JP2022187001A - Medicine transportation mechanism and medicine taking out method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medicine dispensing device that provides advantages such as enabling prompt delivery of different types of a plurality of medicine sheets.

SOLUTION: A medicine transportation mechanism includes: a cassette shelf 1011 in which a plurality of medicine storage cassettes 1 for storing a PTP sheet 100 are disposed; a cassette transportation part 2 for executing a motion of taking the medicine storage cassette 1 out from the cassette shelf 1011 and transporting the medicine storage cassette to a plurality of delivery parts 3 and a motion of returning the medicine storage cassette 1 on the delivery part 3 to the cassette shelf 1011; a dispensing operation part 110 for taking the PTP sheet 100 out from the medicine storage cassette 1 transported to the delivery part 3 and putting the taken-out PTP sheet 100 out from a medicine sheet outlet part 1120; and a tray moving part 5 (500) for moving a medicine tray T so that the medicine tray T receives the PTP sheet 100 taken out from the medicine sheet outlet part 1120 of the dispensing operation part 110.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

COPYRIGHT: (C)2023,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a medicine dispensing device for dispensing medicine sheets such as PTP (Press Through Package) sheets and blister packaging sheets.

A drug dispensing device for dispensing drug sheets has a large number of drug storage cassettes that store drug sheets for each drug, and dispenses the required number of drug sheets from a drug storage cassette selected based on input prescription data. It is designed to be put out. As such a drug dispensing device, there is a drug dispensing device disclosed in Patent Document 1.

The drug delivery device disclosed in Patent Document 1 accommodates a device main body and a plurality of drug sheets in which drugs are individually packaged in an overlapping state, and is attached to the device main body so that the overlapping direction of the drug sheets is horizontal. a drug storage cassette provided movably in the apparatus main body, a dispensing member that moves to the drug storage cassette, dispenses the stored drug sheet, cuts the fractional portion as necessary, and then dispenses it; and a grasping member that grasps and conveys the medicine sheet dispensed by the member.

JP 2011-41789 A

However, in the above-described conventional medicine dispensing device, since the moving unit in the cassette transporting section is provided with the dispensing member, the moving unit becomes heavy, and there are problems such as increased strength, accuracy, and cost in the cassette transporting section. rice field. Further, since the dispensing member is moved to the medicine storage cassette, and the dispensing member dispenses the medicine sheets in the medicine storage cassette, a plurality of medicine sheets of different types specified by the prescription data are dispensed. However, it has the drawback of increasing the total time required for

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention can solve problems such as increases in strength, accuracy and cost in the cassette transport section, and also shortens the total time required to dispense a plurality of different types of drug sheets. To provide a medicine dispensing device which can obtain advantages such as easiness to administer.

A drug delivery device of the present invention comprises a cassette shelf on which a plurality of drug storage cassettes containing drug sheets are arranged, an operation of taking out the drug storage cassette from the cassette shelf and conveying it to a delivery section, and a drug on the delivery section. A cassette conveying unit that executes an operation of returning the storage cassette to the cassette shelf, a dispensing operation unit that takes out the medicine sheet from the medicine storage cassette transported to the delivery unit and ejects the taken out medicine sheet, and the dispensing operation. and a tray moving unit for moving the medicine tray so that the medicine tray receives the medicine sheet taken out from the unit.

With the above configuration, the cassette conveying section does not need to be provided with the dispensing operation section, which tends to be heavy, so that problems such as increased strength, accuracy, and cost increase in the cassette conveying section can be resolved. In addition, since the weight of the cassette conveying portion can be reduced, the movement speed of the drug storage cassette can be increased, and the total time required to dispense a plurality of different types of drug sheets can be easily shortened. become.

A plurality of delivery units may be provided. According to this, the cassette conveying section can immediately start taking out the second drug containing cassette to the cassette rack after delivering the first taken out drug containing cassette to one delivery section. can. Then, with respect to the first medicine containing cassette, the dispensing operation section can take out the medicine sheet from the medicine containing cassette in parallel with the moving operation of the cassette conveying section. This facilitates shortening the total time required to dispense multiple drug sheets of different types.

A plurality of delivery units are provided for one dispensing operation unit, and each delivery unit moves between the delivery position of the medicine containing cassette and the dispensing position of the medicine sheet, or the dispensing operation unit You may move between several delivery parts. According to this, it is possible to provide a medicine dispensing device of a type in which the number of dispensing operation units is less than the number of delivery units.

A plurality of payout operation units may be provided. When a plurality of dispensing operation units are provided, the process of dispensing medicine sheets from a plurality of medicine storage cassettes can be performed in parallel, so the total time required for dispensing a plurality of different types of medicine sheets is can be further shortened.

A plurality of payout operation units may be provided, and one delivery unit may be provided for each payout operation unit. Such a configuration also facilitates shortening the total time required to dispense a plurality of different types of drug sheets.

After sequentially repeating the transport of the medicine containing cassette to the delivery part, the transport of returning the medicine containing cassette whose medicine sheet has been dispensed from the delivery part to the cassette shelf may be sequentially repeated.

When conveying the medicine containing cassette to the delivery part is repeated sequentially, the medicine containing cassette may be conveyed to the delivery part of the dispensing operation part that has not yet received the medicine containing cassette.

The delivery portion of the drug storage cassette from which the drug sheet is taken out is oriented toward the rear side of the drug delivery device, and the delivery operation portion is oriented toward the front side of the drug delivery device, and is conveyed to the delivery portion. Further, the dispensing portion of the drug storage cassette and the dispensing operation portion may face each other. According to this, the half-rotation operation for facing the dispensing portion of the medicine containing cassette conveyed to the delivery portion and the dispensing operation portion is not required, and the total amount required to dispense the medicine sheet is eliminated. It becomes easy to shorten the time.

The dispensing operation section may be provided directly below the cassette shelf, and the transfer section may be provided directly below the cassette conveying section. According to this, the size in the front-rear direction of the drug dispensing device is the sum of the size in the front-rear direction of the drug storage cassette and the size in the front-rear direction of the cassette conveying section. It can be made compact.

The dispensing operation unit has a sheet stocker that temporarily stores the dispensed medicine sheets, and the sheet is dispensed when the medicine tray has arrived at the medicine sheet outlet provided in the sheet stocker. The drug sheet may be released from a stocker. According to this, even if the medicine tray has not arrived at the medicine sheet exit portion of the sheet stocker, it is possible to carry out the process of dispensing a plurality of medicine sheets. It is possible to shorten the total time required for dispensing.

The cassette transport section may include a cassette loading/unloading section that performs a moving operation for taking out the medicine containing cassette from the cassette shelf and putting it in the cassette shelf.

The cassette loading/unloading part includes a front-rear movement part, moves the back-and-forth movement part in the front-rear direction, pulls out the drug storage cassette from the cassette shelf by a first distance, and then grips the drug storage cassette. The entire cassette may be pulled out from the cassette shelf by moving the size of the drug containing cassette in the gripped state minus the first distance. According to this, it is possible to take out the drug storage cassettes even if the drug storage cassettes are densely loaded on the cassette shelf. If the drug storage cassettes can be densely loaded on the cassette shelf, the drug dispensing device can be made compact.

The tray moving section may receive the medicine tray from the medicine tray stocker, and pass the medicine tray containing the medicine sheet dispensed by the dispensing operation section to the medicine tray stocker.

A medicine tray in which a plurality of housing recesses are formed in a plurality of rows or a plurality of columns is used as the medicine tray, and the tray moving part moves in a first direction in a horizontal plane and in a second direction The medicine tray may be moved to position each storage recess at the medicine sheet exit part of the dispensing operation part. According to this, it is possible to make the medicine dispensing device compact.

The tray moving section may include a fixed rail section that moves the medicine tray only in the first direction, and a movable rail section that moves the medicine tray in the first direction and the second direction.

A second tray moving unit may be provided that receives the medicine tray from the tray moving unit and transfers the received medicine tray to the tray moving unit. According to this, it is possible to operate a plurality of medicine trays, such as keeping the next necessary medicine tray on standby in the second tray moving section.

The second tray moving section may include a movable rail section that moves the medicine tray in the first direction and the second direction.

The tray moving section includes a positioning section for regulating the position of the medicine tray, and the positioning section stands up when the support shaft rotates in the first rotation direction to allow passage of the medicine tray, A plurality of stopper members tilted by rotation of the support shaft in the second rotation direction to prevent passage of the medicine tray are provided at different positions in the medicine tray conveying direction, and the support shaft rotates in the second rotation. and an elastic member that allows non-tilting of the stopper member that comes into contact with the side portion of the medicine tray when rotating in the direction. According to this, the medicine tray can be positioned with a simple structure.

The second tray moving section includes a positioning section that regulates the position of the medicine tray, and the positioning section stands up when the support shaft rotates in the first rotation direction to allow passage of the medicine tray. On the other hand, a plurality of stopper members are provided at different positions in the medicine tray conveying direction to prevent passage of the medicine tray by being tilted by the rotation of the support shaft in the second rotation direction, and the support shaft is arranged in the second direction. and an elastic member that allows non-tilting of the stopper member that comes into contact with the side portion of the medicine tray when rotating in the rotating direction. According to this, the medicine tray can be positioned with a simple structure.

The drug dispensing device includes a cassette shelf on which a plurality of drug storage cassettes that store drug sheets are arranged, and a dispensing operation unit that takes out the drug sheets from the drug storage cassettes and delivers the taken-out drug sheets. , two medicine sheets in front and behind in the medicine storage cassette are set so that the pocket forming sides face each other. Information indicating the amount of orthogonal deviation may be recorded in the recording unit. Further, the dispensing operation of the medicine sheet may be performed based on the deviation amount.

The drug dispensing device includes a cassette shelf on which a plurality of drug storage cassettes for storing drug sheets are arranged, a dispensing operation section for taking out the drug sheets from the drug storage cassettes and dispensing the taken-out drug sheets, and the drug storage cassette. A sheet storage unit for storing a drug sheet for fractional drugs used to cut out fractional drugs, and a rotating portion around the normal line for changing the direction of the wide edge of the sheet to the opposite side. A process of canceling (absorbing) the change in the position of the lower edge of the sheet may be performed.

The processing for eliminating the variation may be processing for moving the drug sheet upward by a fixed distance or a non-fixed distance compared to the case where the 180-degree rotation is not performed. The constant distance is preferably a distance that can be applied to as many types of drug sheets as possible. Further, the non-constant distance may be based on distance data that indicates the deviation in the height direction of the two medicine sheets caused by facing each other.

The drug dispensing device includes a cassette shelf on which a plurality of drug storage cassettes that store drug sheets are arranged, and a dispensing operation unit that takes out the drug sheets from the drug storage cassettes and delivers the taken-out drug sheets. When the dispensing operation unit fails to take out the medicine sheet, a portion of the dispensing operation unit that is in contact with the medicine sheet may be moved downward by a constant distance or a non-constant distance.

The constant distance is preferably a distance that can be applied to as many types of drug sheets as possible. Further, the non-constant distance may be based on distance data that indicates the deviation in the height direction of the two medicine sheets caused by facing each other.

The drug dispensing device includes a cassette shelf on which a plurality of drug storage cassettes for storing drug sheets are arranged, a dispensing operation unit for taking out the drug sheets from the drug storage cassettes and delivering the taken-out drug sheets, and a dispenser for fractional drugs. A rotating portion around the normal line that rotates the drug sheet 180 degrees about the normal line of the sheet surface to change the direction of the wide edge of the drug sheet to the opposite side, and the lateral edge of the drug sheet from the center of the drug sheet. and the dispensing operation unit is moved from a reference position so as to approach the side edge of the medicine sheet taken out, and the vicinity of the side edge when the side edge is detected. and a sheet gripping portion that grips the drug sheet, based on the distance d and the distance D from the reference position to the axis position of the rotating portion around the normal line, the sheet gripping portion performs the dispensing operation The sheet gripping portion may be moved so as to eliminate lateral displacement of the medicine sheet when received from the unit.

According to this, since the sheet gripping section detects the lateral edge of the medicine sheet, even if the medicine sheet taken out from the medicine storage cassette is misaligned in the lateral direction, the medicine sheet can be properly gripped. . Then, when the sheet gripping portion receives the medicine sheet from the dispensing operation portion and delivers it to the dispensing operation portion again, the positional deviation in the lateral direction can be eliminated (absorbed). In other words, the normal-circumference rotating section can rotate the medicine sheet with the center of the medicine sheet as the center of rotation.

The drug dispensing device includes a cassette shelf on which a plurality of drug storage cassettes that store drug sheets are arranged, a dispensing operation unit that takes out the drug sheets from the drug storage cassettes and delivers the taken-out drug sheets, and the drug sheet. A recording unit (master table, etc.) in which the size information of the drug containing cassette related to the size (sheet width, sheet height, etc.) is recorded for each drug, and the size information of the drug containing cassette is output for each drug. and an information output unit (such as a display) for displaying the drug storage cassette, and the storage size is changed by the movement of the size adjustment member, and the adjustment position of the size adjustment member corresponding to the storage size is displayed on the drug storage cassette. A containment size adjustment mechanism may be provided.

