JP2010012279A - Drug dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drug dispenser capable of automatically delivering and counting. <P>SOLUTION: The drug dispenser 10 is provided with multiple cassettes 30 storing drugs in an aligned state, a support mechanism 12 drawably or detachably retaining them, an energizing mechanisms 24, 25 energizing the drugs stored in the cassettes 30 toward a drug outlet, a counting means 22 finding the number of the drugs stored in the cassettes 30, and a delivery and carrying mechanism 13 taking out the stored drugs from the drug outlet of the cassettes 30 and carrying them to prescribed positions 14. The counting means and the energizing mechanism are mounted on the support mechanism to make the counting means 22 and the energizing mechanism detachable or movable together with the support mechanism. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a medicine dispensing apparatus for supporting a dispensing operation in a hospital pharmacy or the like. Specifically, the present invention relates to a chemical dispensing device that stores various chemicals in advance in a number of cassettes and automatically dispenses them as necessary. Further, in addition to storing chemicals, the number of stored chemicals is set in the cassette. The present invention relates to a medicine dispensing device that can be grasped every time.
In addition to ampules, vials, contrast media, and other injectable medicines, medicines such as tablets, powders, ointments, eye drops, and other supplementary medicines, etc. Applicable if it can be stored in line.

A number of drug cassettes for storing and storing dispensing drugs, a support mechanism for holding these drug cassettes so that they can be pulled out, a biasing mechanism for biasing the stored drugs in the drug cassettes toward an extraction position, 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a dispensing medicine dispensing device that includes a dispensing conveyance mechanism that takes out stored medicine from an upper opening and conveys it to a predetermined position (for example, see Patent Document 1).
This is designed to automatically dispense various medicines / medicines, but it is not possible to grasp the number of stored medicines. The urging mechanism is attached to the cassette to urge the medicine in the cassette.

In addition, a large number of cassettes for storing and storing chemicals, a support mechanism for detachably holding these cassettes side by side, a biasing mechanism for biasing the stored chemicals in the cassette toward the entrance and exit, and chemicals in the cassette There is also known a medicine storage device provided with a counting means for determining the number of storage (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Although it is possible to grasp the number of stored chemicals for each cassette, the extraction of the chemicals is manual and the chemicals cannot be automatically dispensed. The biasing mechanism is still mounted on the cassette. The detection unit of the counting means is mounted on the support mechanism in consideration of electrical connection and the like.

JP 2000-024085 A (first page, FIG. 2) JP 2001-198190 A (first page)

Therefore, in order to develop a chemical dispensing device that can automatically dispense various chemicals and grasp the storage status of each chemical, add a counting means to the former or add a dispensing transport mechanism to the latter. Can be considered.
However, when many mechanisms are combined in this way, the apparatus becomes complicated, and therefore, it becomes weak, which may lead to inconveniences such as an increase in failure rate and damage rate. In particular, since cassettes are installed in large numbers and are pulled out or removed when replenished, simplification of the cassettes is important for ensuring reliability.

Moreover, since it is necessary to prepare various cassettes according to the shape of chemicals, simplification of the cassette is important from the viewpoint of cost.
Therefore, it is a technical problem to improve the cassette to have a simple structure so as not to impair the reliability even if the medicine dispensing device is multi-functional, highly functional, or combined.
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to realize a medicine dispensing apparatus capable of automatically dispensing various kinds of medicines and automatically counting the number of stored items.

The medicine dispensing apparatus of the present invention has been created to solve such problems, and includes a number of cassettes that store and arrange medicines, and a support mechanism that holds these cassettes so that they can be drawn out or attached. A urging mechanism for urging the stored chemicals in the cassette toward the chemical discharge port, counting means for determining the number of stored chemicals in the cassette, and the chemical in the cassette from the class outlet retrieve the stored chemicals provided a dispensing transport mechanism for transporting a predetermined position, by which is mounted to the support mechanism and the biasing mechanism and the counting means by one unit, it said counting means And the urging mechanism are detachable or movable together with respect to the support mechanism .

