JP2012113482A - Automatic selling system and automatic selling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize an automatic selling system which provides a dosing instruction on a purchased nonproprietary drug.SOLUTION: In an automatic selling system, an automatic selling device 10 is connected to a network terminal 21 through a network. A qualified operator of the network terminal 21 inquires about a health condition of a user who uses the automatic selling device 10 through a video telephone. Based on an inquiry result, the network terminal 21 instructs the automatic selling device 10 to display vendible nonproprietary drugs for the user. The automatic selling system thus enables the user to purchase a product selected by the user from vendible products displayed in accordance with the instruction. The automatic selling device 10 downloads dosing information on the product sold to the user as well as an application which performs dosing instruction by referring the dosing information to a user mobile terminal 90. When the user mobile terminal 90 executes the downloaded application, the dosing instruction performing an alarm notification of dosing time and contraindication information warning the user of the drugs which cannot be taken in conjunction with the purchased drug are provided.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending system and vending apparatus for automatically selling a prescription drug.

  Conventionally, over-the-counter drugs are only allowed to be sold by pharmacists or drug dealers, and it has been very difficult to obtain them in an emergency such as injury or sudden fever. Note that the over-the-counter drugs referred to here are different from prescription drugs, and are intended for self-medication such as improvement of symptoms associated with mild diseases, prevention of lifestyle-related diseases, and maintenance of health. In recent years, a registered dealer system has been introduced under the revised Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, and sales are possible not only at pharmacies but also at “convenience stores”, “supermarkets” or “home centers” that are store sales businesses.

  However, in order to sell Type 2 and Type 3 pharmaceuticals that may be harmful to health due to side effects, etc., it is necessary to have a pharmacist explaining the precautions to the purchaser or a salesperson with a registered sales qualification. However, due to the increase in labor costs due to 24-hour residence, there are very few stores that sell pharmaceuticals especially late at night or early in the morning.

  Based on the background described above, in recent years, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1, a vending machine 1 and an inquiry room 3 where a doctor or a pharmacist resides are connected by a communication line, and image communication via this communication line is performed. (Video phone) A medical product suitable for the purchaser is determined by a doctor or pharmacist who determines a pharmaceutical product suitable for the symptom of the purchaser and sends a sales instruction to the vending machine 1 through a communication line based on the determination result. A sales system that enables the purchase of merchandise is disclosed.

JP 2003-114932 A

  By the way, in the sales system disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, a remote inquiry using a videophone is simply performed, and the sales operation of the vending machine 1 is only controlled according to the result of the inquiry. There is a problem in that it is not possible to provide dosage guidance such as a medication guide that informs the user of the time of taking the over-the-counter drugs purchased by the user, or a contraindication guide that informs the user of drugs that should not be taken together.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vending system and a vending apparatus that can give instructions for taking a purchased over-the-counter medicine.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a vending device having a videophone function and a network terminal are connected to each other via a network, and a qualified operator of the network terminal uses a videophone to perform the vending device. Based on the result of the interview with the user who uses the product, the network terminal instructs the vending device to display the over-the-counter medicine that can be sold to the user, and the over-the-counter over-the-counter medicine displayed on the vending device according to this instruction Application for veterinary medicine selected by the user, and provided in the vending machine, with reference to the dosage information for the over-the-counter medicine sold to the user and guidance for taking the dosage Download means for downloading the program to a user-owned mobile terminal; Provided in the mobile terminal owned by the user, characterized by comprising a taking guidance means for performing taking guidance by referring to the dosing information application program downloaded from the vending apparatus.

  In the invention according to claim 2, which is dependent on claim 1, the download means stores a dose information database means for storing dose information for each sale item, and a dose information for each sale item stored in the dose information database means. A mobile terminal owned by the user with extraction means for extracting medication information of over-the-counter drugs sold to the user from among the above, medication information extracted by the extraction device, and an application program for instructing medication with reference to the medication information And wireless transmission means for wirelessly transmitting to.

