CN106794115B - Medicine divides chartered plane - Google Patents

Abstract

A medicine dispensing and packing machine (10) having a wide selection range for supplying medicine powder is provided. When a plurality of powder supply devices are provided upstream of the packaging device (20), a first powder supply device (30) of a rotary distribution type and a second powder supply device (40) of a metering division type are provided, and a loading hopper guide mechanism (51) for guiding the powder from the second powder supply device (40) to the loading hopper (22) of the packaging device (20) is provided. Further, a powder feeder guide mechanism 52 for guiding the powder from the second powder supply means 40 to the powder feeder 31 of the first powder supply means 30, an annular receiving member guide mechanism for guiding the powder from the second powder supply means 40 to the rotary annular receiving member 32 of the first powder supply means 30, and an optional member for making only one of these guide mechanisms function are provided.

Description

Medicine divides chartered plane

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a medicine dispensing and packing machine including a plurality of medicine powder supply devices and a packing device common to the medicine powder supply devices, which can pack not only a single kind of medicine powder as one package of medicine but also a plurality of kinds of medicine powder as one package of medicine, and more particularly, to a medicine dispensing and packing machine including two kinds of medicine powder supply devices having different structures.

Background

The medicine packing machine is provided with: a medicine supply device for dividing medicines of a prescribed total amount or more by one package (one dose, one administration dose) and supplying the divided medicines one by one; and a packaging device that packages the medicine into one pack by partitioning an elongated packing paper (packing tape) by one pack amount and enclosing the medicine in each partition. In a medicine dispensing and packaging machine, one or more medicines are fed from one or more medicine supply devices to a feed hopper of a packaging device by one package amount and are dispensed and packaged (packaged in one package) (see, for example, patent documents 1 to 8).

Some of the medicine dispensing machines include a medicine dispensing machine that handles only medicine powder such as powder and granules (see, for example, patent documents 1 to 4, 6, and 7), a medicine dispensing machine that handles only tablets such as pills and capsules, and a medicine dispensing machine that handles a mixture of both medicine powder and tablets (see, for example, patent documents 5 and 8).

The medicine dispensing machine includes a medicine powder supply device as a medicine supply device. A general configuration example of the powder supply device is a distribution division type. The distribution division type powder supply device is further roughly classified into a linear distribution type, which is a relatively simple operation of manually distributing powder into divided pieces by a human hand in which the divided pieces are linearly arranged in a powder distribution area, and a rotary distribution type, which is an automatic distribution type in which a member having a predetermined shape arranged in an annular powder distribution area is rotated.

The latter rotary distribution type powder supply device (see, for example, patent documents 1 to 5) includes: a medicine powder feeder for supplying medicine powder to the medicine powder feeder in a quantitative or variable mode; a rotary ring-shaped receiving member for receiving the medicine powder supplied from the medicine powder feeder while rotating, thereby uniformly distributing and holding the medicine powder; and a dividing mechanism for dividing the package into a number of packages from the rotary ring-shaped receiving member and feeding the packages to the packaging device.

As the rotary annular receiving member, there are used a powder splitter in which a plurality of split pieces are arranged in an annular shape (for example, see patent document 1), a turntable having an annular flat placement surface (for example, see patent document 2), a turntable having an annular receiving dish in which a concave arc groove called an R groove or the like is formed in an annular shape (for example, see patent documents 3 to 5), and the like. In the case where a powder splitter divided into a plurality of split blocks in advance is used for the rotary annular receiving member (see, for example, patent document 1), the powder splitter divides the powder by distributing the powder to the rotary powder splitter, and the split blocks are opened at the bottom surfaces thereof to discharge and deliver the powder, so that the splitting accuracy can be easily improved. On the other hand, when an annular mounting surface or an annular receiving pan which is not divided in advance is used for the rotary annular receiving member (see, for example, patent documents 2 to 5), the number of divisions is easily changed because the powder distributed on the annular mounting surface or the annular receiving pan is cut out at an arbitrary angle from the annular mounting surface or the annular receiving pan by the cutting means and divided.

Another example of the structure of the powder supply device is a metering division type in which the amount of powder to be supplied is measured while the amount of powder to be supplied is measured little by little in a quantitative or variable manner, and only a required amount is supplied. Among the measurement methods, there are a volume measurement method of calculating a delivery amount from the rotational speed of a rotating delivery screw or the like, a weight measurement method of measuring a weight on a delivery side or a receiving side (see, for example, patent documents 3 and 4), and a so-called image measurement method of calculating a delivery amount from an image obtained by imaging a falling powder (see, for example, patent document 7). If only a small amount of powder is measured with high accuracy by a volume measuring method or a weight measuring method, time and cost increase. Therefore, it is not intended to divide the powder by one pack but by one patient (see, for example, patent documents 3 and 4). The image capture measurement method, the combination of the image capture measurement method and the weight measurement method are suitable for practical use even in dividing the powder by one package (see, for example, patent document 7).