According to this, when the storage size of the medicine storage cassette is adjusted so as to match the size of the sheet of the medicine to be stored, for example, "3" is displayed in the information output unit as the size information about the medicine. Then, the operator should move the size adjustment member to the adjustment position indicated by "3". Therefore, even if the operator does not have knowledge about the size of the medicine sheet, the operator can accurately adjust the accommodation size of the medicine accommodation cassette.

The drug dispensing device includes a cassette shelf on which a plurality of drug storage cassettes are arranged, and the drug sheets are taken out from the drug storage cassettes. a dispensing operation unit for dispensing the taken-out drug sheet; a recording unit (master table, etc.) in which size information of the sheet storage unit related to the size of the drug sheet (sheet height, etc.) is recorded for each drug; and an information output unit (such as a display) for outputting size information of the sheet storage unit for each medicine. A storage size adjustment mechanism may be provided in which the adjustment position of the size adjustment member corresponding to the size is indicated.

With this invention, problems such as increase in strength, accuracy and cost in the cassette transfer section can be resolved. In addition, there is an advantage that a plurality of medicine sheets of different types can be quickly dispensed.

It is an explanatory view showing a drug delivery device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of a control system of the medicine dispensing device of FIG. 1; 1. It is the time chart which showed the operation example of the drug delivery device of FIG. 1(A) is a perspective view showing a drug tray used in the drug delivery device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 1(B) is a perspective view showing another example of the drug tray. 1. It is the perspective view which removed the lid|cover part and showed the medicine storage cassette used with the medicine delivery device of FIG. 1. It is the perspective view which removed the lid|cover part and main-body part, and showed the medicine storage cassette used with the medicine delivery device of FIG. 1. It is the perspective view which removed the cover part, the main-body part, the upper frame part, etc., and showed the medicine storage cassette used with the medicine delivery device of FIG. 1. It is explanatory drawing which showed the relationship between the discharge|dispensing part of a medicine storage cassette and a medicine sheet|seat which are used with the medicine discharge|dispensing apparatus of FIG. 1. It is the perspective view which removed the cover part, the main-body part, the upper frame part, one guide side plate, etc., and showed the medicine storage cassette used with the medicine delivery device of FIG. 1. It is the perspective view which showed the cover part of the medicine storage cassette used with the medicine delivery device of FIG. FIG. 1(A) is a perspective view showing a drug storage cassette used in the drug delivery device of FIG. 1 (with one guide side plate and the like removed), and FIG. be. It is the perspective view which showed the cassette loading/unloading part provided in the drug delivery device of FIG. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a forward/rearward moving portion of the cassette loading/unloading portion of FIG. 12; FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a forward/rearward moving portion of the cassette loading/unloading portion of FIG. 12; FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a rail unit of the cassette loading/unloading section of FIG. 12; FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a rail unit of the cassette loading/unloading section of FIG. 12; 13 is a perspective view showing a cassette holding portion of the cassette loading/unloading portion of FIG. 12; FIG. 1. It is the perspective view which showed the payment|withdrawal operation part, the delivery part, and the delivery part moving part which were provided in the drug delivery device of FIG. 1. It is the perspective view which showed the payment|withdrawal operation part, the delivery part, and the delivery part moving part which were provided in the drug delivery device of FIG. 1. It is the perspective view which showed the delivery part and the delivery part moving part which were provided in the drug delivery device of FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a delivery section provided in the drug delivery device of FIG. 1; 1. It is the perspective view which showed the delivery part provided in the drug delivery device of FIG. 1, a drug|medical agent accommodation cassette, and the delivery part moving part. 1. It is the perspective view which showed the delivery part moving part and sheet stocker which were provided in the drug delivery device of FIG. 1. It is the perspective view which showed the sheet|seat stocker provided in the drug delivery device of FIG. 1. It is the perspective view which showed the delivery part provided in the drug delivery device of FIG. 1, the delivery part moving part, and the sheet stocker. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the axis for rotating the medicine sheet and the directions of the pocket and the wide edge of the medicine sheet. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and is an explanatory diagram showing a shaft for rotating a medicine sheet. 1. It is the perspective view which showed the expenditure operation part provided in the drug delivery device of FIG. 1. It is the perspective view which showed the expenditure operation part provided in the drug delivery device of FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a suction operation part provided in the drug delivery device of FIG. 1; 30A is a perspective view showing the suction main body of the suction operation part of FIG. 30, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing a rotating part around normal. 1(A) and 1(B) are perspective views showing a second tray moving section provided in the drug delivery device of FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 34 is a perspective view showing a stopper of a positioning portion provided in the second tray moving portion of FIG. 33; FIG. 34 is an explanatory view showing the positional relationship between the positioning portion and the medicine tray in the second tray moving portion of FIG. 33; It is explanatory drawing which showed the relationship between the expenditure operation part and the delivery part of the drug delivery device which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the relationship between the expenditure operation part and the delivery part of the drug delivery device which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. 37(A), 37(B), and 37(C) are explanatory diagrams showing the suction operation of the medicine sheet by the suction main unit of FIG. 31(A). FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a message displayed on the display shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an example of processing when a medicine sheet suction error occurs in the medicine dispensing device of FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the sheet detection position of the sheet gripping portion located at the reference position, the sheet center position, and the sheet lateral edge position from the sheet center position in the medicine dispensing device of FIG. 1 ;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the drug dispensing device 101 of this embodiment includes a cassette shelf 1011 on which a plurality of drug containing cassettes 1 containing PTP sheets 100, which are drug sheets, are arranged, and the drug containing cassettes 1. A cassette conveying unit 2 that executes an operation of taking out the medicine from the cassette shelf 1011 and conveying it to a plurality of delivery units 3 and an operation of returning the medicine containing cassette 1 on the delivery unit 3 to the cassette shelf 1011, and transporting it to the delivery unit 3 a dispensing operation unit 110 for taking out the PTP sheet 100 from the drug storage cassette 1 loaded and ejecting the taken-out PTP sheet 100 from the drug sheet exit portion 1120; A tray moving unit 5 for moving the medicine tray T so that the medicine tray T receives the sheet 100; a second tray moving unit 500 for transferring the medicine tray T between the tray moving unit 5; A tray stocker 1012 that supplies the medicine tray T to the unit 5 and receives the medicine tray T that has received the medicine from the tray moving unit 5 . The drug sheet exit portion 1120 is provided in a sheet stocker 112 that temporarily stores the PTP sheet 100 taken out from the drug storage cassette 1 .

In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the cassette shelf 1011 has a plurality of loading spaces in the vertical and horizontal directions of the drug dispensing device 101 . In the loading space, the drug storage cassette 1 is set so as to be able to be taken in and out in the front-rear direction of the drug dispensing device 101 . The drug dispensing device 101 can be installed with its rear side (dorsal side) in contact with the wall surface of the building. In addition, the cassette conveying unit 2 includes a cassette loading/unloading unit 21 for executing a moving operation for taking out the drug storage cassette 1 from the cassette shelf 1011 and putting it into the cassette shelf 10131, and the cassette loading/unloading unit 21. A moving mechanism 22 is provided for moving in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction in the arrangement range of the drug containing cassette 1 and the arrangement range of the transfer section 3 located directly below the cassette transport section 2 . The moving mechanism 22 is composed of, for example, a motor, a pulley rotated by the motor, a drive belt moved by the pulley, and a strut member supporting them. The cassette conveying section 2 does not include the dispensing operation section 110 . As described above, since the cassette conveying portion 2 does not include the dispensing operation portion which tends to be heavy, the problems in the cassette conveying portion 2 such as strength, accuracy and cost increase can be resolved. In addition, since the weight of the cassette conveying portion 2 can be reduced, the movement speed of the drug storage cassette 1 can be increased, and the total time required to dispense a plurality of different types of drug sheets can be shortened. becomes easier.

Further, in the example shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of PTP sheets 100 are stacked in the lateral direction (horizontal direction) and stored in the storage portion 11 of the drug storage cassette 1 in an upright state. That is, the plurality of PTP sheets 100 are arranged in the normal direction of the sheet surface. For example, the normal to the sheet surface is the normal to the central position of the sheet surface of the PTP sheet 100 . Here, the normal line at the central position of the sheet surface is parallel to the perpendicular line (perpendicular line) of the sheet surface when the PTP sheet 100 is assumed to be flat rather than curved. Further, for example, the direction of the normal to the sheet surface is made equal to the front-rear direction of the drug dispensing device and the movement direction of the drug storage cassette 1 .

Further, in the example shown in FIG. 1, two dispensing operation units 110 are provided in the left-right direction just below the cassette shelf 1011 . Between the two dispensing operation units 110, for example, a weighing scale for measuring the weight of the medicine containing cassette 1 in which the PTP sheet 100 is contained is provided. The drug storage cassette 1 is set on the weighing scale by the cassette conveying section 2 . The weight obtained by the weight measurement, the known weight of the empty medicine containing cassette 1, the measured weight data of one PTP sheet 100 contained in the medicine containing cassette 1, and the PTP sheet 100, the number of PTP sheets 100 stored in the drug storage cassette 1 whose weight is measured, and fractions of packaged drugs can be obtained by calculation. The above data is stored in the master table. The master table contains size data of the PTP sheet 100 (the length from the sheet center to the side edge, the length from the sheet center to the bottom edge, etc.) for each drug, and the height indicating the deviation height for each drug. H data, size information for each drug, which will be described later, and the like are also recorded.

Two delivery units 3 are provided for one dispensing operation unit 110, and each delivery unit 3 has a delivery position (also referred to as a standby position) of the drug containing cassette 1 and a delivery position of the PTP sheet 100. move between This movement is performed by the transfer section moving section 4 . Hereinafter, when distinguishing between the two dispensing operation units 110, the dispensing operation unit 110 on the right side of the medicine dispensing device 101 is the first dispensing operation unit 110, and the dispensing operation unit 110 on the left side of the medicine dispensing device 101 is the second dispensing operation unit 110. It is called a payout operation unit 110 . Also, the delivery part moving part 4 on the right side of the medicine dispensing device 101 is called a first delivery part moving part 4 , and the delivery part moving part 4 on the left side of the medicine dispensing device 101 is called a second delivery part moving part 4 . When distinguishing the four delivery units 3, they are referred to as the first delivery unit 3, the second delivery unit 3, the third delivery unit 3, and the fourth delivery unit 3 from the right side of the drug delivery device 101. In the state shown in FIG. 1, the first delivery section 3 is at the delivery position, and the second delivery section 3 is at the dispensing position.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 1005 of the drug delivery device 101 processes information input from the input unit 1003, and displays the processed information on the display 1002, for example. For example, the user uses the input unit 1003 to perform an initial input for inputting which PTP sheet 100 is stored in which drug storage cassette 1 , and a replenishment input when replenishing the drug storage cassette 1 with the PTP sheet 100 . Input of the number of sheets, input of prescription data for dispensing, etc. can be performed. Various types of information can be stored in the storage unit 1004 by the processing of the control unit 1005 . Further, the storage unit 1004 stores the master table. Based on the prescription data, the control unit 1005 moves the cassette loading/unloading unit 21 of the cassette transport unit 2 to the location of the target drug storage cassette 1, and executes the cassette take-out process. As will be described in the outline of the operation, the delivery section 3, the delivery section moving section 4, the tray moving section 5, the dispensing operation section 110, and the like are controlled based on the outputs of various sensors, the driving amount of the motor, and the like.

[Outline of drug dispensing operation]
An outline of dispensing processing of the PTP sheet 100 by the medicine dispensing device 101 will be described. The medicine containing cassette 1 is set on the cassette shelf 1011 so that the lid 140 thereof faces the rear side of the medicine dispensing device 101 . The lid 140 opens and closes the dispensing portion 120 in the drug storage cassette 1 .

The control unit 1005 controls the moving mechanism 22 on the basis of the prescription data and the master data, and the cassette loading/unloading unit is placed in the drug storage cassette 1 in which the PTP sheet 100 designated by the prescription data is stored. Move 21. When the cassette loading/unloading part 21 is moved to the position of the drug storage cassette 1 in which the designated PTP sheet 100 is stored, the cassette loading/unloading part 21 grips and takes out the drug storage cassette 1 .

When the taking out of the medicine containing cassette 1 is completed, the cassette loading/unloading part 21 holding the medicine containing cassette 1 is moved by the moving mechanism 22 to the first delivery part 3 and the second receiving part 3 waiting at the delivery position. It is moved to a position above any one of the transfer section 3 , the third transfer section 3 , and the fourth transfer section 3 . Then, the cassette loading/unloading section 21 releases the gripping state, and transfers the gripped drug containing cassette 1 to one of the delivery sections 3 .

