensing apparatus can be managed.

[0131] FIG. 20 is a control block diagram illustrating an existing medicine dispensing apparatus 200'. In the existing medicine dispensing apparatus 200', as illustrated in FIG. 20, when the QR code attached to the cartridge 10 or the package 2 is read by the medication-related information reader 65 including the upper QR code reader 66 and the lower QR code reader 67, information of the QR code is reported to the package information management system 213 in the medicine dispensing apparatus 200'. When the QR code attached to the subdivision box 34 is read, information of the QR code is reported to the medicine-dispensing information management system 212 in the medicine dispensing apparatus 200'. The package information management system 213 and the medicine-dispensing information management system 212 analyze and process data as necessary from the data of the QR code reported from the medication-related information reader 65, respectively, and hold the obtained information appropriately.

[0132] The medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 211 in the existing medicine dispensing apparatus 200' inquires information from the medicine-dispensing information management system 212 and the package information management system 213 with the medicine dispensing instruction input by an apparatus operator as a trigger, and specifies a combination of the storage place (the place of the cartridge 10) of the medicine (package 2) to be dispensed and the dispensing destination (the position of the subdivision box 34) of the medicine (package 2). The medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 211 notifies the specified combination to a medicine-dispensing controller 214. The medicine-dispensing controller 214 performs control to extract the package 2 from the corresponding cartridge 10 according to the combination notified from the medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 211 and delivers the taken-out package 2 to the corresponding subdivision box 34 according to the combination. A display management system 215 displays a state in which the medicine is being dispensed, the medicine dispensing has been completed, or that a medicine dispensing process is in an error state or the like according to the state in the medicine dispensing apparatus 200', and notifies the apparatus operator of the state of the apparatus.

[0133] In the medication support system 300 according to the present embodiment, among the control systems provided inside the existing medicine dispensing apparatus 200', the medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 221 which performs the function of the medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 211, the medicine-dispensing information management system 222 which similarly performs the function of the medicine-dispensing information management system 212, the package information management system 223 which performs the function of the package information management system 213, and the medicine dispensing controller 224 which performs a part of the function of the medicine-dispensing controller 214 are transferred to the external medicine-dispensing control system 220 of the management apparatus 210. In the medication support system 300 of the present embodiment, the external medicine-dispensing control system 220 transferred to the management apparatus 210 is shared among the plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C.

[0134] More specifically, as illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B, each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C includes the upper QR code reader 66 and a lower QR code reader 67, which are included in the medication-related information reader 65 mounted on the carriage 50. When the carriage 50 moves to the vicinity of the cartridge 10 storing the medicine package (the unit-dose medicine package 2 and the bundled package 2A), the upper reader 66a of the upper QR code reader 66 reads the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c.

[0135] At this time, in the case of the medicine dispensing apparatus in which the medication-related information 6c is displayed on the surface of the medicine package as illustrated in FIG. 5B, the upper reader 66a of the upper QR code reader 66 reads the QR code from the package-extraction opening 17 as illustrated in FIG. 10. In the case of the medicine dispensing apparatus in which the medication-related information 6c is displayed on the left support 13 on the bottom wall outer surface of the cartridge 10 as illustrated in FIG. 13, the upper reader 66a of the upper QR code reader 66 reads the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c displayed on the package-extraction opening 17. In some medicine dispensing apparatuses, the lower reader 67a of the lower QR code reader 67 reads the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c while the carriage 50 moves to a position above the subdivision box 34 of the medicine dispensing tray 30 while holding the package 2 taken out from the cartridge 10 as illustrated in FIG. 12A.

[0136] In this manner, the information read by the upper QR code reader 66 and the lower QR code reader 67 of each medicine dispensing apparatus 200A, 200B, and 200C is transmitted to the package information management system 223 in the external medicine-dispensing control system 220 in the management apparatus 210 via a communication controller 217.

[0137] Since the upper QR code reader 66 and the lower QR code reader 67 of each medicine dispensing apparatus 200A, 200B, and 200C are mounted on the carriage 50, it is possible to detect the medication username and the presence position of the cartridge 10 storing the package of the medicine to be taken by the medication user by moving the carriage 50. That is, when the QR code of the cartridge 10 is read by the upper QR code reader 66 with respect to positional coordinates (for example, X: row, Y: column, and Z: column) of the cartridge 10 corresponding to the presence position of the cartridge 10 in the medicine dispensing apparatus, it is possible to associate (link) the positional coordinates of the carriage 50 corresponding to the presence position of the cartridge 10 with the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c.

[0138] Similarly, in each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C, by moving the carriage 50, it is possible to detect the name of a medication user and the position of the subdivision box 34 into which the package of the medicine to be taken by the medication user is to be delivered. That is, when the QR code of the label 7 with the QR code attached to the subdivision box 34 is read by the lower QR code reader 67 to obtain the positional coordinates (for example, X-coordinate indicating the row, Y-coordinate indicating the column, and Z-coordinate indicating the stage) of the subdivision box 34 corresponding to the position of the subdivision box 34 in the medicine dispensing apparatus, it is possible to associate (link) the positional coordinates of the carriage 50 corresponding to the position of the subdivision box 34 with the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c.

[0139] Here, some medicine dispensing apparatuses have different configurations related to the medicine dispensing operation depending on the difference in models (types) of the apparatuses. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 21A, the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A, which is a model for a small number of persons (for 12 persons in the illustrated example), has a vertical type configuration in which the cartridge trays 20 are arranged in three stages and the medicine dispensing trays 30 are arranged in two stages in the vertical direction. In contrast to this, as illustrated in FIG. 21B, the medicine dispensing apparatus 200B, which is also a model for a small number of persons (for 12 persons in the illustrated example), has a horizontal type configuration in which the cartridge trays 20 which are arranged in three stages and the medicine dispensing trays 30 which are arranged in two stages, are arranged in the lateral direction. In contrast to this, as illustrated in FIG. 21C, the medicine dispensing apparatus 200C, which is a model for a large number of persons (for 36 persons in the illustrated example), has a configuration in which the numbers of the cartridge trays 20 and the medicine dispensing trays 30 are different from those of the models for a small number of persons, and the positions of the cartridge trays 20 and the medicine dispensing trays 30 are opposite from those of the vertical type models as illustrated in FIG. 21A.