In addition, the following medicine powder packing machine has also been put into practical use: in order to reduce the time required for the packaging device to be inoperative, a plurality of powder supply devices are provided and the target of powder supply is provided as a common packaging device, so that powder distribution and powder division can be performed at different times by other powder supply devices, and a plurality of powders not suitable for mixing can be divided by each powder supply device to package a single dose of medicine (see, for example, patent documents 2, 3, and 5). Further, the following medicine powder packing machine has also been put into practical use: a tablet packing machine and a medicine packing machine, which are configured to drop and discharge a required number of tablets from a tablet feeder containing various tablets and supply the tablets to a common packing device, are combined so that not only medicine powder but also tablets can be packed together (see, for example, patent document 5).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 61-273301

Patent document 2: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 62-260601

Patent document 3: japanese laid-open patent publication No. H07-080043

Patent document 4: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 11-114021

Patent document 5: japanese patent laid-open No. 2001 and 87353

Patent document 6: japanese laid-open patent application No. 2001-85523

Patent document 7: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-48899

Patent document 8: japanese patent application No. 2014-072303

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In such a conventional medicine dispensing and packaging machine, if a plurality of medicine powder supply devices are not connected in cascade (multi-row connection, slave connection, or serial connection) in which the same packaging device is commonly used as a direct supply target of medicine powder, a plurality of medicine powder supply devices having different structures may be combined (see, for example, patent documents 3 and 4). However, when a plurality of powder supply devices are connected in parallel, and the same packaging device is used in common as a direct supply target of the powder, the powder supply devices are limited to the same type of powder supply device when a plurality of powder supply devices are provided in parallel to the packaging device used in common as the direct supply target. Specifically, a rotary distribution type medicine powder packing machine which is provided with a plurality of sets of a medicine powder feeder, a rotary ring-shaped receiving member, and a cutting device and directly supplies medicine powder from each set to one packing device has been put to practical use (see, for example, patent documents 2, 3, and 5).

Therefore, even when the distribution and division of powder of different prescriptions are parallelized or when the distribution and division of powder unsuitable for mixing of one prescription is shared, there is no particular significance or loss in selecting which powder is to be distributed to which powder supply device, and only the empty powder supply device is distributed.

However, in the case of using a large-scale system having a high automation rate, in addition to the above, in a widely spread rotary distribution type medicine powder dispensing machine, even if the division of medicine powder by one package is automated, the division of medicine powder by one prescription amount or by one patient amount cannot be automated, and it is often necessary to perform a manual weighing operation in advance.

Therefore, it is a first technical problem to realize a medicine dispensing machine having a wide selection range for medicine powder supply so as to reduce the work load of a medicine powder dispenser without damaging the content of medicine powder dispensing.

In addition, there is a medicine dispensing machine dedicated to medicine powder, in which a medicine container holder for accommodating a plurality of medicine powder containers and a top plate also serving as a medicine dispensing table are combined (see, for example, patent document 6). However, in a medicine dispensing machine in which a tablet dispensing machine and a medicine dispensing machine are combined, it is preferable to provide a tablet container holder on which a plurality of tablet feeders are mounted, and a device including the medicine container holder and a medicine dispensing operation top plate has not been developed (for example, see patent document 5).

Therefore, when a pharmacist manually introduces a medicine powder into a medicine powder feeder, the pharmacist takes out a medicine powder container from a separately provided medicine powder container rack in advance, performs a medicine dispensing operation in another place, moves to a place where a medicine dispensing machine is provided, and then performs the injection of the medicine powder after the medicine dispensing operation.

Therefore, a second technical problem is to realize a medicine packing machine which can feed medicine powder into a medicine powder feeder with a small space and without requiring a pharmacist or other person who dispenses medicine powder to move, and can automatically feed tablets from the medicine tablet feeder housed in a tablet container rack into a packing device which is directly supplied and is shared with a medicine powder supply device (for example, see patent document 8). However, a medicine packing machine provided with a plurality of medicine powder supply devices tends to be used more and more as the frequency of medicine powder dispensing increases.

Therefore, in such a medicine dispensing machine, since it is highly necessary to reduce the work load of the medicine powder dispenser, it is desirable to solve the second technical problem in addition to the first technical problem.

Means for solving the problems

The medicine dispensing and packaging machine according to the present invention is a medicine dispensing and packaging machine that solves the first problem, and includes: a packaging device which is provided with a feeding hopper for feeding a packet of medicine containing at least medicine powder and packages the packet of medicine discharged from the feeding hopper into one package; a first powder supply device (of a rotary distribution type) including a powder feeder and a rotary annular receiving member, for dividing a first type of powder supplied from the powder feeder to the rotary annular receiving member into a number of portions and outputting the divided portions to a hopper; a second powder supply device (of a metering and dividing type) having a function of quantitatively or variably supplying a second type of powder a plurality of times and a function of measuring a single supply amount, and dividing and outputting the second type of powder by a packet amount using these functions; and a loading hopper guide mechanism (first guide mechanism) for guiding the second type of powder outputted from the second powder supply device to the loading hopper.

In the medicine dispensing and packaging machine of the present invention, the first powder supply device and the second powder supply device are provided in parallel and connected to each other so as to share the same packaging device as a direct supply target of the powder. The first powder supply means is of a rotary distribution type, and the second powder supply means is of a metering division type and is provided in two different types.

The first powder supplying means and the second powder supplying means are different in characteristics in several points such as the size of scale, the order of work, the processing speed, the dividing performance, and the result of use. Therefore, the medicine powder can be used separately in consideration of reliability, convenience, and the like according to the contents of the medicine powder, and therefore the selection range of the medicine powder supply device for supplying medicine powder is widened.

