JP2009050672A - Drug dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drug dispenser by which even a person handicapped in eye-sight or hard in reading the printed content can correctly grasp and confirm the content printed on dispensing paper. <P>SOLUTION: In dispensing paper in which a prescribed quantity of drug is wrapped, a code printing means to print a two-dimensional code coding a character string representing the content printed on the dispensing paper at least including the prescription of a drug to be wrapped, a two-dimensional code reading-out means to optically read out the character string representing the prescription of the drug to be wrapped from the two-dimensional code, and a voice information converting means to convert the output of the character string read out by the two dimensional code reading-out means to voice information and output it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a medicine packaging device, and in particular, even for visually impaired people who cannot read the prescriptions and precautions printed on the wrapping paper and the patient's name etc. or those who have difficulty reading and writing, The present invention relates to an improvement in package printing that enables accurate grasp and confirmation of printed contents.

  Conventionally, as described in Patent Document 1, for example, as a medicine packaging device, prescriptions and precautions for taking, the patient's name, etc. are directly printed on a packaging paper that wraps medicine in a predetermined amount. In addition, it has been proposed to stamp Braille for people who are visually impaired or to stick a seal on which these are printed or stamped.

  JP2000-142602

  However, since braille is 6-bit data in which one character is composed of six points, it can basically represent only the sixth power of 2, that is, 64 characters. Therefore, two braille characters are combined to represent one character, but the number of braille characters that can be engraved in a limited area such as wrapping paper is considerably limited, and printing is performed on the wrapping paper. It is difficult to imprint the contents equivalent to the prescriptions to be done in Braille.

  Braille is not readable by all visually impaired people, and it cannot be read by those who have not mastered it. Also, even if you have learned Braille, your fingertips may become unusable due to injury or disability.

  In addition, for presbyopic people, characters printed in a limited area such as a wrapping paper are relatively small, and are often difficult to read.

  In addition, although conversations can be made without problems, it seems difficult for foreigners who are still developing Japanese to read and write Japanese wrapping paper.

  The present invention pays attention to such conventional problems, and its purpose is to accurately grasp and confirm the printed contents of the wrapping paper, even for visually impaired persons or persons who are difficult to interpret the printed contents. It is in providing the medicine packaging apparatus which can be performed.

The invention of claim 1 which achieves such a problem,
A code printing means for printing a two-dimensional code in which a character string representing a print content of a wrapping paper containing at least a prescription of the medicine to be packaged is printed on a wrapping paper on which a predetermined amount of medicine is packaged;
A two-dimensional code reading means for optically reading a character string representing a prescription of a medicine packaged from the two-dimensional code;
Voice information conversion means for converting the character string read output of the two-dimensional code reading means into voice information and outputting the voice information;
It is the chemical | medical agent packaging apparatus characterized by including.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the medicine packaging device according to the first aspect, the two-dimensional code is an SP code.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the medicine packaging device according to the first or second aspect, the code printing means enlarges and prints the two-dimensional code at an arbitrary ratio, and the two-dimensional code reading means enlarges and prints. The two-dimensional code is optically reduced and read.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the medicine packaging apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the code printing unit enlarges and prints the two-dimensional code at an arbitrary ratio, and the two-dimensional code reading unit performs enlarged printing. The two-dimensional code is optically read as it is, and is reduced by software when input to the voice information converting means.

  The invention of claim 5 is the medicine packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two-dimensional code is a QR code.

  Since the printed content of the wrapping paper containing at least the prescription of the medicine to be packaged is converted into audio information and output, the printed content of the wrapping paper can be used by people with visual disabilities and people who have difficulty in interpreting the printed content. Can be accurately grasped and confirmed.

A two-dimensional code is enlarged and printed at an arbitrary ratio, and the enlarged and printed two-dimensional code is optically or softly reduced for voice information conversion. Also, it can be used as a code printing means for printing a two-dimensional code.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a specific example of an apparatus for carrying out the present invention. In FIG. 1, a two-fold wrapping paper 2 wound around a shaft 1 in a roll shape is connected via a guide roller 3 to a printing unit 4 → a drug hopper unit 5 → a heat seal unit 6 → a punching unit 7. Is sent intermittently at each step.