The delivery unit 3 that has received the medicine containing cassette 1 chucks the medicine containing cassette 1 . The delivery section 3 chucking the drug containing cassette 1 is moved to the dispensing position by the delivery section moving section 4 . At the dispensing position, the lid 140 side of the drug storage cassette 1 faces the dispensing operation portion 110 . After this facing, the lid 140 of the drug storage cassette 1 is opened by the dispensing operation section 110 . Then, the dispensing operation unit 110 takes out the PTP sheets 100 in the storage unit 11 of the drug storage cassette 1 by the number specified by the prescription data. In this embodiment, the suction body portion 61 (see FIG. 30) of the suction operation portion 6 provided in the dispensing operation portion 110 approaches the dispensing portion 120 of the drug storage cassette 1 and the leading PTP sheet 100 is pulled out from the dispensing unit 120 by moving away from the drug storage cassette 1, and the suction operation is stopped to remove the top PTP sheet 100 from the dispensing operation unit 110 to the sheet stocker 112 (see FIG. 24). A storage shutter is provided at the drug sheet outlet portion 1120 of the sheet stocker 112, and the PTP sheet 100 is stored on the storage shutter.

The medicine tray T is moved below the storage shutter of the sheet stocker 112 of the dispensing operation part 110 by the tray moving part 5 . As shown in FIG. 4A, the medicine tray T has four housing recesses T1, T2, T3, and T4 arranged in two rows and two columns. The tray moving unit 5 moves one of the plurality of storage recesses T1, T2, T3, T4 by moving the medicine tray T in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. It is positioned below the drug sheet exit portion 1120 in the sheet stocker 112 of the dispensing operation portion 110 .

In the example shown in FIG. 1 , since four delivery units 3 are provided, four medicine containing cassettes 1 can be sequentially taken out from the cassette shelf 1011 and delivered to the delivery unit 3 . In addition, since two dispensing operation units 110 are provided, the process of dispensing the PTP sheets 100 to two drug storage cassettes 1 can be executed in parallel. The medicine tray T can accommodate up to four types of PTP sheets 100 .

As described above, when a plurality of delivery units 3 are provided, the cassette conveying unit 2 delivers the drug containing cassette 1 taken out first to one delivery unit 3, and then immediately transfers the second drug containing cassette 1. It is possible to start the operation of going to the cassette rack 1011 to take out. Then, the dispensing operation unit 110 that has received the first medicine containing cassette 1 can take out the PTP sheet 100 from the medicine containing cassette 1 in parallel with the operation of the cassette conveying unit 2 . As a result, it is possible to shorten the time required for dispensing processing of different types of medicine sheets based on prescription data.

A configuration in which, for example, two (plurality) delivery units 3 are provided for one payout operation unit 110 provides the following advantages. That is, during the execution of dispensing targeting the medicine containing cassette 1 previously handed over from one dispensing operation unit 110, another medicine containing cassette 1 taken out from the cassette shelf 1011 is on standby in another delivery unit 3. As soon as the dispensing for the previously handed medicine containing cassette 1 is completed, the medicine containing cassette 1 which has been put on standby can be immediately subjected to the dispensing process. As a result, it is possible to further shorten the time required for dispensing the plurality of medicine sheets.

For example, if two (a plurality of) dispensing operation units 110 are provided, the process of taking out the PTP sheets 100 from a plurality of drug storage cassettes 1 can be performed in parallel, so that the process of dispensing a plurality of drug sheets can be performed. The time required for the process can be further shortened.

Here, an example of the operation timings of the cassette conveying section 2, the first to fourth transfer sections 3, the first dispensing operation section 110, the second dispensing operation section 110, and the tray moving section 5 will be described. It is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the operation contents of each section. Since there is only one cassette conveying unit 2, in order to dispense four types of PTP sheets 100, a series of operations for supplying the drug containing cassettes 1 to the four delivery units 3 is repeated four times. Further, a series of operations for receiving the drug storage cassette 1 from the four delivery units 3 and returning it to the cassette shelf 1011 is also repeated four times.

Here, in this embodiment, the first delivery section 3 receives the first drug storage cassette 1 that stores the first drug that is taken out first, and stores the second drug that is taken out second. The third delivery unit 3 receives the first drug storage cassette 1, the second delivery unit 3 receives the third drug storage cassette 1 containing the third drug taken out third, and the drug taken out fourth. The fourth delivery section 3 receives the fourth medicine containing cassette 1 containing the fourth medicine that is stored.

Based on the prescription data, the four types of medicines to be dispensed may be defined as the first medicine, the second medicine, the third medicine, and the fourth medicine in descending order of the number of medicines to be dispensed. Alternatively, based on the prescription data, the four types of medicines to be dispensed may be defined as the first medicine, the second medicine, the third medicine, and the fourth medicine in descending order of fractional packaged medicines. good. Alternatively, based on the prescription data, the four types of drugs to be dispensed are defined as the first drug, the second drug, the third drug, and the fourth drug in the order estimated to take the longest time to be dispensed. You may do so. If the number of PTP sheets 100 to be dispensed and the number of fractional packaging medicines are large, it can be estimated that the time required for dispensing is long. Alternatively, a number is assigned to each storage portion of the cassette shelf 1011, and the first drug, second drug, third drug, and fourth drug are defined in ascending order of the storage portion number. may Alternatively, the four drugs described in the prescription data may be defined as the first drug, the second drug, the third drug, and the fourth drug in the order of description.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, first, the cassette loading/unloading part 21 is moved by the moving mechanism 22 to the position of the first medicine containing cassette 1 containing the first medicine. After this movement, the cassette loading/unloading section 21 grips and pulls out the first drug storage cassette 1 . The cassette loading/unloading section 21 for gripping the first drug storage cassette 1 is moved to the standby position of the first delivery section 3 by the moving mechanism 22 . The first transfer section 3 receives the first drug containing cassette 1 from the cassette loading/unloading section 21 and chucks it. The first delivery part moving part 4 moves the first delivery part 3 to set the first drug storage cassette 1 at the dispensing position. Then, the first dispensing operation unit 110 starts the operation of taking out the PTP sheet 100 as the first drug from the first drug storage cassette 1 . Further, the cassette loading/unloading section 21 that has delivered the first drug containing cassette 1 to the first delivery section 3 leaves the first delivery section 3 .

The cassette loading/unloading part 21 is moved by the upper BR>L moving mechanism 22 to the position of the second medicine containing cassette 1 containing the second medicine. After this movement, the cassette loading/unloading section 21 grips and pulls out the second drug storage cassette 1 . The cassette loading/unloading section 21 for gripping the second drug storage cassette 1 is moved to the standby position of the third delivery section 3 by the moving mechanism 22 . The third transfer section 3 receives the second drug containing cassette 1 from the cassette loading/unloading section 21 and chucks it. The second delivery section moving section 4 moves the third delivery section 3 to set the second medicine containing cassette 1 at the dispensing position. Then, the second dispensing operation unit 110 starts the operation of dispensing the PTP sheet 100 as the second medicine from the second medicine storage cassette 1 . Further, the cassette loading/unloading section 21 that has delivered the second medicine containing cassette 1 to the third delivery section 3 is separated from the third delivery section 3 .

The cassette loading/unloading part 21 is moved by the moving mechanism 22 to the location of the third medicine containing cassette 1 containing the third medicine. After this movement, the cassette loading/unloading part 21 grips and pulls out the third drug storage cassette 1 . The cassette loading/unloading section 21 for gripping the third drug storage cassette 1 is moved to the standby position of the second delivery section 3 by the moving mechanism 22 . The second transfer section 3 receives the third drug containing cassette 1 from the cassette loading/unloading section 21 and chucks it. The first delivery section moving section 4 moves the second delivery section 3 to set the third medicine containing cassette 1 at the dispensing position. Then, the first dispensing operation unit 110 starts dispensing the PTP sheet 100 as the third medicine from the third medicine storage cassette 1 . Further, the cassette loading/unloading section 21 that has delivered the third medicine containing cassette 1 to the second delivery section 3 is separated from the second delivery section 3 .

The cassette loading/unloading part 21 is moved by the moving mechanism 22 to the location of the fourth medicine containing cassette 1 containing the fourth medicine. After this movement, the cassette loading/unloading section 21 grips and pulls out the fourth drug storage cassette 1 . The cassette loading/unloading section 21 for gripping the fourth drug storage cassette 1 is moved to the standby position of the fourth delivery section 3 by the moving mechanism 22 . The fourth delivery section 3 receives the fourth drug containing cassette 1 from the cassette loading/unloading section 21 and chucks it. The second delivery section moving section 4 moves the fourth delivery section 3 to set the fourth medicine containing cassette 1 at the dispensing position. Then, the second dispensing operation unit 110 starts dispensing the PTP sheet 100 as the fourth medicine from the fourth medicine storage cassette 1 . Further, the cassette loading/unloading section 21 that hands over the fourth drug containing cassette 1 to the fourth delivery section 3 leaves the fourth delivery section 3 .

The dispensing operation unit 110 cannot receive the next medicine unless the PTP sheet 100 stored in the sheet stocker 112 is discharged from the medicine sheet exit part 1120 . Therefore, the control section 1005 controls the tray moving section 5 to position the storage recess T1 of the medicine tray T below the medicine sheet exit section of the first dispensing operation section 110 . In addition, the control unit 1005 completes the operation of the first dispensing operation unit 110 to dispense the designated number of the first medicines, and also completes the operation of positioning the accommodation recess T1 below the medicine sheet exit part 1120. Under this condition, the sheet stocker 112 in the first dispensing operation unit 110 is opened, and the PTP sheet 100 serving as the first medicine is discharged into the accommodation recess T1, for example. After dispensing the first medicine and moving the first delivery part 3 to the standby position, the second delivery part 3 is moved from the standby position to the dispensing position.

Further, the control section 1005 controls the tray moving section 5 to position the accommodation recess T2 of the medicine tray T below the medicine sheet exit section of the second dispensing operation section 110 . Then, the control unit 1005 completes the operation of the second dispensing operation unit 110 to dispense the designated number of the second medicines, and also completes the operation of positioning the accommodation recess T2 below the medicine sheet exit part 1120. Under this condition, the sheet stocker 112 in the second dispensing operation part 110 is opened, and the PTP sheet 100 serving as the second medicine is discharged into the accommodation recess T2.

When the discharge of the PTP sheet 100 as the first medicine by the first dispensing operation unit 110 is completed, the control unit 1005 controls the first dispensing operation unit 110 to dispense the designated number of the third medicine. Then, the control unit 1005 controls the operation of the first dispensing operation unit 110 to dispense the specified number of medicines No. 3 and the operation of positioning the accommodation recess T3 below the medicine sheet outlet. Under this condition, the sheet stocker 112 in the first dispensing operation unit 110 is opened, and the PTP sheet 100 serving as the third medicine is discharged into the accommodation recess T3.

Further, when the discharge of the PTP sheet 100 as the second medicine by the second dispensing operation unit 110 is completed, the control unit 1005 controls the second dispensing operation unit 110 to dispense the designated number of the fourth medicine. Then, the control unit 1005 completes the operation of the second dispensing operation unit 110 to dispense the designated number of the fourth medicine, and also completes the operation of positioning the accommodation recess T4 below the medicine sheet exit part. Under this condition, the sheet stocker 112 in the second dispensing operation unit 110 is opened, and the PTP sheet 100 serving as the fourth medicine is discharged into the accommodation recess T4.

The control section 1005 controls the tray moving section 5 to transfer the drug tray T receiving the four types of drugs to the stacking section of the tray stocker 1012 .

Further, the control unit 1005 controls the cassette conveying unit 2 to execute a process of returning the drug containing cassette 1 waiting at the delivery position after the PTP sheet 100 has been delivered to the cassette shelf 1011 . This return process can be performed, for example, in the order of the first drug storage cassette 1, the second drug storage cassette 1, the third drug storage cassette 1, and the fourth drug storage cassette 1. FIG. Alternatively, the medicine containing cassette 1 waiting at the delivery position closest to the position of the medicine containing cassette 1 returned to the cassette shelf 1011 can be preferentially returned to the cassette shelf 1011 .

Here, for example, when the first drug storage cassette 1, the second drug storage cassette 1, and the third drug storage cassette 1 are sequentially conveyed to the transfer unit 3, the first drug is delivered. When the drug dispensing of the storage cassette 1 is completed, the first drug storage cassette 1 is placed on the cassette shelf prior to the transportation for passing the fourth drug storage cassette 1 to the fourth transfer section 3. It is conceivable to execute processing to return to 1011. However, in such a process, even if the drug delivery from the second drug storage cassette 1 is completed and the drug delivery from the fourth drug storage cassette 1 can be started, this fourth drug It may occur that medicine dispensing cannot be started in the storage cassette 1 . This lengthens the time required to process the dispensing of a plurality of medicine sheets.

In the operation example shown in FIG. 3, the medicine containing cassette 1 is sequentially conveyed to the four transfer units 3, and then the medicine containing cassette 1 whose dispensing of the PTP sheet 100 has been completed is transferred from the transfer unit 3. The conveying back to the cassette rack is sequentially repeated. According to this, when the drug dispensing from the second drug storage cassette 1 is finished and the drug dispensing from the fourth drug storage cassette 1 can be started, the drug dispensing from the fourth drug storage cassette 1 can be started immediately. You will be able to start. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time required for dispensing the plurality of medicine sheets.