Further, since the input hopper guide mechanism (first guide mechanism) is disposed between the second powder supply device of the metering division type, which is easy to be miniaturized compared to the first powder supply device of the rotary distribution type requiring the rotary annular receiving member, and the input hopper of the packaging device, the restriction on the arrangement of the first powder supply device and the second powder supply device is alleviated, and the medicine dispensing machine can be miniaturized without sacrificing the ease of use.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a medicine dispensing machine having a wide selection range in medicine powder supply and reduce the work load of a medicine powder dispenser without impairing the content of medicine powder dispensing, and therefore the first technical problem is solved.

The medicine dispensing and packaging machine of the present invention may further include: a medicine feeder guide mechanism (second guide mechanism) for guiding the second kind of medicine powder outputted from the second medicine powder supply device to the medicine feeder; and a mechanism selecting member for selecting and functioning only one of the input hopper guide mechanism and the powder feeder guide mechanism.

In such a medicine dispensing machine, in addition to selection of a common input hopper guide mechanism as a direct supply target of a plurality of types of powder supply devices connected in parallel having different structures, selection of supply of powder from a second powder supply device connected in cascade via powder feeders to a first powder supply device can be performed. Therefore, a medicine dispensing and packing machine with a wider selection range for medicine powder supply can be realized.

The medicine dispensing and packaging machine of the present invention may further include: an annular receiving member guiding mechanism for guiding the second type of powder outputted from the second powder supplying device to the rotary annular receiving member; and a mechanism selecting means for selecting and functioning only one of the hopper guiding mechanism and the annular receiving member guiding mechanism.

In such a medicine packing device, in addition to selection of a common input hopper guide mechanism as a direct supply target of parallel connection of a plurality of kinds of medicine powder supply devices having different structures, selection of supply of medicine powder from the second medicine powder supply device to the first medicine powder supply device via cascade connection of rotary annular receiving members is also possible, so that a medicine packing device having a wider selection range in medicine powder supply can be realized.

The medicine dispensing and packaging machine of the present invention may further include: a medicine feeder guide mechanism for guiding the second kind of medicine powder outputted from the second medicine powder supply device to the medicine powder feeder; an annular receiving member guiding mechanism for guiding the second type of powder outputted from the second powder supplying device to the rotary annular receiving member; and a mechanism selecting means for selecting and functioning only one of the input hopper guide mechanism, the powder feeder guide mechanism, and the annular receiving member guide mechanism.

In such a medicine packing machine, in addition to selection of a common input hopper guide mechanism as a direct supply target of a plurality of types of powder supply devices connected in parallel having different structures, selection of supply of powder from the second powder supply device connected in cascade via the powder feeder to the first powder supply device and selection of supply of powder from the second powder supply device connected in cascade via the rotary annular receiving member to the first powder supply device can be performed, and therefore, a medicine packing machine having a wider selection range in powder supply can be realized.

The medicine dispensing and packaging machine of the present invention may further include: a tablet container rack, which is loaded with a plurality of tablet feeders; a tablet guide mechanism for introducing tablets discharged from the plurality of tablet feeders and dropped into the feed hopper; and a medicine powder container holder for accommodating a plurality of medicine powder containers.

In such a medicine packing machine, a medicine container holder and a medicine guiding mechanism are attached, and thus both medicine powder and medicine tablets can be packed together. Therefore, when the medicine powder with a high frequency of use is put into the container and stored in the medicine powder container holder, the medicine dispenser can prepare the necessary medicine powder without much movement during medicine dispensing, and the efficiency of the medicine dispensing operation is improved.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the burden on the drug powder dispenser for preparing the drug powder can be reduced.

The medicine dispensing machine of the present invention may further include a dispensing operation top plate capable of performing a dispensing operation of the medicine powder on the plate.

In such a medicine dispensing machine, since the medicine dispensing operation top plate is additionally provided, the operation of checking and weighing the prepared medicine powder can be completed without requiring the operator to move the medicine dispensing machine, and the efficiency of the medicine dispensing operation is further improved.

Therefore, according to the present invention, not only the preparation of the powder but also the work load of the subsequent medicine dispensing of the powder can be reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an internal structure of a medicine dispensing machine according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, where fig. 1(a) corresponds to a front view, fig. 1(b) corresponds to a left side portion when viewed from the front and a right side portion when viewed from the right, and fig. 1(c) corresponds to a right side portion when viewed from the front and a right side portion when viewed from the right.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged schematic view showing a configuration of a mechanism selecting member according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, fig. 2(a) is a view showing a state in which a hopper guide mechanism is caused to function, fig. 2(b) is a view showing a state in which a powder feeder guide mechanism is caused to function, and fig. 2(c) is a view showing a state in which a ring-shaped receiving member guide mechanism is caused to function.

Fig. 3 shows a structure of a medicine dispensing and packing machine according to embodiment 2 of the present invention, in which fig. 3(a) is an external perspective view, and fig. 3(b) is a plan view of a medicine container holder and a tablet container holder.

Detailed Description

A specific embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the following examples 1 to 2.

Embodiment 1 shown in fig. 1 is an example in which all of the above-described solutions are embodied, and embodiment 2 shown in fig. 3 is a modification thereof.

In the drawings of the embodiments, for the sake of simplicity, the detailed configurations of fasteners such as bolts, coupling members such as hinges, drive sources such as electric motors, transmission members such as timing belts, circuits such as motor drivers, and electronic circuits such as controllers are omitted, and the details necessary for the description of the invention and the related contents are mainly shown.

