JP2022186448A - Medicine sorting device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a medicine sorting device that can stably discriminate a medicine even from a state where many medicines are mixed.SOLUTION: A medicine sorting device includes: a storage part including a loading port through which a plurality of medicines are loaded while being mixed and a discharge port from which the medicines are discharged; a first imaging part for determining the medicine from an image capturing a shape of the medicine; a guide part disposed downward from the discharge port of the storage part and transporting the medicine to the first imaging part; a second imaging part for discriminating a type of the medicine from the captured image; and a transportation part for transporting the medicine while holding it one by one. The medicine sorting device identifies a type of the medicine on the basis of an image captured by the second imaging part and transports the medicine to a predetermined container to be disposed by the transportation part. The medicine sorting device has a container placing part on which the plurality of predetermined containers are placed. The medicine sorting device disposes at least one recovery container for recovering the medicine when the medicine meets a predetermined condition, in the middle of a passage through which the container placing part and the second imaging part are moved by the transportation part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a drug sorting device.

Mainly in a dispensing room of a hospital, etc., there may be cases where a large amount of medicine dispensed by a packaging machine or the like is returned without being used due to a shortage, packaging error, or other reasons.
In order to identify drugs, it is common practice to use the identification code of the drug written on the package of the drug. In addition, it is extremely burdensome for pharmacists to manually identify an unknown prescribed drug based on the size, shape, color, etc. of the drug.
For the purpose of recovering and reusing such drugs, a drug sorting device is used that, for example, distinguishes drugs based on their images and returns them to a predetermined storage location.
However, such determination of the medicine is not reliable, and there is a problem that the operation stops when an error occurs during determination or lack of the medicine.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-103885 WO2018/190394 WO2019/244729

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel drug sorting apparatus that requires less maintenance and less downtime even when sorting a large amount of drugs.

The present invention includes a storage unit having an inlet into which a plurality of drugs are mixed and an outlet through which the drugs are discharged, and a first imaging unit for judging the shape of the drugs from a photographed image. a guide portion arranged below the discharge port of the storage portion to convey the medicine to the first imaging portion; a second imaging portion for determining the type of the medicine from the photographed image; a transfer section for holding and conveying drugs one by one, wherein the type of the drug is specified based on the image captured by the second imaging section, and the transfer section is arranged with the drug. A medicine sorting device for transporting medicines to predetermined containers, the medicine sorting device having a container placement section on which a plurality of the predetermined containers are arranged, wherein the transfer section connects the container placement section and the second photographing section At least one collection container for collecting the medicine when the medicine satisfies a predetermined condition is arranged on the route of movement.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a drug sorting apparatus that requires less maintenance and less downtime even when sorting a large amount of drugs.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a medicine sorting apparatus. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the alignment structure shown in FIG. 1; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the shape of the guide part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the shape of the guide part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the image recognition process by a medicine sorting apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the transfer part of a medicine sorting apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a transfer part. It is a figure which shows an example of operation|movement of a transfer part. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the shutter of a transfer part. It is a figure which shows an example of the image processing in the 2nd imaging|photography part by a medicine sorting apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a 2nd imaging|photography part. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a detachable recessed member; It is a figure which shows the structural example of a storage part. It is a figure which shows an example of operation|movement of a accommodating part. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a storage container and a holder of a storage section; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a collection container; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of detection means of a collection container; It is a figure showing an example of functional composition of a control part of a medicine sorting device. It is a figure which shows an example of the sorting operation|movement of a medicine sorting apparatus. It is a figure which shows the screen structural example of the user interface of a medicine sorting apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the sorting operation|movement of a medicine sorting apparatus.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the basic configuration of a drug sorting device 100 used in the present invention.

The medicine sorting apparatus 100 includes a hopper 10 as a reservoir into which a plurality of medicines M can be mixed, a first photographing unit 20 for judging the shape of the medicines M from a photographed image, and a lower part than the hopper 10 . and a guide portion 30 arranged in the .
The medicine sorting apparatus 100 also includes a second photographing unit 40 for determining the type of the medicine M from the photographed image, a transfer unit 50 for holding and conveying the medicines M one by one, and containing the conveyed medicines M. and a control unit 90 for controlling each operating part.
The medicine sorting apparatus 100 also includes a reading means 70 for reading the identification information of the container attached to the storage section 60 and a printing means 80 for printing the identification information of the medicine M read from the reading means 70 as will be described later. , a workbench 110 that can be pulled out, and a touch panel 95 as an operating means.

In this embodiment, the medicine M will be described as a tablet in particular, but it is not limited to such a configuration, and any medicine that can be discriminated by a photographed image may be used. For example, the drug M may have various shapes such as a disk shape, a cylindrical shape, an ellipsoidal shape, and a capsule shape.

As shown in FIG. 2, the hopper 10 has an inlet 11 into which the medicines M are introduced in a mixed state, and an outlet 12 located below the inlet 11, that is, in the -Z direction.
The hopper 10 is arranged so that the discharge port 12 is positioned above the guide portion 30, and the medicines M charged in a mixed state are gradually conveyed through the space between the discharge port 12 and the guide portion 30. Acts as a reservoir.
That is, when the medicine M is accumulated in the lower part of the hopper 10, between the discharge port 12 and the guide part 30, the medicine M does not fall from the upper part of the hopper 10 to the lower part, but the medicine M that is in contact with the guide part 30 is removed. When moved in the lateral direction, that is, in the -X direction in FIG.
In this manner, the medicine M stored inside the hopper 10 moves downward as it is conveyed by the guide section 30 .

The distance between the outlet 12 of the hopper 10 and the surface of the guide body 31 of the guide 30 can be finely adjusted by the pin 13 according to the size of the medicine M. As shown in FIG.
When viewed from above, the hopper 10 has a tapered shape in which the inlet 11 widens from the outlet 12 at least on the −X direction side wall surface of the wall surface forming the outlet 12 . In the present embodiment, the wall surface in the -X direction and the wall surface in the ±Y direction are tapered.
By forming the tapered shape, the number of drugs that can be stored in the hopper 10 can be increased. Alignment by vibration is performed more evenly.

The guide part 30 is a conveying path having a function as a vibrating feeder in this embodiment.
The guide portion 30 includes a guide main body portion 31 in which a transport surface for transporting the medicine M is formed on the +Z direction side, a vibration driving portion 32 arranged below the guide main body portion 31, and both sides of the guide main body portion 31. and a chute guide 33 which is arranged in the outlet 12 so as to cover at least both sides of the discharge port 12 in the ±Y direction and constitutes a guide wall surface.
The chute guide 33 is magnetic and detachably attached to the guide main body 31. When the medicine M drops from the hopper 10 through the discharge port 12, the chute guide 33 may come off the guide part 30 due to unintended splashing or the like. It is possible to prevent the drug M from falling off during transportation.
The vibration drive unit 32 is an electromagnetic vibration unit that vibrates the guide main body 31 by, for example, 7200 vibrations/minute, thereby moving the drug M positioned on the upper surface of the guide main body 31 in the -X direction. It is a vibrating feeder that conveys
In this embodiment, the guide section 30 is operated as a vibration feeder to transfer the medicine M, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and may be transferred by other methods. .