Next, the drug containing cassette 1, the cassette loading/unloading unit 21, the moving mechanism 22, the delivery unit 3, the dispensing operation unit 110, the delivery unit moving unit 4, and the tray moving unit 5 , each structural example will be explained.

[Medicine storage cassette]
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the dispensing portion 120 of the drug storage cassette 1 is provided with first restricting portions 121 at two upper and lower positions.

The first restricting part 121 includes a contact member 121a that contacts the top edge or the bottom edge of the leading PTP sheet 100, and a contact member 121a that allows the contact member 121a to ride over the top edge or the bottom edge of the PTP sheet 100. A support portion 121b that movably supports the PTP sheet 100 and a spring 121c that biases the contact member 121a in a direction in which the PTP sheet 100 is stopped are provided.

The support portion 121b is a horizontal shaft around which the contact member 121a is rotatably supported. The spring 121c is wound around the support portion 121b and fixed at both ends. A central portion of the spring 121c is engaged with the contact member 121a.

The upper first restricting portion 121 is provided on a vertically movable upper frame portion 123 that constitutes the upper frame portion of the dispensing portion 120 . A dial 123 a is rotatably engaged with both ends of the upper frame portion 123 . The dial 123a is screwed onto the screw portion 123b, and when the dial 123a is rotated, the dial 123a moves up and down. The screw portion 123b is provided on the cassette main body. As the dial 123a moves vertically, the upper frame portion 123 moves vertically. That is, when the dial 123a is turned, the upper frame portion 123 moves vertically, and the height of the dispensing portion 120 (height of the upper contact member 121a) can be adjusted. Therefore, a plurality of types of PTP sheets 100 with different heights can be stored using the drug storage cassette 1 having a common structure.

Further, the drug storage cassette 1 is provided with a storage size adjustment mechanism in which the storage size is changed by movement of the size adjustment member and the adjustment position of the size adjustment member corresponding to the storage size is indicated. good too. For example, the side supporting the dial 123a is printed or stamped with the number of accommodation size 1 to 3 in the vertical direction, and the upper frame portion 123 as the size adjusting member that moves when the dial 123a is rotated is indicated by an arrow. A mark is printed or stamped so as to indicate the number of the accommodation size. The arrow mark indicates the currently set storage size number. When the operator turns the dial 123a and the arrow mark points to the accommodation size "3", the upper frame portion 123 is set to the third accommodation size.

Size information for each drug is stored in the master table. For example, if the drug A is stored in the drug storage cassette 1 numbered 25 and the size information about the height of the PTP sheet 100 of the drug A is "2", the control unit 1005 causes the display 1002 to display the above It is displayed that the size information about the height of the PTP sheet 100 of the medicine A is "2". When "2" is displayed on the display 1002 as the size information about the height of the PTP sheet 100 of the medicine A, the operator confirms that the arrow mark in the medicine containing cassette 1 of No. 25 indicates the number "2". Turn the dial 123a as indicated. As a result, even if the operator is not an expert, the upper frame part 123 can be set at a position suitable for the height of the PTP sheet 100 of the medicine A.

Two sheet holding portions 124 are provided on the upper frame portion 123 on both sides of the first restricting portion 121 . As shown in FIG. 7, the sheet holding portion 124 is formed by integrally forming a sheet contact portion 124a and a spring portion 124b. The spring portion 124b is supported by the upper frame portion 123, and the sheet contact portion 124a presses the PTP sheet 100 downward with an appropriate force.

Aside from the first restricting portion 121 , second restricting portions 122 are provided at two locations on the left and right so as to contact the left and right edges of the leading PTP sheet 100 . The second restricting portion 122 is formed of an elastic piece portion deformable in the left-right direction of the dispensing portion 120 . The left and right edges of the leading PTP sheet 100 come into contact with the second restricting portion 122 . At the leading end of the second restricting portion 122, a locking portion 122a formed in a V-groove shape capable of sandwiching the left and right edges of the PTP sheet 100 in the accommodating portion 11 is formed. The movement of the 100 is limited by locking the left and right edges thereof with the locking portions 122a. A rear end portion of the second restricting portion 122 is engaged with guide side plates 125 arranged on the left and right sides of the accommodating portion 11 . A notch is formed in the portion of the guide side plate 125 where the second restricting portion 122 is provided, and the locking portion 122a is positioned in this notch. The PTP sheet 100 is guided by the guide side plates 125. At this time, the left and right edges of the PTP sheet 100 are prevented from entering too deeply into the V-shaped groove.

As also shown in FIG. 8, the PTP sheet 100 is stored in the storage portion 11 of the drug storage cassette 1 so that the long sides are oriented horizontally and the short sides are oriented vertically. Therefore, the first restricting portion 121 is in contact with the edge of the long side of the PTP sheet 100 , and the second restricting portion 122 is in contact with the edge of the short side of the PTP sheet 100 .

As shown in FIG. 9, the left and right guide side plates 125 are provided with urging portions 126, respectively. The urging portion 126 urges the left and right guide side plates 125 so that the tip sides (sides closer to the delivery portion 120) of the left and right guide side plates 125 approach each other. The rear end side of the guide side plate 125 is engaged with the left and right rising side plates of the cassette main body, and the biasing portion 126 is positioned between the rising side plate and the guide side plate 125 . Further, the angle formed between the urging portion 126 and the guide side plate 125 is regulated by the position of an angle regulating member 126b fitted in the sawtooth uneven portion 126a in the moving direction of the PTP sheet 100. FIG. The angle regulating member 126b is movable in the movement direction of the PTP sheet 100 with respect to the sawtooth uneven portion 126a. As the angle regulating member 126b is moved farther from the dispensing portion 120, the maximum angle formed by the biasing portion 126 and the guide side plates 125 becomes larger, and the leading ends of the left and right guide side plates 125 approach each other. Therefore, even if the size of the PTP sheet 100 is small and the left and right edges of the PTP sheet 100 are not in contact with the guide side plates 125 on the rear end sides of the left and right guide side plates 125, the front end portions of the left and right guide side plates 125 do not touch the guide side plates 125. The leading PTP sheet 100 is guided in contact with the guide side plate 125 and guided to the center of the dispensing section 120 . That is, a plurality of types of PTP sheets 100 having different width sizes can be stored using the drug storage cassette 1 having a common structure.

Further, for example, numbers 1 to 3 of storage sizes are printed or stamped in the vicinity of the saw-toothed concave-convex portion 126a, and the angle regulating member 126b as a size adjusting member is currently set according to the position. The number of the accommodated size that is present may be indicated to the operator. When the operator sets the angle regulating member 126b to position "3", the guide side plate 125 is set to the third accommodation size. Size information for each drug is stored in the master table. For example, if the drug A is stored in the drug storage cassette 1 numbered 25 and the size information about the width of the PTP sheet 100 of the drug A is "2", the controller 1005 displays the drug on the display 1002. It is displayed that the size information about the height of the PTP sheet 100 of A is "2". When the size information about the width of the PTP sheet 100 of the drug A is displayed on the display 1002 as "2", the operator sets the angle regulating member 126b in the drug storage cassette 1 of No. 25 to " 2". As a result, the guide side plate 125 can be set at a position suitable for the width of the PTP sheet 100 of the medicine A even if the operator is not skilled.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11(A), the lid 140 of the drug storage cassette 1 is provided with a sheet storage section 141 for storing the PTP sheet 100 for cutting out fractions.

As shown in FIG. 11(B), a movement operation section 130 is provided in the storage section 11 of the drug storage cassette 1 to move the PTP sheet 100 toward the delivery section 120 . The moving operation unit 130 is composed of, for example, a pressing member 131 that contacts the PTP sheet 100 and a constant force spring (eg, Conston spring, trade name) 132 . The pressing force of the constant force spring 132 is set so that the PTP sheet 100 does not get over the first and second restricting portions 121 and 122 only by this pressing force. The constant force spring 132 is provided with a locking portion 132a, and the PTP sheet 100 can be set while the moving operation portion 130 is moved to the rear side position and locked. When the lock is released after setting the PTP sheet 100, the pressing operation to the PTP sheet 100 is started. Further, the constant force spring 132 has a wound spring, and the tip of this wound spring is fixed in the vicinity of the dispensing portion 120 . A gear portion 132b is provided on the lock portion 132a. The gear portion 132b meshes with the toothed portion 11a formed on the bottom surface of the housing portion 11, and the moving operation portion 130 is locked by restricting rotation of the gear portion 132b. becomes. Further, if a damper (for example, an oil damper) 132c is provided in the gear portion 132b, the operation speed of the moving operation portion 130 can be adjusted. In this case, the damper 132c serves as adjusting means for adjusting the speed at which the moving operation unit 130 moves the PTP sheet 100. FIG.

The sheet storage section 141 is positioned above the dispensing section 120 in the open state shown in FIG. When the PTP sheet 100 is dispensed, the dispensing section 120 faces a suction body section 61 (see FIG. 30), which will be described later. Further, the back wall portion 1411 of the sheet storage portion 141 faces the suction body portion 61 when moved upward from the time of dispensing. A plurality of height adjustment holes 1411a are formed at intervals in the height direction on the upper side of the inner wall portion 1411 . A height direction limiting plate 142 as a size adjusting member is detachably attached to the back wall portion 1411 through the height adjusting hole 1411a. Since the mounting height of the height direction limiting plate 142 can be changed according to the height of the PTP sheet 100 stored in the sheet storage section 141, when the lid 140 is rotated, the above It is possible to prevent the PTP sheet 100 for fraction medicine from falling from the sheet storage section 141 .

For example, in the vicinity of the plurality of height adjustment holes 1411a, numbers 1 to 3 corresponding to the formed height may be printed or stamped. When the operator sets the mounting position of the height direction limiting plate 142 to "2", the height direction limiting plate 142 is set to the second height. In the master table, the storage size number of the sheet storage unit 141 is stored for each medicine. For example, if the drug A is stored in the drug storage cassette 1 numbered 25 and the storage size number of the sheet storage unit 141 for the PTP sheet 100 of the drug A is "2", the control unit 1005 The display 1002 displays that the storage size number of the sheet storage unit 141 for the medicine A is "2". When it is displayed on the display 1002 that the storage size number of the sheet storage unit 141 for the medicine A is "2", the operator performs the following operations in the sheet storage unit 141 of the medicine storage cassette 1 of No. 25: Align the mounting position of the height direction limiting plate 142 with "2". As a result, even if the operator is not an expert, the height direction limiting plate 142 can be set at a position suitable for the height of the PTP sheet 100 of the medicine A.

The side opposite to the lid 140 side of the drug storage cassette 1 is located on the front side of the drug dispensing device 101, and a notch portion 11c is formed in the upper portion of the front rising wall 11b. there is The cassette loading/unloading portion 21 of the cassette conveying portion 2 is engaged with the rising wall 11b.

[Cassette loading/unloading unit 21]
As shown in FIG. 12, the cassette loading/unloading section 21 comprises a forward/backward moving section 23, a cassette gripping section 24, and a rail unit 25. As shown in FIG. The forward/backward moving portion 23 is connected to the cassette gripping portion 24 via the rail unit 25 . The forward/backward moving portion 23 is connected to the connecting plate 25 a of the rail unit 25 . The base portion 241 of the cassette gripping portion 24 is connected to the slide portion 251 of the rail unit 25 .

13 and 14 show only the forward/backward moving portion 23. As shown in FIG. 12, 13 and 14 show two pawl operating portions 231 in the back-and-forth moving portion 23, but this does not indicate that there are two pawl operating portions 231, but only one pawl operating portion 231. The advanced state and retracted state of each claw operating portion 231 are shown. The chain-type cable guide 23a is also depicted in an advanced state and a retracted state. A section distance between the advanced state and the retracted state is the first distance.

The claw operating portion 231 includes a bifurcated claw 231a arranged so that the portion between the two forks is positioned parallel to the rising wall 11b, and the portion between the two forks moves within a plane parallel to the rising wall 11b. a rotary drive portion (for example, a rotary solenoid) 231b for rotating the bifurcated claw 231a so as to rotate, a bracket 231c for supporting the rotary drive portion 231b, a moving nut 231d for supporting the bracket 231c, and the A feed screw 231e with which the moving nut 231d is screwed, and a guide portion 231f for guiding the moving nut 231d are provided. The feed screw 231e is provided in the longitudinal direction of the drug delivery device 101, and the guide portion 231f guides the moving nut 231d in the longitudinal direction. The driving force of the motor 231g is transmitted to the pulley 231i through the belt 231h, and the pulley rotates, thereby rotating the feed screw 231e.

When the claw operating portion 231 is positioned on the notch portion 11c in a state where the claw operating portion 231 is closest to the rising wall 11b, and the forked claw 231a is rotated by the rotation driving portion 231b. , the rising wall 11b is sandwiched between the two forks. Here, if the notch portion 11c is formed, the height of the bifurcated claw 231a when engaging the claw operating portion 231 with the rising wall 11b can be reduced. In 1011 , the interval between the medicine containing cassettes 1 arranged vertically can be narrowed, the number of medicine containing cassettes 1 that can be loaded can be increased, and the medicine dispensing device 101 can be miniaturized. In this embodiment, only the leading portion of the bifurcated claw 231a goes over the rising wall 11b.