In such a medicine dispensing apparatus according to the present invention , a counting means is added to the medicine dispensing apparatus capable of automatically dispensing various kinds of medicines to make it multifunctional, or the number of medicines stored can be automatically counted. By adding a dispensing transport mechanism to a possible medicine storage device and combining it with the medicine dispensing device, automatic dispensing and automatic counting can be performed. In addition, since the mounting destination is moved from the cassette to the support mechanism, not only the main part of the counting means but also the urging mechanism when coupling and accumulating such a plurality of mechanisms, the cassette becomes simple. As a result, not only the cassette but also the urging mechanism and the main part of the counting means are free from or less likely to be damaged or broken due to the loading / unloading of the cassette, the action of supplying chemicals to the cassette, and the like. Also, the cassette becomes inexpensive.

In this way, when connecting and accumulating multiple mechanisms, not only the main part of the counting means but also the urging mechanism is moved from the cassette to the support mechanism, allowing automatic dispensing of various chemicals and automatic counting of the number of stored items. such a drug dispensing device cassette Ru can achieve higher reliability for simple.
In addition , since the main part of the counting means and the urging mechanism are collectively attached / detached / moved, the attachment to the support mechanism can be easily performed, and maintenance work and position adjustment are facilitated.

Example 1 of the medicine dispensing apparatus of the present invention shows its structure, (a) and (b) are front views of the entire apparatus, (c) is a front view of a set of counting units and cassettes, and (d) is a front view. (E) is a bottom view of the sensor substrate, (f) is a right side view of a set of counting units and cassettes, (g) is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, and (h) is a plan view of the cassette. . (A) is a front view of the inside of the apparatus, (b) and (c) are front views showing a dynamic engagement between a set of counting units and cassettes and a payout / conveying mechanism, and (d) to (f) are cassette heads It is a vertical right side view of the chemicals outlet. About the chemical | medical agent dispensing apparatus of this invention, the usage and an operation state are shown, (a) is a front view of the whole apparatus, (b) is a right side view of the whole apparatus, (c) is a right side view of a cassette, (d) Is a longitudinal sectional view, and (e) is a plan view of the cassette. (A) and (b) are front views of the entire apparatus, (c) and (d) are longitudinal sectional views of an engaged cassette and a dispensing transport mechanism, and (e) is a set of counting units and cassettes. It is a right side view, and a longitudinal sectional view of the payout transport mechanism in an engaged state therewith. Regarding Example 2 of the medicine dispensing apparatus of the present invention, (a) is a front view of the whole apparatus, (b) is a longitudinal front view of a set of counting units and cassettes, and (c) and (d) are medicines at the top of the cassette. FIG. 8E is a vertical right side view of the type discharge port, and FIG. 8E is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cassette in the engaged state and the dispensing transport mechanism.

About the chemical | medical agent dispensing apparatus of such this invention, the specific form for implementing this is demonstrated by the following Examples 1-2 .
1 to 4 the first embodiment shown in is obtained by embodying the solutions described in the above embodiments, the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is a modified example thereof.
In the drawings, for the sake of simplicity, fasteners such as bolts and connecting tools such as hinges are omitted from the drawings, and those that are necessary and related to the description of the invention are mainly illustrated.

About the Example 1 of the chemical | medical agent dispensing apparatus of this invention, the specific structure is demonstrated referring drawings. 1A and 1B are front views of the entire apparatus, FIG. 1C is a front view of a set of counting units and cassettes, FIG. 1D is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, and FIG. A bottom view, (f) is a right side view of a set of counting unit and cassette, (g) is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, and (h) is a plan view of the cassette. 2A is a front view of the inside of the apparatus that is exposed by removing the door and the front panel, and FIGS. 2B and 2C are dynamic relationships between a set of counting units and cassettes and a payout transport mechanism. (D) is a vertical right side view of the chemical outlet at the top of the cassette shown with the movable lid removed for explanation, and (e) and (f) are normal chemicals at the top of the cassette. It is a vertical right side view of a discharge port.