The guide body 31 has a wedge-shaped or V-shaped groove 34 extending in the direction along the -X direction, which is the transport direction of the medicine M, as shown in the YZ cross section of FIG. is formed. A plurality of grooves 34 may be formed parallel to the Y direction.
As shown in the XZ cross section of FIG. 4, the guide main body 31 has a high position on the upstream side in the conveying direction, ie, the +X direction side, and a low position on the downstream side in the conveying direction, ie, the −X direction side, and has a wavy portion in the middle. is formed. Here, the wavy shape does not mean a linear inclination, but a height intermediate between the highest surface directly below the discharge port 12 and the lowest surface connected to the first imaging unit 20. However, the shape is not limited as long as the transport surface of the medicine M is stepped.
As described above, the guide body portion 31 includes a stepped portion 35 that descends in the conveying direction.
By forming such wedge-shaped grooves 34 and stepped portions 35 on the conveying surface, the medicine M is conveyed in an inclined manner by the grooves 34 as shown in FIG. 4 while being conveyed. As it goes down, it moves through the stepped portion 35 while changing the tilt direction up and down.
In this manner, when the medicine M is transported while being vibrated by the vibration drive unit 32, the medicine M is transported in a state in which the attitude thereof is not stable, so the overlapping state of the multiple medicines M is easily released. By passing through the guide section 30, the medicine M moves to the first imaging section 20 without overlapping. That is, the guide section 30 functions as an alignment structure that aligns the medicines M when moving to the first imaging section 20 .

Further, in this embodiment, the guide portion 30 has a wedge-shaped groove portion 34 formed along the transport direction of the medicine M on the surface of the guide body portion 31 . In this embodiment, the wedge-shaped groove is used, but the groove may have a U-shaped cross section or a semi-circular groove.
With such a configuration, the medicine M vibrates in an inclined state during transportation. Therefore, the guide unit 30 transports the medicine M to the first imaging unit 20 while preventing or suppressing the overlapping of the medicines M. It will be done.

In this embodiment, the guide portion 30 has a stepped portion 35 that descends in the transport direction of the medicine M on the transport surface.
With such a configuration, the medicine M vibrates in an inclined state during transportation. Therefore, the guide unit 30 transports the medicine M to the first imaging unit 20 while preventing or suppressing the overlapping of the medicines M. It will be done.

Further, in this embodiment, the guide section 30 has a vibration drive section 32 as a vibration feeder that vibrates the guide body section 31 .
With this configuration, the medicine M moves along the transport path surrounded by the guide main body 31 and the chute guide 33 by vibrating the guide main body 31 .

Further, in this embodiment, the guide section 30 has a chute guide 33 that is detachable and constitutes a side wall of the guide section 30 .
By making the chute guide 33 detachable, when the medicine M drops through the discharge port 12, it can be prevented from coming off the guide part 30 due to unintended splashes, etc. It is possible to prevent falling off.
Furthermore, since the guide body 31 is attached to the guide body 31 by a magnet and can be easily attached and detached, cleaning of the guide body 31 and the chute guide 33 serving as the transport path can be easily performed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a passing sensor 36 is provided as a detection unit between the first photographing unit 20 and the guide unit 30, that is, at the downstream end of the guide unit 30 in the −X direction, which is the conveying direction. ing.
The passage sensor 36 is a detection unit for detecting that the medicine M has moved to the first imaging unit 20 through the guide unit 30. When a predetermined amount, for example, one or more medicines M passes, the control unit The vibration of the vibration drive unit 32 is stopped via 90 .
The passage sensor 36 confirms whether or not the medicine M is moving when it is conveyed from the guide part 30 to the first imaging part 20, and at the same time an excessively large amount of the medicine M is sent to the first imaging part 20. It is possible to prevent problems such as being transported with

This point will be explained in a little more detail. As described above, since the guide section 30 is a vibrating feeder, the medicine M falling from the hopper 10 reaches the first photographing section 20 at a predetermined speed determined by the vibration frequency of the vibrating drive section 32 and the like. .
However, as will be described later, the transfer section 50 is a transfer section that adsorbs and transfers the medicines M one by one, and a certain amount of operation time is required for the operation.
That is, if the guide section 30 conveys a large amount of the medicine M at once, a large amount of the medicine M will be placed on the first imaging section 20, and the medicines will overlap and adhere to each other, causing an image to be captured. There is a concern that it will affect the accuracy of imaging.
Therefore, when the passage sensor 36 detects that the medicine M has been conveyed in a quantity equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, the vibration of the vibration driving section 32 is temporarily limited, and the medicine M is transferred from the guide section 30 to the first photographing section 20 . Temporarily suppresses the movement of the medicine M that moves.
Specifically, for example, when the passage sensor 36 detects that one or more medicines M have passed, the vibration drive unit 32 is temporarily stopped and restarted after the first imaging unit 20 takes an image.
By limiting the amount of medicine M flowing from the guide section 30 to the first imaging section 20 by the passage sensor 36 in this way, the imaging accuracy of the first imaging section 20 can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the first imaging unit 20 includes an imaging stage 21 which is a transparent member, a first illumination device 22 arranged below the imaging stage 21 for illuminating the medicine M, and and a first camera 23 arranged in the .
The imaging stage 21 has a bottom surface 24 and side wall portions 25 formed to surround three directions of the bottom surface 24 excluding the +X direction side to which the guide portion 30 is connected.
As shown in FIG. 5B, the side wall portion 25 includes a first side wall portion 25a that abuts against the bottom surface 24 and stands perpendicularly to the bottom surface 24, and a first side wall portion 25a that is outside the first side wall portion 25a. and a second side wall portion 25b formed to rise from 25a.
The bottom surface 24, the first side wall portion 25a, and the second side wall portion 25b, which constitute the imaging stage 21, are all transparent members molded from a transparent plastic material.
Both the first side wall portion 25a and the second side wall portion 25b of the side wall portion 25 are detachably attached to the bottom surface 24, and it is more desirable to facilitate cleaning.

The first lighting device 22 is a lighting device that irradiates light toward the medicine M placed on the bottom surface 24 from below the bottom surface 24 .
When the medicine M is irradiated with the irradiation light emitted from the first lighting device 22, the position of the medicine M placed on the imaging stage 21 does not transmit the irradiation light. , the position of the drug M placed on the bottom surface 24 is displayed as a shadow as shown in FIG. 5(b).
As described above, the passage sensor 36 limits the number of medicines M that pass through at one time, and the medicines M are transported by vibration so that the medicines M do not overlap when passing through the guide section 30 . Therefore, the medicines M moving on the bottom surface 24 of the imaging stage 21 are likely to be arranged in a scattered state.
When the medicines M are placed on the bottom surface 24, if they are placed in an overlapping state, there is a concern that the shape of the medicines M cannot be accurately determined when the first camera 23 takes an image from above. Therefore, it is desirable that the medicines M are placed on the bottom surface 24 in a state that they are separated from each other.