A drug covering portion 232 is provided at the lower portion of the forward/backward moving portion 23 . The drug cover portion 232 includes a drug cover plate 232a. The drug cover plate 232a is positioned to cover the upper side of the drug storage cassette 1 pulled out by this movement when the bifurcated claw 231a moves to the retracted position (moves the first distance). When the forked claw 231a moves to the retracted position, the forked claw 231a rotates and returns to its original state (disengaged state). is formed with a notch 232b. The drug cover plate 232a is rotatably provided by a hinge 232c, and the drug cover plate 232a is attached in the direction of pressing the PTP sheet 100 in the drug storage cassette 1 by a coil spring 232d as an urging member. Forced. By providing the medicine covering part 232, when the medicine containing cassette 1 is conveyed by the cassette conveying part 2 (especially when moving downward at high speed), the PTP sheet can be fed from the upper side of the medicine containing cassette 1. 100 can be prevented from popping out. In other words, the drug storage cassette 1 can be transported at high speed, so that the drug dispensing time can be shortened. Also. Since the coil spring 232d is provided, the PTP sheet 100 can be pressed even when the height of the PTP sheet 100 is different.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, on both sides of the slide portion 251 of the rail unit 25, rail portions 251a extending in the longitudinal direction of the medicine dispensing device 101 are provided. Guided forward and backward. A belt 253 is driven by the motor 252 of the rail unit 25, and the belt 253 rotates a pulley 254. As shown in FIG. A feed screw 255 is fixed to the pulley 254 . The feed screw 255 is rotated by the pulley 254 .

As shown in FIG. 17, a bracket 242 is fixed to the upper surface of the base portion 241 of the cassette gripping portion 24. As shown in FIG. Rising portions 242 a are formed on the left and right edges of the bracket 242 , and each rising portion 242 a is fixed to the slider 251 b of the rail unit 25 . A moving nut 243 is fixed to the central portion of the bracket 242 . The moving nut 243 is screwed onto the feed screw 255 of the rail unit 25 . Therefore, the rotation of the feed screw 255 causes the cassette gripping portion 24 to move in the longitudinal direction of the medicine dispensing device 101 .

A feed screw 241 a is provided on the base portion 241 in the left-right direction of the medicine dispensing device 101 . Both ends of the feed screw 241a are rotatably supported by two left and right brackets 241b. Both ends of the feed screw 241a are formed with threaded portions whose threading directions are opposite to each other, and a moving nut 244a is screwed to each of the threaded portions. Two slide shafts 241c are supported by the base portion 241 in parallel with the feed screw 241a. Both ends of the slide shaft 241c are fixed by the two brackets 241b.

Chuck plates 244 are provided between the left and right brackets 241 b and the base portion 241 . The moving nut 244a is provided on the upper central side of each chuck plate 244. As shown in FIG. A linear bushing 244b is provided above each chuck plate 244 so as to sandwich the moving nut 244a. The slide shaft 241c is inserted through each linear bushing 244b. A gear 245a in the driving portion 245 is fixed to the feed screw 241a. A gear 245b is meshed with the gear 245a. The gear 245b is rotated by a motor 245c. The rotation of the motor 245c causes the feed screw 241a to rotate, and this rotation causes the chuck plates 244 to approach and separate from each other. Thereby, the side plate portion of the drug storage cassette 1 can be gripped from the side.

The chuck plate 244 is provided with a receiving portion 244c made of a flexible material. A positioning member 244d is provided at the front end of the chuck plate 244. As shown in FIG. This positioning member 244d is provided rotatably around the vertical axis.

Positioning concave portions 1a are formed on the outer sides of the left and right side plate portions near the front end of the drug storage cassette 1 (see FIG. 11(A)). When the drug containing cassette 1 is pulled out from the cassette shelf 1011 and the chuck plate 244 grips the side plate portion, the positioning member 244d is engaged with the positioning concave portion 1a. When such engagement is performed, the chuck plate 244 grips the drug storage cassette 1 at an appropriate position. When the side plate is gripped by the chuck plate 244, even if there is a slight positional deviation between the positioning member 244d and the positioning recess 1a, the side plate portion will not be gripped by the chuck plate 244. By force, the positioning member 244d can engage with the positioning recess 1a. When the receiving portion 244c made of the flexible material is provided, the engagement is easily performed.

Even when the cassette gripping portion 24 comes closest to the cassette shelf 1011 by rotating the feed screw 255, the cassette gripping portion 24 is positioned in front of the cassette shelf 1011. FIG. When the pawl operating portion 231 comes closest to the rising wall 11b, the pawl operating portion 231 is positioned above the notch portion 11c. Then, when the bifurcated claw 231a is rotated by the rotational driving portion 231b, the rising wall 11b is sandwiched between the bifurcated portions. In this state, when the claw operating portion 231 moves to the retracted position, the drug containing cassette 1 can be gripped by the chuck plate 244 of the cassette gripping portion 24 . When the drug containing cassette 1 is gripped by the chuck plate 244, the bifurcated claws 231a of the back-and-forth moving portion 23 return to their original state (disengaged state) as described above. As a result, the cassette gripping part 24 can additionally move forward of the medicine dispensing device 101 while gripping the medicine containing cassette 1, and the medicine containing cassette 1 can be completely pulled out from the cassette shelf 1011 by this additional movement. . That is, in the holding state, the drug storage cassette size is moved by a distance minus the first distance (the additional movement), and the entire drug storage cassette 1 is pulled out from the cassette shelf.

When the medicine containing cassette 1 is returned to the cassette shelf 1011, after performing the reverse operation of the additional movement, the bifurcated claw 231a is engaged with the rising wall 11b, and the forked claw 231a is moved back and forth by the forward/backward moving portion . , the drug containing cassette 1 is completely returned to the cassette shelf 1011.

[Delivery part 3]
As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, two delivery units 3, two delivery unit moving units 4, and one dispensing operation unit 110 are provided on one base unit 113. there is The base portion 113 is provided so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the medicine dispensing device 101 by means of a rail mechanism 113a. A user can insert or remove the base portion 113 by inserting a hand into the handle portion of the front panel 113b. Here, the dispensing operation part 110 is directed toward the front side of the medicine dispensing device 101 (the direction of pulling out the base part 113), and the dispensing part 120 of the medicine containing cassette 1 transported to the delivery part 3 and the It faces the payout operation unit 110 . Then, when the base portion 113 is pulled out, the drug containing cassette 1 is located at a position close to the user. As a result, when the user manually takes out the drug storage cassette 1 with the problem of sheet dispensing, etc., the dispensing operation part 110 does not get in the way, and the drug storage cassette 1 with the problem can be easily removed.

As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 , the rectilinear base plate 31 of each transfer section 3 is provided with feed screws 31 a in the left-right direction of the drug delivery device 101 . Both ends of the feed screw 31a are rotatably supported by two left and right brackets 31b. Both ends of the feed screw 31a are formed with threaded portions whose threading directions are opposite to each other, and a moving nut 34a is screwed to each of the threaded portions. Two slide shafts 31c are supported by the rectilinear base plate 31 in parallel with the feed screw 31a. Both ends of the slide shaft 31c are fixed by the two brackets 31b.

A chuck plate 34 is provided between each of the left and right brackets 31b and the rectilinear base plate 31. As shown in FIG. Each chuck plate 34 is fixed with the moving nut 34a. Each chuck plate 34 is provided with a linear bushing 34b. The slide shaft 31c is inserted through each linear bushing 34b. A bevel gear 35a in the driving portion 35 is fixed to the feed screw 31a. A bevel gear 35b is meshed with the bevel gear 35a. The bevel gear 35b is rotated by a motor 35c. The rotation of the motor 35c causes the feed screw 31a to rotate, and this rotation brings the chuck plates 34 closer together and away from each other. Each transfer section 3 is provided with a cover 38 for covering the driving section 35 and the like.

As shown in FIG. 22 , each transfer section 3 has a swivel base plate 36 . The rectilinear base plate 31 and the swivel base plate 36 are provided so as to be mutually movable in the longitudinal direction of the medicine dispensing device 101 by rails and sliders (not shown). A first pin 36a and a second pin 36b are fixed to the rear surface of the swivel base plate 36. As shown in FIG. An intermediate arm 36c is fixed to the tip of the second pin 36b. A long hole is formed in the intermediate arm 36c, and a third pin 31d projecting from the rear surface of the rectilinear base plate 31 is engaged with the long hole.

[Delivery part moving part 4]
The two transfer section moving sections 4 are provided on a common base section 41 . Each transfer section moving section 4 is provided with a motor 42 by which a turning arm 42a turns around the rotation axis of the motor 42 within a horizontal plane. The second pin 36b is engaged with the distal end side of the turning arm 42a, and the second pin 36b moves on the second arc guide 41b as the turning arm 42a turns. Further, the first pin 36a moves on the first arc guide 41a by turning the turning arm 42a. The first arc guide 41 a and the second arc guide 41 b are formed on the base portion 41 .

Further, the base portion 41 is formed with a third guide 41c for each delivery portion moving portion 4, and the third pin 31d is guided by each third guide 41c. The two third guides 41c have right and left linear guide portions extending in the left and right direction of the medicine dispensing device 101. As shown in FIG. The two left and right linear guide portions are connected to a common guide portion via an intermediate guide portion. The common guide portion is positioned between the two delivery portion moving portions 4 .

When the turning arm 42a is turned by the motor 42, the turning base plate 36 in the transfer section 3 moves in an arc along the first arc guide 41a and the second arc guide 41b. On the other hand, the rectilinear base plate 31 in the transfer section 3 tries to move in an arc by receiving the moving force of the turning base plate 36, but the third pin 31d is guided by the third guide 41c, so that the left Or move straight to the right. Then, the rectilinear base plate 31 moves to the rear side of the drug dispensing device 101 by the common guide portion, and causes the drug containing cassette 1 chucked in the delivery portion 3 to face the dispensing operation portion 110 . Relative positional changes between the rectilinear base plate 31 and the swivel base plate 36 are absorbed by the rails and sliders.

After the medicine containing cassette 1 chucked in the delivery part 3 faces the dispensing operation part 110 , the lid opening/closing part 160 of the dispensing operation part 110 opens the lid 140 of the medicine containing cassette 1 .

As shown in FIGS. 23, 24 and 25, the sheet stocker 112 is provided in the dispensing operation section 110. As shown in FIGS. The sheet stocker 112 is provided below the lid 140 of the drug storage cassette 1 at a position where the drug storage cassette 1 chucked in the transfer section 3 faces the dispensing operation section 110. . The hopper portion 112a of the sheet stocker 112 temporarily accommodates the PTP sheet 100 dispensed from the dispensing portion 120 of the medicine storage cassette 1 and the fraction of packaged medicines.

The bottom of the hopper portion 112a is composed of the first shutter 112b, which is the storage shutter. In addition, a drop cylinder portion is formed in the lower portion of the first shutter 112b, and the second shutter 112c, which is the storage shutter, is provided at the bottom of the drop cylinder portion (medicine sheet outlet portion 1120). there is The first shutter 112b and the second shutter 112c are simultaneously opened and closed by a drive motor 112d. A bevel gear is fixed to the rotation shaft of the drive motor 112d, and the turning arm 112e is rotated by this bevel gear. Note that FIG. 24 shows only the driving system of the first shutter 112b, and the driving system of the second shutter 112c is the same as the driving system of the first shutter 112b. A link member 112f is connected to the turning arm 112e, and the link member 112f is connected to the first shutter 112b. When the drive motor 112d rotates, the swing arm 112e rotates, the link member 112f moves, and the first shutter 112b opens and closes. The first shutter 112b and the second shutter 112c are guided by a slide shaft 112g.

As shown in FIG. 26, a drug sheet such as the PTP sheet 100 has flat edges (sheet portions) at both ends, but one edge is wider than the other edge. This wide edge 100a is commonly called an ear. In the medicine dispensing device having a function of cutting out fractional packaged medicines from the medicine sheet, if the direction of the packet or the direction of the wide edge 100a of the PTP sheet 100 taken out from the medicine storage cassette 1 is uncertain, Fractional packaged drugs may not be cut out appropriately. For the PTP sheet 100 from which fractions are not to be cut, it is not necessary to detect the orientation of the pocket and the orientation of the wide edge 100a.

26 shows three axes for rotating the PTP sheet 100. As shown in FIG. The three axes include the normal to the surface of the PTP sheet 100, the short axis, and the long axis. The minor axis and the major axis are perpendicular to each other in the plane of the PTP sheet 100 . As an example of the position of the center of rotation about the long axis, there is an axis passing through the center of the PTP sheet 100 in the short side direction. As an example of the position of the center of rotation about the short axis, there is an axis that passes through the center of the PTP sheet 100 in the longitudinal direction. An example of the center of rotation about the normal is the intersection of the center of rotation about the long axis and the center of rotation about the short axis. Here, the PTP sheet 100 is symmetrical about the second axis (major axis). Further, if the center of rotation about the normal is provided in the vicinity of the intersection of the center of rotation about the long axis and the center of rotation about the short axis, the space required for the rotation about the normal can be reduced. . In this embodiment, rotation around the normal line is adopted.