  The invention according to claim 3 that is dependent on claim 1 is characterized in that the dosing instruction means performs dosing guidance for alarming the dosing time of the over-the-counter medicine purchased by the user.

  In the invention according to claim 4 subordinate to claim 1, the dosing instruction means performs a combined contraindication guidance for informing a drug that should not be taken together with the over-the-counter medicine purchased by the user. .

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, an over-the-counter medicinal product that can be sold to the user is displayed based on the result of the interview of the qualified operator and the user of the network terminal connected via the network via the video phone, and the user is selected from the displayed items. In the vending apparatus that enables the purchase of the over-the-counter medicine selected by the user, the user can select from the dose information database means for storing the dose information for each sale item and the dose information for each sale item stored in the dose information database means. Wirelessly transmits to the user-owned mobile terminal the extraction means for extracting the medication information related to the over-the-counter medicine sold to the user, the medication information extracted by the extraction means, and the application program for instructing medication with reference to the medication information And wireless transmission means.

  In the present invention, it is possible to give instructions for taking over-the-counter drugs.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of a vending system. It is an external view which shows the external appearance of the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a general drug automatic vending apparatus 10. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a network terminal 21 deployed in a support center 20. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a user portable terminal 90. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the whole operation | movement of a vending system.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
A. Configuration (1) System Configuration FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a vending system according to an embodiment. The vending system shown in this figure includes a plurality of over-the-counter medicine vending apparatuses 10-1 to 10-N installed in various places and an over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10-1 via a network NT including a public network. 10-N and a support center 20 (network terminal 21) and a user portable terminal 90 that exchanges data with the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 by wireless communication.

(2) Configuration of the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 The over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 has a rectangular parallelepiped box as shown in FIG. A display unit 10e composed of a color LCD panel is provided on the front upper portion of the box. On the display unit 10e, a group of products that can be sold (general drugs) is displayed on the screen. The display unit 10e also functions as a display for a videophone described later. In the lower part of the front of the box, there are a plurality of selection buttons for selecting purchased products, a money insertion slot, and a product removal slot. Depending on the payment of the product price (money insertion), The product to be carried out (over-the-counter medicine) can be taken out from the product take-out port.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the CPU 10a controls each part of the apparatus according to an operation event generated by the operation part 10d. In addition to the various control programs executed by the CPU 10a, the ROM 10b stores a dosing information database in which dosing information is registered for each sales item. The dosing information corresponds to the content described as a precautionary note for a product (over-the-counter medicine), and is information including, for example, how to take and concomitant contraindications. In addition, the ROM 10b stores an application program for guidance on taking medication or contraindication based on medication information. This application program is downloaded to the user portable terminal 90 together with the medication information, and is executed on the downloaded user portable terminal 90.

  The RAM 10c is used as a work area for the CPU 10a, and temporarily stores various register / flag data. In addition to the selection button described above, the operation unit 10d includes a purchase request button, an operation switch for a videophone function, and the like, and generates an operation event corresponding to the operated button or switch. An operation event generated by the operation unit 10d is taken into the CPU 10a.

  The display unit 10e displays, as a videophone screen, image communication performed by the communication unit 10k, which will be described later, with the support center 20 via the network NT under the control of the CPU 10a. The wireless unit 10f exchanges data with the user portable terminal 90 by short-range wireless communication. The short-range wireless communication mentioned here refers to infrared communication, Bluetooth (registered trademark), wireless LAN, and the like. The data transmitted to the user portable terminal 90 side via the wireless unit 10f is an application program for taking information on over-the-counter drugs purchased by the user and for taking guidance or contraindication for combined use based on the information taken.

  The camera 10g shoots the face of the user (purchaser) and generates transmission image data for videophone. The microphone 10h captures voice uttered by the user (purchaser) and generates voice data for videophone. The speaker 10i reproduces the audio | voice of the videophone based on the image communication which the communication part 10k mentioned later performs with the support center 20 side via the network NT under control of CPU10a.