It is also known that when the medicine M is too close to the side wall, the image recognition may not be successful and the medicine M and the side wall may be recognized as an integral shape. This is because, for example, even if a transparent member is used for the imaging stage 21, it is difficult for light to pass through the side wall portion 25 due to the refractive index and thickness of the transparent member. One reason is that it is easy to misidentify as the part that does not.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the side wall portion 25 has a first side wall portion 25a and a second side wall portion 25b.
With such a configuration, when the first camera 23 takes an image from above, a step is generated between the first side wall portion 25a and the second side wall portion 25b, and the first side wall portion 25a is larger than the case where a single side wall is provided. , the control unit 90 is less likely to confuse the side wall portion 25 with the medicine M. As shown in FIG.
Furthermore, it is more preferable that the rising height of the first side wall portion 25a is lower than the height of the second side wall portion 25b. This is because, in the transparent member, when the light from the first lighting device 22 from below is transmitted, the boundary portion with the drug M, which is the portion that is not transmitted, is more likely to be clearly visible.

As shown in FIG. 6, the transfer unit 50 is a pick-up unit that can move along the XYZ three axes.
As shown in FIG. 7, the transfer unit 50 includes a nozzle 51 supported by the transfer unit 50 and capable of moving up and down, a shutter 52 that opens and closes according to the vertical movement of the transfer unit 50, and a shutter 52 for opening and closing the shutter 52. and a spring 54 as an urging member.
The transfer unit 50 has a Z-axis base plate 55 and a rotary actuator 56 that rotates the nozzle 51 around the Z-axis.
When the operator touches the internal structure of the drug sorting device 100 for maintenance or the like, in other words, when the drug sorting device 100 stops operating, the transfer unit 50 returns to a predetermined standby position and stops operating. .
Such a standby position is desirably above the storage section 60 which is the container mounting section shown in FIG. 1 and the like in this embodiment. This is because the storage unit 60 is arranged on the rear right side when viewed from the front of the housing of the medicine sorting device 100 , so that the operator can easily perform maintenance of the second photographing unit 40 . Further, by setting it to the standby position on the back side, the operator can easily take out the storage container 62 from the front side after sorting the medicines M in the storage container 62 of the storage section 60 as will be described later. also play.

The nozzle 51 is a nozzle for sucking the medicine M by air pressure, and sucks the medicine M by air suction by a pump and by a solenoid valve.
A suction pad 51 a is provided at the tip of the nozzle 51 , and the drug M is sucked while the suction pad 51 a is in contact with the drug M as the transfer section 50 descends.

By lowering the Z-axis base plate 55 and the nozzle 51 integrally, the transfer unit 50 moves the Z-axis base plate 55 downward as shown in FIGS. A rotating bar 53 arranged to obliquely abut against is pushed down.
When the rotating bar 53 is pushed by the Z-axis base plate 55, the shutter 52 functioning as a fall prevention section is split in half at the center and shifted to an open state.
7, the spring 54 urges the rotating bars 53 in a direction in which they pull each other, so that the shutter 52 moves upward as the Z-axis base plate 55 rises as the transfer section 50 rises. It shifts to a closed state as shown in FIG.

Thus, the shutter 52 maintains the closed state when the transfer section 50 is raised, and the shutter 52 is opened when the transfer section 50 is lowered and the nozzle 51 comes into contact with the medicine M placed on the imaging stage 21. It is a mechanism that becomes
Further, since it is biased by the spring 54, the shutter 52 maintains the closed state even when the power is not supplied.
In this manner, the shutter 52, the rotating bar 53, and the spring 54 have a function as a drug drop prevention section that opens and closes following the vertical movement of the transfer section 50. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, the shutter 52 has a mortar-shaped cross section, and is formed so that a central portion 52a directly below the nozzle 51 in the closed state is lower than a peripheral edge portion 52b.
Further, a gently sloped surface is formed between the peripheral edge portion 52b and the central portion 52a. It has a shape that gathers.
Further, in the present embodiment, a cylindrical wall 57 standing upright in the Z-axis direction is provided in the upper portion of the shutter 52 so as to surround the tip portion of the nozzle 51, but the configuration is not limited to this. .

As described above, the shutter 52 in this embodiment is formed such that the three-dimensional shape of the depression in the closed state is a downward truncated cone.
According to this configuration, even if the medicine M falls from the nozzle 51 while the medicine M is being transported, the medicine M is stopped by the shutter 52, and the area near the central part as indicated by the central part 52a is closed. gather inside.

The nozzle 51 is provided with a sliding portion 51b as a play in the downward movement of the nozzle 51 so that the nozzle 51 can move freely in the ±Z directions. When it comes into contact with the medicine M, it can slide up and down by about 20 mm depending on the thickness of the medicine M.
By providing the sliding portion 51b, the nozzle 51 is supported so as to be movable in the Z direction with respect to the transfer portion 50 and the Z-axis base plate 55. As shown in FIG.
Further, the sliding portion 51b and the suction pad 51a prevent an excessive load from being applied to the medicine M even when the transfer portion 50 descends and comes into contact with the medicine M. As shown in FIG.

The spring 54 is a biasing member that is attached to the tip of the rotating bar 53 and biases the rotating bars 53 in a mutually pulling direction so as to close the shutter 52 .

As described above, in the present embodiment, the shutter 52 functions as a holding portion for holding the medicine M by opening and closing the shutter 52 following the descent of the nozzle 51 and the Z-axis base plate 55, thereby functioning as a medicine fall prevention portion. .
However, the configuration is not limited to such a configuration, and any mechanism that opens and closes in conjunction with the vertical movement of the nozzle 51 may be used.

Further, in this embodiment, by providing the sliding portion 51b, the position of the nozzle 51 is supported so as to be adjustable in the vertical direction according to the size of the medicine M. As shown in FIG.
Such a configuration prevents an excessive load from being applied to the medicine M even when the transfer section 50 descends. Similarly, the lower end of the nozzle 51 that contacts the medicine M is provided with a suction pad 51a made of a soft material that is flexible and absorbs impact.

In this embodiment, the shutter 52 maintains a closed state below the nozzle 51 in the Z direction when the nozzle 51 is raised, and operates to open when the nozzle 51 is lowered.
With such a configuration, even if the suction of the nozzle 51 is unintentionally canceled due to a failure or power loss during pickup of the medicine M, the shutter 52 is in a closed state to prevent the medicine M from dropping during transportation.

