JP2024022635A - drug dispensing device - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To develop a drug feeder that can discharge a precise amount of drugs. SOLUTION: A drug feeder 1 includes a drug container 2 and a container mounting device 3. The drug container 2 is detachable from the container mounting device 3 . The drug container 2 has a drug discharge section for discharging the drug. The container mounting device 3 includes a vibrating table 50, a vibrating means 51, a container holding means, and a weight measuring means. It has a magnet current-carrying wire 65, an excitation means current-carrying wire 68, and a measuring means current-carrying wire 70, and has a wire holding member 73 that holds any of the wires. The wire holding member 73 holds the wire, has elasticity, moves the position of the wire fixing part 76 in response to external force, and returns to the original position when the external force disappears. [Selection diagram] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a medicine feeder that measures and takes out a predetermined amount of medicine. The medicine feeder of the present invention is suitably used as a device for supplying powder medicine to a powder medicine dispensing device that dispenses powder medicine. Further, the medicine feeder of the present invention is suitable as a device built into a powder medicine packaging device which has the function of dispensing powder medicines with the powder medicine dispensing device and packaging them individually.
The present invention also relates to a medicine dispensing device incorporating a medicine feeder.

In recent years, large hospitals and large-scale pharmacies have introduced powder medicine packaging devices and drug dispensing devices equipped with a powder medicine packaging function. Here, the powder medicine packaging device is a device that individually packages powder medicines, etc., one dose at a time. By using a powder medicine packaging device, it is possible to automate most of the work of packaging powder medicines and the like into individual doses.
The powder medicine packaging device 200 disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a device that individually packages powder medicines for each dose, and as shown in FIG. It has a device 203.
The drug supply device 201 disclosed in Patent Document 1 is configured by an input hopper 205 and a powder feeder 206, as shown in FIGS. 39 and 40.
As shown in FIG. 40, the powder feeder 206 has two piezoelectric elements 207 and 208 provided under a trough 210, and vibrates the trough 210.

The powder medicine dispensing device 202 is composed of a dispensing plate 212 and a scraping device 215, as shown in FIG. The distribution plate 212 has a groove 216 having an arcuate cross section and an annular shape in plan view. Distribution pan 212 is rotated by a motor 219 at a constant speed.
The scraping device 215 has a disk 217 that moves up and down and rotates, and a scraping plate 218 is provided on the disk 217.

The drug packaging device 203 includes a packaging hopper 220 and a packaging device 221, as shown in FIG.

Next, a procedure for packaging powdered medicine using the powdered medicine packaging device 200 will be described.
The work of packaging powdered medicines is performed by a pharmacist by operating the powdered medicine packaging device 200 according to a doctor's prescription. That is, the pharmacist confirms the doctor's prescription and takes out a medicine bottle containing the prescribed powder medicine from a medicine cabinet (not shown). Then, use a scale such as a balance to measure the total weight of the specific powder prescribed.
In other words, if it is a powder medicine that is taken three times a day, and 1.0 grams are prescribed each time, and 20 days' worth of medicine is prescribed, then (1.0 x 3 x 20 = 60) grams. The powder medicine is taken out. More specifically, place a container on a scale, tare it, take out the powder from the vial using a medicine spoon, put the powder into the container on the scale, and weigh out 60 grams of the powder.

Then, 60 grams of the weighed powder is put into the input hopper 205 of the drug supply device 201.
At the same time, the piezoelectric elements 207 and 208 (FIG. 40) of the powder feeder 206 are energized to vibrate the trough 210, and further, the distribution plate 212 is rotated at about 20 to 30 revolutions per minute.
The powder introduced into the input hopper 205 falls into the trough 210 of the powder feeder 206 from the opening at the lower end of the input hopper 205 . As the trough 210 vibrates, the powder slowly moves toward the tip and is rectified. Further, as the drug moves on the trough 210, rectification progresses, and the flow of the drug becomes laminar. That is, the distribution of the drug in the cross section in the direction perpendicular to the flow is constant, and the distance traveled by the drug per unit time is also constant. As a result, the 60 grams of powder are uniformly dispersed and slowly move toward the distal end at a constant rate per hour.
Finally, the powder moving at the front reaches the tip of the trough 210, and the powder moving at the front falls from the tip of the trough 210 into the groove 216 of the distribution pan 212. Further, the subsequent powder medicines fall onto the distribution tray 212 by a constant amount per hour. Finally, the last powder drops into the distribution pan 212, and all 60 grams of the powder enters the groove 216.

On the other hand, since the distribution pan 212 is rotating at a predetermined speed, the powder falling from the trough 210 is evenly distributed in the grooves 216 of the distribution pan 212.
That is, the powder feeder 206 drops the powder little by little into the distribution pan 212, and the distribution pan 212 rotates at a constant speed, so that the powder is evenly distributed in the grooves 216 of the distribution pan 212.

Once the powder has finished falling onto the distribution plate 212, the rotation of the distribution plate 212 is temporarily stopped. Thereafter, the disc 217 of the scraping device 215 is dropped into the groove 216 of the distribution pan 212. Furthermore, after that, the distribution plate 212 is rotated by an angle corresponding to the number of items to be distributed. To explain using the previous example, since 60 grams of powder is to be divided into 60 packages, the distribution plate 212 is rotated by (60/360) degrees, and the powder is transferred by (60/360) degrees to the front side of the disk 217. collect. Then, the disk 217 is rotated, and a (60/360) degree of powder is scraped out of the distribution tray 212 by the scraper plate 218, and then thrown into the packaging hopper 220. The powdered medicine that has fallen from the packaging hopper 220 is packaged by a packaging device 221.