Example 1

A specific configuration of embodiment 1 of the medicine dispensing and packing machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an internal structure of the medicine dispensing machine 10, and fig. 1(a) corresponds to a front view, fig. 1(b) corresponds to a left side portion when viewed from the front and a right side portion when viewed from the right, and fig. 1(c) corresponds to a right side portion when viewed from the front and a right side portion when viewed from the right.

The medicine dispensing and packing machine 10 includes: a packing device 20 built in a lower portion of the case; a first powder supply device 30 of a rotary distribution type which is built in a portion on the left front side above the packing device 20; a second powder supply device 40 of a metering division type provided on a right rear portion of a portion slightly above the first powder supply device 30; a powder guiding mechanism 50 installed between the packing device 20, the first powder feeder 30 and the second powder feeder 40; a tablet container holder 60 provided at a left side portion of the upper portion of the housing; a medicine container stand 70 provided on the right side of the tablet container stand 60; a dispensing operation top plate 80 that spans above the first powder feeder 30 and in front of the second powder feeder; and a control device 14 which is built in a portion such as a lower rear portion of the housing which does not interfere with the above devices.

The packaging device 20 may be any device as long as it partitions two elongated sub-tapes such as a sub-sheet of paper into sections by one pack amount and seals the medicine into each of the compartments to package one pack amount of medicine into one pack (see, for example, patent documents 1 to 7). The packaging device 20 includes: a main body 21 for dividing the wrapping paper into sections by heat welding or the like while conveying the wrapping paper by a predetermined length; and a loading hopper 22 into which the medicines fed out from the first and second powder supply devices 30 and 40 and the tablet container holder 60 are loaded, and each time a package of medicine is fed into the loading hopper 22, the medicine is packaged into one package by the main body 21.

In this configuration example, a merging member 23 that receives the medicines fed from each part and introduces all the medicines into the input hopper 22 is provided above the input hopper 22 that moves up and down little.

The first powder supply device 30 may be any known device as long as it is a rotary distribution type device (see, for example, patent documents 1 to 5), and includes a powder feeder 31 such as a vibration feeder, a rotary annular receiving member 32 such as an annular receiving pan, and a dividing mechanism 33 such as a cutting device, which are all described above, and, under the control of the control device 14, the powder feeder 31 equally distributes a single patient amount or a single prescription amount of powder to the rotary annular receiving member 32, and the dividing mechanism 33 divides the powder by a single package amount and feeds the divided powder to the input hopper 22 of the packaging device 20 via the merging member 23. The operation of placing a single dose of the powder on the powder feeder 31 is basically performed by a manual operation performed by a dispenser after weighing, but may be automatically fed from the second powder supply apparatus 40 via a powder feeder guide mechanism 52 described later.

The second powder supply device 40 may be a metering-dividing device, and may be a known device (see, for example, patent documents 3, 4, and 7). The method of measuring the second powder supply device 40 may be any method as long as the amount of powder to be supplied is measured while the amount of powder to be supplied is being fed out little by little in a quantitative or variable manner and only a required amount is supplied, and may be a volume measurement method described above, a weight measurement method described above (see, for example, patent documents 3 and 4), an imaging measurement method described above (see, for example, patent document 7), or a mixing method using a combination of some of them. The powder container 72 is preferably a powder supply device of this type because the mixing of the weight measurement type and the imaging measurement type makes the structure simple and the measurement accuracy good.

In this configuration example, the second powder supply device 40 includes a metering and dispensing unit 41 and a discharge hopper 42 that temporarily stores the powder. The measurement and delivery unit 41 is capable of attaching and detaching a medicine powder container 72 containing medicine powder to be packaged for each container, and performing drop discharge and measurement of the medicine powder from the attached medicine powder container 72. The discharge hopper 42 temporarily accumulates only one packet of the medicine powder discharged from the metering and dispensing unit 41.

The powder guiding mechanism 50 includes a loading hopper guiding mechanism 51 (first guiding mechanism) installed between the second powder supplying device 40 and the packaging device 20, a powder feeder guiding mechanism 52 (second guiding mechanism) installed between the second powder supplying device 40 and the powder feeder 31 of the first powder supplying device 30, and an annular receiving member guiding mechanism 53 (third guiding mechanism) installed between the second powder supplying device 40 and the rotary annular receiving member 32 of the first powder supplying device 30.

The loading hopper guide mechanism 51 is constituted by, for example, a groove-shaped member having an elongated recess opening upward and being inclined. When the loading hopper guide mechanism 51 is selected by a mechanism selecting member described later to function as a guide, the starting end (upper end) of the trough-like member is positioned below the discharge hopper 42 of the second powder supply device 40, and the ending end (lower end) is positioned above the merging member 23 of the packaging device 20, so that the powder supplied from the second powder supply device 40 is directly introduced into the loading hopper 22 of the packaging device 20 without passing through the first powder supply device 30.

The powder feeder guide mechanism 52 is constituted by, for example, a conveyor belt. When the powder feeder guide mechanism 52 is selected by a mechanism selection member described later to function as a guide, the starting end of the conveyor belt is positioned below the discharge hopper 42 of the second powder supply device 40, and the terminal end of the conveyor belt is positioned above the powder feeder 31 of the first powder supply device 30, so that the powder supplied from the second powder supply device 40 is introduced into the powder feeder 31.