Further, the shutter 52 is formed so that the central portion 52a directly below the nozzle 51 is lower than the peripheral portion 52b in the closed state.
According to this configuration, even if the medicine M falls from the nozzle 51 while the medicine M is being transported, the medicine M is stopped by the shutter 52, and the area near the central part as indicated by the central part 52a is closed. gather inside.
In this embodiment, the shutter 52 has a mortar-shaped bottom, but the shutter 52 is not limited to such a structure, and may be formed of a normal plate-like member.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the second photographing unit 40 is formed on the discriminating stage 41 by a transparent lens-shaped depression 42 serving as a tablet discriminating unit and two rollers 43a and 43b. and a capsule discrimination unit 43 .
The second photographing unit 40 includes a ring-shaped illumination device 44 arranged on the +Z direction side of the discrimination stage 41, and a bar-shaped illumination device 44 formed on the −Z direction side of the discrimination stage 41 so as to surround the depression 42 in three directions. and a lighting device 45 .
The second imaging unit 40 has, as two imaging devices, a second camera 46 attached on the +Z direction side and a third camera 47 attached on the -Z direction side.
The second photographing unit 40 also has a light source 48 which is an illumination device for character discrimination attached near the second camera 46 and illuminates the discrimination stage 41, and a light source which is an illumination device attached near the third camera 47. 49 and .
Each of the light sources 48 and 49 is a ring-shaped lighting device with an opening in the center.

The recessed portion 42 is a transparent portion that transmits light and has a downwardly convex recessed portion in order to arrange the medicine M and perform imaging from above and below. First, it is sucked by the transfer section 50 and conveyed to the recess section 42 .
When the placed medicine M is mainly a tablet, the recessed portion 42 is formed from the information written on the surface of the medicine M using the second camera 46 and the third camera 47 from above and below and the shape information. It functions as a tablet discriminating unit that discriminates tablets.
In this way, by photographing the medicine M from above and below, it is possible to secure two photographed images Q of both the front surface and the back surface regardless of the direction in which the medicine M is placed.
In the present embodiment, the type of tablet is determined by image analysis of the symbols and engravings written on the upper and lower surfaces of the medicine M placed in the recess 42 .

As shown in FIG. 12, the discriminating stage 41 is provided with a gap, and a recess member 420 that forms the bottom surface of the recess portion 42 by being inserted into the gap can be inserted and removed from the side of the stage. attached to the
The recessed member 420 is a substantially plate-like transparent slide member having a transparent plate-like portion 42a forming a bottom surface and a grip portion 42b extending from the plate-like portion 42a.
A downward convex recess is formed in a portion of the plate-like portion 42a corresponding to the opening formed in the discrimination stage 41, and when the recess member 420 is attached to the discrimination stage 41, the recess is discriminated. A depression 42 is formed with the opening of the stage 41 .
Since the plate-like portion 42a of the depression member 420 is entirely transparent, when the depression member 420 is attached as shown in FIG. 11, the drug M placed on the depression portion 42 can be photographed from below.

In this embodiment, a magnet 421 is provided at the tip of the plate-like portion 42a in the mounting direction. 420 is loosely positioned.
In this way, by providing the magnet 421, which is a ferromagnetic positioning portion, at the tip of the plate-like portion 42a in the mounting direction, the depression member 420, when mounted on the discriminating stage 41, has a gap between the opening and the depression. The positions are positioned to match.
Further, since the magnet 421 is a magnet, it is possible to improve the positioning accuracy and to easily attach and detach the recessed member 420 while preventing an increase in the number of parts such as screws and fixing members.

Conversely, since the recessed member 420 is only detachably supported by the determination stage 41, the second camera 46 and the third camera 47 can detect dirt on the recessed portion 42 due to, for example, fragments of the medicine M or dust. If it adversely affects image capturing, it can be removed by inserting and removing it in the X direction for cleaning.

Thus, by making the recess member 420 that forms the bottom of the recess 42 detachable, the operation of the medicine sorting apparatus 100 can be improved with improved maintainability even when a large number of medicines M must be continuously sorted. Stop time can be shortened as much as possible.
In addition, it is possible to suppress deterioration of discrimination performance due to dirt on the recessed portion 42 or the like.
Further, since the recessed member 420 can be inserted and removed from the side of the discrimination stage 41 in the X direction, the positions of the mounting table, the ring-shaped illumination device 44, the bar-shaped illumination device 45, the capsule discrimination section 43, etc. near the discrimination stage 41 can be adjusted. The recess 42 in which the tablet rests can be easily cleaned without affecting the relationship.
Recessed member 420 that can be inserted and removed from the side contributes to improved cleaning and maintainability compared to simply forming recessed portion 42 as a detachable unit, but is not limited to such a configuration. do not have.

In the present embodiment, the transparent plate-like portion 42a forming the bottom surface and the grip portion 42b extending from the plate-like portion 42a have a width in the Y direction greater than the diameter of the recessed portion 42, respectively. It is desirable that the height of the gripping portion 42b is one size larger or about the same. It is preferable that the height is such that it protrudes to the extent that it can be properly pinched.
Furthermore, since the length of the plate-like portion 42a in the X direction is proportional to the length of the movement distance during insertion and removal, the shorter the length, the easier the attachment and detachment. There is a possibility that the shadow of 42b will be cast and the determination result of the medicine M will be affected.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the length Lx of the plate-like portion 42a in the X direction is set to be longer than the radius r of the ring-shaped illumination device 44, as shown in FIG. With such a configuration, the grasping portion 42b is always positioned outside the ring-shaped illumination device 44 when the recessed member 420 shown in FIG.
In order to further reduce the optical influence of the gripping portion 42b, the gripping portion 42b and the plate-like portion 42a may be integrally formed of a transparent material. Such a configuration is also effective in reducing manufacturing costs.

In addition, the capsule discrimination section 43 is a rotation photographing section for supporting and rotating the medicine M by two rollers 43a and 43b and photographing the medicine M from the +Z direction side.
In this embodiment, the roller 43a is an aluminum cylindrical rotating body, and the roller 43b is a rubber cylindrical rotating body.
The capsule discriminating unit 43 photographs the drug M placed on the boundary portion where the rollers 43a and 43b are in contact with each other with the second camera 46 arranged on the upper side.

As shown in FIG. 13, the storage unit 60 includes holders 61 arranged in 6×8 rows, a storage container 62 held by the holders 61, a drawable mounting table 63, and a mounting table. and a placement sensor 64 for detecting whether the holder 61 is correctly placed.
On both sides of the storage section 60, there are full load sensors 65 as line sensors mounted above the upper end portion of the storage container 62. As shown in FIG.
The holder 61 has an identification information display portion 66 as a number display plate indicating the position of the storage container 62 .

In this embodiment, the storage container 62 is a plastic container with a lid, and is detachably attached to the holder 61 with the lid removed.
The identification information display portion 66 is a number display plate indicating the position of the storage container 62 on the mounting table 63 in this embodiment. The identification information display unit 66 is not limited to such a configuration, and displays the identification information and the like of the medicine M determined by the second imaging unit 40 according to an instruction from a display device capable of storing and displaying the information or the control unit 90. It may be a display device capable of changing displayed characters, bar codes, and other display information.

