JP2022135702A - Automatic powder and tablet packaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an automatic powder and tablet packaging device which measures and packages powder and tablets in a small installation space.SOLUTION: The device comprises: a tablet release mechanism which releases tablets one by one out of a plurality of tablet containers; a powder release mechanism which releases powder out of a powder hopper containing the powder, in small batches; a measuring part which has a function of measuring the weight of tablets released by the tablet release mechanism to be accommodated in a single package and a function of measuring the weight of the powder released by the powder release mechanism to be housed in a single package; and a packaging part which accommodates and packages the tablets and/or powder measured by the measuring parts in the single packet.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present technology relates to an automatic powder medicine/tablet dispensing apparatus that weighs and distributes tablets and powdered medicine.

In recent years, the trend of technological development and systemization of automatic drug packaging devices has been remarkable, and it is highly automated and accelerated. By organically operating it within the system, it is making a great contribution to improving the efficiency of pharmacy operations. However, the effectiveness of these systems is limited to large pharmacies handling hundreds of prescriptions or more.

On the other hand, at small pharmacies that serve as family pharmacies for users nearby and drugstores that are highly accessible, the installation space is limited and the number of prescriptions handled is small in the first place, so large-scale capital investment is recovered. I have a problem that I can't. Packaging machines that can handle both tablets and powdered medicines in a narrow housing such as that of Patent Document 1 have been widely used for a long time because they meet the needs of the field.

The reason why the depth of the case of Patent Document 1 can be narrowed is that the linear V-mass method is adopted for the mechanism that divides the powdered medicine into packets. A straight line V-mass is a square that is installed almost horizontally and has an elongated rectangular shape when viewed from above, and a V-shaped closed bottom when viewed from the side. After the injection, the upper surface of the powdered medicine was leveled horizontally with a spatula so that the weight was evenly distributed in the horizontal direction. It uses the principle that it can be divided into one package by dropping.

In this way, the straight V-mass system can narrow the housing depth with a relatively simple and inexpensive structure. However, in recent years, as the pharmacist's main duty has become more like a consultant for dispensing guidance, etc., the work of putting powdered medicine into this V mass and leveling it with a spatula is uneven, even if the number of times is small. It is a delicate task because the weight of each package varies. In addition, judging to what extent should be leveled is a pharmacist's intuition, and it has been a burden especially for inexperienced pharmacists.

The disc division method disclosed in Patent Document 2 or the like solves the problem of the straight V-mass method. This is a method in which a donut-shaped powdered drug layer is formed in an annular groove on the outer periphery of a disk and divided into a predetermined number of divisions. With this, the weight of powdered medicine for one prescription is weighed in advance, and all that is required is to put it in, and it will divide and pack everything automatically.

However, the larger the diameter of the disk, the greater the number of divisions that can be made and the higher the accuracy of the weight per package. Constraints have resulted in increasing the depth of packaging devices.

As described above, the housing of the packaging device has a relatively simple and inexpensive structure like the linear V-mass method, and a high-precision packaging device like the disk method that does not require the work of leveling the powdered medicine with a spatula in the linear V-mass method. Not only is there a need to achieve smaller depth dimensions, but there is also a need to be able to discharge, measure and dispense powdered medicines and tablets within the same narrow depth housing width. .

Japanese Patent No. 4083196 Japanese Patent No. 4495713

The problem to be solved by the invention is to provide an automatic powdered medicine/tablet packing apparatus for weighing and packing powdered medicines and tablets.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the powdered medicine/tablet automatic dispensing apparatus of the present invention includes a tablet releasing mechanism for releasing tablets one by one from a plurality of tablet containers, and a powdered medicine hopper containing powdered medicines. a function of weighing the tablets contained in one packet released by the tablet releasing mechanism; and the powder contained in one packet released by the powder releasing mechanism. and a packaging unit for storing and packaging the tablets and/or powders weighed by the weighing unit in one divided package.