The annular receiving member guide mechanism 53 is constituted by, for example, a conveyor belt. When the annular receiving member guide mechanism 53 is selected by a mechanism selecting means described later to function as a guide, the start end of the conveyor belt is positioned below the discharge hopper 42 of the second powder supply device 40, and the end thereof is positioned above the rotary annular receiving member 32 of the first powder supply device 30, and the powder supplied from the second powder supply device 40 is introduced into the rotary annular receiving member 32.

The powder feeder guide mechanism 52 and the annular receiving member guide mechanism 53 deliver the powder supplied from the second powder supply device 40 to the first powder supply device 30, and entrust the first powder supply device 30 to the input hopper 22 of the packing device 20.

A mechanism selecting member not shown in fig. 1 is attached to the powder guiding mechanism 50. The mechanism selecting means is constituted by, for example, a mechanism for advancing and retreating some of the above-described guide mechanisms 51, 52, and 53, a mechanism for changing the direction of the path of the powder by rotating the powder below the discharge hopper 42, or the like, and is constituted by any of these mechanisms, and the target of delivery of the powder supplied from the second powder supplying device 40 is switched to the input hopper 22, the powder feeder 31, and the rotary annular receiving member 32 by controlling the control device 14 so that only one of the input hopper guide mechanism 51, the powder feeder guide mechanism 52, and the annular receiving member guide mechanism 53 is made to function and the other guide mechanisms are not made to function.

Fig. 2(a) to 2(c) are schematic diagrams showing an example of a mechanism selecting member that operates under the control of the control device 14, fig. 2(a) is a diagram showing a state in which the hopper guide mechanism 51 is caused to function, fig. 2(b) is a diagram showing a state in which the powder feeder guide mechanism 52 is caused to function, and fig. 2(c) is a diagram showing a state in which the annular receiving member guide mechanism 53 is caused to function.

In the present embodiment, as the mechanism selecting means, the hopper member 54 that can rotate within a predetermined angular range by a driving means, not shown, that operates under the control of the control device 14 is used. The hopper member 54 is provided with a receiving opening 54a for receiving the medicine powder supplied from the second medicine powder supply means 40 and a discharge opening 54b for discharging the medicine powder supplied to the hopper member 54. As shown in fig. 2(a), when the input hopper guide mechanism 51 is caused to function, the hopper member 54 is arranged such that the discharge port 54b is positioned directly above the start end of the input hopper guide mechanism 51. Next, as shown in fig. 2(b), when the powder feeder guide mechanism 52 is caused to function, the hopper member 54 is disposed so that the discharge port 54b is positioned at an angle directly above the powder feeder guide mechanism 52. As shown in fig. 2(c), when the annular receiving member guide mechanism 53 is caused to function, the hopper member 54 is disposed such that the discharge port 54b is positioned directly above the annular receiving member guide mechanism 53 with inclination. In any state, the receiving opening 54a is maintained at a position capable of receiving all the powder supplied from the second powder supplying means 40. By using such a rotatable hopper member 54, the mechanism selection member can be configured with a simple structure.

The tablet container holder 60 can hold a plurality of detachable tablet feeders 61 aligned in a plurality of rows and a plurality of lines. The tablet feeder 61 accommodates any of various tablets in the container portion, and sequentially discharges the tablets by a rotational operation of the array tray or the like in accordance with an instruction from the control device 14. The tablets discharged from the tablet feeder 61 are collected by, for example, a vertical pipe-shaped tablet guide mechanism 63 while falling down, and are introduced into, for example, a funnel-shaped tablet guide mechanism 65.

The tablet container holder 60 is provided with a manual medicine dispensing device 62 for containing a medicine not present in the tablet feeder 61 in a packing target. The manually dispensed medicines are sequentially discharged from the medicine manual dispensing device 62 under the control of the control device 14, and the discharged manually dispensed medicines are introduced into the tablet guide mechanism 65 by the tablet guide mechanism 64.

The medicine that has reached the tablet guide mechanism 65 is temporarily accumulated by one packet, and then is put into the input hopper 22 of the packaging device 20 via the merging member 23.

The medicine container stand 70 is a device in which a plurality of rows of shelf plates 71 are arranged, and the shelf plates 71 can be used to place the medicine containers 72 in advance in such a manner that one or more of them are arranged in parallel. The medicine powder container 72 is a container that contains any of various kinds of medicine powder, and is attachable to and detachable from the metering and dispensing unit 41 of the second medicine powder supply device 40. The entry and exit of the medicine powder container 72 into and from the medicine powder container holder 70 and the attachment and detachment of the medicine powder container 72 to the metering and dispensing unit 41 are basically performed manually.

The dispensing operation top plate 80 is a horizontal plate body capable of performing dispensing operation of the powder on the plate, and is preferably a single wide flat plate as shown in the drawing, or may be an apparatus in which a plurality of flat plates are arranged at the same height, or may be an apparatus in which a plurality of plates are arranged in a step shape. In the case of covering the upper part of the powder feeder 31, a through hole for powder injection is formed in this part. The height of the medicine dispensing operation top plate 80 is a height that facilitates weighing and other operations, and the medicine dispensing operation top plate 80 is disposed at a position that does not interfere with attachment and detachment of the tablet feeder 61 to and from the tablet container holder 60 and attachment and detachment of the medicine powder container 72 to and from the second medicine powder supply device 40. In order to facilitate cleaning and repair of the inside of the housing, the dispensing operation top plate 80 is attached to the housing in a freely openable and closable or detachable manner. In order to make it easy to visually confirm the operation state of the first powder supply device 30, the dispensing operation top plate 80 may be made of a transparent panel or the like, or may be configured to have a transparent window embedded therein.