When the powder medicine packaging device 200 disclosed in Patent Document 1 is used, most of the work of packaging powder medicines into individual doses can be automated.
However, the powder medicine packaging device 200 of the prior art still requires manual labor, and it cannot be said that the powder medicine packaging device 200 is a device that can completely automate the packaging of powder medicines.
That is, the powder medicine packaging device 200 of the prior art requires the pharmacist to take out a medicine bottle containing a desired powder medicine from a medicine shelf and measure out a predetermined amount of powder medicine from the medicine bottle.
Therefore, in order to automate the work of weighing out powdered medicines, the present applicant developed a medicine feeder equipped with a weight measuring means and filed a patent application (Patent Document 2).

The medicine feeder disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a container mounting device and a medicine container. The container mounting device is provided with a vibrating table, a vibrating means, and an electromagnet, and the electromagnet can fix the drug container to the vibrating table.
The medicine feeder disclosed in Patent Document 2 vibrates a vibration table to feed medicine from a medicine container into a distribution tray. Then, the weight of the drug container at that time is monitored by a weight measuring means, and when a certain amount of drug is discharged, the vibration of the vibration table is stopped.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-85703 International Publication No. 2014-46148

According to the drug feeder disclosed in Patent Document 2, the work of measuring out a predetermined amount of powdered medicine can be omitted.
However, when we prototyped the drug feeder disclosed in Patent Document 2 and conducted repeated experiments to investigate the difference between the target drug discharge amount and the actual drug discharge amount, we found that there was an error of about 0.5 g between the two. I noticed that there are many cases.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to develop a drug feeder that can solve this problem and discharge a more accurate amount of drugs.
Further, the drug dispensing device according to one aspect of the present embodiment can also be used when there is no prescribed drug filled in the container storage device of the drug dispensing device or in the sealed drug container stored outside. can do.

The present inventors investigated the cause of the error in the discharge amount. As a result, it was found that the elasticity of the electric wire connecting the drug feeder and the outside was the cause of the error.
That is, the medicine feeder disclosed in Patent Document 2 has an electromagnet for fixing the medicine container, a vibrating means for vibrating the medicine container, and an electric wire for supplying power to these. There is also an electric wire for outputting a signal from the weight measuring means to the outside.
Although these wires are thin, they are physically connected to the main body, and their weight and elastic force slightly affect the detected value of the weight measuring means.
Further, the medicine feeder disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a vibration table, and the main body part vibrates during use. Therefore, the vibration of the vibration table is transmitted to each electric wire, causing each electric wire to vibrate. As a result, the position and bending of the electric wire change while the medicine is being discharged, resulting in an error of about 0.5 g in the measured value.

An embodiment developed based on the above knowledge is a drug feeder having a drug container and a container placement device, wherein the drug container is detachable from the container placement device, and the drug container is detachable from the container placement device. There is a drug discharge section that discharges the drug, and the container mounting device includes a vibrating table, a vibrating means for vibrating the vibrating table, a container holding means for temporarily fixing the drug container to the vibrating table, and a container mounting device that controls the weight of the drug container. weight measuring means for directly or indirectly measuring the amount of the drug, the drug container is placed on a vibrating table, the drug container is fixed to the vibrating table by the container holding means, and the vibrating table is vibrated to remove the drug from the drug ejection section. An electric wire holding member capable of discharging a drug little by little and detecting the amount of drug discharged by a weight measuring means, having one or more electric wires connected to the outside, and holding all or any of the electric wires. The wire holding member has a wire fixing portion and holds the wire by the wire fixing portion, and the wire holding member has elasticity so that the position of the wire fixing portion moves according to external force, and the wire holding member has elasticity and moves in response to external force. This drug feeder is characterized in that the electric wire fixing part returns to its original position when the electric wire fixing part disappears.