[0140] Furthermore, even in the same model of the medicine dispensing apparatus, the types (configurations) of the cartridge trays 20 and the medicine dispensing trays 30 to be set may be different depending on conditions such as the type and size of the medicine packaging package. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 22, cartridge trays 20 and medicine dispensing trays 30 having different configurations (types) may be set together in the same medicine dispensing apparatus.

[0141] As described above, since the configuration related to the medicine dispensing operation in each medicine dispensing apparatus varies depending on differences in the models of the medicine dispensing apparatuses and differences in the types of the cartridge trays 20 and the medicine dispensing trays 30, a dedicated control system is conventionally required for each medicine dispensing apparatus. Then, depending on a combination of differences in the models of the medicine dispensing apparatuses and differences in the types of the cartridge trays 20 and the medicine dispensing trays 30, the number of dedicated control systems may become enormous, which increases the development cost of the control system and the management and maintenance cost of the control system.

[0142] In contrast to this, when a common control system is adopted among a plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses having different configurations in order to suppress the number of generating control systems, it becomes difficult to achieve the optimal control in each medicine dispensing apparatus. Accordingly, there is a possibility that the quality of the medicine dispensing operation in each medicine dispensing apparatus may deteriorate. Furthermore, when a medicine dispensing apparatus having a new configuration is provided, a dedicated control system must be created from scratch, which may cause an issue that it is difficult to provide the medicine dispensing apparatus quickly.

[0143] The medication support system 300 of the present embodiment solves such an issue of quality, cost, and delivery (QCD). That is, in the medication support system 300 according to the present embodiment, the management apparatus 210 manages control information for controlling each medicine dispensing operation of a plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C having different configurations related to the medicine dispensing operation. That is, by transmitting the control information corresponding to each of the plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C from the management apparatus 210, the respective medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C control the medicine dispensing operation based on the respective control information.

[0144] The apparatus-information management part 225 of the management apparatus 210 stores in a storage a setting file including setting information for setting the respective control information of the plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C in association with the plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C. As a result, a part of the respective control systems in the plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C can be transferred to the external medicine-dispensing control system 220 of the management apparatus 210 and is consolidated in the management apparatus 210. With respect to the control of the medicine dispensing operation for a case where the plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C have mutually different configurations, the optimal control for each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C is achieved by the respective control information set based on the setting information corresponding to the respective medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C.

[0145] Therefore, the setting file including the setting information corresponding to the respective medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C is read and stored in the external medicine-dispensing control system 220 of the management apparatus 210. The setting file may be in any file format such as a file format used in spreadsheet software, a CSV format, or a text format. Furthermore, a plurality of setting information on the corresponding medicine dispensing apparatuses may be included in one setting file, or the same type of setting information on a plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses may be included in one setting file. Alternatively, a plurality of setting information on the corresponding medicine dispensing apparatuses may be included in a separate setting file for each setting information.

[0146] According to the medication support system 300 of the present embodiment, the control system in each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C can be simplified, and the medicine dispensing apparatuses can optimally perform the medicine dispensing operation such as an operation of reading the medication-related information, an extraction operation for extracting from the cartridge 10, and an operation of placing into the subdivision box 34 on the medicine dispensing tray 30 in accordance with the respective control information transmitted from the management apparatus 210, even when there are differences in the models, the cartridge trays 20, and the medicine dispensing trays 30.

[0147] In the medication support system 300 of the present embodiment, when a medicine dispensing instruction from an apparatus operator is input to the management apparatus 210, the external medicine-dispensing control system 220 of the management apparatus 210 first determines whether or not the medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 221 updates the medication-related information in the medicine dispensing apparatus (for example, the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A) to which the medicine dispensing instruction has been given. When it is determined in this determination that the medication-related information is to be updated, the medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 221 instructs the medicine dispensing controller 224 to update the medication-related information.

[0148] Upon receiving the instruction to update the medication-related information, the medicine dispensing controller 224 refers to the medicine dispensing apparatus information corresponding to the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A held in the apparatus-information management part 225, and instructs the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A to read the medication-related information via the communication controller 226.

[0149] At this time, the control contents of the medication-related information reading operation in the plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C vary depending on the differences in the configurations of the respective medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C.

[0150] Specifically, when the QR code associated with the medication-related information 6c attached to the package 2 stored in each cartridge 10 or to each cartridge 10 on the cartridge tray 20 is read, the movement contents (To which position the carriage 50 is to be moved, in what order, etc.) of the carriage 50 mounted with the medication-related information reader 65 (the upper QR code reader 66 and the lower QR code reader 67) differ depending on the difference in the configuration (The number and position of the cartridge trays 20 in the medicine dispensing apparatus, the number and placement of the cartridges 10 on each cartridge tray 20, the location of the QR code (the location where the QR code is to be read), and the like) of the cartridge tray 20.

[0151] Furthermore, when the QR code associated with the medication-related information 6c attached to each subdivision box 34 on the medicine dispensing tray 30 is read, the movement contents (to which position the carriage 50 is moved, in what order, etc.) of the carriage 50 mounted with the medication-related information reader 65 (the upper QR code reader 66 and the lower QR code reader 67) differ depending on the difference in the configuration (the number and positions of the medicine dispensing trays 30 in the medicine dispensing apparatus, the number and arrangement of the subdivision boxes 34 on each of the medicine dispensing trays 30, the location of the QR code (the location where the QR code is to be read), and the like) of the medicine dispensing tray 30.

[0152] In the present embodiment, the setting files corresponding to each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C include apparatus configuration information indicating the configuration of the cartridge tray 20 and the configuration of the medicine dispensing tray 30 for each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C, and medicine dispensing apparatus information (setting information) including the communication destination address of each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses. When receiving an instruction to update the medication-related information, the medicine dispensing controller 224 refers to the setting file corresponding to the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A related to the instruction and generates control information indicating control contents suitable for the reading operation of the medication-related information in the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A based on the apparatus configuration information. Then, the medicine dispensing controller 224 issues an instruction for the reading operation of the medication-related information to the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A along with the generated control information via the communication controller 226.

