JP2004135930A - Dispensing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dispensing system having superior flexibility in points of operation and expansion. <P>SOLUTION: This dispensing system for dispensing drug based on prescription data is provided with, at least, a single dispensing device 1-4 having a USB board 1e-4e and a portable terminal 6 having a USB board 6c. When the USB board 6c of the portable terminal 6 and the USB boards 1e-4e of the dispensing devices 1-4 are connected, pre-input prescription data converted per dose are transmitted from the portable terminal 6 to the dispensing devices 1-4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a dispensing system for performing a dispensing process such as powdering and tablet packaging.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a dispensing system of this kind, a network-compatible system has been adopted in general hospitals, large-scale pharmacies, and the like. More specifically, a server that creates and manages prescription data and a client computer that is a personal computer provided for each dispensing device such as a powder packaging machine, a tablet packaging machine, a medicine bag printing device, and an injection medicine dispensing device. A system connected by Ethernet is used. The client computer controls the dispensing device based on the prescription data received from the server. On the other hand, in a small-scale pharmacy or the like, a stand-alone environment in which prescription data is created and a dispensing device is controlled by one personal computer connected to one dispensing device is generally used.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the operation and setting of the system using the Ethernet is complicated.
[0004]
To describe this point in detail, for example, in the case of a dispensing device that is used very infrequently, it is wasteful to keep the power on when the power is always on. On the other hand, it is very complicated to restart the host computer or the client computer of another dispensing device if the power is normally turned off and the computer is started only when it is necessary to actually use the power supply. . Also, depending on the environment setting, it is necessary to turn on the power to each dispensing device and the corresponding client computer in a predetermined order when the system is started.
[0005]
On the other hand, when a new dispensing device is added in the stand-alone environment, personal computers for the number of added dispensing devices are required. For example, when two dispensing devices are added, one personal computer is required for each dispensing device, for a total of two personal computers. Since the user who uses the dispensing apparatus in a stand-alone environment is a small pharmacy as described above, the necessity of purchasing a personal computer when additionally introducing a dispensing device is a very heavy burden in terms of cost.
[0006]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing system having excellent flexibility in terms of operation and expansion.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Therefore, the present invention provides a dispensing system for performing a dispensing process based on prescription data, comprising at least one dispensing device including a first USB communication control unit, and a second USB communication control unit. And when the first communication control unit is connected to the USB communication control unit, the USB communication control unit includes at least one terminal that transmits prescription data, which is pre-converted into packets, to the dispensing device. A dispensing system is provided.
[0008]
The terminal is preferably a portable terminal such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a notebook personal computer, or a mobile phone that can be easily carried by an operator. The dispensing device includes, for example, a powder packing machine, a tablet packing machine, a medicine bag printing apparatus, and an injection medicine dispensing apparatus.
[0009]
Since transmission of prescription data from the terminal to the dispensing device is possible by connecting the first and second USB communication control units provided therein, it is more complicated than a system using a communication line such as Ethernet. A simple system that does not require setting work. In addition, when there are a plurality of dispensing devices, it is not necessary to keep a dispensing device that is infrequently used in a state where the power is always turned on, and only when the dispensing device needs to be actually used, it is activated to start from a terminal. It can be activated by the transmitted prescription data. Furthermore, even when there are a plurality of dispensing devices, the power-on sequence of the dispensing devices when the system is started is not particularly limited. Furthermore, when a new dispensing device is additionally introduced into the system, it is not necessary to newly introduce a personal computer or the like for controlling the dispensing device.
[0010]
The dispensing system of the present invention can be used in combination with a system configured with a communication line such as Ethernet. That is, there are a plurality of the dispensing devices, provided for each dispensing device, a client computer that controls the corresponding dispensing device based on the prescription data, connected to each client computer via a communication line, and connected to each client computer. A server for transmitting prescription data may be further provided.
[0011]
In this case, for example, each dispensing device is normally operated in a system including a client computer, a server, and a communication line during normal times. For example, in an emergency, the second USB communication control unit of the terminal and the first USB communication control unit of the dispensing device are operated. And flexible operation, such as controlling the dispensing device by prescription data transmitted from the terminal by interrupting the ongoing dispensing process, becomes possible.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described in detail.