1 is a functional block diagram of a powdered medicine tablet packaging system according to one embodiment; FIG. 1 is a front view of a powdered medicine tablet packaging machine according to one embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the powdered medicine tablet packaging machine according to one embodiment (cross-section taken along line WW in FIG. 2). FIG. 2 is a plan view (cross section VV in FIG. 2) showing a weighing unit 14 and its surroundings according to one embodiment; FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of determining the next target weighing value from the immediately preceding weighing result according to one embodiment; The front view of the powder medicine tablet packing machine which concerns on other embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, although it explains as a tablet, it is not limited to a tablet, and medicines, such as a half tablet and a capsule, are also included. In addition, the powdered medicine is not limited to powdered medicine, but includes medicaments such as granules.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a powdered medicine tablet packaging system according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of a powdered medicine tablet packaging machine according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view (cross section along WW in FIG. 2) of the powdered medicine tablet packing machine according to one embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the powdered medicine tablet packaging system comprises a powdered medicine tablet packaging machine main body 1, an electronic prescription system 2 for providing work instruction information to this machine, and a non-automatic scale 3. Prescription information of each patient directly input to this system, or information 4 transmitted as electronic prescription data from each remote clinical department in the case of a hospital, is input to the prescription control unit 5, and the prescription is processed. It is stored in the order storage unit 6 . For a specific prescription, in the case of powdered medicine, information including the type of medicine required for the prescription and the total weight of each medicine can be notified to the non-automatic scale 3 and the main body 1 of the powdered medicine tablet packing machine.

In the case of tablets, the prescription control unit 5 refers to the drug parameter database 7 and notifies the main body 1 of the powder medicine tablet packaging machine of information including the type of drug required for the prescription and the weight of each tablet. can be done.

If the prescription includes both tablets and powdered medicines, information including the types of powdered medicines required for the prescription and the total weight of each medicine is sent to the non-automatic scale 3 and powdered medicine tablet packing machine main body 1 for the tablets. The prescription can notify the main body 1 of the powdered medicine tablet packing machine 1 of information including the type of drug required for the prescription and the weight of each tablet.

As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1, the powdered medicine tablet packaging machine main body 1 includes a main controller 8 connected to the electronic prescription system 2, a powdered medicine mechanism controller 9 connected in parallel thereto, and a weighing controller. Each mechanism is controlled by the unit 10 , the tablet mechanism control unit 11 , and the packaging machine control unit 12 . That is, the powdered medicine ejection mechanism 13, the weighing unit 14, the tablet ejection mechanism 15, and the packaging machine 16 are controlled. , a journal printer 18 is also attached.

In FIG. 1, the solid line represents information flow and the dashed line represents drug flow. Among the medicines, the powdered medicine P is taken from the medicine bottle 19 containing the powdered medicine to be used for the prescription by the pharmacist with the non-automatic scale 3. , 2 weeks, the initial value is 84 g, which is weighed and accommodated in the tray 3a. After that, it is manually put into the powdered drug release mechanism 13 via the dashed arrows P1 and P2, and is automatically transported to the weighing unit 14. FIG.

On the other hand, the tablet T is automatically conveyed from the tablet release mechanism 15 to the weighing unit 14 as indicated by the dashed arrow T1, and is automatically weighed by the weighing unit 14. FIG. After being weighed, both the powdered medicine and the tablets are sent to the packaging machine 16 as indicated by the dashed arrow PT1, and are configured to be output as a continuous packaging paper B1 individually wrapped for each dose. In addition, when a powdered medicine alone is prescribed in a prescription, or when a tablet alone is prescribed, only the powdered medicine or tablets are weighed and sent to the packaging machine 16 to be individually packaged as a single dose. Thus, the weighing unit 14 has a function of weighing the powdered medicine and a function of weighing the tablet.