  The product take-out unit 10j is provided with a carry-out means (not shown) controlled by the CPU 10a, and carries out the product (over-the-counter medicine) to the product take-out port by the carry-out means in response to the input of money for the product price. The communication unit 10k performs video communication for videophone with the support center 20 via the network NT under the control of the CPU 10a. That is, while receiving the video / audio data transmitted from the support center 20 side, the transmission image data generated by the camera 10g and the audio data captured by the microphone 10h are transmitted to the support center 20 side.

(3) Configuration of Network Terminal 21 Deployed in Support Center 20 The support center 20 has a plurality of networks that monitor and control a plurality of over-the-counter medicine vending machines 10-1 to 10-N connected via the network NT. A terminal 21 is provided. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the network terminal 21. In this figure, the CPU 21a controls each part of the terminal according to an input event generated by the operation part 21d. The ROM 21b stores various control programs executed by the CPU 21a. The RAM 21c is used as a work area for the CPU 21a, and temporarily stores various register / flag data. The operation unit 21d includes an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and generates an input event corresponding to a user input operation. An input event generated by the operation unit 10d is captured by the CPU 21a.

  Under the control of the CPU 10a, the display unit 21e displays, as a videophone screen, image communication performed by the communication unit 21f, which will be described later, with the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 side via the network NT. The camera 21f shoots the face of a pharmacist or an operator who has a registered sales qualification and generates transmission image data for a videophone. The microphone 21g captures voices uttered by a pharmacist or an operator having a registered sales qualification and generates voice data for a videophone.

  Under the control of the CPU 10a, the speaker 21h reproduces the voice of a videophone based on image communication performed by the communication unit 21i, which will be described later, with the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 side via the network NT. The communication unit 21f performs image communication with the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 via the network NT under the control of the CPU 21a. That is, while receiving the video / audio data transmitted from the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 side, the transmission image data generated by the camera 21f and the audio data captured by the microphone 21h are transmitted to the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 side. Send.

(3) Configuration of User Portable Terminal 90 Next, the configuration of the user portable terminal 90 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the mobile terminal 90. In this figure, the transmission / reception unit 90b transmits and receives radio signals under the control of the control unit 90a. The modem unit 90c modulates / demodulates data to be transmitted / received under the control of the control unit 90a. The storage unit 90d stores programs, audio, video, mail, web, other user data, and the like. The program stored in the storage unit 90d is executed by the control unit 90a.

  The display unit 90e includes a color LCD panel and the like, and displays a mail screen, a web browsing screen, a basic operation screen, and the like. The key input unit 90f captures input from the user using a numeric keypad, function keys, touch panel, and the like and supplies the input to the control unit 90a. The voice input / output unit 90g includes a voice input unit such as a microphone that converts input voice into a signal, and a voice output unit such as a speaker that outputs voice. Further, the speaker of the audio output unit outputs an alarm notification sound in addition to the audio.

  The short-range wireless communication unit 90h exchanges data with the wireless unit 10f (see FIG. 2) of the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 through short-range wireless communication under the control of the control unit 90a. The short-range wireless communication mentioned here refers to infrared communication, Bluetooth (registered trademark), wireless LAN, and the like. The data received from the wireless unit 10f of the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 via the short-range wireless communication unit 90h is information on the over-the-counter medicine purchased by the user, and guidance for ingestion or combination contraindication based on the ingestion information. And is stored in the storage unit 90d.

  In the control unit 90a, for example, when the user performs a voice call operation via the key input unit 105, the control unit 90a controls the transmission / reception unit 90b based on a voice call communication line establishment processing program stored in the storage unit 90d, and performs wireless communication. Establish a circuit. When the communication line is established, a message to that effect is displayed on the display unit 90e, and the audio signal input from the audio input / output unit 90g is modulated by the modem unit 90c and transmitted to the other party via the transmission / reception unit 90b. The voice data received via 90b is demodulated by the modem unit 90c, and is controlled to be output as a voice signal from the voice input / output unit 90g.