[0013]
(1st Embodiment)
The dispensing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 includes, as a dispensing device, a powder packaging machine 1 for packaging powders, a tablet packaging machine 2 for packaging tablets, and medicine bag printing for printing information such as prescriptions on medicine bags. A device 3 and an injection medicine dispensing device 4 are provided. In addition, when referring to any one of the powder dispensing and packaging machine 1, the tablet packaging and dispensing machine 2, the medicine bag printing device 3, and the injection medicine dispensing device 4 without particular limitation, they are described as dispensing devices 1 to 4. The dispensing system includes a host computer 5 that converts the input prescription data into a plurality of data per packet (data per packet) as described in detail below. Further, the dispensing system transmits the one-pack unit data group received from the host computer 5 to the dispensing devices 1 to 4 to perform a predetermined dispensing operation (for example, in the case of the powder dispensing and packaging machine 1, dispensing of powder). The portable terminal 6 for executing the program is provided.
[0014]
The powder dispensing and packaging machine 1 is, for example, rotatably provided with a disk having an outer peripheral groove having an outer peripheral groove having an arc-shaped cross section, supplies powder to the outer peripheral groove by a powder supply device, and supplies the outer peripheral groove by a powder ejection device. The powdered medicine supplied to the container is scraped out one by one, and is packaged one by one on a wrapping paper by a packaging device via a hopper. The powder dispensing and packaging machine 1 includes an actuator 1a such as a motor, a solenoid, and a heater included in the disk, the powder dispensing device, the powder dispensing device, and the packaging device, various sensors 1b, a control unit 1c, a control unit for the actuator 1a, and a portable terminal. A USB board (first USB communication control unit) 1e for storing various programs including a program for communication with the USB 6; a USB port 1f for connecting a USB cable 7; The control unit 1c controls the actuator based on the one-package unit data group received from the portable terminal 6 and the detection output of the sensor 1b, and executes the operation of dispensing the powdered medicine into a predetermined amount.
[0015]
The tablet packaging machine 2, the medicine printing device 3, and the injection medicine dispensing device 4 also include actuators 2a to 4a and sensors 2b to 4b according to the dispensing operation performed by the tablets, the storage units 2d to 4d, and the USB board 2e to 4d and USB ports 2f to 4f.
[0016]
Prescription data corresponding to the information described in the prescription is manually input to the host computer 5. The host computer 5 may be provided with a communication function, and the prescription data may be transmitted from another computer to the host computer 5. The host computer converts the input prescription data into a plurality of one-package unit data, and transmits this one-package unit data group to the portable terminal 6. Instead of the host computer 5, for example, a personal computer in a stand-alone environment may be used to create prescription data and convert prescription data into package data.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 2 (A), the prescription data includes, for example, the patient name, the time of taking the drug (for example, “morning”, “day”, “night”), the name of the drug (name of powder or tablet), And volume (dose for powders, number of doses for tablets).
[0018]
FIG. 2 (B) shows an example of one packet unit data for controlling the powder dispenser 1. The package unit data of the powder dispensing and packaging machine 1 includes, for example, package number data, basic operation data, feeder control data, hopper angle, tablet cassette quantity, disk rotation angle, and print data. Out of these data, the packaging data indicates the number of packages out of the total number of packages included in the prescription data. The basic operation data is data relating to the operation of a brush cleaner or the like provided in the powder dispenser. Further, the hopper angle is a setting of an angle at which the hopper of the powder supply device is inclined so that the powder can easily fall into the lower end opening. Furthermore, the feeder control data includes an initial value of a voltage applied to a piezoelectric element for applying vibration to the feeder, a resonance frequency, a vibration intensity during operation, and the like.
[0019]
The portable terminal 6 includes a communication board 6e for receiving a package data unit from the host computer 5. Further, the mobile terminal 6 includes a USB board 6c (second USB communication control unit) for transmitting prescription data to the dispensing devices 1 to 4, and a USB port 6d. The storage unit 6b stores various programs including programs for communication with a personal computer or the like and communication with a dispensing device such as the powder dispenser 1 or the like. Further, the mobile terminal 6 includes an input unit 6f such as a keyboard for the operator to perform various operations, and a display unit 6g such as a liquid crystal display. The control unit 6a executes a program stored in the storage unit 6b in response to an operator's command or the like input from the input unit 6f, communicates with the host computer 5 or the dispensing devices 1 to 4, and displays necessary information on the display unit 5g. Display to.
[0020]
The portable terminal 6 stores the one-package unit data group received from the host computer 5 in a record format in the storage unit 6b. In addition, the portable terminal 6 sequentially transmits the package unit data to the dispensing devices 1 to 4. For example, when the portable terminal 6 is connected to the powder packaging machine 1, first, one package unit data of a plurality of packages (for example, 5 packages) is transmitted from the portable terminal 6 to the powder packaging machine 1, and stored in the storage unit 1d. Is done. Then, every time the packaging operation corresponding to one packet unit data is completed, new packet unit data is transmitted to the powder dispensing and packaging machine 1.