<Tablet release mechanism>
Next, each part and each mechanism of the powdered medicine tablet packaging machine main body 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. A tablet discharge mechanism 15 is arranged on the upper part of the main body, and a tablet container shelf 21 is provided which can be accessed from the front with a front cover (not shown) opened. This tablet container shelf 21 is provided with 5 stages in the vertical direction and 10 tablet container mounting bases 22 having shelf numbers from 1 to 50 on each stage. A tablet container 23 can be placed on the tablet container mounting table 22 .

In addition, on the upper surface (the surface on which the container is placed) of each tablet container mounting base 22, information is read or written with an RFID tag (not shown) provided on the bottom surface of the tablet container 23. An RFID reader/writer (not shown) is provided for reading.

The tablet storage container 23 has a space for storing tablets to be prescribed, and the stored tablets can be discharged from the ejection port. is designed specifically for Therefore, information associated with the name of each tablet is written in an RFID tag (not shown) provided on the bottom surface of the tablet container 23 .

When the tablet container 23 is manually placed on the tablet container mounting table 22, the RFID tag provided on the bottom surface of the tablet container 23 is read by an FID reader/writer (not shown). Information indicating which shelf number the tablet is placed on the tablet container mounting table 22 can be sent to the main control unit 8 and stored.

A motor 24 is provided below the tablet container mounting table 22 , and a motor side coupling 25 is provided at the shaft end of the motor 24 . On the other hand, on the tablet container 23 side, a rotating vane 26 unique to the shape and size of each tablet is provided, and a rotating vane side coupling 27 is provided at the lower end of the rotating shaft of the rotating vane 26 .

Here, when the tablet container 23 is mounted on the tablet container mounting table 22, the motor side coupling 25 and the rotor blade side coupling 27 are coupled, and the rotation of the motor 24 is transmitted to the rotor blade 26. be able to.

Further, when receiving a command to release a predetermined number of tablets from the main control unit 8, the tablet container mounting table 22 rotates the rotating vane 26 to release the tablets one by one from the drop opening . A tablet passing sensor (not shown) is provided at the drop port 28, and has a function of counting the number of passing tablets and stopping the motor 24 when a predetermined number of tablets is reached, thereby ejecting the designated number of tablets.

Next, there is a vertical chute 29 that receives the tablets discharged from the drop port 28 and drops them downward. A triangular chute 30 is provided that can receive the tablets that naturally fall from all the tablet container mounting bases 22 by corresponding to the position of the drop port 28 . Since the lower opening 31 of the triangular chute 30 is narrowed in an inverted triangular shape when viewed from the front, the falling tablets can be introduced into the lower opening 31 .

A tablet storage shutter 33 that can be freely opened and closed by being driven by a reciprocating rotary actuator 32 is provided under the lower opening 31 . When the tablet storage shutter 33 is closed, a plurality of types and a plurality of tablets P to be packed into one package are dropped from the separate tablet storage containers 23 and temporarily stored, and when the tablet storage shutter 33 is open, the temporarily stored tablets are further lowered. It is constructed so that it can be dropped onto an oblique chute 34 of the.

<Powder drug release mechanism>
The powder medicine ejection mechanism 13 has two symmetrical structures, 13a and 13b. It is It also has a horizontal trough 45 held by a plate spring 44 on the pedestal 43 and an electromagnet 46 provided behind the horizontal trough 45 . When an AC drive waveform is input to this electromagnet 46, the horizontal trough 45 can oscillate back and forth.

Reference numeral 48 denotes a powdered medicine hopper which is open on both upper and lower surfaces, and can receive powdered medicine weighed by a pharmacist with a non-automatic scale 3 as an initial value for one prescription, and store the powdered medicine in contact with the horizontal trough 45.例文帳に追加When an AC driving waveform is input to the electromagnet 46, the horizontal trough 45 vibrates back and forth, and the stored powdered medicine can be vibrationally transported in the arrow 47 direction.