[0153] The medicine dispensing apparatus 200A receives the instruction for the reading operation of the medication-related information (including control information for the reading operation) via the communication controller 217. Then, a medicine-dispensing apparatus controller 216 of the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A controls various motors and the like in accordance with the received control information to move the carriage 50 to an appropriate position. For example, in the case of a reading operation instruction with respect to the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c attached to the package 2 stored in each cartridge 10 or on each cartridge 10 on the cartridge tray 20, the carriage 50 is moved to an appropriate position by controlling various motors or the like according to the received control information, and the medication-related information reader 65 (the upper QR code reader 66 and the lower QR code reader 67) on the carriage 50 reads the QR code. Furthermore, for example, in the case of a reading operation instruction with respect to the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c attached to each subdivision box 34 on the medicine dispensing tray 30, the carriage 50 is moved to an appropriate position by controlling various motors or the like according to the received control information, and the medication-related information reader 65 (the upper QR code reader 66 and the lower QR code reader 67) on the carriage 50 reads the QR code.

[0154] The medicine-dispensing apparatus controller 216 obtains the medication-related information from the QR code read by the medication-related information reader 65, and transmits the medication-related information to the management apparatus 210 through the communication controller 217. The medication-related information is received by the external medicine-dispensing control system 220 through the communication controller 226 of the management apparatus 210, and is transmitted to the medicine-dispensing information management system 222 or the package information management system 223 for management.

[0155] After the update of the medication-related information is completed in this way, or after it is determined that the medication-related information is not to be updated, the medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 221 inquires of the medicine-dispensing information management system 212 and the package information management system 213 about the information on the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A for which the medicine dispensing instruction has been issued. Thus, the medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 221 specifies a combination of the storage place (the place of the cartridge 10) of the medicine (package 2) to be dispensed and the dispensing destination (the position of the subdivision box 34) of the medicine (package 2). Then, the medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 211 notifies the medicine dispensing controller 224 of the specified combination.

[0156] The medicine dispensing controller 224 of the management apparatus 210 issues instructions to the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A to which the medicine dispensing instruction has been issued. The instructions include an instruction on an extraction operation for extracting the package 2 from the cartridge 10 related to the combination notified from the medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 221, and an instruction on a placement operation for placing the taken-out package 2 into the subdivision box 34 related to the combination.

[0157] At this time, the control contents of the operation to extract the package 2 and the operation to place the package 2 in the plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C also vary depending on the differences in the configurations of the respective medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C, as in the case of the reading operation of the medication-related information described above.

[0158] Specifically, when the package 2 is taken out from the cartridge 10, the movement contents (to which position the carriage 50 is to be moved, in what order, etc.) of the carriage 50 vary depending on the differences in the configurations (the number and positions of the cartridge trays 20 in the medicine dispensing apparatus, the number and arrangement of the cartridges 10 on each cartridge tray 20, the position and method of extracting the package 2 from the cartridge 10, and the like) of the cartridge trays 20.

[0159] When the taken-out package 2 is placed into the subdivision box 34, the movement contents (to which position the carriage 50 is to be moved, in what order, etc.) of the carriage 50 vary depending on the differences in the configurations (the number and location of the medicine dispensing trays 30 in the medicine dispensing apparatus, the number and arrangement of the subdivision boxes 34 on each medicine dispensing tray 30, the location and method in which the package 2 is placed in the subdivision box 34, and the like) of the medicine dispensing trays 30.

[0160] In the present embodiment, as described above, the setting files corresponding to the respective medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C include apparatus configuration information indicating the configurations of the cartridge trays 20 and the medicine dispensing trays 30 for the respective medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C, and medicine dispensing apparatus information (setting information) including the communication destination address of the respective medicine dispensing apparatuses. The medicine dispensing controller 224 refers to the setting file corresponding to the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A pertaining to the medicine dispensing instruction from the user, and generates control information indicating control contents suitable for the extraction operation and the placement operation of the package 2 in the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A based on the apparatus configuration information. Then, the medicine dispensing controller 224 instructs the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A through the communication controller 226, to perform the extraction operation and the placement operation with respect to the package 2, in conjunction with providing of the generated control information.

[0161] The medicine dispensing apparatus 200A receives the instruction for the extraction operation and the placement operation of the package 2 (including the control information for the extraction operation and the placement operation) through the communication controller 217. Then, the medicine-dispensing apparatus controller 216 of the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A controls various motors and the like according to the received control information to move the carriage 50 to an appropriate position. Specifically, when extracting the package 2 from the cartridge 10, the carriage 50 is moved to an appropriate position by controlling various motors and the like according to the received control information for the extraction operation, and the package 2 is taken out from the target cartridge 10. Then, the carriage 50 is moved to an appropriate position by controlling various motors and the like according to the received control information for the placement operation, and the package 2 is placed into the target subdivision box 34.

[0162] Then, the medicine dispensing apparatus 200A transmits a result of the medicine dispensing operation (success, failure, etc.) for which the medicine dispensing instruction has been given to the management apparatus 210 through the communication controller 217. The result of the medicine dispensing operation is received by the external medicine-dispensing control system 220 through the communication controller 226 of the management apparatus 210, and the above-described operation is repeated as necessary.

[0163] In the medication support system 300 of the present embodiment, the medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 221, the medicine-dispensing information management system 222, and the package information management system 223 are also transferred from the medicine dispensing apparatus to the management apparatus 210, but some of these systems may be provided in the medicine dispensing apparatus. However, by transferring the medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 221, the medicine-dispensing information management system 222, and the package information management system 223 from the medicine dispensing apparatus to the management apparatus 210 as in the present embodiment, the control system with respect to the plurality of medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C can be simplified, and the issue in the QCD described above can be solved.

[0164] Next, a specific example of the configuration of the cartridge tray 20 and the apparatus configuration information included in the setting file will be described. FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the package extraction position (suction position) of the package 2 and a QR-code read position, on the cartridge tray 20.