Although the control device 14 is illustrated simply as a single block, it may be an electronic control circuit of a centralized control system or a distributed control system using several microprocessors as long as the packetization can be appropriately controlled. The control device 14 includes the following functions: when prescription data for the local apparatus is received from an external group control computer or the like and dispensing instruction data for the local apparatus is extracted, such dispensing instruction data for the local apparatus is received from a host computer or the like, or a dispensing instruction is input from a display operation means or the like not shown, the dispensing control is performed based on the dispensing instruction. In the control sequence of the control device 14, when the packing control is performed, an appropriate one or more of the first powder supply device 30, the second powder supply device 40, the powder guide mechanism 50, the tablet feeder 61, and the medicine manual distribution device 62 are operated, and the medicine delivery timing thereof and the packing timing of the packing device 20 are synchronized, so that the respective parts cooperate.

The usage and operation of the medicine dispensing and packing machine 10 according to embodiment 1 will be described.

When the tablets contained in the tablet feeders 61 attached to the tablet container 60 are designated as the dispensing targets, only a required number of the tablets are automatically discharged from the corresponding tablet feeders 61 under the control of the control device 14 and are loaded into the loading hoppers 22 of the packaging device 20.

On the other hand, when a tablet that is not stored in the tablet feeder 61 attached to the tablet container rack 60 is designated as a dispensing target, the tablet is manually dispensed to the corresponding block of the manual dispensing device 62, and then automatically discharged from the manual dispensing device 62 under the control of the control device 14 and is loaded into the loading hopper 22 of the packaging device 20.

In the case where the powder is indicated as the drug dispensing target but the powder is not contained in the powder container 72 that is detachable from the second powder supply apparatus 40, the powder feeder 31 is loaded after the powder is collectively weighed in a required amount for one patient or one prescription, and the operation is manually performed on the dispensing operation top plate 80 or the like. Thereafter, under the control of the control device 14, the first powder supply device 30 of the rotary distribution type automatically performs the uniform distribution to the rotary ring-shaped receiving member 32 and the division at the dividing mechanism 33, and the powder is charged into the charging hopper 22 of the packaging device 20 by one packet.

In the case where the powder container 72, which is designated as the drug dispensing target, is accommodated in the powder container 72 that is detachable from the second powder supply device 40, the powder can be selected from the distribution-division type powder supply in which the first powder supply device 30 is divided and distributed after collective weighing by manual work as described above, and the measurement-division type powder supply in which the corresponding powder container 72 is assembled to the second powder supply device 40 and the measurement-division operation is performed without requiring manual weighing work. When the powder is of a plurality of kinds, the two can be selected for distribution.

In the latter metered and divided type powder supply, by controlling the switching state of the powder guide mechanism 50 by the control device 14, it is possible to select any one of a direct type powder supply in which the input hopper guide mechanism 51 functions to directly input the powder from the second powder supply device 40 to the packaging device 20, a powder supply via the powder feeder in which the powder feeder guide mechanism 52 functions to input the powder from the second powder supply device 40 to the powder feeder 31, and a powder supply via the annular receiving member in which the annular receiving member guide mechanism 53 functions to input the powder from the second powder supply device 40 to the rotary annular receiving member 32.

In this way, various types of powder supply methods can be selected, and at present, the burden and time of the metering division type tend to be smaller than those of the dispensing division type with respect to the workload and the constraint time of the dispenser, while the dispensing time excluding weighing tends to be successively shorter in the order of the powder feeder transit type, the annular receiving member transit type, the direct type, and the dispensing division type. In addition, the first divided powder supply device 30 of the dispensing type is currently accumulated with practical results that even a small amount of powder per package can be accurately divided, whereas the second divided powder supply device 40 of the metering type tends to increase the relative error (%) if the amount of powder per package is small.

The pharmacist selects the medicine powder supply method in consideration of the characteristics of the medicine powder supply method, the number of the pharmacist, the skill level, the priority of the prescription processing, and the like, and instructs the control device 14 by the display operation means, but if the medicine powder supply method selectable for each kind of medicine powder, the range of the selectable one-pack amount of the medicine powder, the presence or absence of the medicine powder container 72, the estimated value of the current storage amount, and the like are set in the control device 14 in advance as the extension data of the medicine main data, whether the selection of the pharmacist is appropriate or not is determined by the control device 14, and the determination result is presented by the display operation means. Therefore, the dispenser can select the appropriate selection. In addition, in the case where the number of the medicinal powders is two or more, the following selection may be made: after all the mixing, the same treatment as in the case of one kind is performed, or the first powder feeder 30 is divided into a plurality of times for each dispensing stroke, or the first powder feeder 30 and the second powder feeder 40 are operated in parallel.

When selecting the distribution division type powder supply, the dispenser collectively weighs a required total amount of powder by an electronic scale or the like, not shown, and then puts the powder into the powder feeder 31, and thereafter automatically performs distribution by the first powder supply device 30, and then performs division by the first powder supply device 30 and packaging as one package by the packaging device 20, and then packs the powder into a sub-package.