A drug dispensing device according to one aspect of this aspect includes a container storage device in which sealed drug containers are stored, a container placement device that constitutes a drug feeder, a powder dispensing device that dispenses powder drugs, and a display section. In the drug dispensing device, a plurality of container placement devices are installed around the powder medicine dispensing device, and when there is no sealed drug container filled with a prescribed drug in the container storage device, a display unit displays a message on the display unit. , a message is displayed to prompt the user to install a drug container with an open drug inlet onto the container mounting device from outside the drug dispensing device.
A preferred embodiment is a drug dispensing device that further includes a notification member that informs which container mounting device among a plurality of container mounting devices the drug container with an open drug insertion opening should be placed.
A further preferred embodiment is a drug dispensing device in which the notification member lights up.
In a further preferred embodiment, the notification member is a drug dispensing device provided on the container mounting device.
A drug dispensing device according to another aspect of the present embodiment includes a container mounting device constituting a drug feeder, a drug container with an open drug input port, and a powder dispensing device dispensing powdered medicine. , is placed around the powder medicine dispensing device, and the area where the powder medicine dispensing device is installed is covered with a housing, and the housing has a door for manual loading, and medicines can be introduced into the interior through the door for manual loading. Open-mouth drug containers can be taken in and out, and the manual loading door is large enough to allow an operator to insert their hand from the outside and introduce an open-mouth drug container into the housing. This is a drug dispensing device that is installed at a position where an operator can place a drug container with an open drug inlet on a specific container placement device within the housing.
In a preferred embodiment, the interior of the casing is divided into a medicine shelf area, a medicine division area, and a medicine packaging area, and the manual loading door is provided at a position that covers the medicine division area, and is separated from the medicine division area. This is a small-sized drug dispensing device.
A further preferred embodiment further includes a drug container separate from the drug container with an open drug input port, an automatic carry-in door separate from the manual carry-in door, and a container moving means, wherein the separate drug container is , the other drug container is carried in through the automatic carry-in door and is a drug dispensing device that is transported to a predetermined position by the container moving means.
In a further preferred embodiment, the drug container with an open drug inlet has an opening on the upper surface side in the direction of gravity based on the attitude in which the container is mounted on the container mounting device, and the drug can be poured into the drug container from the opening. The drug container with an open drug inlet has a drug ejection part at one horizontal end, and has a temporary stand for temporarily placing the drug container with an open drug inlet. This medicine dispensing device temporarily places a medicine container in an inclined position with the medicine discharge part facing upward.
In a further preferred embodiment, the medicine container with an open medicine entrance or the other medicine container is provided with a storage means or an identification means for identifying the medicine container, and the temporary storage stand is provided with information recorded in the storage means or the identification means. This medicine dispensing device is provided with reading means and/or writing means for reading out the contents.
In a further preferred embodiment, the container mounting device includes a vibrating table, a vibrating means for vibrating the vibrating table, and a container holding means for temporarily fixing the drug container to the vibrating table, and has a drug inlet opening type. It is possible to manually place the drug container on the vibration table and fix the drug container to the vibration table using a container holding means. By reading the information that identifies the drug container from the member, a confirmation operation is performed to confirm whether the drug container placed on the vibration table has been appropriately selected, and when the vibration table is vibrated, the drug container This medicine dispensing device includes an operation of discharging the medicine from the medicine discharging part to the dispensing means.
In a further preferred embodiment, there is a plurality of container placement devices, and among the plurality of container placement devices, the notification member notifies the container placement device for placing a drug container with an open drug inlet or the other drug container. However, this medicine dispensing device changes the notification method depending on whether a medicine container with an open medicine entrance or another medicine container is placed therein and is being discharged to the dispensing means, and when the discharge has been completed.
In a further preferred embodiment, the notification member of the container placement device is a lamp, and the lamp indicates the type of notification by changing the color of the lamp, and the operator holds the drug container with the drug inlet opening open when the drug container is discharged. This is a drug dispensing device that removes a drug container with an open drug input port from a container placement device by recognizing a change in color when the drug is finished.
In the drug feeder of this embodiment, the drug container is fixed to the vibration table, and the drug container is brought into direct contact with the vibration table. By vibrating the vibration table in this state, the entire or part of the drug container can be vibrated. Therefore, the medicine in the medicine container slowly moves toward the medicine discharge part, the medicine is rectified, the flow becomes laminar, and the medicine is discharged from the medicine discharge part.
Furthermore, since the medicine feeder of this embodiment is equipped with a weight measuring means, it is possible to detect the amount of medicine discharged, and it is possible to automate the work of weighing out powdered medicine and the like.
Moreover, the drug feeder of this aspect has an electric wire holding member, and the electric wire is held by the electric wire fixing part of the electric wire holding member. The wire holding member has elasticity, and the position of the wire fixing portion moves in response to external force, and when the external force disappears, the wire fixing portion returns to its original position. This prevents the position and bending of the electric wire from changing while the medicine is being discharged, and eliminates the problem of errors in measurement values.

In one embodiment, the drug container is partially or entirely made of a magnetic material, the container holding means includes a magnetic member and fixes the drug container by magnetic force, and the magnet current-carrying wire connected to the magnet member and the A configuration having a vibrating means energized line connected to the shaking means and a measuring means energized line connected to the weight measuring means is conceivable.

It is recommended that the wire holding member is partially or entirely a coil spring.

It may have a plurality of wire holding members.

The container holding means has a permanent magnet and an electromagnet, and fixes the drug container to the vibration table by at least the magnetic force of the permanent magnet, and energizes the electromagnet to generate a magnetic force that cancels the magnetic force of the permanent magnet, thereby fixing the drug container to the vibration table. It is desirable to release the fixation of the

In the drug feeder of this embodiment, the container holding means includes a permanent magnet and an electromagnet, and the drug container is fixed to the vibration table by at least the magnetic force of the permanent magnet. Therefore, when the drug container is mounted on the container mounting device, the amount of current applied to the electromagnet is small. If a configuration is adopted in which the drug container is fixed to the vibration table only by the magnetic force of the permanent magnet, there is no need to energize the electromagnet while the drug container is fixed to the vibration table. Therefore, the electromagnet does not generate heat and the medicine in the medicine container is not heated. Furthermore, since there is no need to energize the electromagnet while the drug container is fixed on the vibration table, power consumption is low. Therefore, the power consumption of the drug feeder as a whole is low, and since it generates little heat, it is less likely to affect the drugs.