[0165] The apparatus configuration information included in the setting file includes, for example, extraction position information indicating a package extraction position (suction position) 251 of the package 2 on the cartridge tray 20 and read position information indicating the QR-code read position 252, for each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C. These package extraction position (suction position) 251 and QR-code read position 252 have various patterns depending on the configuration of the cartridge tray 20, for example, the size and number of cartridges 10, and combinations thereof. Since the extraction position information and read position information can be set in the setting file, appropriate settings can be made including settings for the number, size, and positional relationship of the cartridges 10.

[0166] The package extraction position information is used in the corresponding medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C when generating control information with respect to the extraction operation for extracting the package 2 from each cartridge 10 on the cartridge tray 20. The read position information is also used in the corresponding medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C when generating control information with respect to the read operation of the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c attached to the package 2 stored in each cartridge 10 or to each cartridge 10 on the cartridge tray 20.

[0167] Table 1 illustrates an example of the package extraction position information of each cartridge 10 included in the setting file.

[0168] According to the package extraction position information in the setting file as illustrated in Table 1, for example, which one is the target cartridge 10 is specified by a combination of the cartridge tray number, the row of the cartridge, and the column of the cartridge. Then, the package extraction position 251 of the package 2 for the cartridge 10 specified by the combination is specified by the positional coordinates of the X-coordinate, the Y-coordinate, and the Z-coordinate following the combination of the numbers specifying the cartridge. In the table data including the table as illustrated in Table 1, the information of each cartridge 10 is described by one line. A plurality of the positional coordinates indicate the package extraction positions 251 of the cartridges 10 placed in the corresponding medicine dispensing apparatus. By using the table data including the table as illustrated in Table 1, the package extraction position 251 of each cartridge 10 can be specified by referring to the package extraction position information in the setting file.

[0169] Table 2 illustrates an example of the read position information of the cartridges 10 included in the setting file.

[0170] According to the read position information included in the setting file as illustrated in Table 2, for example, as in Table 1, which one is the target cartridge 10 is identified by a combination of the cartridge tray number, the row number of the cartridge, and the column number of the cartridge. The QR-code read position 252 of the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c attached to the cartridge 10 identified by the combination of numbers or to the package 2 stored in the cartridge, is specified by the positional coordinates including the X, Y, and Z coordinates following the combination of the numbers specifying the cartridge. Even in the table data including the table as illustrated in Table 2, the information of each cartridge 10 is described by one line. The positional coordinates are coordinates indicating the QR-code read position 252 of each cartridge 10 in the corresponding medicine dispensing apparatus. By using the table data including the table as illustrated in Table 2, it is possible to specify the QR-code read position 252 of the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c attached to each cartridge 10 or to the package 2 stored in the cartridge, by referring to the read position information in the setting file.

[0171] It should be noted that the positional coordinates of the package extraction position 251 as illustrated in Table 1 and the positional coordinates of the QR-code read position 252 as illustrated in Table 2 may be indicated in combination in the same column of the same table data to form one set of table data (setting file).

[0172] Next, specific examples of the configuration of the medicine dispensing tray 30 and the apparatus configuration information included in the setting file will be described. FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the placement positions of the packages 2 and the QR-code read positions of the subdivision boxes 34 on the medicine dispensing tray 30.

[0173] The apparatus configuration information included in the setting file includes, for example, placement position information indicating a placement position (arrangement position) 253 of the package 2 in each of the subdivision boxes 34 on the medicine dispensing tray 30 and read position information indicating a QR-code read position 254 with respect to the QR code on each of the subdivision boxes 34 for each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C. These placement positions (arrangement positions) 253 and QR-code read positions 254 have various patterns depending on the configuration of the medicine dispensing tray 30, for example, the size and number of the subdivision boxes 34, and their combinations. Since the placement position information and read position information can be set in the setting file, appropriate settings including the number, size, and positional relationship of the subdivision boxes 34 can be made.

[0174] The placement position information is used when generating control information for a placement operation (arranging operation) of placing the packages 2 in respective subdivision boxes 34 on the medicine dispensing tray 30 in the corresponding medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C. The read position information is used when generating control information for a QR-code reading operation of the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c attached to each subdivision box 34 on the medicine dispensing tray 30 in each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C.

[0175] Table 3 illustrates an example of the placement position information of the subdivision boxes 34 included in the setting file.

[0176] According to the placement position information in the setting file as illustrated in Table 3, for example, the subdivision box 34 is specified by a combination of the medicine dispensing tray number, the row number of the subdivision box 34, and the column number of the subdivision box 34. The placement position 253 of the package 2 in the subdivision box 34 is specified by the positional coordinates of the X-coordinate, Y-coordinate, and Z-coordinate following the combination of the numbers specifying the cartridge. In the table data including the table as illustrated in Table 3, the information of each subdivision box 34 is described by one line. The plurality of the positional coordinates indicate the placement positions 253 of the subdivision boxes 34 placed in the corresponding medicine dispensing apparatus. By using the table data including the table as illustrated in Table 3, it is possible to specify the placement position 253 of each subdivision box 34 by referring to the placement position information in the setting file.

[0177] Table 4 illustrates an example of the read position information of each subdivision box 34 included in the setting file.

[0178] According to the read position information in the setting file as illustrated in Table 4, for example, the subdivision box 34 is specified by a combination of the medicine dispensing tray number, the row number of the subdivision box, and the column number of the subdivision box as in Table 3. The QR-code read position 254 of the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c, which is attached to the subdivision box 34 specified by the number combination, is specified by the positional coordinates of the X-coordinate, Y-coordinate, and Z-coordinate following the number combination. In the table data including the table as illustrated in Table 4, each line in the table provides information of a corresponding subdivision box 34. The positional coordinates are coordinates indicating the QR-code read position 254 of each subdivision box 34 placed in each medicine dispensing apparatus. By using the table data including the table as illustrated in Table 4, it is possible to specify the QR-code read position 254 of the QR code related to the medication-related information 6c attached to each subdivision box 34 by referring to the read position information in the setting file.

[0179] It should be noted that the positional coordinates of the placement position 253 as illustrated in Table 3 and the positional coordinates of the QR-code read position 254 as illustrated in Table 4 may be indicated in combination in the same column of the same table data to form one set of table data (setting file).

[0180] Next, specific examples of the configuration of the cartridge tray 20 and reading operation information included in the setting file will be described. FIGS. 25A and 25B are explanatory diagrams illustrating examples of reading QR codes that correspond to the cartridges 10 on the cartridge tray 20.