<Weighing part>
The weighing section 14 is composed of a load cell 51 (scale) whose fixed end is fixed to a holding base 50 on the intermediate base 40, and a weighing hopper 52 which is attached to the flexible end of the load cell 51 and whose upper and lower surfaces are open. there is Under the lower opening of the weighing hopper 52, as shown in FIG. When the medicine holding shutter 54 is closed, the weighing hopper 52 can hold a plurality of types and a plurality of tablets P and powdered medicines to be packed into one packet. From the output value of the load cell 51 in this state, the weight value of the tablets/powder medicine contained in the weighing hopper 52 can be obtained. When the medicine holding shutter 54 is opened, the temporarily held tablets/powder medicines can be dropped toward the packaging machine 16 further below.

As indicated above, the only loads on the load cell 51 are the weighing hopper 52, the reciprocating rotary actuator 53, and the drug holding shutter 54. This is because the load is much smaller than the electronic scales used in conventional drug weighing automatic packaging machines, so it is possible to use a load cell with a small load capacity. . From the viewpoint of weighing accuracy, since the resolution of measurement is determined by the maximum load of the load cell, the ability to use a load cell with a small load capacity can greatly contribute to the accuracy of measurement. This makes it possible to achieve measurement accuracy equivalent to that of conventional drug weighing automatic packaging machines even with a small, low-cost weighing unit.

It should be noted that the weighing hopper 52 can be removably attached to the flexible end of the load cell 51, rather than fixed thereon, so that the weighing hopper 52 can be removed for cleaning.

FIG. 4 is a cross section taken along line VV in FIG. 2, and is a plan view showing the weighing unit 14 and its surroundings. FIG. 4(a) shows, in the above-described embodiment, the tips of the vibrating troughs 45a and 45b of the left and right powdered drug discharging portions 13a and 13b protrude with respect to the upper opening of the single weighing hopper 52, and the dropping A powdered drug can be introduced into the weighing hopper 52 . Further, the tip of the oblique chute 34 also protrudes from the opening of the weighing hopper 52 so that the falling tablets can be introduced into the weighing hopper 52 . Therefore, only powdered medicine, only tablets, or both powdered medicine and tablets can be accommodated and weighed in a single weighing hopper 52 at the same time.

However, when weighing powdered medicine and tablets in a single weighing hopper 52, the powdered medicine and tablets cannot be discharged and weighed at the same time. Therefore, either the tablet released by the tablet release mechanism or the powdered drug released by the powder release mechanism is weighed while being released into the weighing hopper 52, and after the weighing of the drug is completed, the other is weighed. It is necessary to weigh the drug.

FIG. 4B shows a modification of the weighing hopper 52, in which a partition plate 57 separates a portion 55 (region) containing tablets from a portion 56 (region) containing powdered medicine. This is because, in general, powdered medicines are more likely to adhere to and remain in the weighing hopper 52 after weighing powdered medicines than tablets. By making it impossible, it is possible to prevent so-called contamination, in which powdered medicines of different prescriptions adhere to the tablet.

FIG. 4(c) shows another modified/application example, in which the first weighing hopper 58 containing the tablets discharged from the tablet discharge mechanism 15 and the powdered medicines from the left and right powdered medicine discharge mechanisms 13a and 13b, respectively. , a second weighing hopper 59 and a third weighing hopper 60 are provided. A dedicated load cell 61 (tablet weighing unit) is provided for the first weighing hopper 58 . The second weighing hopper 59 and the third weighing hopper 60 are weighed by the load cell 50 described above. Thus, the load cell 61 (tablet weighing unit) for weighing tablets and the load cell 50 (powder weighing unit) for weighing powdered medicine are provided as separate load cells.

Although the structure shown in FIG. 4(a) is simple and inexpensive, it is not possible to simultaneously release tablets and powdered drugs for weighing. Resulting in. On the other hand, this structure has the problem that the structure is complicated and the price increases, but it is possible to measure by releasing tablets and powdered medicine at the same time, which has the effect of shortening the time, and cleaning can be done separately. It is efficient because it can be By providing the tablet weighing unit and the powdered medicine weighing unit at substantially the same position in this manner, the weighed tablets and powdered medicine can be accommodated in the packaging paper B by the common hopper chute 70. can also be simplified.