There are one or more coiled members in the drug container, and at least one of the coiled members is placed horizontally and is in a position where its axis intersects with the flow direction of the drug caused by vibrating a vibration table. , and preferably a movable coil that has a degree of freedom in the vertical direction and moves up and down by the vibration of the vibration table.

Powdered drugs may form clumps inside the drug container. According to this aspect, since the movable coil moves up and down due to vibration, lumps are crushed and the medicine is smoothly discharged.

An eaves member is provided to cover the upper part of the moving coil, and the eaves member is provided with an opening, and the opening is located directly above the moving coil, so that the drug that has ridden on the eaves member falls from the opening onto the moving coil. This is desirable.

In the drug feeder of this embodiment, since the drug falls directly into the movable coil, the effect of crushing lumps is strong.

There are two or more coiled members in the drug container, and at least one of the coiled members is placed horizontally, with its axis intersecting the flow direction of the drug, and has no degree of freedom in the vertical direction. A fixed coil is preferable.

In the drug feeder of this embodiment, the coiled member functions as a rectifying member. It can also disintegrate lumps of powdered medicine and return it to its original powder form.

There are two or more coiled members in the drug container, and at least one of the coiled members is placed horizontally, with an axis thereof intersecting a flow direction of the drug caused by vibrating a vibration table, and a movable coil that has a degree of freedom in the vertical direction and moves up and down due to the vibration of the vibration table, and at least one of the coiled members is placed horizontally and is in a posture where the axis line intersects the flow direction of the drug; Further, it is preferable that the fixed coil is a fixed coil that does not have a degree of freedom in the vertical direction, and that the fixed coil is located downstream of the movable coil in the flow direction of the drug.

As mentioned above, the moving coil has the function of crushing the drug lumps. Further, as described above, the fixed coil has a function as a rectifying member.
If there are any lumps in the drug, they are crushed by the moving coil. However, in this state, the thickness of the drug layer is uneven.
In this embodiment, since there is a fixed coil downstream of the movable coil, the crushed powdered medicine is smoothed out and turned into a thin layer with a constant thickness.

The weight measuring means measures the original weight of the drug container before discharging the drug, and the weight measuring means measures the weight of the drug container when the vibration table is vibrated and the drug is discharged little by little from the drug discharge section. It is desirable to have a measuring function that monitors and stops the vibration of the vibration table when the current weight of the drug container matches or substantially matches the value obtained by subtracting the target discharge amount from the original weight.

Regarding the means for measuring the weight of the drug container, it does not matter whether the weight of the drug container is measured directly or indirectly. That is, only the weight of the drug container may be directly measured, or the weight including the weight of equipment such as a vibration table may be measured.
The drug feeder of the present invention utilizes the original weight, which is the weight of the drug container before discharging the drug, and the current weight, which is the current weight of the drug container, and calculates the current weight by subtracting the target discharge amount from the original weight. When a match is found, the vibration of the vibration table is stopped. Alternatively, taking into account the weight of the medicine in the process of falling, the vibration of the vibration table is stopped when the current weight is slightly less than the original weight minus the target ejection amount, and when they substantially match. Therefore, after the target amount of the drug is discharged, the vibration of the vibration table is stopped, and the discharge of the drug is stopped.

It is desirable to monitor the weight of the drug container and change the vibration pattern of the vibration table if the change in weight of the drug container per unit time becomes less than a certain value.

A possible cause of the change in the weight of the drug container per unit time being less than a certain level is that the drug hardens within the drug container.
Therefore, if the change in the weight of the drug container per unit time becomes less than a certain value, the vibration pattern of the vibration table is changed to loosen the lumps. For example, the vibration pattern is changed so that the amplitude of the vibration table becomes larger.

Even if the vibration pattern of the vibration table is changed, if the change in the weight of the drug container per unit time is less than a certain value, it is desirable to stop the vibration of the vibration table and execute a predetermined stockout processing step.

If the change in the weight of the drug container per unit time is less than a certain value even if the vibration pattern of the vibration table is changed, the reason may be that the amount of drug remaining in the drug container has become small.
Then, the vibration of the vibration table is stopped, and a predetermined missing item processing process is executed.

In the out-of-stock processing process, the weight of the medicine that has already been discharged is memorized, and when the medicine container is replaced and restarted automatically or manually, when the total discharge amount matches or almost matches the target discharge amount. It is desirable to stop the vibration of the shaking table.

According to this aspect, even if a stockout occurs before the predetermined amount of discharge is reached, when the missing drug is refilled and discharge is restarted, the discharge amount that was completed before replenishment is stored. , the amount that must be discharged after replenishment can be calculated. Therefore, there is no need to collect the already discharged medicine and discharge it again from the beginning, resulting in high work efficiency.

It is desirable to change the vibration pattern of the vibration table when the amount of medicine discharged approaches the target amount.

For example, when the amount of medicine discharged becomes a target amount minus a certain amount (sufficiently smaller than the target amount), the amplitude of the vibration table is decreased or the vibration frequency is lowered.