  This medicine dispensing device 10 (see FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) and FIG. 2 (a)) is provided in the back of the transparent door 11 (from the center to the left in the figure) and occupies most of the device. The storage unit (12 + 13), the transporter juxtaposition mechanism (14 + 15) that is provided adjacent to the side (right side in the figure) and the front surface is opened, and the operation that is installed in a place where it is easy to see and operate, such as its upper end It comprises a touch panel 16 as an input member and display member and an electrical space (17 + 18) that is secured above them and normally hidden behind the front panel. As for the chemical storage part, a dispensing and transporting mechanism 13 is provided in front, that is, close to the door 11, and a cassette support mechanism including a multistage cassette support shelf 12 is provided behind it.

  The transporter juxtaposition mechanism is mainly composed of multistage transporter shelves 14 arranged in a vertical row, and for example, a printer shelf 15 is also provided at the lowermost stage. Each of the transporter shelves 14 can be loaded with one transporter 50 to be described later, and since the front surface is open, the transporter 50 can be manually inserted and removed at any time from there. Corresponding to each of the transporter shelves 14 are a guide 14a for suppressing excessive movement of the chemicals 60 thrown into the transporter 50 and an LED 14b for notifying the dispensing operator of the completion of storage by lighting or flashing. It is attached.

  The printer shelf 15 can be mounted with a printer 40, and a drawer 15a is attached to the printer shelf 15 so that the printer 40 can be pulled out to the front when paper is replenished or repaired. Also. A mini-conveyor 15b that conveys the printed matter issued by the printer 40 to the chemical storage side is also provided so that the printed matter is delivered to the dispensing / conveying mechanism 13 when the dispensing / conveying mechanism 13 is lowered to a predetermined receiving position. It has become. Further, the printer 40 issues a printed matter related to the dispensing instruction, such as a dispensing instruction, in accordance with instructions and control of the controller 18 described later.

  Each of the cassette support shelves 12 is installed in a state of extending horizontally (left and right in the figure) so that several counting units 20 and cassettes 30 can be mounted side by side. The counting unit 20 is supported while being suspended from the lower surface of the cassette support shelf 12, and the cassette 30 is supported while being placed on the upper surface of the cassette support shelf 12. The counting unit is moved by an appropriate positioning means such as a notch or a pin (not shown) so that the counting unit 20 suspended on the upper cassette supporting shelf 12 and the cassette 30 placed on the lower cassette supporting shelf 12 cooperate. The cassette 30 is positioned directly below the cassette 20. In order to mount as many pairs of the counting unit 20 and the cassette 30 as possible on the cassette support shelf 12, both the counting unit 20 and the cassette 30 are formed in an elongated shape. It is designed to support the longitudinal direction back and forth.

Each cassette 30 can be easily pulled out or removed from the cassette support shelf 12 by pulling it out from the head portion as it is or pulling the head portion up slightly, and the rear end / tail portion can be removed from the cassette support shelf 12. By putting it on and pushing it in, it can be easily returned to the mounted state.
The counting unit 20 is fixed to the cassette support shelf 12 with a hook (not shown), for example, so as not to rattle, but can be moved horizontally along the cassette support shelf 12 if the hook is loosened to adjust the fixing position. If it is removed, it can be detached from the cassette support shelf 12.