<Packaging machine>
The packaging machine 16 has a hopper chute 70 that opens the medicine holding shutter 54 of the weighing unit 14 to receive a package of tablets/powder medicines that have fallen and transports them downward, and a lower outlet of the hopper chute 70 to pack paper. B can be placed and each single dose can be individually wrapped in the packaging paper B.

In addition, the packaging machine 16 puts one package of powdered medicine and tablets into a bag-like packaging paper by a known enclosing and sealing technology as described in JP-A-2020-340, and seals the packaging paper. The sealed medicine is discharged from an outlet 71 as a continuous packaging paper B in which each dose is individually wrapped.

<Explanation of action>
<S01: For prescription of tablets only>
The operation of the powdered medicine tablet packaging system configured as described above will be described.
<T1: Preparation for tablet release operation>
In advance, an attendant fills individual tablets required for prescription into dedicated tablet containers 23 by a tablet filling system (not shown), and writes information linked to the information on the tablets to the RFID. Information such as the name of the tablet to be filled, the expiration date, the weight of each tablet, and the like may be directly input to the RFID from the tablet filling system, but only the number of the tablet container 23 is input to the RFID. , is transmitted to the prescription control unit 5 as data linked to this number, and the name, expiration date, and weight per tablet of the tablet to be filled in the drug parameter database 7 as the tablet information of the tablet container 23 with that number. You may write and save information such as

When there is a prescription instruction to use tablets A, B, and C from the upper side, the prescription control unit 4 refers to the drug parameter database 7 or the main control unit 8 of the powdered medicine tablet packing machine main body 1. , the RFID of the tablet container 23 is read by the RFID reader/writer of the tablet container mounting table 22, and the presence of the tablet container 23 containing the A tablet, B tablet, and C tablet is confirmed. If the tablet to be used does not exist, this is displayed on the touch panel display 17 on the front surface, and the staff manually fills the tablet container 23 with the necessary tablets, and then places the tablet container on the table 22. It can be installed and ready to release all the tablets required for the prescription.

Next, the main control unit 8 notifies the weighing control unit 10 of the total weight of tablets per package based on the number of A tablets, B tablets, and C tablets enclosed in each package. The total weight differs between day and night when the type and amount of the drug are different. In that case, notification is given in the form of total tablet weight (morning), total tablet weight (noon), and total tablet weight (evening). Ready for operation.

<T2: Tablet release step>
Next, the motors 24 of the tablet container mounting table 22 on which the tablet containers 23 containing tablets A, B, and C are placed are simultaneously driven to shoot a predetermined number of tablets in a single packet through a vertical shoot. 29, the lower opening 31 is dropped onto the closed triangular chute 30 and held temporarily. After that, under predetermined timer control, the tablet storage shutter 33 is opened, and the tablets are thrown into the weighing hopper 52 via the oblique chute 34 assuming that all the tablets are held.

<T3: Tablet weighing step>
The weighing control unit 10 reads the weight value of the load cell 51 after counting a predetermined timer for the tablets in the weighing hopper 52 with the medicine holding shutter 54 closed. Compare this as the weighing result (K2) with the previous weighing target value (K1), and if the value of K1-K2 is within the predetermined value, that is, the quantity of all tablets in one package is correct. If it exceeds the value, it is stored in the weighing control unit 10 as an incorrect one.

<T4: Tablet packaging step>
Next, by driving the reciprocating rotary actuator 53 of the weighing unit 14, the medicine holding shutter 54 is opened, the tablets are introduced into the hopper chute 70 of the packaging machine 16, and one package is sealed between the packaging papers. By repeating the operations from T2 to T4 for the required number of doses, the continuous packaging paper B1 in which the prescription is individually wrapped is completed and output from the outlet 71. FIG.