27A and 27B are explanatory diagrams showing changes in the state of the PTP sheet 100. FIG. The states of the PTP sheet 100 include a first state in which the pocket faces face up and the wide edge 100a is positioned on the left, a second state (state shown in FIG. 26) in which the pocket faces face up and the wide edge 100a is positioned on the right, and a state in which the pocket is positioned on the right. There is a third state in which the wide edge 100a is facing down and the left side, and a fourth state in which the pocket is facing down and the wide edge 100a is on the right side. Regardless of the state of the leading PTP sheet 100 that is dispensed, there are state changes due to rotation about the long axis, state changes due to rotation about the short axis, and states due to rotation about the normal line. Any one state can be achieved by causing two state changes among the changes. That is, the direction of the pocket of the PTP sheet 100 and the direction of the wide edge 100a can be oriented in the same direction. In addition, it is good also as a structure which turns only the direction of the wide edge 100a to one direction.

[Payout operation unit 110]
The dispensing operation section 110 includes the lid opening/closing section 160 as shown in FIGS. 28 and 29 . The lid opening/closing portion 160 includes a shaft portion 161 that engages with an engaging portion formed on the lid 140, and the shaft portion 161 is engaged with the engaging portion. The lid 140 is opened and closed by moving along an arc track. Further, the lid opening/closing portion 160 includes a shaft portion 162 that engages with an engaging portion formed in the sheet storage portion 141, and the shaft portion 162 is engaged with the engaging portion. By rotating the shaft portion 162, the sheet storage portion 141 is rotated.

In addition, the dispensing operation unit 110 includes a suction operation unit 6 for sucking and pulling out the first PTP sheet 100 in the drug storage cassette 1, and the suction operation unit 6 when a fraction of packaged drugs is required. The sheet gripping portion 8 grips and receives the pulled out PTP sheet 100, and the PTP sheet 100 pulled out by the suction operation portion 6 when a fraction of packaged medicine is required is moved around the normal line of the sheet surface. It has a normal-circumferential rotation unit 13 that rotates. The normal to the sheet surface is the normal to the central position of the sheet surface of the PTP sheet 100 . Here, the normal line at the central position of the sheet surface is parallel to the perpendicular line (perpendicular line) of the sheet surface when the PTP sheet 100 is assumed to be flat rather than curved. Further, in this embodiment, the direction of the normal to the sheet surface is the same as the front-rear direction, the direction in which the PTP sheets 100 are arranged in the drug storage cassette 1 , and the movement direction of the drug storage cassette 1 . Further, when the PTP sheet 100 is dispensed, the normal line rotation portion 13 is positioned at the central position of the dispensing portion 120 of the drug storage cassette 1 (the central position of the PTP sheet 100).

The sheet gripping portion 8 includes a gripping body portion 81 which is rotatable around a horizontal axis, a rotating portion 82 which rotates the gripping body portion 81, and a left/right movement device 83 which moves the rotating portion 82 in the left/right direction. and The sheet gripping portion 8 also functions as a detection portion for the wide edge 100a.

As shown in FIG. 30, the base portion 611 of the suction body portion 61 can be vertically moved by an elevating device 64 . The lifting device 64 includes a moving nut 64a fixed to the side of the base portion 611, a feed screw 64b screwed into the moving nut 64a, a motor 64c for rotating the feed screw 64b, and the motor A belt transmission mechanism 64d for transmitting the driving force of 64c to the feed screw 64b and a guide 64e for stabilizing the elevation of the base 611 are provided. The vertical position of the suction body portion 61 can be adjusted by the lifting device 64 .

The suction body portion 61 is connected to the base portion 611 via a guide rail 65e of the back-and-forth moving device 65. As shown in FIG. The back-and-forth moving device 65 moves the suction main body 61 in the front-and-rear direction (the direction toward and away from the dispensing portion 120 of the drug storage cassette 1). The back-and-forth moving device 65 includes a moving nut 65a fixed to the back surface of the suction main body 61, a feed screw 65b screwed into the moving nut 65a, a motor 65c for rotating the feed screw 65b, and the and a belt transmission mechanism 65d for transmitting the driving force of the motor 65c to the feed screw 65b.

The forward/backward moving device 65 moves the PTP sheet 100 at a speed higher than the speed at which the moving operation unit 130 in the drug storage cassette 1 moves the PTP sheet 100, and moves the PTP sheet 100 in the direction in which the moving operation unit 130 moves the PTP sheet 100. By sucking the sheet 100, the suction main body 61 can be moved.

Further, when the suction main body portion 61 is moved in the direction approaching the drug storage cassette 1 by the back-and-forth moving device 65, the suction main body portion 61 comes into contact with the sheet portion of the leading PTP sheet 100 and is attracted. When the pocket portion of the leading PTP sheet 100 faces the dispensing operation portion 110 side, the position of the movable plate 62a of the pocket detection portion 62 is displaced according to the convex height of the pocket portion. Positional displacement can be detected, for example, by the resistance value (voltage value) of a potentiometer.

As shown in FIGS. 31A and 31B, the suction main body 61 includes, for example, four horizontally arranged suction cups 61a. As shown in FIGS. 37A, 37B, and 37C, the four suction cups 61a arranged in a line are a first group consisting of two suction cups on the side closer to the sheet gripping portion 8, and a second group consisting of two on the far side from the sheet gripping portion 8 . The suction for each group can be performed by manipulating electromagnetic valves respectively provided on the suction paths of each group. When all the four suction cups 61a are in the suction-off state and the suction operation is performed only for the first group, a strong suction force is generated in the two suction cups 61a of the first group, and the PTP sheet 100 is pulled from the first group. A group of two suction cups 61a can be sucked with high certainty. If the suction operation is also performed for the four suction cups 61a of the second group after the suction operation of the first group is performed, the PTP sheet 100 can be accurately sucked and held by the four suction cups 61a. . In this way, by pre-driving some of the plurality of suction cups (parts closer to the sheet gripping portion 8), the PTP sheet 100 can be sucked and held accurately.

The rotating portion 13 around the normal line has a suction rotating pipe portion 13a at the central position of the four suction cups 61a arranged side by side. A suction cup portion 13b is provided at the tip of the suction rotation pipe portion 13a. Further, the rear side of the suction rotating pipe portion 13a is supported by a bearing portion 13c. A rotary joint 13d is connected to the rear end of the rotary suction pipe portion 13a, and a suction pump is connected to the rotary joint 13d through a tube. A belt 13e is wound around the rear portion of the suction rotating pipe portion 13a and the driving pulley of the motor 13f. When the motor 13f operates, the suction rotating pipe portion 13a rotates around its central axis. The suction rotation pipe portion 13a is fixed in the front-rear direction.

When the delivery portion 3 is moved to the dispensing position by the delivery portion moving portion 4 , the drug containing cassette 1 chucked by the delivery portion 3 faces the suction body portion 61 . Then, the operation of opening the lid 140 is performed by the lid opening/closing unit 160 . Next, the suction main body 61 moves toward the drug storage cassette 1, so that the suction cup 61a contacts the PTP sheet 100 in the drug storage cassette 1 and sucks the PTP sheet 100. As shown in FIG. At this time, the orientation of the pocket portion of the PTP sheet 100 is detected by the movable plate 62a (see FIGS. 26 and 30) of the pocket detection portion 62. FIG. The leading PTP sheet 100 is pulled out from the drug storage cassette 1 by moving the suction body portion 61 in the direction away from the delivery portion 120 .

It should be noted that when the suction by the suction main body portion 61 is executed after all the PTP sheets 100 are pulled out from the medicine storage cassette 1, the suction cup 61a sucks the pressing member 131 of the moving operation portion 130. Become. As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of grooves 131a are formed on the pressing surface of the pressing member 131 in contact with the PTP sheet 100. Therefore, when the PTP sheet 100 is emptied, the suction cups 61a are pressed against the pressing member. It contacts the pressing surface of 131 . In this case, since air leaks in from the groove portion 131a, even if the suction operation is performed by the suction operation portion 6, a predetermined negative pressure state cannot be obtained in the suction circuit of the suction cup 61a. In other words, the suction by the suction main body 61 cannot be completed even after a certain period of time or longer. The control unit 1005 can determine that there is a possibility that the PTP sheet 100 is out of stock when the suction by the main suction unit 61 cannot be completed even after a certain period of time has passed. When the suction main body 61 is provided with four suction cups 61a, four grooves 131a are sufficient. That is, the grooves 131a may be provided at least at positions corresponding to the suction cups 61a in the same number as the suction cups 61a.

In the case where a fraction of packaged medicine is required, if it is determined from the detection result by the movable plate 62a that the pocket portion of the PTP sheet 100 faces the suction cup 61a side, the suction main body portion 61 is placed in the PTP The sheet 100 is handed over to the sheet gripping section 8 . The sheet gripping portion 8 directs the pocket portion toward the drug storage cassette 1 side. After that, the suction body portion 61 receives the PTP sheet 100 from the sheet gripping portion 8 .

When the PTP sheet 100 is gripped, the sheet gripping section 8 determines whether the gripped side is the wide edge 100a of the PTP sheet 100 or not. When the sheet gripping portion 8 grips the wide edge 100a, the suction body portion 61 does not rotate around the normal line by the rotation portion 13 around the normal line, and the suction body portion 61 approaches the drug storage cassette 1. direction to drop the PTP sheet 100 onto the sheet storage section 141 of the lid 140 . The wide edge 100a of the PTP sheet 100 dropped onto the sheet storage unit 141 faces the sheet gripping unit 14, which will be described later, and the side opposite to the wide edge 100a is the cutter provided in the dispensing operation unit 110. You will face 15. Even when the pocket portion of the PTP sheet 100 faces the drug storage cassette 1 side, the suction body portion 61 passes the PTP sheet 100 to the sheet gripping portion 8 for detection of the wide edge 100a. However, in this case, the rotation of the PTP sheet 100 by the sheet gripping section 8 is not performed.

On the other hand, when the sheet gripping portion 8 grips the opposite side of the wide edge 100 a , the suction main body portion 61 passes the PTP sheet 100 to the normal rotation rotating portion 13 . This normal rotation rotating section 13 rotates the PTP sheet 100 about the normal such that the direction of the wide edge 100a is turned 180 degrees to the opposite side.

Here, as shown in FIG. 8, when two PTP sheets 100 in front and behind in the drug storage cassette 1 face each other with their pocket portion forming sides facing each other, the lower ends of these two PTP sheets 100 The upper end position of the PTP sheet 100 that is in contact with the container bottom in the medicine container cassette 1 is at the original position, while the upper end position of the other PTP sheet 100 is higher than the original position by a height H. The height H differs for each medicine, and the information on the height H is recorded in the master table for each medicine. When the PTP sheet 100 has three rows of pockets, the suction height from the bottom end of the sheet is about 1/3 of the height of the PTP sheet 100, as shown in FIG. In the case of an even number of rows such as two rows or four rows of pockets, the suction height is about half the height of the PTP sheet 100 . The suction height varies for each drug and is recorded in the master table. Information on the height H and information on the suction height can be used when the PTP sheet 100 is dispensed by the suction main body 61 .

When the pocket portion of the PTP sheet 100 does not face the suction body portion 61 side, regardless of whether or not the PTP sheet 100 is in contact with the storage bottom portion in the drug storage cassette 1, the first suction try is performed. Suction is almost certainly successful, and the PTP sheet 100 can be taken out from the drug storage cassette 1 . However, when the PTP sheet 100 is not in contact with the storage bottom in the drug storage cassette 1, the suction position of the suction cup 61a is lower than the original suction height of the PTP sheet 100, which is the original position. . In this case, the PTP sheet 100 is rotated around the normal line by the rotation section 13 around the normal line so that the direction of the wide edge 100a is turned 180 degrees, and then the PTP sheet 100 is rotated. When passed to the suction main body 61, the distance from the suction position of the suction cup 61a to the lower end of the PTP sheet 100 becomes longer than when suction is possible at the suction height, which is the original position.

In this way, when the suction position is not the original position, when the suction body portion 61 executes the movement operation for dropping the PTP sheet 100 onto the sheet storage portion 141, the lower end of the PTP sheet 100 is , may come into contact with the wall upper end 143 at the entrance of the sheet storage section 141 shown in FIG. Therefore, in a series of processes for dropping the PTP sheet 100 onto the sheet storage unit 141, when the direction of the wide edge 100a is reversed by 180 degrees, the drug sheet caused by the 180-degree rotation is A process for canceling (absorbing) the fluctuation of the lower edge position is performed.

The processing for eliminating the fluctuation may be an operation of moving the suction main body 61 upward by a fixed distance or a non-fixed distance compared to the case where the operation of turning the wide edge 100a in the opposite direction by 180 degrees is not executed. . By this movement, the lower end of the PTP sheet 100 can be prevented from contacting the upper wall portion 143 of the inlet of the sheet storage section 141 .