[0021]
The portable terminal 6 is preferably a portable terminal that can be easily carried by an operator, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a notebook personal computer, and a mobile phone.
[0022]
The dispensing devices 1 to 4 include USB boards 1e to 4e and USB 1f to 4f, respectively, and the portable terminal 6 includes a USB board 6c and a USB port 6d, and communication between the both conforms to the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard. are doing. According to the USB standard, so-called hot-swapping is possible. In the case of the present embodiment, the power-on of the dispensing devices 1 to 4 and the connection between the portable terminal 6 and the dispensing devices 1 to 4 by the USB cable 7 You may go first.
[0023]
Adopting USB as a communication standard between the dispensing devices 1 to 4 and the portable terminal 6 has the following advantages.
[0024]
First, as compared with a system using a communication line such as an Ethernet, a simple system that does not require complicated setting work.
[0025]
In addition, when the frequency of use of the injection medicine dispensing device 4 among the plurality of dispensing devices 1 to 4 is low, it is not necessary to keep the injection medicine dispensing device 4 always in the power-on state. Can be activated only when it becomes necessary to actually use it, and can be activated by the prescription data transmitted from the portable terminal 6.
[0026]
Further, the order of turning on the power to the powder dispensing and packaging machine 1, the tablet packaging and dispensing machine 2, the medicine bag printing apparatus 3, and the injection medicine dispensing apparatus 4 when the system is started is not particularly limited.
[0027]
Furthermore, when a new dispensing device is additionally introduced, there is no need to newly introduce a personal computer or the like for controlling the dispensing device. This advantage is particularly significant when employing the dispensing system of the present invention in small pharmacies and the like. To explain this point in detail, the dispensing system in FIG. 1 includes four dispensing devices 1 to 4. However, in a small pharmacy or the like, when the system is first introduced, the powder dispensing and packaging machine 1, the portable terminal 6, the prescription In some cases, a stand-alone environment consisting of only a personal computer for inputting data and converting it into package data may be used. When a new tablet packaging machine 2 is introduced, the conventional system requires a personal computer for controlling the tablet packaging machine 2 in addition to the tablet packaging machine 2 itself, but the present invention does not require a personal computer. The introduction cost can be reduced.
[0028]
An example of the operation of the dispensing system according to the present embodiment will be outlined. First, one package unit data group corresponding to each dispensing device 1 to 4 created by the host computer 5 is transmitted to the portable terminal 6 and stored in a record format. Is done. The data group per packet may be classified by operator (person in charge), prescription category such as surgery or internal medicine, period, etc., and output may be made based on these classifications. Next, the operator operates the portable terminal 6 to display the prescription data on the display unit 5 and confirms the contents. Thereafter, the operator connects the portable terminal 6 to one of the dispensing devices 1 to 4, and turns on the power of the dispensing device. The mobile terminal 6 recognizes the connected dispensing devices 1 to 4 (recognizing which of the powder dispensing and packaging machine 1, the tablet packaging and dispensing machine 2, the medicine bag printing device 3 and the injection medicine dispensing device 4), and the corresponding 1 Extract the package unit data group. As described above, the order of power-on and terminal connection may be reversed. The case where the portable terminal 6 is connected to the powder packaging machine 1 will be described as an example. First, the USB port 6d of the portable terminal 6 is connected to the USB port 1f of the powder packaging machine 1 via the USB cable 7, and the powder packaging machine 1 is connected. Turn on the power. The powder dispensing and packaging machine 1 that has been turned on performs the initial operation and transmits “packing ready” information to the portable terminal 6 when the packaging is possible. When this “packing preparation ready” is received, a list of information packaged by the powder dispensing and packaging machine 1 is displayed on the display unit 6 of the portable terminal 6. At the same time, a display for allowing the operator to select whether or not to perform the packaging operation on the displayed prescription is displayed on the display unit 6. Preferably, the listed recipes can be fully selected or optional. When the execution of the packing operation is selected, the powder packing machine 1 executes the packing operation of the powder based on the prescription data converted into the unit of one package. When the packaging operation for one package is completed, information indicating that the packaging operation has been completed is transmitted from the powder dispensing and packaging machine 1 to the portable terminal 6 together with the start time and the completion time, and the portable terminal 6 The information is stored sequentially. When all the packaging operations are completed, the connection between the portable terminal 6 and the powder packaging machine 1 is released. The portable terminal 6 and the host computer 5 may be connected, and data indicating that the dispensing process has been completed may be transmitted to the host computer 6 and stored as history data. If there is a process corresponding to a dispensing device other than the powder dispensing and packaging machine 1 in the one-pack unit data group received from the host computer 5 by the portable terminal 6, the dispensing devices 1 to 4 are connected to the portable terminal 6, and the same procedure is performed. Repeated.