The mounting table 63 is a drawable base on which a mounting sensor 64 and an LED 67 are attached.
As shown in FIG. 14 , the mounting table 63 can be pulled out to such an extent that the holder 61 placed thereon when pulled out from the medicine sorting device 100 to the maximum extent comes out of the housing portion of the medicine sorting device 100 . In this embodiment, the stroke amount is set to about 555 mm when the length in the Y direction, which is the pull-out direction of the mounting table 63, is 505 mm.
Such a stroke amount is positioned below the mounting table 63 and is more preferably set smaller than the stroke amount of the work table 110 that can be pulled out.
In this way, by making it possible to pull out the work table 110 larger than the mounting table 63, even when the mounting table 63 is pulled out and the holder 61 is taken out as shown in FIG. Workbench 110 can be used as a

The placement sensor 64 detects whether the position where the holder 61 should be placed matches the position where the holder 61 is actually placed, based on the identification information read by the reading means 70 . It is a detection means to do.
The placement sensor 64 is, for example, a sensor attached to all positions of 6×8 rows, and is a light shielding sensor that detects whether or not the holder 61 is placed based on the presence or absence of light shielding.
When the control unit 90 sets the holder 61A having a bar code A displayed on the identification information display unit 66 so that the holder 61A is placed at a specific position 1A, the LED 67 is turned green when the holder 61A is installed at the correct position 1A. , and the LED 67 is lit in red when it is attached to any other position.
At a position facing the LED 67 of the holder 61, a cylindrical transparent portion 68 extending in the Z direction is provided so as to transmit the light of the LED 67, and the light of the LED 67 is transmitted or diffused to the operator. Light it up so you can see it.

A full load sensor 65 is provided along at least one side of the storage section 60 to detect that the drug M placed in the storage container 62 has exceeded the upper end of the storage container 62. It functions as a full load detector provided along the side extending in the direction.
The full load sensor 65 detects when the drug M held in the storage container 62 exceeds the capacity or is held so as to protrude from the storage container 62 due to its shape, and indicates that the drug is full. is notified to the user via the control unit 90 .
With such a full load sensor 65, even if the later-described storage rate is within the standard, a warning can be issued when the drug M transferred into the storage container 62 protrudes from the top of the storage container 62. It is possible to prevent M from falling out of the container due to overloading.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 16 , three recovery containers 69 for recovering the medicine M are provided outside the mounting table 63 and in the middle of the path along which the transfer section 50 moves. A first collection container 691, a second collection container 692, and a third collection container 693 are arranged.
The first recovery container 691 is an unknown recovery container for recovering medicines M that could not be determined by the second imaging unit 40, and has a capacity of about 210 ml.
The second recovery container 692 is a recovery container for recovering the drug M divided into half tablets and the missing drug M, and has the same outer shape as the first recovery container 691 .
The third recovery container 693 is a capsule recovery container for recovering capsule-shaped drugs M, and has the same outer shape as the first recovery container 691 .

16 and 17 respectively show a configuration example in which three collection containers 69 are arranged side by side and the operation of the mounting sensor 64 for detecting the mounting of each collection container 69. As shown in FIG. .
To simplify the explanation, the same numbering as the mounting sensor 64 and the full load sensor 65 on the mounting table 63 will be used to describe each operation. However, it is not limited to such a configuration.

An example of the configuration and operation of the placement sensor 64 will be described with reference to FIG.
The placement sensor 64 includes a rotating member 641 , a rotating shaft 643 serving as a central shaft for rotating the rotating member 641 , a photosensor 645 serving as a sensor body, and light such as infrared light incident on the reading unit 645 . and a shielding portion 644 that shields the .
When the collection container 69 is placed, the collection container 69 presses the tip portion 642 of the rotating member 641 , thereby rotating the rotating member 641 about the rotating shaft 643 .
Due to such rotation, the shielding portion 644 attached on the opposite side of the tip portion 642 shields the photosensor 645 , so that the placement sensor 64 detects whether or not the collection container 69 is placed on the rotating member 641 . can be detected.

Further, the transfer unit 50 transfers the drug M being transferred to the recovery container 69 when the drug M to be transferred satisfies a predetermined condition.
Specifically, the medicines M that could not be determined by the second imaging unit 40 are put into the first collection container 691, and the medicines M that are divided into half tablets or missing medicines as a result of the shape determination by the second imaging unit 40 are collected. M is transferred to the second collection container 692, and the capsule-shaped drug M is transferred to the third collection container 693, respectively.

By using these collection containers 69, even if it cannot be stored in the storage container 62, it can be collected into one of the first collection container 691, the second collection container 692, and the third collection container 693, so that the medicine can be sorted. Reduce downtime of the device 100 .

1 and the like, these collection containers 69 are arranged in the middle of the transfer route from the second photographing section 40 to the mounting table 63. As shown in FIG.
According to this configuration, as will be described later, the transfer unit 50 transfers the medicines M that can be sorted on the mounting table 63, and even if the determination result is obtained during the movement of the transfer unit 50, the collection container is returned during the transfer. 69 can be easily modified. Therefore, it is possible to start the operation of the transfer section 50 without waiting for the determination in the second imaging section 40, which contributes to speeding up the transfer.

The control unit 90 is a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), main memory (MEM-P), HD (Hard Disk), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), PCI bus, network I/F, and the like. Note that the configuration is not limited to such a configuration, and any computer that is mounted on a so-called control board and can control programmed operations may be used.
In this embodiment, the control unit 90 is described as an information processing unit provided inside the medicine sorting apparatus 100, but it may be an information processing terminal provided separately as long as the medicine sorting software can be operated. .
When the control unit 90 is separately provided in this way, it is preferable to connect the control unit 90, which is an information processing terminal, and the drug sorting device 100 via a network.
Also, the control unit 90 may be implemented as a part of the functions of a higher-level device that manages hospital-adopted medicines and inventory information, for example.
As shown in FIG. 18, the control unit 90 includes a shape determination unit 91 that determines the shape of the medicine M mainly from the image captured by the first imaging unit 20, and and an image recognition unit 92 for determining M.
The control unit 90 also includes a position determination unit 93 for determining the placement position of the holder 61 read by the reading means 70, and for each holder 61 and storage container 62, the volume of the drug M and the volume of the storage container 62. and a accommodation rate calculation unit 94 that calculates the accommodation rate from the
The control unit 90 also has a touch panel 95 functioning as operation means having a user interface for operating each part of the control part 90 and display means for displaying information from each part to the operator.
Although the medicine sorting apparatus 100 has the touch panel 95 attached to the main body, it is not limited to such a configuration. Further, instead of the touch panel, a display means such as a normal liquid crystal monitor or an organic EL monitor may be combined with an operation means such as a mouse or a keyboard.