When selecting the powder feeder-through type powder supply, when the dispenser takes out the powder container 72 containing the target powder from the powder container holder 70 and mounts it on the second powder feeder 40, the powder feeder 31 is automatically fed with a required total amount of powder from the powder container 72 by the second powder feeder 40 in sequence through the powder feeder guide mechanism 52, and then the dispensing by the first powder feeder 30 is performed, and then the division by the first powder feeder 30 and the packing as one pack by the packing device 20 are performed.

When selecting the ring-shaped receiving member-based powder supply, when the pharmacist takes out the powder container 72 containing the target powder from the powder container holder 70 and mounts it on the second powder supply device 40, the pharmacist automatically and uniformly distributes a required total amount of powder to the rotary ring-shaped receiving member 32 in such a manner that the second powder supply device 40 and the ring-shaped receiving member guide mechanism 53 function as the powder feeder 31, and then performs division by the first powder supply device 30 and packaging as one pack by the packaging device 20.

When the direct powder supply is selected, the dispenser still takes out the powder container 72 containing the target powder from the powder container holder 70 and mounts it to the second powder supply device 40, and thereafter automatically repeats the following processes for the required number of divided portions: a single package of the powder is fed from the second powder feeder 40 to the input hopper 22 via the input hopper guide mechanism 51, and packaged by the packaging device 20 at a time.

In the case where the tablets to be packaged are to be packaged, whether the mode of powder supply is selected or the powder supply is not selected, the target tablets are automatically discharged from the tablet feeder 61 and the hand-dispensing device 62 after the corresponding tablets are manually dispensed to the hand-dispensing device 62, and the tablets to be packaged are automatically discharged from the tablet feeder 61 and the hand-dispensing device 62 after a package amount is input to the input hopper 22 via the tablet guide mechanism 63, the tablet guide mechanism 64, and the tablet guide mechanism 65, and packaged together with the powder or packaged only the tablets.

Example 2

A specific configuration of embodiment 2 of the medicine dispensing and packing machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 3(a) is an external perspective view of the medicine dispensing machine 12, and (b) is a plan view of the tablet container holder 60 and the shelf plate 71 of the medicine container holder 70.

The medicine dispensing and packing machine 12 is different from the medicine dispensing and packing machine 10 according to embodiment 1 described above in that: the display operation unit 16 is supported by a member such as a jointed arm or a swivel arm and can advance and retreat from a space above the dispensing operation top plate 80; the tablet container holder 60 is formed as a double layer of the tablet container holder 60a on the rear side and the tablet container holder 60b on the front side, so that the number of tablets to be loaded in the tablet feeder 61 is increased, and the types of tablets that can be dispensed automatically are increased; the two-tier tablet container racks 60a and 60b are pivotally supported by the vertical support column 66 and can be pulled out forward like a door, so that the operation of attaching and detaching the tablet feeder 61 such as tablet replenishment can be easily performed above the dispensing operation top plate 80; the tablet container holder 60a and the shelf plate 71 have chamfered portions 60aa and 71a formed at the closest positions.

The two tablet container frames 60a and 60b can be swung integrally by restricting the end portions of the two tablet container frames located on the side away from the support column 66 with the coupling member 67, and can be separated by releasing the coupling member 67, thereby being swung independently.

In the rear tablet container 60a, as if the corner portion near the right rear side of the medicine powder container 70 among the four corners of the tablet container 60a having a square shape in plan view were obliquely cut, a chamfered portion 60aa is formed at this corner portion, and the tablet container 60a has a pentagonal shape in plan view.

In addition, as in the case of the medicine container stand 70, the respective shelf plates 71 are formed with chamfered portions 71a at corners near the left front side of the tablet container stand 60 among the four corners of the shelf plate 71 having a rectangular shape in a plan view, and the shelf plate 71 has a pentagonal shape in a plan view.

When the two-stage tablet container holders 60a and 60b are swung rearward to reach the operating position at the rear back of the housing, the chamfered portion 60aa of the tablet container holder 60a and the chamfered portion 71a of the shelf plate 71 are brought into a state of being closely opposed to each other in a plan view, the two-stage tablet container holders 60a and 60b and the medicine container holder 70 are arranged in parallel on the left and right sides, and the right end portions of the two-stage tablet container holders 60a and 60b are positioned forward of the left end portion of the medicine container holder 70. Therefore, the width of the two-layer tablet container holders 60a and 60b and the width of the medicine container holder 70 can be increased to a width that exceeds the width of the housing, and the container storage capacity can be increased. When the two tablet container holders 60a and 60b are swung forward, the hand is pulled over the chamfered portion 60aa of the tablet container holder 60a, whereby the two tablet container holders can be easily swung. Further, when the engaging member 67 is released or re-engaged in order to swing the tablet container holder 60b toward the front with the tablet container holder 60a left at the back position, the frame plate 71 has the chamfered portion 71a, so that the frame plate 71 does not interfere with the manual operation of the engaging member 67, and thus the swing of only the tablet container holder 60b on the front side can be easily performed.