<T5: Output of count results>
As described above, by weighing the total weight of tablets for each package, it is possible to determine whether the number of tablets for each package is within a predetermined value or exceeds a predetermined value. be done. The weighing control unit 10 sends this to the main control unit 8, and the main control unit 8 outputs to the touch panel display unit 17 "Prescription completed normally" if all weighed values are normal, If it is, "abnormal end of prescription" is displayed. In addition, after outputting information such as the prescription number, the number of individual packages with weighing errors, and their values on the journal paper of the journal printer, finally the staff will select either "prescription normal end" or "prescription abnormal end". When the button is touched, the operation of the prescription is completed in the case of "normal end of prescription".

<T6: Additional processing in case of abnormal termination>
In the case of abnormal termination, when the "prescription abnormal termination" button is touched, the content of the abnormal individual package is displayed, re-packaging is automatically performed, and the operations from T2 to T5 are repeated. and completes as a normal end. Separately, an individual package with an abnormality is separated from the continuous package by a staff member and separately managed as a defective item.

In the above example, the remanufacturing of the abnormal individual package is automatically executed, but when the "process abnormal end" button is touched, the "remanufacturing of the individual package" and "reconfirmation normal end" buttons are displayed and the system waits. A staff member visually inspects the completed continuous package and confirms the number of tablets in the individual package. Based on the confirmation result, you can select either "Individual package remanufacture" or "Reconfirmation normal completion". In this way, even if the number of tablets dropped is correct, there is no need to produce additional individual packages in vain when weighing is incorrect.

<S02: In the case of prescription of only powdered medicine>
<Y1: Pre-measurement of powder medicine>
When the prescription control unit 5 is instructed to provide prescription information for powdered medicine only, the name and amount of the medicine required for the prescription are notified to the non-automatic scale 3 and displayed on the display unit 3b of the non-automatic scale. After confirming this, the pharmacist, for example, if 2 g/dose is for a total of 14 doses, put 28 g from the medicine bottle 19 containing the required medicine into the weighing cup 3a as the initial value, and weigh it non-automatically. 3, and confirm that it is within a predetermined error range (for example, 28±0.5 g). A printing device (not shown) attached to the non-automatic scale 3 issues a receipt R2 on which the name of the medicine, the target value of weighing, the weight value of the weighing result, etc. are printed.

<Y2: Powder release/weighing step>
Next, the attendant puts the prescribed total amount of powdered medicine into the powdered medicine hopper 48 of the powdered medicine discharge mechanism 13 through the route P2, and instructs the start of operation from the button on the touch panel display 17 . In response to this, the powdered medicine control unit 9 drives the electromagnet 46 to vibrate the horizontal trough 45, thereby transferring and dropping the powdered medicine little by little to the weighing hopper 52 side. At the same time, the weighing control unit 10 monitors the output of the load cell 51. For example, if one packet is 2 g, when the output of the load cell 51 reaches 2 g, the electromagnet A sachet of powdered drug is retained in the weigh hopper by instructing 46 to stop.

Here, with reference to FIG. 5, the relationship in control between the release amount of one package (measurement target value) and the release amount of one package (result) in the case of a total of 14 divisions of 2 g per package will be described in detail. First, instead of dividing 28g into 14 pieces, the weight result of the non-automatic scale 3 (for example, 28.5g) is used as the initial value, and then the value divided by the number of packets to be divided (14) is used to weigh one packet. Let the target value be X(1).

The above-mentioned purpose is that if 2 g is set as the target weight value and the result is exactly 2 g, 2.5 g of the final package will remain. That is, there is a problem that weighing errors in the non-automatic scale 3 concentrate on the last one package. Therefore, it is assumed that the weighing error of the non-automatic scale 3 is diffused to the whole package, and the weighing result for the target value of the weighing target value X(1) is Y(1).