[0181] The reading operation information included in the setting file includes reading-order information as the reading operation information indicating, for example, reading orders T1 to T7 for reading the QR codes that correspond to the cartridges 10 placed on the cartridge tray 20 in each of the corresponding medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C. The reading orders T1 to T7 for reading the QR codes that correspond to each of the cartridges 10 have various patterns depending on the configuration of the cartridge tray 20, for example, the size and number of cartridges 10 and combinations thereof. Since the reading-order information can be set in the setting file, appropriate settings can be made including settings for the number, size, and positional relationship of the cartridges 10.

[0182] The example as illustrated in FIG. 25A is an example of a reading order (i.e., a path for moving the carriage 50) for sequentially reading the QR codes of all the cartridges 10 on the cartridge tray 20. In the example as illustrated in FIG. 25A, the reading of the QR code is started from the cartridge 10 in column 1 of row 1, and the QR codes of the cartridges 10 in columns 2 to 4 of row 1 are read while moving in the X-direction (T1). Next, when the reading of the QR code is completed up to the last column of row 1, the reading of the QR code is moved in the opposite direction of the Y-direction and moved to row 2 (T2). Then, while moving in the opposite direction of the X-direction (T3), the QR codes of the cartridges 10 in columns 4 to 1 of row 2 are read. Similarly, when the reading of the QR code is completed up to the last column of row 2, the reading of the QR code is moved in the opposite direction of the Y-direction and moved to row 3 (T4). Then, while moving in the X-direction (T5), the QR codes of the cartridges 10 in columns 1 to 3 of row 3 are read.

[0183] The example as illustrated in FIG. 25A is an example of a reading order according to a simple rule in which sequential reading is performed by moving in one direction from one end in the row direction to the other end in the row direction, and then moving in a reverse direction to perform sequential reading from one end in the row direction to the other end in the row direction. For example, when it is desired to perform continuous reading operations in the Y-direction, the reading order as illustrated in FIG. 25B may be used. At this time, since the size of the cartridge 10 placed in the third row on the cartridge tray 20 is different from the size of the cartridges 10 placed in the first and second rows, a shift in the reading positions occurs in the reading, and thus the reading operation cannot be controlled or appropriately performed by using a simple reading order.

[0184] Even in such a case, by providing a setting file including the reading operation information, it is possible to appropriately control the QR code reading operation in a reading order suitable for each configuration even when the configurations of the cartridge trays 20 vary (for example, even when cartridges 10 of various sizes and types exist).

[0185] Table 5 illustrates an example of the reading-order information included in the setting file corresponding to the example as illustrated in FIG. 25B. When the QR code reading operation of each cartridge 10 is performed in a reading order according to the reading-order information as illustrated in Table 5, movement control of the carriage 50 is performed by using the read position information of each cartridge 10 as illustrated in Table 2.

[0186]

[0187] Next, specific examples of the configuration of the medicine dispensing tray 30 and the reading operation information included in the setting file will be described. FIGS. 26A and 26B are explanatory diagrams illustrating examples of the reading order of the QR codes corresponding to the respective subdivision boxes 34 on the medicine dispensing tray 30.

[0188] The reading operation information included in the setting file includes reading-order information as reading operation information indicating, for example, reading orders T1 to T5 of the QR codes corresponding to the respective subdivision boxes 34 on the medicine dispensing tray 30 for each of the corresponding medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C. The reading orders T1 to T5 of the QR codes corresponding to the respective subdivision boxes 34 have various patterns depending on the configuration of the medicine dispensing tray 30, for example, the size and number of the subdivision boxes 34 and their combinations. Since the reading-order information can be set in the setting file, the configuration of the medicine dispensing tray 30 can be appropriately set including the number, size, and positional relationship of the subdivision boxes 34.

[0189] The example as illustrated in FIG. 26A is an example of a reading order (i.e., a path for moving the carriage 50) for sequentially reading the QR codes of all the subdivision boxes 34 on the medicine dispensing tray 30. In the example as illustrated in FIG. 26A, the reading of the QR code is started from the subdivision box 34 in the column 1 of row 7, and the QR codes of the subdivision boxes 34 in the columns 6 to 1 of the row 1 are read while moving in the opposite direction of the X-direction (T1). Next, when the reading of the QR code is completed up to the last column of the row 1, the reading of the QR code is moved in the opposite direction of the Y-direction to the row 2 (T2). Then, while moving in the X-direction, the QR codes of the subdivision boxes 34 in the columns 1 to 7 of the row 2 are read (T3). Similarly, when the reading of the QR code is completed up to the last column of the row 2, the reading of the QR code is moved in the opposite direction of the Y-direction to the row 3 (T4). Then, while moving in the opposite direction of the X-direction, the QR codes of the subdivision boxes 34 in the columns 7 to 1 of the row 3 are read (T5).

[0190] The example as illustrated in FIG. 26A is an example of a reading order according to a simple rule in which the QR code is sequentially read by moving in one direction from one end in the column direction to the other end in the column direction, and then the reading of the QR code is moved to the next row, and then the QR code is sequentially read by moving in the reverse direction from one end in the column direction to the end in the column direction, but this is not limited thereto. For example, when the reading order is to be made always in the order from the column 7 to the column 1, the reading order as illustrated in FIG. 26B may be adopted.

[0191] By providing the setting file including the reading operation information, it becomes possible to appropriately control the QR code reading operation in a reading order suitable for each configuration even when the configuration of the medicine dispensing tray 30 varies (for example, even when subdivision boxes 34 of various sizes and types exist).

[0192] Table 6 illustrates an example of the reading-order information included in the setting file corresponding to the example of FIG. 26B. When the QR code reading operation of each subdivision box 34 is performed in the reading order according to the reading-order information of Table 6, the movement control of the carriage 50 is performed by using the read position information of each subdivision box 34 as illustrated in Table 4.

[0193]

[0194] Next, another specific example of the configuration of the cartridge tray 20 and the reading operation information included in the setting file will be described. FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another example of the reading order of the QR code corresponding to each cartridge 10 on the cartridge tray 20.