  In addition, in the control unit 90a, for taking medication information or contraindication guidance for concomitant use based on the medication information of the over-the-counter medicine purchased by the user from the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 side via the short-range wireless communication unit 90h. When the application program is downloaded, the application program and medication information are stored in the storage unit 90d. And if the application program memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 90d is performed according to user operation, it will not alarm and alert | report taking time of the taking of the over-the-counter medicine based on taking information, and it should not be taken together Guidance for taking contraindications to inform drugs is given.

B. Operation Next, the operation of the vending system configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. First, it is assumed that the user presses a purchase request button provided in the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 (step S100). Then, the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 proceeds to step S101, and generates a line connection request to the network terminal 21 on the support center 20 side via the communication unit 10k.

  On the other hand, in the network terminal 21 on the support center 20 side, in response to the line connection request from the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10, step S102 is executed to establish image communication, whereby the user and the pharmacist or registered sales qualification are obtained. The operator (hereinafter, abbreviated as “qualified operator”) who can have a conversation with the video phone can enter the state.

  Then, when it is possible to interact with the videophone, that is, when the face of the qualified operator on the support center 20 side and the user's own face are displayed on the display unit 10e of the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10, In step S103, a diagnosis is exchanged in which the user answers a symptom in response to an inquiry from a qualified operator.

  When the qualified operator specifies a product (over-the-counter drug) suitable for improving the user's symptoms based on the exchange of the diagnosis, in step S104, the product group other than the specified item, that is, the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 is selling. The data representing the items to be sold to the user from the product group of the product are sent from the network terminal 21 on the support center 20 side to the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10.

  In the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10, when data representing an item that is not sold to the user is received, the process proceeds to step S 105, and the user is sold to the user from the group of products that can be displayed on the display unit 10 e. Erase the display on products that are not available. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the user from purchasing the wrong product and to present a group of products that can be purchased to the user. Then, after the user selects a necessary product from among a group of products that can be purchased and displayed on the display unit 10e by a selection button operation, the selected product price is deposited into the money insertion slot, and a desired item is retrieved from the commodity outlet. A product is obtained (step S106).

  Thereafter, when the short-range wireless communication unit 90h (see FIG. 5) of the portable terminal 90 possessed by the user and the wireless unit 10f (see FIG. 3) of the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 are wirelessly connected according to a predetermined protocol, In step S107, the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 extracts application information related to over-the-counter medicines sold from the ingestion instruction database stored in the ROM 10b, and an application program for instructing ingestion with reference to the ingestion information. The dosage information and application program read and extracted from the ROM 10b are downloaded to the user portable terminal 90 side via the wireless unit 10f.

  Then, in the portable terminal 90, step S108 is executed, and the dosage information downloaded from the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 side and the application program for instructing the dosage by referring to the dosage information are stored in the storage unit 90d. Inform the user that the data has been saved. And if the application program memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 90d is performed according to user operation, in the portable terminal 90, step S109 will be performed, alarming the taking time of the over-the-counter medicine purchased based on taking information, and taking Guidance is given to give guidance or contraindications to inform drugs that should not be taken together.

  On the other hand, in the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 that has finished downloading the dosage information and the application program to the mobile terminal 90, in step S110, sales information representing the attribute of the product sold to the user is sent to the network terminal 21 on the support center 20 side. Send it out. The network terminal 21 on the support center 20 side performs inventory management of the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 based on the sales information received from the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10, and also performs a purchase process and an inventory replenishment process ( Step S111).