In the weighing of this method, even if the electromagnet 46 is stopped when the load cell 51 reaches the target value, the weight existing in the space during the fall (space weight X(0)) is added to exceed the target value. end up For this reason, when the target value is approached, the vibration of the electromagnet 51 is weakened, or the space weight X(0) is predicted in advance, subtracted, and used as the target value. However, in general, when this prescribed control is performed, in the relevant measurement, there are cases where all the packages are overweight or underweight, and the cumulative error increases, and the final package becomes significantly overweight. Alternatively, there is a problem that the weight becomes too small.

Therefore, the weighing target value X(n) for the second and subsequent packages in the case of the total weight W contained in the powdered medicine hopper 48 is obtained by the following formula, where m is the number of divisions.
X(n)=(W-(Y(1)+Y(2)...+Y(n-1)))/(m-(n-1))
That is, the powdered medicine mechanism control unit 9 divides the weight of the powdered medicine actually contained in the powdered medicine hopper 48 by the number of packets to be distributed after that, and sets the value to be the weighing target value for one packet to be distributed next. It controls the release mechanism 13 .

As described above, it is possible to reduce the error in the final package by correcting the weighing target value of the next package based on the previous measurement results. This calculation can be performed not for each package but for several packages. 1) -Y(n-1)) may be added to X(n) for correction.

As described above, by correcting the powdered medicine weighing target value per packet according to the immediately preceding weighing result of the powdered medicine in the powdered medicine hopper 48, it is possible to prevent an increase in the weight error of the final packet. , it is possible to solve the problem that uneven smoothing tends to occur at both ends of the straight line V-mass, that is, at the first package and the last package.

<Y3: powdered drug packaging step>
Next, when the weighing of one package of powder medicine is completed, the reciprocating rotary actuator 53 of the weighing unit 14 is driven to open the medicine holding shutter 54, introduce the powder medicine into the hopper chute 70 of the packaging machine 16, and The packet is enclosed in wrapping paper B. By repeating the operations from Y2 to Y3 for the required number of doses, the continuous packaging paper B1 in which the prescription is individually wrapped is completed and output from the outlet 71. FIG.

<Y4: Output of weighing results>
As described above, by weighing the weight of the powdered medicine for each packet, it is determined whether the weight of the powdered medicine for each packet is within a predetermined error or exceeds a predetermined error. Send to the control unit 8 . The main control unit 8 causes the touch panel display 17 to display "prescription normal end" when all weighed values are normal, and "prescription abnormal end" when the weighed value of a specific individual package is abnormal. , and outputs information such as the prescription number, the individual package number of the weighing abnormality and its value to the journal paper of the journal printer 18 . Finally, the clerk touches either the "prescription normal end" or "prescription abnormal end" button, and in the case of "prescription normal end", the operation of the prescription is completed.

<Y5: Additional processing in case of abnormal termination>
In the case of abnormal termination, when the "prescription abnormal termination" button is touched, the content of the abnormal individual package is displayed on the touch panel display 17. FIG. For the repackaging of the number of defective packages, the operations corresponding to Y1 to Y4 above are performed, and the abnormal individual packages are separated from the continuous package by the staff and separately managed as defective items. .

<S03: Simultaneous Packaging of Tablets and Powdered Medicine>
In the above example, a description was given of a case where tablets and powdered medicines were not enclosed at the same time. realizable. However, in a configuration in which all tablets and powdered medicines are put into a single weighing hopper as shown in FIG. It may be controlled to start weighing the powdered medicine after the weighing of the powdered medicine is finished, or to start weighing the tablet after the weighing of the powdered medicine is finished.

The above-mentioned method has a simple structure and is inexpensive, but there is a problem that it takes time because parallel processing cannot be performed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. By equipping each of them with a load cell, tablets and powdered medicine can be weighed at the same time. Although the structure becomes complicated, the processing time can be shortened.