The drug container has a container body with one side open, and a lid member that forms a medicine discharge portion and is removably attached to the opening of the container body. The part has a recess, and there is a swinging member that covers the recess and swings relative to the container body, and the engaging piece of the lid member is disposed in the recess, and a part of the swinging member covers the recess and swings relative to the container body. The lid member may be fixed to the container body by engaging with the piece.

In addition, the drug container has a main body that is almost entirely covered and has a space inside, and has a raised bottom member located at a position further back than the drug ejection part based on the attitude in which it is placed on the container placement device. When the drug container is placed in a vertical position, the drug inside may not reach deeper than the raised bottom member.

The drug feeder of this embodiment is suitable for use in packaging drugs that require a small amount of prescription at a time.
If the amount of a drug prescribed at a time is small, the amount consumed (sold) within a certain period of time will be small as a result. Therefore, the amount of inventory is small, and when the above-mentioned medicines are stored in a normal-sized medicine container, the empty space inside the medicine container becomes large, and the medicine may absorb moisture due to water vapor in the space.
According to the drug feeder of this aspect, the space for accommodating the drug in the drug container is narrowed, and the drug is less likely to get wet.
The drug feeder of this embodiment is also suitable for use in packaging drugs that are prescribed infrequently.
Further, the drug feeder of this embodiment is suitable for storing drug containers in a vertical position and placing them in a horizontal position on a container mounting device.
If a drug container containing a small amount of drug is stored in a vertical position, the drug will be concentrated at a portion corresponding to the bottom. When this container is placed in a horizontal position on a container mounting device, the medicine is biased toward a part (back side) farther from the medicine discharge part.
Here, the drug feeder of this embodiment vibrates the whole or a part of the drug container by vibrating the vibration table, and slowly moves the drug in the drug container toward the drug discharge part. When the amount of medicine stored inside is small, it takes time for the medicine accumulated deep inside to reach the medicine discharge part.
This aspect has been developed as a drug container for storing a small amount of drug, and since the drug inside does not reach deeper than the raised bottom member, it is necessary to start vibrating the vibration table before the drug is released. The time required to reach the discharge section is short.

The drug container may have an opening on its upper surface side based on the attitude in which it is mounted on the container mounting device, and the drug may be introduced into the drug container through the opening.

The drug feeder of this embodiment is suitable for use in packaging drugs that are prescribed infrequently. The drug feeder of this embodiment is also suitable for use in packaging drugs prepared by crushing tablets into powder, or drugs prepared by mixing a plurality of drugs in a mortar. The drug feeder of this embodiment is also suitable for use in packaging drugs that are not suitable for storage in drug containers.

Further, the drug container has a storage space forming member and a bottom forming member, the storage space forming member has a side wall that covers at least the side surface and has an opening at the bottom, and the bottom forming member is partially or entirely made of a magnetic material. Alternatively, the storage space forming member may be removably attached to the bottom forming member, and the container holding means may include a magnetic member to fix the drug container by magnetic force.

The drug feeder of this embodiment is also suitable for packaging drugs that are prescribed infrequently. The drug feeder of this embodiment is also suitable for use in packaging drugs prepared by crushing tablets into powder, or drugs prepared by mixing a plurality of drugs in a mortar. The drug feeder of this embodiment is also suitable for use in packaging drugs that are not suitable for storage in drug containers.

There is an elastic body between the storage space forming member and the bottom forming member, and the total horizontal length of the bottom forming member is equal to the horizontal length of the storage space forming member, based on the attitude placed on the vibration table of the container mounting device. The tip of the bottom forming member, which is longer than the total length in the direction, becomes the drug ejection part, and when the drug container is placed on the vibration table, the drug container is fixed to the vibration table by the container holding means, and the vibration table is vibrated, the storage space is It is desirable that the drug that has fallen from the opening of the forming member to the bottom forming member travels on the bottom forming member, and that the drug is discharged little by little from the drug discharge portion.

According to this aspect, the vibration of the vibration table is hardly transmitted to the storage space forming member, and the medicine can be moved smoothly.
In the drug feeder of this embodiment, there is an elastic body between the storage space forming member and the bottom forming member, and the structure is such that a border is cut between the two. Therefore, the bottom forming member directly receives the vibration from the vibration table and vibrates greatly, but the storage space forming member placed on the upper side vibrates less. In this manner, in this aspect, the vibrations of the storage space forming member and the vibrations of the bottom forming member are not synchronized.
Therefore, the drug in the storage space forming member falls onto the bottom forming member, moves smoothly through the bottom forming member, and is discharged from the drug discharge portion at the tip.

A recommended drug dispensing device is a drug dispensing device that includes the above-described drug feeder and a powder dispensing device for dispensing powdered medicine, and is characterized in that the drug feeder feeds the drug into the powder dispensing device.

A further recommended configuration of a drug dispensing device employing the above-mentioned drug feeder is to have a plurality of container placement devices constituting the drug feeder, and the container placement device is arranged around the powder medicine dispensing device. The drug dispensing device is characterized in that the container mounting device has a notification member that notifies that the container mounting device is a container mounting device on which a specific drug container or a specific object is to be placed. .