When the fixed distance is adopted, the PTP sheet 100 of any drug is moved upward by the fixed distance. On the other hand, the non-constant distance is, for example, the height H or a distance obtained by adding a margin to the height H. In this case, the PTP sheet 100 is moved upward by a different distance for each medicine. Both the constant distance movement and the non-constant distance movement are movement operations of the suction main body 61 that absorb the positional deviation of the PTP sheet 100 in the drug storage cassette 1 . The displacement of the PTP sheet 100 in the drug storage cassette 1 occurs when the two front and rear PTP sheets 100 in the drug storage cassette 1 face each other with their pocket portion forming sides facing each other as described above. occurs in

If the PTP sheet 100 that is not in contact with the storage bottom in the medicine storage cassette 1 is positioned at the top and its pocket portion is directed toward the suction body portion 61, the first suction attempt may fail. For example, if the suction cup 61a hits the pocket portion and a gap is created, the suction cannot be completed. If the suction cannot be completed even after a certain period of time elapses, it is determined as failure. In this case, for example, after the movable plate 62a of the pocket detector 62 is advanced, it is moved downward by a fixed distance or a non-fixed distance. By this movement, the other PTP sheet 100 can be brought into contact with the storage bottom part in the drug storage cassette 1 by the movable plate 62a, and the PTP sheet 100 can be sucked without failure in the next suction try. can be taken out from the medicine storage cassette 1 by It is also possible to perform a second try after the first failure, and move the movable plate 62a or the like downward by a fixed distance or a non-fixed distance when it is determined that this is also a failure.

If the above fixed distance is adopted, any PTP sheet 100 is moved downward by the above fixed distance. On the other hand, the non-constant distance is, for example, the height H or a distance obtained by adding a margin to the height H. In this case, the PTP sheet 100 is moved downward by a different distance for each medicine.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, when two PTP sheets 100 in front and behind in the drug storage cassette 1 face each other with their pocket portion forming sides facing each other, the lateral edges of these two PTP sheets 100 are A mismatch occurs.

Here, as described above, when the PTP sheet 100 is gripped, the sheet gripping section 8 determines whether the gripped side is the wide edge 100a of the PTP sheet 100 or not. The sheet gripper 8 is laterally movable, and is provided with, for example, an optical sensor 801 as shown in FIG. 40 to detect the lateral edge of the PTP sheet 100 . When the optical sensor 801 detects the lateral edge, the sheet gripping unit 8 stops moving in the lateral direction toward the PTP sheet 100 and starts gripping the PTP sheet 100 . As a result, even if the taken-out PTP sheets 100 are shifted in the lateral direction due to the lateral edges of the two PTP sheets 100 not matching, the sheet gripping unit 8 can detect the lateral edges to The PTP sheet 100 can be properly gripped.

On the other hand, when the suction main unit 61 executes a moving operation for dropping the PTP sheet 100 onto the sheet storage unit 141 in the state where the lateral displacement exists, the PTP sheet 100 is moved as shown in FIG. There is a risk that the sheet storage unit 141 shown in FIG. Therefore, when the sheet gripping portion 8 receives the PTP sheet 100 from the suction main body portion 61 and then passes the PTP sheet 100 to the suction main body portion 61 again, the sheet gripping portion 8 does not shift in the lateral direction. move laterally to eliminate

Specifically, the distance d from the center of the PTP sheet 100 to the lateral edge of the sheet (for example, information such as the number of motor pulses required for the sheet gripping portion 8 to move) is stored in the master table for each drug. ) is recorded. Further, a stepping motor, for example, is used for the horizontal movement, and it is possible to determine how far the sheet gripping portion 8 has moved from the reference position. Further, the distance D from the reference position to the center of the dispensing portion 120 of the drug containing cassette 1 (the axial position of the rotation portion 13 around the normal line) is known. Therefore, if the optical sensor 801 cannot detect the lateral edge of the sheet at the position where the sheet gripping portion 8 has moved by the distance obtained by subtracting the distance d from the distance D, a positional deviation occurs in the lateral direction. can be determined to be Therefore, when the sheet gripping portion 8 receives the PTP sheet 100 from the suction main body portion 61 and then passes the PTP sheet 100 to the suction main body portion 61 again, the sheet gripping portion 8 does not shift in the lateral direction. , and then move laterally for adjustment. This eliminates the lateral displacement. After the sheet gripping portion 8 receives the PTP sheet 100 from the suction body portion 61, the sheet gripping portion 8 may temporarily return to the reference position and move laterally by a distance obtained by subtracting the distance d from the distance D. .

The sheet gripping portion 14 is provided so as to be movable in the lateral direction of the medicine dispensing device 101 . The sheet gripping section 14 grips the wide edge 100a of the PTP sheet 100 dropped onto the sheet storage section 141 and moves the PTP sheet 100 to the cutter section 15 side. The cutter section 15 is composed of a fixed blade 15a and a movable blade 15b, and can cut the PTP sheet 100 in an L-shape. After this cutting, the sheet gripping section 14 moves the PTP sheet 100 to the sheet storage section 141 side and places the PTP sheet 100 on the sheet storage section 141 . Moreover, the fractional packaged medicines obtained by the cutting fall onto the belt conveyor 15c. The fractional packaged medicines are transported by the belt conveyor 15c, pass through a notch portion 1121 (see FIG. 24) formed in the hopper portion 112a of the sheet stocker 112, and drop into the hopper portion 112a.

In addition, when it is necessary to take out a plurality of PTP sheets 100 based on the prescription data, in parallel with the operation of cutting out the fractional packaged medicine, the suction body part 61 is pulled out of the medicine storage cassette 1 and the PTP sheet. The operation of taking out the PTP sheets 100 is repeated, and the taken out PTP sheets 100 are sequentially dropped into the sheet stocker 112 . In this way, if the PTP sheet 100 is taken out from the medicine storage cassette 1 in parallel with the process of cutting out the fractional packaged medicine, it is possible to shorten the time required for dispensing.

For example, the operation of setting the PTP sheet 100 for cutting out fractions in the sheet storage unit 141 is performed on the PTP sheet 100 first taken out from the medicine storage cassette 1 . Then, a first process of cutting out the fractional number of packaging medicines from the PTP sheets 100 set in the sheet storage section 141 and a second process of taking out the required number of PTP sheets 100 from the medicine storage cassette 1 by the suction body part 61 are performed. are performed in parallel. Note that even when the PTP sheet 100 that is taken out not first but after the second is set in the sheet storage unit 141, the first process and the second process can be performed in parallel. In addition, when the PTP sheet 100 for cutting out fractions or some packaging medicines of fractions is already left in the sheet storage unit 141, and when fraction cutting is to be performed using this, the second process is executed during that time. When the sheet storage unit 141 becomes empty during the second process, the second process is temporarily stopped and the PTP sheet 100 for cutting out fractions is set in the sheet storage unit 141. may be performed.

Further, when the prescription data requires processing to dispense a plurality of PTP sheets 100 and the PTP sheet 100 for fraction cutting is also required, the following processing may be performed. For example, the orientation of the wide edge 100a of the PTP sheet 100 first taken out from the drug storage cassette 1 is detected by the sheet gripping portion 8. As shown in FIG. Then, when the wide edge 100a is not oriented in a predetermined direction, the first PTP sheet 100 is dropped and paid out. Similar processing is performed for the subsequent PTP sheets 100 .

Here, for example, when it is necessary to dispense three PTP sheets 100 and fractional packaged medicines, if the wide edge 100a of the third PTP sheet 100 taken out is in a predetermined direction, the The third PTP sheet 100 taken out is set in the sheet storage unit 141 . That is, the PTP sheet 100 taken out as the third sheet is used as the PTP sheet 100 for fraction cutting. Since the number of PTP sheets 100 to be dispensed is three, the PTP sheets 100 are subsequently taken out from the drug storage cassette 1 and dispensed.

On the other hand, when the wide edge 100a of the third PTP sheet 100 taken out does not face the predetermined direction, the third taken out PTP sheet 100 is dropped and paid out. Then, the fourth PTP sheet 100 is taken out from the drug storage cassette 1 . When the wide edge 100 a of the fourth PTP sheet 100 is not oriented in a predetermined direction, the PTP sheet 100 is rotated by the normal rotation rotating section 13 and set in the sheet storage section 141 .

That is, when it is necessary to store the PTP sheets 100 in a predetermined orientation in the sheet storage unit 141 for cutting out the fractions provided in the drug storage cassette 1, a plurality of PTPs taken out from the drug storage cassette 1 can be stored. Among the sheets 100 , the PTP sheet 100 facing a predetermined direction is accommodated in the sheet storage section 141 . Then, when all the PTP sheets 100 taken out are not oriented in a predetermined direction, the last PTP sheet 100 is rotated by the normal line rotation section 13, which is a rotation operation section.

With the above method, the rotation movement of the PTP sheet 100 by the rotation movement section can be reduced as much as possible, so the time required for the medicine dispensing process can be shortened. In this case, the mechanical detection operation by the sheet gripping portion 8 for detecting the orientation of the wide edge 100a of the PTP sheet 100 may increase. Here, if the orientation of the wide edge 100a of the PTP sheet 100 taken out of the drug storage cassette 1 is detected by an image sensor, the mechanical detection operation is not necessary, and the image processing speed is improved. Save time.

In the above method, among the plurality of PTP sheets 100 taken out from the drug storage cassette 1, the PTP sheet 100 having both the wide edge 100a and the pocket portion oriented in predetermined directions is stored in the sheet storage section 141. may be accommodated in If either or both of the wide edges 100a and the pocket portions of all the PTP sheets 100 that have been taken out are not oriented in a predetermined direction, the rotating portion 13 around the normal and the / Or the last PTP sheet 100 is rotated by the sheet gripping part 8 . The image sensor can also detect the pocket portion of the PTP sheet 100 taken out of the drug storage cassette 1 .

In the above embodiment, the direction of the pocket of the drug sheet taken out from the drug storage cassette and the direction of the wide edge are oriented in the same direction. In that case, the configuration can be such that the means for detecting the pocket and the means for reversing the direction of the pocket are omitted.

Further, if at least the wide edges of the drug sheets taken out from the drug storage cassette can be oriented in the same direction, the drug sheets can be cut into fractions even if the directions of the pockets are not the same.

Here, an operation example for paying out the PTP sheets 100 one by one will be shown. In this operation example, the main suction unit 61 sucks the leading PTP sheet 100 in the storage unit 11 and pushes the PTP sheet 100 in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the PTP sheet 100 by the moving operation unit 130 . Then, the PTP sheet 100 is pulled in the same direction as the moving direction at a speed faster than the moving speed of the PTP sheet 100 by the moving operation unit 130 . As a result, the contact member 121a of the first restricting portion 121 is positioned between the leading PTP sheet 100 and the second PTP sheet 100, and only the leading PTP sheet 100 is dispensed.

Note that the back-and-forth moving device 65 moves the suction operation unit (extracting unit) 6 in the direction opposite to the direction in which the moving operation unit 130 moves the PTP sheet 100 (by the pushing operation in the opposite direction). , the moving operation unit 130 moves in the opposite direction), in the direction in which the moving operation unit 130 moves the PTP sheet 100 faster than the speed at which the moving operation unit 130 moves the PTP sheet 100, It is desirable to move the suction operation unit 6 holding the PTP sheet 100 at the top. In this way, by moving the suction body portion 61 in the direction opposite to the direction in which the moving operation portion 130 moves the PTP sheets 100, when dispensing the PTP sheets 100, the first PTP sheet 100 and the second PTP sheet 100 are moved. The distance from the 1 limiter 121 can be increased. As a result, the time from when the main suction unit 61 starts moving the leading PTP sheet 100 to when the leading PTP sheet 100 gets over the first restricting portion 121 increases. Therefore, even if the difference between the speed at which the suction body portion 61 moves the PTP sheet 100 and the speed at which the moving operation portion 130 moves the PTP sheet 100 is small, the first PTP sheet 100 passes through the first restricting portion 121. At this time, the distance between the leading PTP sheet 100 and the second PTP sheet 100 can be increased, and the first restricting portion 121 can easily enter between the leading PTP sheet 100 and the second PTP sheet 100. Become.

By sucking the leading PTP sheet 100 in the storage section 11 by the suction body section 61 and pushing the PTP sheet 100 in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the PTP sheet 100 by the moving operation section 130, the above Suction of the PTP sheet 100 by the suction body portion 61 is reliably executed.