[ others ]

In the above-described embodiment, the powder guiding mechanism 50 is provided with the input hopper guiding mechanism 51, the powder feeder guiding mechanism 52, and the annular receiving member guiding mechanism 53, but the annular receiving member guiding mechanism 53 may be omitted to allow either one of the input hopper guiding mechanism 51 and the powder feeder guiding mechanism 52 to function, the powder feeder guiding mechanism 52 may be omitted to allow either one of the input hopper guiding mechanism 51 and the annular receiving member guiding mechanism 53 to function, or the annular receiving member guiding mechanism 53 and the powder feeder guiding mechanism 52 may be omitted to allow only the input hopper guiding mechanism 51, and in any case, the selected range is narrower than in the above-described embodiment, but is wider than in the related art.

In the above embodiment, the powder passage member such as the powder guiding mechanism 50 is described as being provided with only the switching member, but an excitation member, a tapping member, and the like may be provided for stabilization of powder conveyance, prevention of powder adhesion, and the like.

In the above embodiment, the first powder feeder 30 is disposed on the left side and the second powder feeder 40 is disposed on the right side, but the arrangement may be reversed. In the above embodiment, the tablet container holder 60 is disposed on the left side and the medicine container holder 70 is disposed on the right side, but the arrangement may be reversed.

Although not described in the above embodiments, an appropriate cleaning member or cleaning member such as an air filter or an air cleaner may be provided.

Industrial applicability

The medicine packing machine of the present invention is not limited to the above-described packing of the medicine powder and the tablet, and it is also useful to pack other granular bodies in addition to the medicine powder, and for example, a small amount of medicine is equally distributed to the rotary ring-shaped receiving member 32 by the medicine powder feeder 31, and a volume-increasing excipient is equally distributed to the rotary ring-shaped receiving member 32 by the second medicine powder supply device 40 and the ring-shaped receiving member guide mechanism 53, whereby a pharmacist can perform an operation with almost no burden of a volume-increasing operation.

Description of the reference numerals

10. 12 medicine subpackaging machine

14 control device (mechanism selecting parts)

16 display operation unit

20 packaging device

21 body part

22 feeding hopper

23 flow converging member

30 first powder supplying means (rotary distribution type)

31 medicine powder feeder

32 rotary ring receiving member (ring receiving dish)

33 dividing mechanism (cutting device)

40 second powder supplying device (measuring split type)

41 metering and delivering unit

42 discharge hopper

50 medicine powder guiding mechanism

51 hopper guide mechanism (first guide mechanism)

52 powder feeder guide mechanism (second guide mechanism)

53 annular receiving member guide mechanism (third guide mechanism)

54 hopper component (mechanism selection parts)

54a receiving port

54b discharge port

60. 60a, 60b tablet container holder

60aa chamfer part

61 tablet feeder

62 hand-spreading device for medicament

63. 64, 65 tablet guiding mechanism

66 support

67 joint member

70 medicine powder container rack

71 shelf board

71a chamfer part

72 medicinal powder container

80 dispensing operation top plate

Claims (6)

1. A medicine packing machine is provided with:

a packaging device (20) which is provided with a charging hopper (22) for charging a pack of medicaments at least containing medicinal powder and packages the pack of medicaments discharged from the charging hopper (22) into one package;

a first powder supply device (30) which is provided with a powder feeder (31) and a rotary annular receiving member (32), divides a first type of powder supplied from the powder feeder (31) to the rotary annular receiving member (32) into a packet amount and outputs the packet amount to the input hopper (22);

a second powder supply means (40) having a function of quantitatively or variably delivering a second kind of powder a plurality of times and a function of measuring a delivery amount at one time, and dividing and outputting the second kind of powder by a packet amount using the functions; and

a loading hopper guide mechanism (51) for guiding the second type of the powder outputted from the second powder supply device (40) to the loading hopper (22),

the powder-feeding hopper guide mechanism (51) guides the powder fed from the second powder feeder (40) directly into the powder-feeding hopper (22) of the packaging device (20) without passing through the first powder feeder (30).

2. The medicine packing machine according to claim 1, further comprising:

a powder feeder guide mechanism (52) for guiding the second type of powder outputted from the second powder supply device (40) to the powder feeder (31); and

and a mechanism selection member (54) for selecting and functioning only one of the hopper guide mechanism (51) and the powder feeder guide mechanism (52).

3. The medicine packing machine according to claim 1, further comprising:

an annular receiving member guide mechanism (53) for guiding the second type of powder outputted from the second powder supply device (40) to the rotary annular receiving member (32); and

and a mechanism selection means (54) for selecting and functioning only one of the hopper guide mechanism (51) and the annular receiving member guide mechanism (53).

4. The medicine packing machine according to claim 1, further comprising:

a powder feeder guide mechanism (52) for guiding the second type of powder outputted from the second powder supply device (40) to the powder feeder (31);

an annular receiving member guide mechanism (53) for guiding the second type of powder outputted from the second powder supply device (40) to the rotary annular receiving member (32); and

and a mechanism selection means (54) for selecting and functioning only one of the hopper guide mechanism (51), the powder feeder guide mechanism (52), and the annular receiving member guide mechanism (53).

5. The medicine packing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:

a tablet container rack (60) on which a plurality of tablet feeders (61) are mounted;

tablet guide mechanisms (63, 64, 65) for introducing the tablets discharged from the plurality of tablet feeders (61) and dropped into the input hopper (22); and

a medicine powder container holder (70) for accommodating a plurality of medicine powder containers (72).

6. The medicine packing machine according to claim 5,

further provided is a dispensing operation top plate (80) capable of dispensing the powder on the plate.

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