[0195] In the example of FIG. 27, the reading-order information as the reading operation information included in the setting file includes skip information for skipping the QR-code reading operation of the QR code for the cartridge 10 (to be skipped) whose QR code does not need to be read. In the present example, the QR code is not read for the cartridges 10 in rows 1 and 2, and the QR code is read only for the cartridges 10 in row 3. Such a reading operation may be performed, for example, when a person manually places (arranges) the package 2 into the subdivision box 34, with respect to the cartridges 10 in rows 1 and 2.

[0196] In the order of reading the QR codes in the present example, the cartridge 10 in column 1 of row 1, which is the reading start position, is skipped to move to the cartridge 10 in column 1 of row 3 (T0), and the QR code is read for the cartridges 10 in columns 1 to 3 of row 3 while moving in the X-direction (T1).

[0197] Table 7 illustrates an example of the reading-order information including the skip information included in the setting file corresponding to the example of FIG. 27.

[0198] The reading-order information in the setting file as illustrated in Table 7 includes skip destination information (skip information). The skip destination information indicates the reading order number of the skip destination corresponding to the cartridge 10 of the skip target whose QR code does not need to be read. According to the skip destination information, since the reading order number "9" is associated with the cartridge 10 of the column 1 of row 1 which is the reading start position as the skip destination information, it is understood that the cartridge 10 of the column 1 of row 1 is the skip target, and thus, the QR code is not read for this cartridge 10. Then, the reading order number "9" of the skip destination information moves to the cartridge 10 of the column 1 of row 3 (T0). The skip destination information corresponding to the cartridge 10 of the column 1 of row 3 is "0" indicating that it is not the skip target. Therefore, the QR code is read from the cartridge 10 of the column 1 of row 3 in a predetermined reading order.

[0199] Next, another specific example of the configuration of the medicine dispensing tray 30 and the reading operation information included in the setting file will be described. FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram illustrating yet another example of the order of reading the QR codes that correspond to each subdivision box 34 on the medicine dispensing tray 30.

[0200] In the example of FIG. 28, the reading-order information as the reading operation information included in the setting file includes the skip information for skipping the QR-code reading operation with respect to the subdivision box 34 (to be skipped) whose QR code does not need to be read. In the present example, the QR code is not read for the subdivision boxes 34 in rows 1 and 2, and the QR code is read only for the subdivision boxes 34 in row 3. Such a reading operation may be performed, for example, when the package 2 is manually placed (arranged) into the subdivision boxes 34 of the columns 1 and 2.

[0201] In the reading order of the QR code in the present example, the subdivision box 34 in column 7 of row 1, which is the reading start position, is skipped, and the reading of the QR code is moved to the subdivision box 34 in the column 7 of row 3 (T0). From that position, the QR code is read from the subdivision boxes 34 in the column 7 of row 3 to the column 1 of row 3 are read while moving in the opposite direction of the X-direction (T1).

[0202] Table 8 illustrates an example of reading-order information including skip information included in the setting file that corresponds to the example of FIG. 28.

[0203] The reading-order information in the setting file as illustrated in Table 8 includes skip destination information (skip information) indicating the reading order number of the skip destination corresponding to the subdivision box 34 of the skip target whose QR code does not need to be read. According to the reading-order information, since the reading order number "15" is associated with the subdivision box 34 of the column 7 of row 1, which is the reading start position, as the skip destination information, it is understood that the subdivision box 34 of the column 7 of row 1 is the skip target, and the QR code of the subdivision box 34 is not read. Then, the reading of the QR code is moved to the subdivision box 34 in the column 7 of row 3 according to the reading order number "15" in the skip destination information (T0). The skip destination information corresponding to the subdivision box 34 of the column 7 of row 3 is "0", which indicates that the QR code is not the skip target. Therefore, the QR code is read from the subdivision box 34 of the column 7 of row 3 in a predetermined reading order.

[0204] The various setting information as exemplified in the above-described Tables 1 to 8 may be combined into one setting file, or may be individually set or further finely divided into setting files. The setting file may also include setting items (for example, carriage movement control information such as movement speed, acceleration, and deceleration of the carriage 50, movement destination information when a special QR code is read, movement information when an operation abnormality occurs, and the like) other than the various setting information as exemplified in the above-described Tables 1 to 8, and these setting items may be freely changed.

[0205] FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C is provided with a corresponding setting file that includes various types of setting information. For example, when the number of models (types) of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C is small, such as three types, the number of setting files is not so large, such that providing one setting file for each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C as in the example of FIG. 29 has the merit of simplifying management and operation of the setting files.

[0206] FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which the setting information provided for each of the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C includes two types of setting files: a setting file for common settings among the medicine dispensing apparatuses, and a setting file for setting individually in each medicine dispensing apparatus. In the example illustrated in FIG. 30, common setting information exists between the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A and 200B, both of which are models for a small number of persons (for 12 persons in the illustrated example). Accordingly, the common setting information is commonly set in a common setting file 261, and the remaining setting information is set separately in individual setting files 262A and 262B. In the present example, also for the medicine dispensing apparatus 200C, two setting files 263 and 262C are provided in accordance with this division of information.

[0207] By combining the common setting information into one common setting file 261 in this way, it becomes easy to change the common setting information. In addition, there is also an advantage that it becomes possible to make the setting files common for each type and characteristic of the setting information, and it becomes easy to create detailed settings.