[0029]
(2nd Embodiment)
In the dispensing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4, the portable terminal 6 has the powder dispensing and packaging machine 1, the tablet packaging and packaging machine 2, the medicine bag printing device 3, and the injection medicine dispensing device 4 via the USB hub 8. Connected to terminal 6. Other configurations and operations of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, and therefore, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.
[0030]
(Third embodiment)
The third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 is an example in which the present invention is additionally applied to a system configured by a communication line such as Ethernet. A personal computer (client computer) 9 for control is provided for each of the dispensing devices 1 to 4, and these personal computers 9 and the server 10 are connected by a communication line 11 such as Ethernet. Each of the dispensing devices 1 to 4 includes a communication board for executing communication with the personal computer 9.
[0031]
In the system of the third embodiment, for example, at normal times, each dispensing device 1 to 4 is operated by a network including a personal computer 9, a server 10, and a communication line 11 provided for each dispensing device 1 to 4, Only at times, the USB board 6e of the portable terminal 6 is connected to the USB boards 1e-4e of the dispensing devices 1-4, and the dispensing device is controlled by the prescription data transmitted from the portable terminal 6 by interrupting the ongoing dispensing process. Can be.
[0032]
An outline of an example of this operation is as follows. First, after the emergency prescription is stored in the storage unit 6b of the portable terminal 6, the portable terminal 6 is connected to the medicine bag printing device 3 via the USB cable 7, and predetermined information is printed on the medicine bag. . When detecting that the USB cable 7 is connected to the USB port 3f, the medicine bag printing device 3 suspends the processing based on the prescription data received via the communication line 11 and performs the processing based on the emergency prescription received from the portable terminal 6. Execute Next, the operator makes a USB connection of the portable terminal 6 to the powder packaging machine 1 and the tablet packaging machine 2 and interrupts the processing based on the prescription data via the communication line 11 to execute the packaging of the powder and tablets. The packaged powder and tablets are stored in a printed medicine bag. In performing the audit, the portable terminal 6 is connected to the host computer 5 again, and the dispensing end information is transmitted from the portable terminal 6 to the host computer 5, and the completion of the dispensing is notified to the hospital waiting room connected to the host computer 5. May be displayed on the medication display plate. This display is usually made in the order of receiving the emergency prescription. Since other configurations and operations of the third embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, in the dispensing system of the present invention, the transmission of prescription data from the terminal to the dispensing device is possible by connecting the first and second USB communication control units provided therein. In comparison with a system using a communication line such as Ethernet, a simple system that does not require complicated setting work is provided. In addition, when there are a plurality of dispensing devices, it is not necessary to keep the dispensing devices that are infrequently used in a constantly powered-on state, and the order of turning on the dispensing devices when the system is started is not particularly limited. Further, there is no need to newly introduce a personal computer or the like when additionally introducing a new dispensing device. As described above, according to the present invention, a dispensing system having excellent flexibility in terms of operation and expansion is achieved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a dispensing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of prescription data, and FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of one package unit data.
FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a dispensing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a dispensing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 1 powder dispensing and packaging machine 1a actuator 1b sensor 1c control unit 1d storage unit 1e USB board 1f USB port 1g communication board 2 tablet packaging and packaging machine 2a actuator 2b sensor 2c control unit 2d storage unit 2e USB board 2f USB port 2g communication board 3 medicine bag printing device 3a Actuator 3b Sensor 3c Control unit 3d Storage unit 3e USB board 3f USB port 3g Communication board 4 Injection dispensing device 4a Actuator 4b Sensor 4c Control unit 4d Storage unit 4e USB board 4f USB port 4g Communication board 5 Host computer 6 Mobile terminal 6a Control unit 6b Storage unit 6c USB board 6d USB port 6e Communication board 6f Input unit 6g Display unit 7 USB cable 8 USB hub 9 Personal computer 10 Server 11 Communication line

Claims (1)

In a dispensing system for performing dispensing processing based on prescription data,
At least one dispensing device including a first USB communication control unit;
A second USB communication control unit is provided, and when the second USB communication control unit and the first communication control unit are connected, prescription data converted in units of one packet input in advance is transmitted to the dispensing device. A dispensing system comprising at least one terminal for transmitting.

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