  The counting unit 20 (see FIGS. 1C to 1H) is formed of an elongated box whose upper surface can be attached to the cassette support shelf 12 as described above, and a substrate 21 (detecting unit of the counting means) and The urging element 24 (the urging element of the urging mechanism) is stored. The substrate 21 is a printed circuit board on which a wiring pattern of an electronic circuit is printed, and on its lower surface, a large number of magnetic sensors 22 composed of Hall elements and the like are arranged at a predetermined pitch. When the magnet 23 is brought close to the sensor 22 or the magnet 23 is moved along the row of the sensors 22, the sensor 22 is sensitive, so that the position of the magnet can be detected based on the detection output. Further, although not shown, an electronic circuit such as a microprocessor for calculating the number of medicines 60 stored in the cassette 30 by a known method (for example, see Patent Document 2) from the detected magnet position is also provided on the substrate 21 or the controller. 18 or both.

  The lower plate / bottom plate of the counting unit 20 is formed with slits that run parallel to the row of sensors 22, and the urging element 24 is loosely inserted therein. The urging element 24 has an upper end portion housed in the counting unit 20 and a lower end portion projecting outward from the counting unit 20 and smoothly travels and moves in the slit by a rolling wheel that sandwiches the lower plate of the counting unit 20 from above and below. It has become possible. A small piece of magnet 23 is attached to the upper end of the urging element 24, and the sensor 22 is sensitive to this, so the position of the urging element 24 can be detected to obtain the number of stored chemicals. A spring 25 is housed in the urging element 24, and by using the elastic force of the urging element 24, a substantially constant forward force is generated in the urging element 24 regardless of the position of the urging element 24 in the slit. It has become. Such a counting unit 20 is configured such that the main part of the counting means and the urging mechanism can be attached to and detached from or moved together with the support mechanism.

  The cassette 30 is made of a box for aligning and storing chemicals 60 such as an ampule-containing injection to be described later. The size of the internal storage space is determined so that round objects such as ampoules can be placed side by side in a row. The rear plate is formed with a rear end notch 33 that can pass through the biasing element 24, and the top plate portion, that is, the upper surface, is provided at least in front of the rear end notch 33 in order to allow the biasing element 24 to move forward and backward. Although the range including the central straight line portion leading to the tip (more than half in the illustrated example) is opened, a holding lid 35 is attached so that the stored chemicals 60 are not disturbed or jumped out during transportation or attachment / detachment. In order to store the chemicals 60 at the time of replenishment or the like, a tail replenishment port 34 larger than the chemicals 60 is also formed.

  When such a cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette support shelf 12 and placed immediately below the counting unit 20, the lower end portion of the urging element 24 enters the cassette 30 from the rear end notch 33, and the chemicals 60 enter the cassette 30. If it is stored, the urging element 24 acts directly on the tail of the stored chemicals to push the stored chemicals 60 forward (in FIG. 1 (a) to (d), the paper surface). Through the front, and from FIG. 1 (e) to FIG. 1 (h), the bias is applied from right to left). A movable lid 32 is provided at the front end of the cassette 30 at the tip of the bias instead of the front plate. The movable lid 32 is a semi-cylindrical member and is connected to an idle gear 31 protruding to the side of the front end of the cassette 30. When the idle gear 31 is rotated, the movable lid 32 is rotated. These are the only set of movable members provided in the cassette 30, and the cassette 30 has no drive means such as an electric motor, but is driven by the payout transport mechanism 13 as will be described later.

  The payout transport mechanism 13 (see FIG. 2A) includes a horizontal transport mechanism 13b incorporated in a main body portion that extends horizontally (left and right in the figure), and is moved up and down by an elevating mechanism 13d. Thus, all of the multistage cassette support shelves 12 are covered. In addition, a drive gear unit 13a is mounted on the main body, and the cassette 30 placed on each cassette support shelf 12 is covered by moving the drive gear unit 13a horizontally. The drive gear unit 13a can be moved to the desired cassette 30 by a combination of the vertical and horizontal movements.