  As described above, in this embodiment, the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 having the videophone function and the network terminal 21 of the support center 20 are connected via the network, and the qualified operator of the network terminal 21 receives the videophone. The network terminal 21 instructs the over-the-counter medicine vending device 10 to display over-the-counter over-the-counter medicines based on the result of the inquiry with the user who uses the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 in accordance with this instruction. In the vending system that enables the user to purchase an over-the-counter medicine selected from the over-the-counter over-the-counter medicines displayed on the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10, the dosage information of the product sold to the user and the corresponding dosage An application program for instructing taking with reference to the information is stored in the user portable terminal 90 On the portable terminal 90 in which the download means for downloading is provided in the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 and the dose information and the application program are downloaded by the download means, the application program executed in response to the user operation refers to the dose information. Since the medication guidance for alarming the medication time and the combined contraindication guidance for medications that should not be taken together, medication guidance can be given for purchased over-the-counter drugs.

  In the above-described embodiment, the application information for the product sold to the user and the application program for instructing administration with reference to the application information are downloaded to the user portable terminal 90. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10 determines whether or not an application program for instructing taking is installed on the mobile terminal 90 side. If it is already installed, only the dosing information is downloaded, and if not, the application program is downloaded together with the dosing information. It does not matter as a mode of downloading.

  Further, instead of downloading from the over-the-counter medicine vending apparatus 10, it is of course possible to access the support center 20 (network terminal 21) directly via the wireless communication network and download the dosage information and application program. It goes without saying that it is possible.

10 General-purpose pharmaceutical vending machine 10a CPU
10b ROM
10c RAM
10d Operation unit 10e Display unit 10f Wireless unit 10g Camera 10h Microphone 10i Speaker 10j Product take-out unit 10k Communication unit 20 Support center 21 Network terminal 21a CPU
21b ROM
21c RAM
21d operation unit 21e display unit 21f camera 21g microphone 21h speaker 21i communication unit 90 user portable terminal 90a control unit 90b transmission / reception unit 90c modulation / demodulation unit 90d storage unit 90e display unit 90f key input unit 90g voice input / output unit 90h short-range wireless communication unit

Claims (5)

A vending device having a videophone function and a network terminal are connected to each other via a network, and a qualified operator of the network terminal interrogates a user who uses the vending device via a videophone, and then vending from the network terminal. Instructs the user to display the over-the-counter drugs that can be sold, and allows users to purchase over-the-counter drugs selected from the available over-the-counter drugs displayed on the vending machine according to this instruction. In the vending system,
Download means for downloading to a user-owned mobile terminal, the application information provided in the vending device and referring to the dosage information related to the over-the-counter medicine sold to the user and the dosage information referring to the dosage information;
A vending system comprising: an application program provided in a user-owned portable terminal, wherein an application program downloaded from the vending device refers to dosing information and executes dosing instruction. The download means includes
A dose information database means for storing dose information for each sale item;
Extraction means for extracting the medication information of the over-the-counter medicine sold to the user from the medication information for each sale item stored in the medication information database means;
2. The wireless transmission means for wirelessly transmitting to the user-owned mobile terminal the dose information extracted by the extraction means and an application program for referring to the dose information. Vending system.   2. The vending system according to claim 1, wherein the dosing instruction means performs dosing guidance for alarming the dosing time of the over-the-counter medicine purchased by the user.   2. The vending system according to claim 1, wherein the taking instruction means performs a combined contraindication guidance for notifying a medicine that should not be taken together with the over-the-counter medicine purchased by the user. Displays the over-the-counter medicines that can be sold to the user based on the results of interviews by videophones with qualified operators and users of network terminals connected via the network, and purchases over-the-counter medicines selected by the user In the vending machine that enables,
A dose information database means for storing dose information for each sale item;
Extraction means for extracting the medication information about the over-the-counter drugs sold to the user from the medication information for each sales item stored in the medication information database means;
A vending apparatus comprising: wireless transmission means for wirelessly transmitting to the user-owned portable terminal the dose information extracted by the extraction means and an application program for instructing the dose referring to the dose information.

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