[0208] The foregoing description is only an example, and each of the following aspects has a specific advantageous effect. <First aspect> A first aspect is the medication support system 300 which includes a medication support apparatus (for example, the medicine dispensing apparatus 200) for performing a medicine dispensing operation for transferring a unit-dose medicine package 2 stored in a storage (for example, a cartridge tray 20) to a corresponding medicine storage part (for example, the medicine dispensing tray 30) and dispensing the medicine. The medication support system 300 includes a plurality of medication support apparatuses (for example, the medicine dispensing apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C) having mutually different configurations related to the medicine dispensing operation, and the management apparatus 210 that is communicatively connected to the plurality of medication support apparatuses and configured to manage control information for controlling each medicine dispensing operation of the plurality of medication support apparatuses. The management apparatus includes a memory (for example, a storage of the apparatus-information management part 225) configured to store setting information for setting control information with respect to the medicine dispensing operation in association with the plurality of medication support apparatuses having mutually different configurations, and a transmitter (for example, the medicine dispensing controller 224 and the communication controller 226) configured to transmit control information that corresponds to each of the plurality of medication support apparatuses. Each of the plurality of medication support apparatuses includes a controller (for example, the medicine-dispensing apparatus controller 216) configured to control the medicine dispensing operation based on the control information transmitted from the management apparatus. Conventionally, it is necessary to individually construct a control system corresponding to each configuration of a plurality of medication support apparatuses having mutually different configurations related to the medicine dispensing operation. When a dedicated control system is to be created for each of the plurality of medication support apparatuses, the number of control systems that need to be created increases, and the development cost of the control system and the management and maintenance cost of the control system increase. In contrast to this, when a common control system is adopted among the plurality of medication support apparatuses in order to suppress the number of control systems that need to be created, it is difficult to achieve optimal control in each of the medication support apparatuses, and thus the quality of the medicine dispensing operation may deteriorate. The medication support system according to the present aspect is provided with a management apparatus configured to manage control information for controlling each medicine dispensing operation of the plurality of medication support apparatuses having mutually different configurations related to the medicine dispensing operation. The management apparatus transmits corresponding control information to each of the plurality of medication support apparatuses, and each of the medication support apparatuses controls the medicine dispensing operation based on the respective control information. In the management apparatus, setting information for setting control information for the medicine dispensing operation related to mutually different configurations among the plurality of medication support apparatuses is stored in the storage in association with the plurality of medication support apparatuses. According to this configuration, at least a part of the control system among the control systems in the plurality of medication support apparatuses can be transferred from the plurality of medication support apparatuses to the management apparatus and collected to the management apparatus. With respect to the control of the medicine dispensing operation related to mutually different configurations among the plurality of medication support apparatuses, optimal control of each medication support apparatus is achieved by individually specifying setting information to the corresponding medication support apparatus.

[0209] <Second aspect> A second aspect is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the management apparatus includes an information setting changing part (e.g., the apparatus-information management part 225) configured to change the setting information. According to this configuration, the setting information stored in the storage can be changed to appropriately change the control contents of the medicine dispensing operation.

[0210] <Third aspect> A third aspect is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect, the plurality of medication support apparatuses include medication support apparatuses having mutually different storage configurations, and the setting information includes extraction operation information for controlling the operation to extract the medicine package from the storage. According to this configuration, at least a part of the control system with respect to the extraction operation for extracting the medicine package from the storage in two or more medication support apparatuses having different configurations of the storage is transferred from the two or more medication support apparatuses to the management apparatus and collected in the management apparatus. The extraction operation information for controlling the extraction operation achieves the optimal extraction operation control for each medication support apparatus.

[0211] <Fourth aspect> According to a fourth aspect, in any of the first to third aspects, the plurality of medication support apparatuses include medication support apparatuses having different configurations of the medicine storage part, and the setting information includes placement operation information for controlling the operation of placing the medicine package in the medicine storage part. According to this, at least a part of the control system for the placement operation of placing the medicine package in the medicine storage part in two or more medication support apparatuses having different configurations of the medicine storage part is transferred from the two or more medication support apparatuses to the management apparatus, and is collected to the management apparatus. The optimum placement operation control for each medication support apparatus is achieved by the placement operation information for controlling the placement operation.

[0212] <Fifth aspect> A fifth aspect, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, is characterized in that each of the plurality of medication support apparatuses includes an information reader (for example, the medication-related information reader 65, the upper QR code reader 66, and the lower QR code reader 67) configured to read the medication-related information 6c (e.g., QR code) added to the storage or the medicine package stored in the storage, and executes a medicine dispensing operation with respect to the medicine package stored in the storage based on the medication-related information read by the information reader, the plurality of medication support apparatuses include medication support apparatuses having different configurations of the storage, and the setting information includes reading operation information for controlling the operation of the information reader to read the medication-related information. According to this configuration, at least a part of a control system for the reading operation for reading medication-related information added to the storage or the medicine package stored in the storage in two or more medication support apparatuses having different configurations of the storage is transferred from the two or more medication support apparatuses to the management apparatus, and is collected to the management apparatus. Based on the reading operation information for controlling the reading operation, optimal control of the reading operation for each medication support apparatus is achieved.

[0213] <Sixth aspect> A sixth aspect is characterized in that, in the fifth aspect, the reading operation information includes information on at least one of a position or a reading order in which the information reader reads the medication-related information. Accordingly, optimal control of the reading operation for each medication support apparatus is achieved.

[0214] <Seventh aspect> A seventh aspect is characterized in that, in the sixth aspect, the reading operation information includes reading-order information based on which the information reader reads the medication-related information, and the reading-order information includes skip information for skipping the reading operation for the storage or a medicine package stored in the storage that does not need to be read by the information reader. Accordingly, even for a complicated reading operation in which a reading operation for a storage that does not need to be read by the information reader is skipped in the reading order, optimal control for each medication support apparatus is achieved.

[0215] <Eighth aspect> An eighth aspect is characterized in that, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, each of the plurality of medication support apparatuses includes an information reader (for example, the medication-related information reader 65, the upper QR code reader 66, and the lower QR code reader 67) configured to read the medication-related information 6c (e.g., the QR code) added to the medicine storage part, and executes a medicine dispensing operation with respect to a medicine package stored in the storage based on the medication-related information read by the information reader. The plurality of medication support apparatuses include medication support apparatuses having different configurations of the medicine storage part, and the setting information includes reading operation information for controlling an operation of the information reader to read the medication-related information. Accordingly, at least a part of a control system with respect to a reading operation for reading the medication-related information added to the medication placement in two or more medication support apparatuses having different configurations of the medicine storage part is transferred from the two or more medication support apparatuses to a management apparatus, and is collected in the management apparatus. Thus, the reading operation information for controlling the reading operation achieves the optimum control of the reading operation for each medication support apparatus.

[0216] <Ninth aspect> A ninth aspect is characterized in that, in the eighth aspect, the reading operation information includes information of at least one of a position or a reading order in which the information reader reads the medication-related information. Accordingly, the optimum control of the reading operation for each medication support apparatus is achieved.