The shape determination section 91 is a determination section for determining the size and shape of the medicine M based on the image captured by the first imaging section 20 or the second imaging section 40 .
The shape determination unit 91 has a function as a determination unit that determines whether the image is captured using the depression 42 or the capsule determination unit 43 by determining the shape of the medicine M.
The image recognition section 92 determines the type of the medicine M based on the image captured by the second imaging section 40 . Specifically, pattern matching is performed using the stamps and character information written on the surface of the drug M, the size of the drug M, etc., from the image captured by the recess 42 or the capsule discrimination section 43, and the type of the drug M is determined. identify.
The position determination unit 93 determines the position of the holder 61 to which the medicine M is to be transported from the position of the holder 61 read by the reading means 70 and the type of the medicine M determined by the image recognition unit 92 .
The storage rate calculation unit 94 uses the previously known volume of the storage container 62, the volume of the medicines M registered in the database, and the number of medicines M transferred to the storage container 62 by the transfer unit 50. to calculate the accommodation rate for each storage container 62 .

The operation of putting medicines M into the hopper 10 of the medicine sorting apparatus 100 and determining the medicines M will be described with reference to FIG. 19 . FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the medicine sorting device 100 in this embodiment.
First, when the medicines M are put into the hopper 10 from the inlet 11 (step S101), the medicines M are sequentially discharged from the outlet 12 to the guide section 30. As shown in FIG.
In the guide part 30, the medicines M are aligned and conveyed while being prevented from overlapping each other by the shapes of the vibration driving part 32 and the guide main body part 31, as described above (step S102).
The medicine M is transported onto the bottom surface 24 of the first photographing unit 20 in a state in which overlapping is minimized, and the first image is photographed by the first camera 23 (step S103).
Thus, the first camera 23 functions as an imaging device for capturing an image in the first imaging section 20 .
The shape determination unit 91 determines whether the medicine M is a capsule or a tablet based on the first image captured in step S103 and the size and shape information of the medicine M (step S104).

In step S104, when it is determined that the medicine M is a capsule, the transfer unit 50 moves to the center position of the medicine M determined from the first image, lowers the nozzle 51, and separates the suction pad 51a and the medicine M. abut.
The transfer unit 50 sucks and holds the medicine M by sucking air from the nozzle 51 , and uses the rotary actuator 56 to make the longitudinal direction of the medicine M parallel to the axial direction of the rollers 43 a and 43 b of the capsule discrimination unit 43 . (Step S105), and transferred to the recess 42 (Step S106).
At this time, since the shape determination unit 91 determines that the medicine M is a capsule from the shape of the medicine M, the transport unit 50 may directly transport the medicine M to the capsule determination unit 43, but erroneous detection is prevented. From the point of view of the above, it is most preferable to transfer to the recessed portion 42 once.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S104 that the medicine M is a tablet, the transfer unit 50 brings the suction pad 51a and the medicine M into contact with each other, sucks the medicine M, and transfers the medicine to the recess 42 (step S106).
The drug M placed in the recess 42 is photographed from above and below by the second camera 46 and the third camera 47 (step S107).
At the time of such photographing, first, a second camera 46 and a third camera 47 are photographed using a light source 48 and a light source 49, which are ring-shaped illumination devices for character information discrimination, arranged in the specular reflection area. image.
Since the second image is captured with so-called high-angle illumination, the color, shape, and character information printed on the surface of the medicine M can be detected relatively easily.
Next, a third image of the diffusely reflected light captured by the ring-shaped illumination device 44 and the bar-shaped illumination device 45 for discriminating engraving information placed in the diffuse reflection area for the second camera 46 and the third camera 47. to shoot.
Since the third image is captured with so-called low-angle illumination, edge portions formed on the surface of the medicine M, including the marking information, can be detected relatively easily.
Thus, in step S107, two images with different lighting conditions are photographed on both the upper and lower surfaces, respectively, so that the medicine M can be determined more accurately.

Based on the image captured in step S107, the image recognition unit 92 determines the type of the drug M' that is likely to match the drug M from the previously acquired master data of the hospital-adopted drug by pattern matching ( step S108).
In step S108, if a drug M' that matches the drug M is found, the image recognition unit 92 determines that the drug M is the drug M'.
At the same time, the image recognition unit 92 confirms whether or not the medicine M is a capsule (step S120).
When the image recognition unit 92 finds that the medicine M is a tablet and matches the medicine M', the position determining unit 93 determines the positions of the storage container 62 and the holder 61 to which the medicine M is to be transported (step S109). The medicine M is adsorbed again by the transfer section 50, transferred by the transfer section 50 to the position determined in step S109, and stored in the storage container 62 (step S110).
It should be noted that in steps S108 and S120, if the determined medicine M is a capsule, the medicine M is transported to the capsule determining part 43 by the transporting part 50 (step S121).
In the capsule discriminating section 43, the rollers 43a and 43b are rotated and the medicine M is driven to rotate. An image while rotating is captured by the second camera 46 (step S122), and the image recognition unit 92 determines characters written on the surface of the capsule based on the image (step S123).

Here, the photographing means used in the capsule discriminating section 43 used the second camera 46 arranged above. Similarly, as for illumination means, the light sources 48 and 49 for high-angle illumination may be used, or the ring-shaped illumination device 44 for low-angle illumination may be used.
Further, for example, when the printed information of the capsule placed on the capsule discriminating unit 43 is printed along the longitudinal direction of the capsule, the image recognition unit 92 takes a plurality of photographs to detect the printed information. The image is preferentially used to read printed information.
On the other hand, when the print information of the capsule placed on the capsule discriminating section 43 is printed along the circumferential direction of the capsule, printing is performed by connecting a plurality of photographs of the rotating medicine M in a panorama form. You can read the information.
In addition, if only a part of the printed information of the drug M can be compared with the master data, the type of the drug M can be confirmed by photographing one image and performing pattern matching on the image. good.
As described above, the image recognition section 92 can change the imaging method according to the orientation of the printed information on the capsule placed on the capsule discrimination section 43 .
Note that the printed information on the medicine M in this embodiment may include, for example, a two-dimensional code such as a bar code or a QR code (registered trademark) in addition to the character information printed on the medicine M.

When the printed information is read in step S123 and it is determined that the medicine M is the medicine M', the position determination unit 93 determines the transfer destination of the medicine M, and the transfer unit 50 transfers the medicine M (step S110).
Since the transfer at this time is the same when the medicine M is a tablet, the same numbers are attached and the explanation is omitted.

In step S110, when the transfer unit 50 can recognize the transfer destination, that is, when it can confirm that the medicine M is the medicine M1, the positioning unit 93 associates the medicine M with the medicine M1 as described above. to the holder 61A and the storage container 62A held by the holder 61A.
In other words, the transfer unit 50 transfers the medicine M to a predetermined storage container 62A in which it should be placed.
After being transferred, the control unit 90 causes the identification information display unit 66 of the holder 61A corresponding to the storage container 62A to display the medicine M1 and/or the bar code A, thereby sorting the medicine by the medicine sorting device 100. It is possible to facilitate storage of the medicine M after the treatment.
In addition, on the user interface that can be operated on the touch panel 95, it is displayed that the medicine M1 is placed in the storage container 62A.