In the above embodiment, two powder medicine ejection mechanisms 13 are provided, but as a more compact and low-cost configuration, one powder medicine ejection mechanism 13 is used as shown in FIG. Instead of automatic discharge, a well-known and simple hand-distributed conveyor mass 80 is used. Even with such a configuration, the total weight of the tablets dropped from the conveyor mass 80 can be measured by introducing the tablet dropping chute 81 from the conveyor mass 80 into the weighing cup 52 .

By installing a weighing mechanism with a simple configuration as described above, the powder medicine is expected to be introduced into small pharmacies that do not require discs for distributing powder medicine and that have a narrow cabinet depth, that is, a small pharmacy with a narrow installation space.・In addition to being able to realize an automatic tablet packaging device, it also has the added value of being able to weigh tablets and powdered medicines.

In the above embodiment, the configuration is aimed at miniaturization and low cost, but it is not necessarily limited to this, and the configuration may be configured for further efficiency according to the scale and needs of the pharmacy side. is the range of application. For example, in the above description, the pharmacist measured the total amount of powdered medicine prescribed by a non-automatic scale in advance, and weighed each package. It is also possible to attach the powdered drug container to the horizontal trough portion of the powdered drug discharge mechanism and weigh one package at a time. It is also possible to arrange the powdered medicine containers containing various kinds of medicines on a shelf and transfer them to the powdered medicine discharging mechanism by a robot or the like. As a result, it is possible not only to realize a low-cost, space-saving powder medicine/tablet packing machine with a minimal configuration, but also to be able to handle large-scale pharmacies by expanding it. It is possible to provide an automatic powder medicine packaging device.

Although several embodiments and variations of the invention have been described, these embodiments and variations are provided by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments and modifications can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

1 powdered medicine tablet packing machine main body 2 electronic prescription system 3 non-automatic scale 9 powdered medicine mechanism controller 10 weighing controller 11 tablet mechanism controller 13 powdered medicine ejection mechanism 14 weighing unit 15 tablet ejection mechanism 16 packing machine 23 tablet housing container 48 powdered medicine hopper 51 load cell (weighing unit, powder weighing unit)
52 weighing hopper 61 load cell (tablet weighing unit)

Claims (6)

a tablet release mechanism for releasing tablets one by one from a plurality of tablet containers;
a powdered drug release mechanism for releasing the powdered drug little by little from a powdered drug hopper containing the powdered drug;
A function of weighing tablets housed in one package released by the tablet releasing mechanism, and a function of weighing powder medicine housed in one package released by the powder drug releasing mechanism. a weighing unit comprising
a packaging unit that stores and packages the tablets and/or powders weighed by the weighing unit in one divided package;
A powder medicine/tablet automatic packaging device characterized by having The weighing unit stores and weighs the tablets released by the tablet release mechanism and the powdered drug released by the powdered drug release mechanism in a single weighing hopper.
The powder medicine/tablet automatic packaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The weighing unit
After weighing of either the tablet released by the tablet release mechanism or the powdered drug released by the powder release mechanism is completed, the other drug is weighed.
The powdered medicine/tablet automatic packaging device according to claim 2, characterized in that: wherein the single weighing hopper is separated into a tablet containing area and a powder containing area;
4. The powder medicine/tablet automatic packing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The weighing unit
a tablet weighing unit for weighing the tablet released by the tablet release mechanism;
a powdered drug weighing unit provided at substantially the same position as the tablet weighing unit and weighing the powdered drug released by the powdered drug release mechanism;
The powdered medicine/tablet automatic packing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: As an initial value, the powdered medicine hopper contains powdered medicine of the weight of one prescription,
When the powdered medicine is discharged by the powdered medicine discharging mechanism, the value obtained by dividing the weight of the powdered medicine actually contained in the powdered medicine hopper by the number of packets to be distributed afterward is divided by the number of packets to be distributed next in the weighing unit. further comprising a powdered drug mechanism control unit that controls the powdered drug release mechanism as a metering target value,
The powder medicine/tablet automatic packaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that:

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