[Tray moving unit 500]
The tray moving unit 500 may not exist in the type in which one medicine dispensing device 101 constitutes the medicine dispensing device. When the tray moving unit 500 is provided, another medicine dispensing device 101 can be placed on the tray moving part 500, and the medicine tray T can be moved between a plurality of medicine dispensing devices. The tray moving section 500 has a conveyor section 51 for moving the medicine tray T in the lateral direction of the medicine dispensing device 101, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 32A and 32B, the conveyor section 51 has two moving belts 51b on both sides of the monorail section 51a extending in the horizontal direction. The drug tray T is placed on the moving belt 51b so that the concave portion C formed in the bottom thereof engages the monorail portion 51a. The moving belt 51b is driven by a motor 51c. Since the drug tray T is guided by the monorail portion 51a, the structure can be simplified. In addition, although the said recessed part C was formed using the said accommodation recessed part T1, T2, T3, and T4, it is not restricted to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 4(B), a medicine tray T in which one accommodation recess T11 is formed can also be used. The medicine tray T has two legs T10 on the lower surface of the tray main body, and a recess C for receiving the monorail portion 51a is formed between the legs T10. Even in the case where a plurality of storage recesses are not provided, it is possible to move the medicine tray T forward, backward, leftward, and rightward by the conveyor part 51, so that the medicine can be placed at appropriate positions in the front, rear, left, and right of the medicine tray T. .

Further, the conveyor section 51 is moved in the front-rear direction of the drug delivery device 101 by the front-rear drive section 52 . The front-rear driving portion 52 is provided with a feed screw 52a extending in the front-rear direction. A moving nut is provided on the base portion of the conveyor portion 51, and the feed screw 52a is screwed into the moving nut. When the feed screw 52a is rotated by the motor 52b, the conveyor portion 51 is moved in the front-rear direction. Further, the conveyor portion 51 is guided in the front-rear direction by a guide shaft 52c.

A positioning portion 53 is provided in the conveyor portion 51 . The positioning unit 53 rotates a shaft (support shaft) 53b provided in the left-right direction of the medicine delivery device 101 using the driving force of one motor 53a, thereby positioning the medicine tray at a plurality of positions. T can be located. The positioning portion 53 includes six stopper members 531 that are operated by the shaft 53b. Two fixed stopper portions 532 that do not move together with the conveyor portion 51 are provided at both left and right ends of the tray moving portion 500 .

As shown in FIG. 33, the body portion 531a of each stopper member 531 is rotatably provided with a rotating portion 531b. The rotating part 531b can rotate when contacting the side surface of the medicine tray T moving in the lateral direction of the medicine dispensing device 101 . A shaft insertion hole 531c is formed in the body portion 531a, and the shaft 53b is inserted through the shaft insertion hole 531c. Each stopper member 531 is rotatably provided with respect to the shaft 53b.

A fixing portion 531e provided separately from the main body portion 531a is fixed to the shaft 53b. One end of the coil spring 531d wound around the shaft 53b is engaged with the fixing portion 531e, and the other end is engaged with the main body portion 531a, whereby the stopper member 531 rotates integrally with the shaft 53b. move. When the stopper member 531 tilts in the advancing direction of the medicine tray T due to this integral rotation, the movement of the medicine tray T is blocked and positioned. On the other hand, when the rotating portion 531b contacts the side surface of the medicine tray T when the stopper member 531 tilts, the body portion 531a maintains contact with the side surface of the medicine tray T against the coil spring 531d. As a result, the rotation portion 531b rotates and the movement of the medicine tray T is not blocked.

That is, the positioning portion 53 is erected by the rotation of the shaft 53b in the first rotation direction to allow passage of the medicine tray T, and is tilted by the rotation of the shaft 53b in the second rotation direction. a plurality of stopper members 531 for preventing the medicine tray T from passing through, and non-tilting of the stopper members 531 coming into contact with the side surface of the medicine tray T when the shaft 53b rotates in the second rotation direction. and a coil spring 531d (elastic member) that allows

For example, when the drug tray T is detected by a sensor (not shown) before the target positioning position, the motor 53a is operated to rotate the shaft 53b, thereby moving the drug tray T to the target positioning position. can be stopped by Thus, while the plurality of stopper members 531 operate together to position the medicine tray T, some of the plurality of stopper members 531 do not operate together and do not function as stoppers. This structure is realized by one motor 53a and one shaft 53b, thereby simplifying the structure.

The tray moving section 5 includes the conveyor section 51 and a stationary conveyor section 55 . That is, the tray moving section 5 corresponds to a structure in which a fixed conveyor section 55 is provided on the front side of the conveyor section 51 (the front side of the medicine dispensing device 101) in the tray moving section 500 (see FIG. 1). ). The conveyor section 55 is not provided with the positioning section 53 . The conveyor section 55 can receive an empty medicine tray T from the tray stocker 1012 and transfer the empty medicine tray T to the conveyor section 51 of the tray moving section 500 . The tray moving section 500 that has received the empty medicine tray T moves the conveyor section 51 backward, and passes the empty medicine tray T to the conveyor section 51 of the tray moving section 5 . By providing the tray moving unit 500, it is possible to operate a plurality of medicine trays T such as keeping the medicine tray to be used for the next dispensing on the tray moving unit 500 on standby.

The tray moving unit 5 is provided below the dispensing operation unit 110 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the drug dispensing device 101, and can be pulled out from the position below the dispensing operation unit 110 to the front side of the device. It has become.

34 shows the position of the stopper member 531 on the conveyor portion 51 of the tray moving portion 5, the positions of the sheet stockers 112 of the first dispensing operation portion 110 and the second dispensing operation portion 110, and the positions of these two sheet stockers 112. All stop positions from the right and left sides when the four storage recesses T1, T2, T3, T4 of the medicine tray T are aligned with the positions are shown. This stop position example is a case where the interval between the positions where the medicine tray T is to be stopped (arrangement interval of the stopper members 531) is made shorter than the tray size in the transport direction of the medicine tray T in order to make the medicine dispensing device compact. exemplified. In order to realize this exemplary configuration, the positioning portion 53 ensures the rotation of the shaft 53b even when the stopper member 531 positioned on the side surface of the medicine tray T hits the side surface of the tray. The stopper member 531 is made to function as a stopper.

As can be seen from FIG. 34, the positioning portion 53 requires eight stopper members. In this embodiment, as described above, six stopper members 531 operated by the shaft 53b are provided, and two fixed stopper portions 532 are provided. When the conveyor portion 51 is moved to the rear side of the medicine dispensing device, the medicine tray can be moved between the tray moving portion 500 and the tray moving portion 5 without the fixed stopper portion 532 becoming an obstacle. T can move.

It should be noted that cases where the PTP sheet 100 cannot be pulled out by the suction operation unit 6 include cases where the inside of the drug storage cassette 1 is empty (missing item) and cases due to poor suction. In this embodiment, a weight scale for measuring the weight of the medicine containing cassette 1 is provided, for example, in each dispensing operation unit 110, and when the medicine containing cassette 1 is gripped, the number of PTP sheets 100 contained ( inventory) can be determined. Therefore, when the PTP sheet 100 cannot be pulled out by the suction operation unit 6 when the PTP sheet 100 is dispensed from the drug storage cassette 1 determined to be in stock, the following processing can be performed. That is, if it is judged that there is stock and the suction cannot be performed, it is judged that a suction failure has occurred and error processing is executed. Perform error handling. This allows the user to know the exact status of the device 101 . In addition, in the case of setting to continue the payout process without treating the shortage as an error, if there is no shortage, it is possible to appropriately perform the process of stopping the device with an error process.

For a specific drug, the two PTP sheets 100 arranged one behind the other in the drug storage cassette 1 may be prohibited from being set with the pocket forming sides facing each other. For example, the two PTP sheets 100 are strongly bonded to each other, so that drugs that cause poor suction are prohibited. Such prohibition information can be registered in the master table for each drug. When the drug containing cassette 1 containing the drug for which the prohibition information is set is selected as a drug replenishment target, the control unit 1005 causes the display 1002 to display the setting of the PTP sheet 100 as shown in FIG. A message to call attention can be displayed. For example, "It is prohibited to set this medicine sheet in the cassette so that the pocket sides face each other. When setting the medicine sheet in the cassette, be sure to face the medicine sheet in a certain direction." Display a message. The drug storage cassette is selected by reading the drug storage cassette ID from the barcode printed on the drug storage cassette or the information recording unit (for example, RFID tag: radio frequency identifier tag, etc.) held in the drug storage cassette. . It should be noted that not only when the drug containing cassette 1 is selected as a drug replenishment target, but also when a specific drug is selected, for example, a barcode printed on the PTP sheet 100 or a plurality of PTP sheets 100 are packaged. A message as shown in FIG. 38 may be displayed when a bar code printed on a box or the like is read.

Further, when executing the error processing due to the occurrence of the suction failure, the control unit 1005 displays the error on the display 1002 together with the PTP sheet when the error occurs in the drug storage cassette 1 of the specific drug. A reminder message can be displayed for the 100 sets. For example, a message such as "It is prohibited to set this medicine sheet in the cassette so that the pocket sides face each other. Please confirm that the orientation of the medicine sheet is fixed." is displayed.

For example, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 39, the control unit 1005 uses the weighing scale to determine whether or not there is a shortage when suction failure occurs in a drug storage cassette 1 (step S1 ), and when it is determined that the PTP sheet 100 is out of stock, a message prompting for replenishment of the PTP sheet 100 is displayed (step S2). When it is determined that the drug is not out of stock, it is determined whether or not the drug set in the drug storage cassette 1 is a specific product (step S3). If it is not a specific item, a message indicating a normal error is displayed (step S4). On the other hand, if it is a specific product, a message is displayed indicating an error and prohibiting free setting (step S5). The message part indicating the prohibition can be the same as the message contents shown in FIG. In step S1, a message is also displayed when a specific drug storage cassette 1 is out of stock.

In the above-described embodiment, the suction operation unit 6 is shown as the take-out unit holding the PTP sheet 100, but not limited to such suction, the leading PTP sheet 100 in the drug storage cassette 1 is adhered or gripped. It is also possible to pay out by

In the medicine dispensing device 101 of the above embodiment, the delivery part 3 is moved by the delivery part moving part 4, but as shown in FIG. may be provided movably within the arrangement range of the plurality of delivery units 3 in charge. That is, the payout operation unit 110 may move between the plurality of delivery units 3 . Further, as shown in FIG. 36, a plurality of the delivery units 3 and the dispensing operation units 110 may be fixedly arranged in one-to-one correspondence.

In addition, in the medicine dispensing device 101 of the above embodiment, it is detected which side the wide edge 100a of the PTP sheet 100 faces, left or right, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to set the PTP sheet 100 in the medicine storage cassette 1 so that the major axis thereof is vertical. can be

Further, in the medicine dispensing device 101 of the above embodiment, the medicine containing cassette 1 is moved horizontally within the cassette shelf, but the medicine containing cassette 1 can be moved vertically to be contained in the cassette shelf. is also possible. The drug storage cassette 1 may store PTP sheets 100 stacked vertically. In this case, the suction pad of the suction body portion 61 in the dispensing operation portion 110 is provided facing downward, and the uppermost PTP sheet 100 is taken out from the drug storage cassette 1 .

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments. Various modifications and variations can be made to the illustrated embodiment within the same scope as the present invention or within an equivalent scope.

1 Medicine storage cassette 11 Storage unit 13 Normal rotation rotation unit 13b Suction cup unit 14 Sheet grip unit 15 Cutter unit 120 Dispensing unit 140 Lid 140a Notch 141 Sheet storage unit 2 Cassette transport unit 21 Cassette loading/unloading unit 22 Moving mechanism 23 Front and back Moving part 3 Delivery part 4 Delivery part moving part 5 Tray moving part 51 Conveyor part 52 Front-back driving part 53 Positioning part 53b Shaft (support shaft)
531 stopper member 531d winding spring (elastic member 500 tray moving part (second tray moving part)
6 Suction operation part 61 Suction body part 61a Suction cup 62 Pocket detection part 64 Lifting device 65 Forward/backward moving device 8 Sheet gripping part 101 Medicine dispensing device 110 Dispensing operation part 1011 Cassette shelf 1012 Tray stocker 1120 Medicine sheet exit part

Claims (3)

a cassette shelf on which a plurality of drug containing cassettes containing drug sheets are arranged;
a cassette transport unit that performs an operation of taking out the drug containing cassette from the cassette shelf and transporting it to a delivery part and an operation of returning the drug containing cassette on the delivery part to the cassette shelf;
a medicine covering part provided in the cassette conveying part and positioned so as to cover the upper side of the medicine containing cassette taken out from the cassette shelf;
A drug delivery mechanism comprising: a cassette shelf on which a plurality of drug containing cassettes containing drug sheets are arranged;
a cassette transport unit that performs an operation of taking out the drug containing cassette from the cassette shelf and transporting it in the vertical direction and an operation of returning the drug containing cassette to the cassette shelf;
a medicine covering part provided in the cassette conveying part and positioned so as to cover the upper side of the medicine containing cassette taken out from the cassette shelf;
A drug delivery mechanism comprising: taking out the drug containing cassette from a cassette shelf on which a plurality of drug containing cassettes containing drug sheets are arranged;
a step of transporting the drug containing cassette by the cassette transporting part while covering the upper side of the drug containing cassette with a drug covering part provided in the cassette transporting part;
removing a drug sheet from the drug containing cassette;
returning the drug containing cassette from which the drug sheet has been taken out to the cassette shelf by the cassette conveying unit;
A drug extraction method comprising:

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