By the way, even when the medicine M is not a hospital-adopted medicine, or when no medicine matching the medicine M is found in the image recognition part 92 (No in step S108), the position determining part 93 determines the destination of the medicine M. must be determined.
At this time, the medicine sorting apparatus 100 transfers the medicine M to the first collection container 691 of the collection containers 69 (step S131).

In this case, the first recovery container 691 corresponds to the “predetermined container to be placed” for the unknown medicine M, and the fact that “there was no medicine determined from the image in the second imaging unit 40” in step S108 is “ As a "predetermined condition", the transfer unit 50 transfers the medicine M to a predetermined first collection container 691 in which it should be placed.
In this way, regardless of whether the determination has been made or not, the transfer unit 50 transfers the medicine M to the predetermined container in which the medicine M determined by the position determination unit 93 should be placed.

Alternatively, even if the medicine M is identified, it may be transferred to the collection container 69 on the condition that all the storage containers 62A to 62Z are fully loaded in FIG. 20, which will be described later. In this way, when the drugs cannot be sorted and become full, they are transferred to the collection container 69, so that even when a large amount of drugs are to be sorted, the storage container 62 is emptied again, set again, and collected as described later. This is because the medicines can be automatically sorted again by putting the medicines in the container 69 again according to step S101.
In this case, in the medicine sorting apparatus 100, the transfer unit 50 transfers the drug to the collection container 69 "on condition that all the storage containers 62A to 62Z are fully loaded".

The storage rate calculation unit 94 calculates the storage rate of the storage container 62 based on the volume of the storage container 62 and the volume and number of the transferred medicines M, and displays each storage container 62 on the touch panel 95 as shown in FIG. is displayed in
Also, the names of medicines M1, M2, .
Further, the judgment result R may be displayed together with the image Q used by the image recognition section 92 regarding the judgment result of the medicine M being transferred by the transfer section 50 .

The storage rate calculated by the storage rate calculation unit 94 is an index of how much the medicine M occupies the storage container 62 . Here, if the type of the medicine M put in the storage container 62 is clear, the control unit 90 can easily read the volume of the medicine M from the medicine database stored in advance.
However, as for the first collection container 691, which is treated as a collection container, the type of the drug M contained therein could not be clearly read.
That is, although the number of medicines M is known, the volume is unknown.
In such a case, assuming that the medicine of the largest size is stored in the database of medicines registered in advance, the accommodation rate calculation unit 94 calculates the number of medicines M and the number of registered medicines. It is most preferable to calculate the accommodation rate based on the maximum volume among the above.

If it is determined that the drug is a capsule in step S120 and the drug cannot be determined in step S123 (No in step S123), the drug M is transferred to the third recovery container 693, which is a recovery container for capsules. (step S132).
In this case, the third collection container 693 corresponds to the “predetermined container to be placed” for the unknown drug M, and the “predetermined condition”, the transfer unit 50 transfers the medicine M to the predetermined third collection container 693 in which it should be placed.

Further, a step of determining whether the medicine M is missing may be added after step S108.
In that case, on the condition that the defect is detected in the defect determination step, the transfer unit 50 transfers the medicine M to the second collection container 692, which is a collection container for defect, in which the medicine M should be placed. .

As described above, in the present embodiment, the transfer unit 50 transfers the medicine M to the collection container when the medicine M satisfies a predetermined condition.
According to such a configuration, even when sorting a large amount of medicines, it is possible to reduce the time and effort required for maintenance and to reduce downtime.

Furthermore, as already described, in the present embodiment, the shutter 52 is formed such that the three-dimensional shape of the depression in the closed state is a downward truncated cone.
According to this configuration, even if the medicine M falls from the nozzle 51 while the medicine M is being transported, the medicine M is stopped by the shutter 52, and the area near the central part as indicated by the central part 52a is closed. gather inside. According to such a configuration, even when the transfer unit 50 detects the drop of the medicine M while the medicine M is being transferred, the shutter 52 is opened above any one of the collection containers 69 (for example, above the first collection container 691). The open state prevents the medicines M from falling from the vicinity of the central part, thereby preventing an accident in which the medicines fall outside the transfer route of the medicine sorting device 100. - 特許庁

When the above operation is repeated for all the medicines M loaded into the hopper 10 and sorted for the loaded medicines M, the medicines M are sorted into the respective storage containers 62 regardless of whether they are sorting containers or collection containers. state. At this time, the identification information of the medicines M stored in the storage container 62 is individually displayed as a bar code on the identification information display portion 66 of the holder 61 sorted to the sorting container side.
In the transfer of the transfer unit 50 in step S110, in the normal mode, for example, 39 types of drugs are sorted. wait for instructions from

When the operator looks at the display on the touch panel 95 and handles drugs M of a type exceeding the number of sorting containers, the operator pulls out the mounting table 63 as shown in FIG. The sorted holders 61 and storage containers 62 are taken out (step S201).
In this embodiment, only the replenishing operation when the number of types of medicines M exceeds the number of sorting containers will be described. When the calculated storage rate of the container 62 satisfies the condition of a predetermined percentage (for example, 90% or more), the holder 61 is similarly taken out and the empty storage container 62 is replenished.
When the holder 61 is taken out in step S201, the placement sensor 64 detects that the holder 61 has been taken out, and the light of the LED 67 is displayed in red.
The operator takes out the storage container 62 attached to the holder 61 together with the drug M inside. At this time, for example, the identification information display portion 66 of the holder 61 taken out is read by the reading means 70 (step S202), and the identification information of the medicine M printed by the printing means 80, the name of the medicine, etc. are pasted on the storage container 62. (Step S203).
In this way, the storage container 62 containing the medicine M taken out from the holder 61 is attached with the identification information of the medicine M and the name of the medicine, is attached with a lid, and is stored in another storage place such as a dispensing shelf. (Step S204).

A new storage container 62 is attached to the removed holder 61, and registration is performed by causing the reading means 70 to read the identification information display portion 66 of the removed holder 61 (step S205).
When the registration action is performed in step S205, the control unit 90 displays a display on the touch panel 95 to place the holder 61 at the last removed position based on the signal from the placement sensor 64 (step S206). .
In this way, steps S201 to S206 are sequentially repeated for a required number of times for one holder 61, so that a specified number of holders 61 newly provided with empty storage containers 62 are set in the medicine sorting apparatus 100. FIG.
Note that when the holder 61 is set in the drug sorting device 100 without performing the registration action by the reading means 70 as shown in step S205, the drug sorting device 100 does not identify the holder 61 as a refillable container. .
This is because it is preferable that the registration action and the replenishment of the empty container be performed as a set in order for the operator to manually confirm the sorting of the medicines M one by one.