"Specific drug containers" are not limited, but include, for example, drug containers filled with drugs that are used infrequently, drug containers filled with drugs whose total amount is small, and drugs made by crushing tablets into powder. A drug container containing .
When handling such special medicines, instead of relying on weighing by a weight measuring means, the medicines may be weighed in advance using an external scale, filled into medicine containers, and then dispensed by a powder medicine dispensing device.
In such cases, the pharmacist may hold the drug container directly by hand and place it on the container mounting device, but if there are multiple container mounting devices, which container mounting device should the drug container be placed on? It may be difficult to know whether to install the
According to this aspect, the container mounting device in which the drug container is to be installed becomes clear, and work efficiency is improved.
Further, the "specific object" is not limited, but includes, for example, a weight for calibrating or verifying a weight measuring means.
In this case as well, it may become difficult to determine on which container placement device the weight should be placed.
According to this aspect, the container placement device on which the "specific item" should be placed becomes clear, and work efficiency is improved.

A further recommended drug dispensing device includes a plurality of container placement devices constituting a drug feeder, a container storage device for installing and storing a plurality of drug containers, and container moving means, wherein the container placement device is Disposed around the powder medicine dispensing device, the area where the container storage device and the powder medicine dispensing device are provided is covered with a housing, and the housing has a plurality of doors for inserting and removing medicine containers therein. At least one of the door parts is an automatic loading door, and the drug container carried in through the automatic loading door is transported to a predetermined position by the container moving means, and the drug container is transported to a predetermined position by the container moving means. At least one door section is a manual loading door section, and the manual loading door section is large enough to allow a worker to insert a hand from the outside and introduce the drug container into the housing, This is a drug dispensing device characterized in that a drug container is provided at a position where a drug container can be placed on any of the container mounting devices.

The drug container has an opening on the top surface side based on the attitude in which it is mounted on the container mounting device, and the drug can be put into the drug container from the opening, and the drug container has a drug outlet at one end in the horizontal direction. The device has a temporary storage stand on which the drug container is temporarily placed, and the temporary storage stand temporarily places the drug container in an inclined position with the drug input portion facing upward and the drug discharge portion facing upward. It may be something.

The medicine container is provided with a storage means or an identification means for identifying the medicine container, and the temporary storage stand is provided with a reading means and/or a writing means for reading out the contents recorded in the storage means or identification means. There may be.

Further, an aspect related to the container mounting device is a container mounting device for a drug feeder that is integrated with a drug container containing a drug to constitute a drug feeder, and includes a vibration table, a vibrating means for vibrating the vibration table, It has a container holding means for temporarily fixing the drug container on the vibration table, and a weight measuring means for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the drug container, and the container holding means has a magnetic member and is used to measure the weight of the drug container by magnetic force. It fixes the drug container, and has a magnet current-carrying wire connected to the magnet member, an excitation means current-carrying wire connected to the vibration means, and a measuring means current-carrying wire connected to the weight measuring means, and the drug container is placed on a vibration table. The medicine container is placed on the medicine container, and the medicine container is fixed to the vibration table using the container holding means, and the medicine is discharged little by little from the medicine discharge part by vibrating the vibration table, and the amount of medicine discharged can be detected by the weight measurement means. , an electric wire holding member that holds one of the electric wires, the electric wire holding member has an electric wire fixing part, the electric wire is held by the electric wire fixing part, and the electric wire holding member has elasticity and is resistant to external force. This container mounting device for a medicine feeder is characterized in that the position of the electric wire fixing part moves accordingly, and when the external force disappears, the electric wire fixing part returns to its original position.

According to the medicine feeder of the present invention, it is possible to automate the work of measuring out powdered medicine and the like.
Further, according to the medicine feeder of this embodiment, the problem of errors in the measured values of powdered medicines and the like is solved.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drug feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a drug container of the drug feeder of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the drug container of FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the drug container shown in FIG. 2 when the container body is partially cut away and the drug container is observed from the rear. (a) is a perspective view of the lid member of the drug container in FIG. 2, observed from the rear with the inner lid and eaves removed, (b) is a partially enlarged view, and (c) is a fixed rectifier coil. (d) is a perspective view showing the movable rectifier coil extracted. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lid member of the drug container of FIG. 2, observed from the rear with the inner lid removed. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of the drug container in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the drug container in FIG. 2 showing the flow of powder medicine in the drug container in the drug feeder. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of the drug container in FIG. 2; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a container mounting device of the drug feeder of FIG. 1 and a feeder cover attached to the container mounting device. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the container mounting device of FIG. 10. FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line AA of the container mounting device in FIG. 10. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the container mounting device of FIG. 10. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part explaining the behavior of the electric wire holding member of the drug feeder in FIG. 1, (a) is a perspective view of the vicinity of the electric wire holding member before powder discharge, and (b) is a perspective view of the electric wire holding member during powder discharge. FIG. It is a perspective view of the vicinity, and (c) is a perspective view of the vicinity of the electric wire holding member after the powder is discharged. FIG. 2 is an external view of a medicine dispensing device in which the medicine feeder of FIG. 1 is installed. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of the medicine dispensing device of FIG. 15. It is a perspective view of the medicine container of the medicine feeder of other embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a drug feeder according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a lid member of a drug container according to still another embodiment of the present invention. 17 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 16, showing the distribution tray of one of the powder medicine dispensing devices and the container mounting device provided around it. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a drug feeder according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 22 is an exploded perspective view of the drug container of FIG. 21; 22A and 22B are cross-sectional views of the drug container of FIG. 21, in which (a) shows a state in which the movable lid is open, and (b) shows a state in which the movable lid is closed. FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the drug container of FIG. 21, in which (a) shows the lid member attached to the container body, and (b) and (c) show the procedure for removing the lid member from the container body. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a drug container of a drug feeder according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the behavior of a drug container immediately before it is placed on a container mounting device. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a drug container of a drug feeder according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 28 is an exploded perspective view of the storage space forming member of the drug container of FIG. 27; FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view of the drug container of FIG. 27; FIG. 28 is an exploded perspective view of the drug container of FIG. 27; FIG. 28 is an exploded perspective view of the bottom forming member of the drug container of FIG. 27; FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view of the bottom forming member of FIG. 31; It is a perspective view of a temporary stand. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a lid member of a drug container according to still another embodiment of the present invention, observed from the rear. FIG. 35 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the lid member of FIG. 34; FIG. 35 is a cross-sectional view of the drug container of FIG. 34; FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a drug container employed in another embodiment of the present invention. 38 is a cross-sectional view of the drug container shown in FIG. 37. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a powder medicine packaging device disclosed in Patent Document 1. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a powder feeder disclosed in Patent Document 1. FIG.