  As the two-fold wrapping paper 2, glassine poly obtained by laminating polyethylene on glassine paper made only of genuine wood pulp, cellopoly obtained by coating cellophane with polyethylene, or the like is used.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printing unit 4 prints prescriptions and precautions and the patient's name, for example, with color ink on a predetermined area 21 of the wrapping paper 2 as shown in FIG. A two-dimensional code in which a character string representing the printed content of the wrapping paper including the prescription of the medicine to be packaged at least in the regions 22 and 23 is printed. The ink for printing the two-dimensional code is not necessarily limited to black, and may be red, blue, yellow, or other colors according to the wavelength sensitivity characteristics of the light receiving element that reads the two-dimensional code.

  As such a printing unit 4, a thermal transfer printer, a laser printer, an ink jet printer, or the like can be used as in the conventional case, but in terms of cost, an ink jet head of a general purpose ink jet printer having a nominal printing resolution of about 300 dpi is used. Is desirable.

  As two-dimensional codes, various codes have been proposed and put to practical use by various companies and organizations. In this embodiment, for example, coded software is distributed free of charge and a dedicated code reading / speech conversion output terminal is used for speech ( SP code (registered trademark) commercialized as registered trademark or thermy (registered trademark) is used. According to the SP code, character information of a maximum of 800 characters can be encoded and printed on an area of a stamp size of 18 mm square, and a character string can be reproduced and output by voice by reading it with the above-described dedicated terminal. Therefore, the prescription printed on the predetermined area 21 of the wrapping paper 2, the precautions for taking it, the name of the patient, and the like can be reproduced and output by voice. Since the SP code is also available in English, the English version may be printed as necessary. One two-dimensional code may be printed in Japanese and the other two-dimensional code may be printed in English. .

  By the way, when printing the SP code, at least 600 dpi is required as a printing resolution standard. In the present invention, an inkjet head with a printing resolution of 300 dpi used from a cost standpoint does not satisfy the SP code printing standard as it is. Further, depending on the quality of the wrapping paper 2, there is a clear difference in the degree of ink bleeding. In the case of glassine poly, ink dots are clearly printed, but in the case of cellopoly that has not been processed for inkjet printing, the dot bleeding is clearly larger than that of glassine poly.

  Therefore, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the two-dimensional codes 22 and 23 are enlarged and printed at an arbitrary ratio with an inkjet head having a printing resolution of 300 dpi, and the enlarged two-dimensional codes 22 and 23 are shown in FIG. As shown, it is optically reduced and read by the two-dimensional code reader 30. For example, when the two-dimensional code 22 or 23 is enlarged and printed twice in length, the two-dimensional code 22 or 23 is equivalently printed on the wrapping paper 2 with a printing resolution of 600 dpi.

  In the two-dimensional code reader 30 shown in FIG. 3, the optical reading unit 31 reduces the two-dimensional codes 22 and 23 that have been enlarged and printed twice, for example, to ½ and inputs them to the code reading unit 32. The character string conversion unit 33 converts the code signal input from the code reading unit 32 into a character string representing the print contents of the packaging paper including at least the prescription of the medicine to be packaged. The voice conversion unit 34 converts the character string input from the character string conversion unit 33 into a voice signal. The audio output unit 35 amplifies and outputs the audio signal input from the audio conversion unit 34 to a sound pressure level that can be heard by a visually impaired person or a person who has difficulty in interpreting the printed content.

  Referring again to FIG. 1, the wrapping paper 2 that has been subjected to predetermined printing by the printing unit 4 is sent to the drug hopper unit 5, and a predetermined drug (powder, granule, Tablets, capsules, etc.) are charged in a predetermined amount.

  When the charging of the medicine in the medicine hopper unit 5 is finished, the wrapping paper 2 is sent to the heat seal unit 6. The heat seal part 6 heats and welds the left and right sides and the upper side, which are not shaded in FIG. 2, with the two-folded portion of the wrapping paper 2 folded in half as the bottom side. Thereby, the medicine put in the medicine hopper 5 is sealed and sealed in the predetermined area 24 of the wrapping paper 2.

  When the heat welding in the heat seal part 6 is finished, the wrapping paper 2 is sent to the punching part 7. The punching part 7 is clear to the visually handicapped person that there is a perforation 25 for separation as shown in FIG. 2 and the printing of the two-dimensional codes 22 and 23 in the heat-welded part on the side. A notch 26 is formed by punching. Here, the notch 26 also functions as a guide groove for opening the wrapping paper 2, and assists elderly people and persons with disabilities in the hand to open the wrapping paper 2 on their own. be able to.