  The horizontal transport mechanism 13b is for transporting chemicals taken out from the cassette 30 by the drive gear unit 13a to a predetermined position, and specifically, for feeding the chemicals to the transport device 50 of the transport device shelf 14. Therefore, it consists of a belt conveyor etc., for example, and comprises the horizontal conveyance path covering the full length of a main-body part. The end (right side in the figure) of the horizontal transport mechanism 13b extends to the chemicals inlet (left side in the figure) of the transport rack 14, and a shutter 13c for opening and closing the transport path for temporary storage is provided near the end. It has been. Such a horizontal conveyance mechanism 13b can perform sorting and storing with respect to a plurality of portable devices by moving up and down to a chemical input port of any desired shelf among the multi-stage portable device shelves 14.

  The drive gear unit 13a (see FIGS. 2 (b) and 2 (c)) acts on the destination cassette 30, takes out the stored chemicals from the chemical discharge port 36 of the cassette 30, and moves to the horizontal transport mechanism 13b. When the cassette 30 is moved to the coupling position of the cassette 30 with the idle gear 31, a coupling state capable of transmitting with the idle gear 31 is dynamically established so that the idle gear 31 can be rotationally driven. ing. The medicine discharge port 36 at the front end / leading portion of the cassette 30 (see FIG. 2 (d)) is normally blocked by the movable lid 32 (see FIG. 2 (e)). When the stored chemicals are discharged, the movable lid 32 is rotated about half a half by the drive gear unit 13a via the idle gear 31 (see FIG. 2 (f)) and then returned. Further, (see FIGS. 2B and 2C), in order to detect that the stored chemicals have been taken out from the cassette 30 to the dispensing / conveying mechanism 13, the drive gear unit 13a includes, for example, a reflective photo A transfer detection sensor 13e composed of a sensor is attached to a chemical discharge destination such as obliquely below the chemical discharge port 36.

  The controller 18 (see FIG. 2A) includes a programmable electronic control device such as a personal computer or a microprocessor system, and is stored in the electrical space together with the power supply unit 17 that supplies operating power. Are connected to a drive electric motor (not shown), a substrate 21, a printer 40, a transfer detection sensor 13 e, and the like, which are incorporated in the above, by appropriate power supply cables and signal cables. And, if communication with the so-called prescription order entry system is possible via the touch panel 16 or other input devices, prescription data or dispensing data derived therefrom is input by downloading from the touch panel 16 or other input device. Yes. Further, based on the inputted prescription data and dispensing data, the printer 40 is made to print a dispensing instruction, and the dispensing conveyance mechanism 13 is controlled to take out dispensing target chemicals and transport them to the transporter shelf 14. It is also like. At that time, if there are a plurality of dispensing instructions, sorting and storing are performed based on the dispensing instructions, and parallel processing is also performed as necessary. The details will be exemplified in the following operation description.

About the chemical | medical agent dispensing apparatus of this Example 1 , the use aspect and operation | movement are demonstrated referring drawings. 3A is a front view of the entire apparatus, FIG. 3B is a right side view of the entire apparatus, FIG. 3C is a right side view of the cassette, FIG. 3D is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, and FIG. It is a top view. 4A and 4B are front views of the entire apparatus, FIGS. 4C and 4D are longitudinal sectional views of the engaged cassette and the payout transport mechanism, and FIG. 4E is a set. FIG. 6 is a right side view of the counting unit and the cassette, and a vertical cross-sectional view of the payout / conveying mechanism engaged therewith.

Prior to the automatic dispensing (see FIG. 3), various chemicals 60 are stored in alignment in each cassette 30, and the printer 40 is replenished with a sheet of dispensing instructions, and the empty carrier 50 is placed in each stage of the carrier shelf. Set to 14.
The transporter 50 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B) is an appropriately sized tray made of plastic, and the type with a hook as shown in the drawing is often used in consideration of stacking and ease of machine transport. However, other shapes are possible. Such a set of the transporters 50 may be inserted from there and placed on the transporter shelf 14 because the front surface of the transporter shelf 14 is open.
The replenishment of paper to the printer 40 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B) can be performed by pulling the printer 40 forward and pushing it back after replenishment.