The drug feeder 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be further described below.
In the following description, the vertical and vertical directions are based on the state in which the drug container 2 is attached to the container mounting device 3 in a normal posture as shown in FIG. Further, the side of the medicine discharge portion (FIG. 7) 13 of the medicine container 2 is defined as the front side, and the opposite side thereof is defined as the rear side. The left-right direction is a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the medicine container 2.
The medicine feeder 1 of this embodiment includes a medicine container 2 and a container mounting device 3, as shown in FIG. Further, a feeder cover 18 is attached to the container mounting device 3 as shown in FIG. Note that the feeder cover 18 is omitted in FIG. 1 for convenience of drawing.

The drug container 2 is a closed type container, and is composed of a container body 5, a transportation iron plate part 7, a fixing iron plate part 6, and a lid member 8, as shown in FIGS.
The container body 5 is a vertically elongated container made of resin, and one longitudinal end is open.
An information recording member 90 such as RFID and electronic paper 91 are attached to the medicine container 2 . Here, the electronic paper 91 is a visual display medium, is thin like paper, and allows display contents to be electrically rewritten.
In this embodiment, the type of drug is stored in the information recording member 90. Further, the date on which the medicine was filled into the medicine container 2 and the amount filled may be stored as necessary. Furthermore, the information recording member 90 may store information such as the amount of remaining medicine, the amount dispensed, and the expiration date.
Further, it is desirable to display on the electronic paper 91 the type of medicine filled into the information recording member 90, the date of filling the medicine, the filled amount, the amount of remaining medicine, the dispensed amount, the expiration date, and the like.

Further, the container body 5 is provided with an iron plate portion 7 for transportation. In this embodiment, the transportation iron plate section 7 is divided into two small transportation iron plate sections 7a and 7b. The iron plate portion 7 for transportation is made of a steel plate containing a magnetic component such as ferrite.

The lid member 8 has a lid main body portion 10 and a movable lid portion 11. The movable lid part 11 has a knob part 12, and by pressing the knob part 12, the movable lid part 11 opens as shown in FIG. When the movable lid part 11 opens, the medicine discharge part 13 that communicates between the inside and outside of the container body 5 opens, and the movable lid part 11 maintains the medicine discharge part 13 in an open state.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 8, a desiccant insertion section 15 and a flow rectification section 20 are provided on the rear end side of the lid main body section 10. As shown in FIGS.
The desiccant insertion part 15 is a bottomed recess and has parallel side walls 16. The top surface of the side wall 16 is an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the rear.
A desiccant 21 is housed inside the desiccant insertion portion 15 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

The rectifying section 20 is provided on the rear end side of the lid main body section 10. The rectifier 20 has a fixed rectifier coil 25 and a movable rectifier coil 26 as main components, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6.
That is, the lid main body 10 is provided with a rectifying coil holding portion 27 at a position behind the desiccant insertion portion 15 and closer to the lower side.
The rectifier coil holding part 27 has a structure with left and right side parts 30 and a top part 29 and an open bottom side, and has a coil accommodation space 28 in which the fixed rectifier coil 25 and the movable rectifier coil 26 are accommodated. There is. In this embodiment, the movable rectifier coil 26 is provided on the upstream side with respect to the flow direction of the drug, and the fixed rectifier coil 25 is provided on the downstream side.
The side surface portion 30 of the rectifying coil holding portion 27 is functionally divided into a fixed coil holding wall 31, a moving coil holding wall 32, and a tip closing wall 33.

The top surface of the fixed coil holding wall 31 forms the same plane as the top surface of the side wall 16 of the desiccant insertion part 15, and is an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the rear as shown in FIG. It becomes.
The inner peripheral surfaces of the left and right fixed coil holding walls 31 are parallel to each other.
The outer surfaces of the left and right fixed coil retaining walls 31 are inclined inward toward the rear as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6.

Next, the left and right moving coil holding walls 32 will be explained. The left and right moving coil holding walls 32 are both thin and parallel. Moreover, its height is uniform.
A hole 39 is provided in the movable coil holding wall 32 as shown in FIG. 5(b). The diameter of the hole 39 is sufficiently larger than the wire diameter of the movable rectifier coil 26.