  In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which two two-dimensional codes 22 and 23 are provided on the wrapper 2. However, when the amount of information to be transmitted by voice is less than 800 characters, only one is required. .

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the example has been described in which the voice information conversion is performed by optically reducing the enlarged two-dimensional code by the optical reading unit 31, but the optical reading unit 31 is an enlarged printed two-dimensional code. The code may be optically read as it is and may be reduced in software when it is input to the voice information converting means.

  Further, the inkjet head used in the printing unit 4 may be about 200 dpi, and may be reduced at an arbitrary rate by a combination of a zoom lens and a fixed lens according to the print magnification rate.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the printing unit 4 → the medicine hopper unit 5 → the heat seal unit 6 is arranged along the feeding direction of the packaging paper 2 is shown. It is also possible to provide another heat seal part that seals both sides of the sheet, and the heat seal part 6 may only seal the upper side of the wrapping paper 2.

  As a result, the wrapping paper 2 fed into the printing unit 4 can be provided with the rigidity necessary for stable printing, and completely prevent the medicine put in the medicine hopper part 5 from moving to an adjacent region. Can do. In addition, when sealing both sides before printing, by not sealing the vicinity of the upper side, it is possible to widen the opening of the medicine input region of the wrapping paper 2 and to stably supply the medicine in the medicine hopper 5. it can.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the SP code is used as the two-dimensional code has been described. However, a QR code (registered trademark) that is widely used in various fields in recent years may be used.

  Since the QR code requires a relatively lower printing resolution than the SP code, a general-purpose inkjet head can be used sufficiently.

  Further, since the size of the QR code to be printed can be arbitrarily set according to the amount of information to be encoded, the degree of freedom in system design is great.

  Furthermore, since the voice reading function of the printed QR code is being standard-installed in the mobile phone terminals of various companies, it is not necessary to prepare a dedicated terminal, and high convenience can be obtained.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the example in which the printing unit 4 performs printing in the horizontal direction with respect to the wrapping paper 2 that travels is shown.

  The two-dimensional code may be a combination of the SP code and the QR code. This is because some users consider convenience such as having only an SP code dedicated terminal or only a mobile phone terminal. In this case, when the SP code is read by the dedicated terminal, the SP code is arranged at the lower right with respect to the dedicated terminal with the notch 26 as a guide.

  In using the SP code and the QR code together, it is desirable to make the shape of the notch 26 different between the SP code and the QR code so that both can be discriminated. The genuine SP code is semicircular, and the SP code with a different magnification is made semi-elliptical to distinguish it from the genuine SP code, and the QR code is made semi-rectangular as in the embodiment.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a medicine packaging apparatus that can accurately grasp and confirm the printed content of the packaging paper by voice information even for a visually impaired person or a person who is difficult to interpret the printed content. it can.

It is a block diagram which shows the specific example of the apparatus which implements this invention. It is a specific example figure of the wrapping paper 2 in this invention. It is a block diagram showing a specific example of a two-dimensional code reader 30 used in the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 axis 2 wrapping paper 21 printing area 22, 23 two-dimensional code 24 drug sealed area 25 perforation 26 notch 3 guide roller 4 printing section 5 drug hopper section 6 heat seal section 7 punching section 30 two-dimensional code reader 31 Optical Reading Unit 32 Code Reading Unit 33 Character String Conversion Unit 34 Audio Conversion Unit 35 Audio Output Unit

Claims (5)

A code printing means for printing a two-dimensional code in which a character string representing a print content of a wrapping paper containing at least a prescription of the medicine to be packaged is printed on a wrapping paper on which a predetermined amount of medicine is packaged;
A two-dimensional code reading means for optically reading a character string representing a prescription of a medicine packaged from the two-dimensional code;
Voice information conversion means for converting the character string read output of the two-dimensional code reading means into voice information and outputting the voice information;
A medicine packaging device comprising:   The medicine packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two-dimensional code is an SP code.   The code printing means enlarges and prints the two-dimensional code at an arbitrary enlargement ratio, and the two-dimensional code reading means reads the enlarged and printed two-dimensional code optically reduced. The medicine packaging apparatus according to claim 2.   The code printing means enlarges and prints the two-dimensional code at an arbitrary enlargement ratio, and the two-dimensional code reading means optically reads the enlarged two-dimensional code as it is and inputs it to the voice information converting means. 3. The medicine packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the medicine packaging apparatus is contracted in software.   The medicine packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two-dimensional code is a QR code.

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