When the medicine 60 is newly stored or added to the cassette 30 (see FIGS. 3C to 3E), when the medicine 60 is in an ampoule container as shown in the drawing, the thick part is below the holding lid 35. It suffices to put it sideways into the cassette 30 through the tail replenishment port 34, and sequentially feed it to the movable lid 32 side at the front end.
Then, the cassettes 30 in which the chemicals 60 are arranged and stored are taken immediately below the corresponding counting units 20, the rear ends are placed on the cassette support shelves 12, pushed backwards, and placed in the cassette support shelves 12. set.

Then, the urging member 24 hanging from the immediately above counting unit 20 enters the cassette 30 from the rear end notch 33, abuts against the last medicine 60, and is pushed and retracted. Since the thrust by the mainspring 25 is acting on the urging element 24, the stored chemicals 60 in the cassette 30 are urged toward the movable lid 32, that is, toward the chemical discharge port 36 by forward feeding.
As for the arrangement of the cassette 30 and the counting unit 20 (see FIG. 4A), the required number of sets is installed under the condition that the mounting position on the cassette support shelf 12 is adjusted and does not interfere with the adjacent. Thus, preparations for automatically dispensing the chemicals 60 are made.

When a dispensing instruction is given there, that is, when prescription data and dispensing data are input to the controller 18, the control program of the controller 18 is executed based on that and the dispensing operation is automatically performed.
Specifically, first (see FIG. 4A), the printer 40 prints a dispensing instruction, and the dispensing transport mechanism 13 is lowered. Then, the dispensing instruction is transported by the mini conveyor 15 b and transferred onto the horizontal transport mechanism 13 b of the payout transport mechanism 13.

  Then (see FIG. 4 (b)), the delivery / conveying mechanism 13 is moved up and down and the drive gear unit 13a is moved horizontally to the cassette 30 containing the chemicals 60 designated by the dispensing instruction. The unit 13a goes, and the idle gear 31 there is driven to rotate. Then, the leading chemicals 60 stored in the inner wall / inner peripheral portion of the movable lid 32 (see FIG. 4C) are discharged by the rotation of the movable lid 32 (see FIG. 4D). At that time, since the transfer detection sensor 13e is sensitive to the falling chemicals 60, the discharge of the chemicals 60 is confirmed. Further, the next chemicals 60 are prevented from advancing by the outer wall / outer peripheral portion of the movable lid 32 and remain in the cassette 30.

  Then, when the movable lid 32 rotates reversely or completely once and returns to the original state (see FIG. 4E), the dropped chemicals 60 are transported horizontally by the dispensing transport mechanism 13. The next medicine 60 moves forward by the urging force and is stored in the movable lid 32. Along with this, the chemicals 60 in the cassette 30 move forward one by one in the forward direction (move to the left in the figure), and the urging element 24 and thus the magnet 23 also move forward, and the magnet 23 among the sensors 22 arranged in a row. Is moved to the previous position (to the left in the figure) by the amount of advance of the magnet 23. Therefore, if the number of stored chemicals 60 in the cassette 30 is counted again based on the detection result corresponding to the movement of the urging member 24, the count value should be decreased by “1” if normal. This also confirms the discharge of the chemicals 60.

  If there is a discrepancy between the drop discharge confirmation using the transfer detection sensor 13e and the storage number confirmation based on the count value using the sensor 22, an alarm is issued by the touch panel 16 or a buzzer (not shown). If so, the dispensing / conveying mechanism 13 moves to the cassette 30 containing the next chemical 60 specified by the dispensing instruction, and the same operation is performed to take out the next chemical from the corresponding cassette 30. To the horizontal transfer mechanism 13b. When the same chemicals are specified more than once, the extraction operation is repeated for the specified number of times. Meanwhile, the horizontal transport mechanism 13b performs a transport operation, and the chemicals 60 taken out from the cassette 30 are transported one after another, stopped by the shutter 13c, and temporarily stored.