[0217] <Tenth aspect> A tenth aspect is characterized in that, in the ninth aspect, the reading operation information includes reading-order information in which the information reader reads the medication-related information. The reading-order information includes skip information for skipping the reading operation with respect to the medicine storage part whose medication-related information does not need to be read by the information reader. Accordingly, optimum control for each medication support apparatus is achieved even for a complicated reading operation in which the information reader skips a certain medicine storage part that does not need to be read by the information reader.

[0218] <Eleventh aspect> An eleventh aspect is characterized in that, in any of the first to tenth aspect, the setting information includes operation information (for example, extraction operation information, placement operation information, and reading operation information) for controlling two or more operations included in the medicine dispensing operation of the medication support apparatus, and the memory stores the operation information for controlling the two or more operations in a single file. Accordingly, file management and operation can be simplified.

[0219] <Twelfth aspect> A twelfth aspect is characterized in that, in any of the first to eleventh aspect, the setting information includes the operation information (for example, the extraction operation information, the placement operation information, and the reading operation information) for controlling two or more operations included in the medicine dispensing operation of the medication support apparatus, the plurality of medication support apparatuses include the two or more medication support apparatuses in which a part of the configuration related to the medicine dispensing operation is common to each other, and the setting information of the control information for controlling the operation corresponding to the part of the configuration common to the two or more medication support apparatuses is stored in the memory in association with the setting information that is common among the two or more medication support apparatuses. Thus, it is easy to change the setting information of the control information for controlling the operation corresponding to the common configuration.

[0220] This application is based upon and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-182106, filed on October 17, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0221] 2: Medicine package 6a to 6c: Medication-related information 7: Label 10: Cartridge 11: Casing 17: Package-extraction opening 20: Cartridge tray 30: Medicine dispensing tray 34: Subdivision box 50: Carriage 51: Suction portion 65: Medication-related information reader 66: Upper QR code reader 67: Lower QR code reader 70: Cartridge detection sensor 80: Drawer 90: Transfer part 200, 200', 200A, 200B, 200C: Medicine dispensing apparatus 210: Management apparatus 211: Medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 212: Medicine-dispensing information management system 213: Package information management system 214: Medicine-dispensing controller 215: Display management system 216: Medicine-dispensing apparatus controller 217: Communication controller 220: External medicine-dispensing control system 221: Medicine-dispensing information retrieval system 222: Medicine-dispensing information management system 223: Package information management system 224: Medicine dispensing controller 225: Apparatus-information management part 226: Communication controller 251: Package extraction position 252: QR-code read position 253: Placement position 254: QR-code read position 261, 262A, 262B, 262C, 263: Setting file 300: Medication support system

Claims

1. A medication support system provided with a medication support apparatus for performing a medicine dispensing operation in which a medicine package stored in a storage is transferred to a corresponding medicine storage part to dispense the medicine, the medication support system comprising: a plurality of medication support apparatuses having mutually different configurations related to the medicine dispensing operation; and a management apparatus that is communicatively connected to the plurality of medication support apparatuses and configured to manage control information for controlling each medicine dispensing operation of the plurality of medication support apparatuses, wherein the medication support system includes a memory configured to store setting information for setting the control information with respect to the medicine dispensing operation in association with the plurality of medication support apparatuses having mutually different configurations; and a transmitter configured to transmit the control information that corresponds to each of the plurality of medication support apparatuses, and each of the plurality of medication support apparatuses includes a controller configured to control the medicine dispensing operation based on the control information transmitted from the management apparatus.

2. The medication support system according to claim 1, wherein the management apparatus includes an information setting changing part configured to change the setting information.

3. The medication support system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of medication support apparatuses include medication support apparatuses having mutually different storage configurations, and the setting information includes extraction operation information for controlling an operation to extract the medicine package from the storage.

4. The medication support system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of medication support apparatuses include medication support apparatuses having different configurations of the medicine storage part, and the setting information includes placement operation information for controlling an operation of placing the medicine package in the medicine storage part.

5. The medication support system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the plurality of medication support apparatuses includes an information reader configured to read medication-related information added to the storage or the medicine package stored in the storage, and executes the medicine dispensing operation with respect to the medicine package stored in the storage based on the medication-related information read by the information reader, the plurality of medication support apparatuses include the medication support apparatuses having different configurations of the storage, and the setting information includes reading operation information for controlling the operation of the information reader to read the medication-related information.

6. The medication support system according to claim 5, wherein the reading operation information includes information on at least one of a position or a reading order in which the information reader reads the medication-related information.

7. The medication support system according to claim 6, wherein the reading operation information includes reading-order information based on which the information reader reads the medication-related information, and the reading-order information includes skip information for skipping the reading operation for the storage or the medicine package stored in the storage that does not need to be read by the information reader.

8. The medication support system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the plurality of medication support apparatuses includes an information reader configured to read medication-related information added to the medicine storage part, and executes a medicine dispensing operation with respect to the medicine package stored in the storage based on the medication-related information read by the information reader, the plurality of medication support apparatuses include medication support apparatuses having different configurations of the storage, and the setting information includes reading operation information for controlling an operation of the information reader to read the medication-related information.

9. The medication support system according to claim 8, wherein the reading operation information includes information on at least one of a position or a reading order in which the information reader reads the medication-related information.

10. The medication support system according to claim 9, wherein the reading operation information includes reading-order information based on which the information reader reads the medication-related information, and the reading-order information includes skip information for skipping a reading operation for the medicine storage part that does not need to be read by the information reader.

11. The medication support system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the setting information includes operation information for controlling two or more operations included in the medicine dispensing operation of the medication support apparatus, and the memory stores the operation information for controlling the two or more operations in a single file.

12. The medication support system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the setting information includes operation information for controlling two or more operations included in the medicine dispensing operation of the medication support apparatus, the plurality of medication support apparatuses include the two or more medication support apparatuses in which a part of a configuration related to the medicine dispensing operation is common to each other, and the setting information of the control information for controlling an operation, the operation being from among the two or more operations, corresponding to the part of the configuration common to the two or more medication support apparatuses is stored in the memory in association with the setting information that is common among the two or more medication support apparatuses.

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