Further, in this embodiment, a touch panel 95 for displaying the storage rate of the storage container 62 is provided. With such a configuration, the operator can visually grasp which storage container 62 is full, which facilitates replacement with an empty storage container 62 .

Further, in this embodiment, the storage rate calculation unit 94 calculates the storage rate in the sorting container based on the quantity of the medicines M and the volume of the specified medicines M, and calculates the storage rate in the collection container based on the volume of the medicines M It is calculated based on the quantity and the volume of the drug with the largest volume among the pre-registered drugs.
In this way, by performing calculations on the assumption that the maximum value of the volume in the collection container is the volume of the medicine M, it is possible to prevent the medicine M from being excessively put into the collection container, and to sort the medicine M. Accidents such as dropping into the device 100 can be prevented.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the collection container 69 has a full load sensor 65 .
According to such a configuration, when the collection container 69 is full, the notification from the full sensor 65 indicates that it is full, so the operator is urged to quickly replace the collection container 69 with an empty one. be able to.

Further, in this embodiment, the storage container 62 is held by a holder 61 that holds the storage container 62 on the mounting table 63, and the holder 61 is provided with a touch panel 95 as display means capable of displaying identification information of the specified drug. It is
With such a configuration, even when the holder 61 containing the medicine M and the storage container 62 are collected, confirmation can be easily performed by the identification information display portion 66 .
Further, in this embodiment, there are reading means 70 for reading the identification information of the medicine displayed on the identification information display section 66 and printing means 80 for printing the information of the medicine M read by the reading means 70 . Here, the identification information is specifically the drug name of the drug M and drug information such as a bar code A indicating that the drug is such a drug.
By attaching the identification information output from the printing means 80 to the storage container 62 taken out, the storage container 62 taken out from the holder 61 can be easily managed.

Further, in this embodiment, on condition that the identification information display portion 66 is read by the reading means 70, the control portion 90 can confirm the position of the holder 61 when the holder 61 is returned to the mounting table 63 again. .
Specifically, when the holder 61 is set in the medicine sorting device 100 without performing the registration action by the reading means 70 as shown in step S205, the medicine sorting device 100 treats the holder 61 as a refillable container. indicates that it does not discriminate.
In order for the operator to confirm the sorting of the medicines M one by one, it is preferable that the registration action and the replenishment of empty containers be performed as a set.
Further, the mounting table 63 detects the position of the holder 61 by detecting whether or not the light is blocked by the mounting sensor 64 .

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above-described embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the claims.
For example, the display of the identification information display unit 66 may be updated at the timing when the medicines are transferred by the transfer unit 50, or at the timing when all the medicines have been sorted.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the second imaging unit 40 has a depression 42 formed in the determination stage 41 constituting the second imaging unit 40 so as to arrange the medicine M and perform imaging from above and below. A recessed member 420 forming the bottom surface of the recessed portion 42 is detachable.
With such a configuration, there is an effect that the portion on which the tablets are placed can be easily cleaned.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the recessed member 420 is a substantially plate-like member having the plate-like portion 42a and the grip portion 42b, but is not limited to such a configuration. A member that can remove only the portion that constitutes the recessed portion 42 may be used.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to easily clean the portion where the tablets are placed, which contributes to improvement of accuracy in image determination and improvement of maintainability.

Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the magnet 421 is attached to the tip of the plate-like portion 42a of the recessed member 420 in the mounting direction has been described, but the configuration is not limited to this, and the positioning of the recessed member 420 is not limited to this. If possible, fixing members such as screws and fasteners may be used.
According to such a configuration, accurate positioning can be performed at the time of attachment and detachment.

10 reservoir (hopper)
11 inlet 12 outlet 20 first imaging unit 21 transparent member 23 first camera (imaging device)
25 side wall portion 25a first side wall portion 25b second side wall portions 30, 31, 32 alignment structure (guide portion)
33 guide wall (chute guide)
34 Groove 35 Step 36 Passing sensor Detection unit 40 Second imaging unit 43 Rotating imaging unit 43a, 43b Roller 50 Transfer unit 51 Holding unit (nozzle)
52 drug drop prevention unit (shutter)
53 drug drop prevention part (rotating bar)
54 drug drop prevention part (spring)
60 Container placement section (storage section)
69 collection container 92 determination unit (shape determination unit)
100 Medicine sorting device 110 Workbench-X Conveying direction

Claims (11)

a reservoir having an inlet into which a plurality of drugs are mixed and an outlet through which the drugs are discharged;
a first photographing unit for judging the shape of the drug from the photographed image;
a guide portion arranged below the discharge port of the storage portion and conveying the drug to the first imaging portion;
a second imaging unit for determining the type of the drug from the captured image;
a transport unit that holds and transports the drugs one by one;
has
A drug sorting device that identifies the type of the drug based on the image captured by the second imaging unit, and that the transfer unit transfers the drug to a predetermined container in which the drug is to be placed,
Having a container placement section on which the plurality of predetermined containers are arranged,
At least one recovery container for recovering the drug when the drug satisfies a predetermined condition is arranged on the path along which the transfer section moves between the container placement section and the second imaging section. A drug sorting device characterized by: The drug sorting device of claim 1,
The drug sorting apparatus, wherein the transfer section includes a holding section that holds the drugs, and a drug fall prevention section that opens and closes in response to vertical movement of the holding section. In the drug sorting device according to claim 2,
The medicine sorting apparatus, wherein the transfer unit transfers the medicine to the collection container under the predetermined condition that the medicine has fallen into the medicine drop prevention part. 4. The medicine sorting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the medicine fall prevention part has a central part directly below the holding part in the closed state of opening and closing, which is lower than the peripheral part. . The drug sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A medicine sorting apparatus, wherein the medicine is transferred to the collection container under the predetermined condition that the kind of the medicine cannot be determined by the second imaging unit. The drug sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A medicine sorting apparatus, wherein the medicine is transferred to the collection container under the predetermined condition that the medicine is determined to be a capsule or a defect in the second imaging unit. A drug sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The second imaging unit has a depression on a stage constituting the second imaging unit, in which a depression is formed for placing the drug and performing imaging from above and below,
A drug sorting device, wherein a recess member forming a bottom surface of the recess is detachable. The drug sorting device according to claim 7,
The drug sorting device, wherein the recessed member can be inserted and removed from the side of the stage that constitutes the second imaging section. In the drug sorting device according to claim 7 or 8,
The medicine sorting device, wherein the recessed member has a transparent plate-like portion forming the bottom surface and a grip portion extending from the plate-like portion. The drug sorting device according to claim 9,
A drug sorting device, wherein a magnet is attached to a tip of the plate-like portion of the recessed member in the mounting direction. A drug sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The standby position where the transfer unit waits when the operation of the medicine sorting device is stopped is
A drug sorting device located above the container placement section.

Images