Then, when the dispensing / conveying mechanism 13 is appropriately moved up and down to adjust the height to the empty carrying device 50, the shutter 13c is opened, and the chemicals 60 are introduced from the dispensing / conveying mechanism 13 into the carrying device 50.
In this way, the various chemicals 60 designated by one dispensing instruction are automatically collected together with the dispensing instruction and stored in the transporter 50. After the storage is completed, the LED 14b corresponding to the transporter 50 is lit, so that the operator 50 prompted to take out the transporter 50 from the transporter shelf 14 and the dispensed medicines 60 together with the dispensing instructions. It is used for the following operations and processes, such as dispensing audits.

  The above is an example of operation when there is only one dispensing instruction, but when a plurality of dispensing instructions are input almost simultaneously or when the next dispensing instruction is input before the processing of a certain dispensing instruction is completed, Sorting and storing for assigning different transporters 50 to each other is performed, and a plurality of collection processes are performed in parallel. This parallel processing is selectively performed according to the distribution state of the medicine 60 to be taken out, and is limited to the case where the movement distance of the dispensing transport mechanism 13 is shortened.

In parallel processing, instruction collection based on one dispensing instruction and medicine collection are divided in appropriate units, for example, divided into several cassettes 30 arranged close to each other, The instruction collection and medicine collection based on this are also divided in appropriate units, and these are performed in the order of closeness with reference to the movement amount of the dispensing transport mechanism 13.
In this way, automatic dispensing processing relating to a plurality of dispensing instructions is sequentially performed in a time-sharing manner without waiting for the completion of other processing, and ends promptly. Since all of the multistage carrier shelves 14 are open on the front surface, the accommodated carriers 50 can be taken out in the necessary or desired order.

About Example 2 of the chemical | medical agent dispensing apparatus of this invention, the specific structure is demonstrated referring drawings. 5A is a front view of the inside of the apparatus exposed by removing the door and the front panel, FIG. 5B is a vertical front view of a pair of counting unit and cassette, and FIG. 5C and FIG. FIG. 5E is a vertical right side view of the medicine discharge port, and FIG. 8E is a vertical cross-sectional view of the engaged cassette and the dispensing transport mechanism.

This medicine dispensing device 10 differs from that of the first embodiment described above in that the drive gear unit 13a is installed in parallel, the biasing element 24 is L-shaped, and the movable lid 32 has a small diameter. The point which is suitable also for the chemicals 60 and the point where the installation position of the transfer detection sensor 13e is changed.

  First (see FIG. 5 (a)), the drive gear unit 13a is arranged on the premise that the arrangement of the counting unit 20 and the cassette 30 is aligned in the vertical direction, that is, in the vertical direction. When the dispensing / conveying mechanism 13 moves up and down to the cassette support shelf 12 where the target cassette 30 is located, the desired medicine 60 can be discharged by selectively driving the drive gear unit 13a at the target position. . At this time, since the drive gear unit 13a does not move, it is not necessary to wait for the completion of the movement, so that the payout process can be speeded up. Further, if there are other payout target cassettes 30 on the same cassette support shelf 12, they are also driven at the same time, so that further increase in speed can be expected.

  Next (see FIG. 5B), the rear end notch 33 is also in the “L” shape in order to pass the biasing element 24 from the “I” shape to the “L” shape. . Due to such a shape change, even if the chemicals 60 such as ampoules are shorter in the large diameter portion than in the small diameter portion, the large diameter portion that is difficult to tilt is pushed, so that the alignment state of the chemicals 60 is impaired. Since there is no fear, the biasing can be performed in a stable state.

  In addition, the various chemicals 60 may be thick or thin as shown in FIGS. 5 (c) to 5 (e). When the chemicals 60 are thinner than those illustrated in the first embodiment (see FIG. 5C), the inner diameter of the recess of the movable lid 32 is correspondingly reduced, but the center of the inner diameter is the rotational center of the movable lid 32. It is decentered. When the inner diameter is thinner (see FIG. 5D), the eccentricity is further increased. As a result, various cassettes 30 having different concave shapes of the movable lid 32 corresponding to various chemicals 60 can be driven by the drive gear unit 13a having the same specification. Note that (see FIG. 5 (e)), a light transmitting element 13f made of a light emitting diode or the like and a transfer detection sensor 13e made of a photosensor or the like are arranged before and after the paying out and carrying mechanism 13, so that the detection light beam can be transferred horizontally. By covering the full width above the top, it is possible to reliably detect the discharge of a long object such as an ampoule.

[Others]
In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the chemicals 60 are ampule-filled injections has been described. However, the chemicals 60 is not limited thereto, and may be in a container or box of another shape, It does not have to be in a container or the like as long as it can be aligned and stored in the cassette 30. In that case, the size of the cassette 30 and the shape of the movable lid 32 are appropriately changed in design so as to conform to the shape of the chemicals 60.
The dispensing instruction printed by the printer 40 may be a general form, may be formed on a label attached to a medicine bag, a surgical form, or the like, and may be a single form, a plurality of forms, or a composite type. The printed material is not limited to the dispensing instruction, and may be, for example, a medicine bag.

Further, the number of stored chemicals obtained by counting for each cassette 30 may be printed out by a journal printer, stored in data by the controller 18, or uploaded to another host computer or the like. . It may be performed at any time in real time or in batches. The same applies to the dispensing instruction data and the payout result data.
Further, when the number of stored chemicals in each cassette 30 is less than a predetermined value, a display for prompting replenishment or voice guidance may be performed.

The means 25 for generating the urging force of the urging element 24 is easy to use the spring 25 described above, but is not limited thereto, and may be one using an elastic body such as a spring or rubber having another shape, and electromagnetic force or fluid pressure. It may be one using.
The sensor 22 is easy to use the Hall element described above, but is not limited thereto, and may be another magnetic sensor, a capacitance sensor other than magnetism, or a small switch as long as it can be arranged. Instead of a large number of sensors 22 arranged in a row, a position sensor or a displacement sensor may be employed.

10 ... medicine dispensing device, 11 ... door, 12 ... cassette support shelf,
13 ... Dispensing and transporting mechanism, 13a ... Drive gear unit,
13b ... Horizontal transport mechanism, 13c ... Shutter,
13d: Elevating mechanism, 13e: Transfer detection sensor,
14 ... Carrying rack, 14a ... Guide, 14b ... LED,
15 ... Printer shelf, 16 ... Touch panel,
17 ... Power supply unit, 18 ... Controller,
20 ... counting unit, 21 ... substrate, 22 ... sensor,
23 ... Magnet, 24 ... Energizer, 25 ... Spring,
30 ... cassette, 31 ... idle gear, 32 ... movable lid,
33 ... rear end notch, 34 ... tail replenishment port,
35 ... presser lid, 36 ... chemicals outlet,
40 ... Printer, 50 ... Carrier, 60 ... Chemicals

Claims (1)

  In a medicine dispensing apparatus having a large number of cassettes for storing and storing medicines, and a support mechanism for holding these cassettes in a detachable or detachable manner, the stored medicines in the cassettes are directed toward a medicine outlet. An urging mechanism for urging, a counting means for obtaining the number of stored chemicals in the cassette, and a dispensing transport mechanism for taking out stored chemicals from the chemical discharge port of the cassette and transporting them to a predetermined position, Since the counting means and the urging mechanism are mounted as a unit on the support mechanism, the counting means and the urging mechanism are detachable or movable together with respect to the support mechanism. The medicine dispensing device characterized by becoming.

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