Next, the left and right end closing walls 33 will be explained. The left and right tip closing walls 33 are continuous with the left and right moving coil retaining walls 32, and are inclined inward toward the rear. The rear end sides of the left and right tip closing walls 33 match each other to close the rear end side of the coil accommodation space 28 . Therefore, the rectifying coil holding portion 27 has a triangular shape on the rear end side.
A notch 36 is provided on the lower side of the side surface portion 30 at the boundary between the movable coil holding wall 32 and the distal end closing wall 33.

The fixed rectifier coil 25 is a coil spring as shown in FIG. 5(c), and is made of a wire wound in a circle, with the wires being wound at intervals in the middle portion. At both ends of the fixed rectifier coil 25, a wire rod is tightly wound to form a rounded end portion 40. Both ends of the fixed rectifier coil 25 are smooth. That is, the corner turn portion 40 is smooth.

On the other hand, the movable rectifying coil 26 has wire rods protruding from both ends, and a pin portion 41 is formed, as shown in FIG. 5(d). The pin portion 41 projects on an extension of the axis of the movable rectifying coil 26.
Also in the movable rectifying coil 26, the wire rods are wound at intervals in the middle portion.

The fixed rectifier coil 25 and the movable rectifier coil 26 are housed in the coil housing space 28 described above. More specifically, the fixed rectifier coil 25 is arranged on the fixed coil holding wall 31, and the end turn portions 40 at both ends thereof are integrally fixed to the fixed coil holding wall 31. Therefore, both ends of the fixed rectifying coil 25 are held immovably, and the entire fixed rectifying coil 25 does not move up or down even when subjected to vibrations.

When the fixed rectifier coil 25 is housed in the coil housing space 28, there is a gap between the rings made of wire in the middle part of the coil housing space 28. The gap is larger than the wire diameter of the wire. The gap is preferably about 1 to 5 times the diameter of the wire, and more preferably about 2 to 3 times the diameter of the wire. Specifically, the gap between the wire rods is about 1 mm to 5 mm, and more preferably 2 mm to 3 mm.
Further, the wire diameter of the fixed rectifier coil 25 is approximately 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm.
The outer diameter of the fixed rectifier coil 25 is approximately 10 mm to 25 mm, more preferably 12 mm to 18 mm.

In contrast, the movable rectifying coil 26 has a degree of freedom in the vertical direction. That is, the movable rectifying coil 26 is prevented from leaving the coil housing space 28 by inserting the pin portion 41 into the hole 39 of the movable coil retaining wall 32 .
Further, as described above, since the hole 39 of the movable coil retaining wall 32 is sufficiently larger than the wire diameter of the movable rectifier coil 26, there is a considerable gap between the pin portion 41 and the hole 39. Furthermore, the movable rectifying coil 26 is neither in compression nor in tension.
Therefore, when the movable rectifier coil 26 receives vibration, the movable rectifier coil 26 itself moves in the vertical direction.

Regarding the movable rectifying coil 26, there is also a gap between the rings made of wire. The gap is slightly larger than that of the fixed rectifier coil 25 described above. The gap is preferably about 1 to 6 times the diameter of the wire, and more preferably about 2 to 4 times the diameter of the wire. Specifically, the gap between the wire rods is about 1 mm to 6 mm, and more preferably 2 mm to 4 mm.
Further, the wire diameter of the movable rectifying coil 26 is approximately 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm.
The outer diameter of the movable rectifying coil 26 is approximately 10 mm to 25 mm, more preferably 12 mm to 18 mm.

The top surface of the desiccant insertion part 15 and the upper part of the fixed rectifier coil 25 in the coil housing space 28 are closed by the inner lid 22 .
That is, the top surface of the side wall 16 of the desiccant insertion part 15 and the top surface of the fixed coil holding wall 31 form the same inclined plane, and the plate-shaped inner cover 22 is attached to both of them to insert the desiccant. The upper side of the portion 15 and the upper side of the fixed rectifier coil 25 in the coil housing space 28 are closed.

Further, the upper part of the movable rectifying coil 26 in the coil housing space 28 is closed by an eaves cover (eaves member) 35.
Here, the planar shape of the eaves 35 matches the outline of the left and right moving coil retaining walls 32 and the left and right tip closing walls 33 when viewed in plan. Therefore, the top side of the area surrounded by the left and right moving coil holding walls 32 and the area surrounded by the left and right tip closing walls 33 is closed off by the eaves cover 35.

In this embodiment, an opening 43 is provided in the central portion of the eaves lid 35. The size of the opening 43 is about 5 mm square to 15 mm square. In this embodiment, the opening 43 is square, but may be any other polygon or circle.
The position of the opening 43 is directly above the movable rectifier coil 26, and is at or near the longitudinal center of the movable rectifier coil 26.
Therefore, the top surface of the coil housing space 28 is located directly above the movable rectifier coil 26 and communicates with the outside at the center in the longitudinal direction when the movable rectifier coil 26 is laid down.

The lid member 8 is attached to the opening of the container body 5 as shown in FIG.
When the lid member 8 is attached, there is a gap 48 between the bottom 46 of the container body 5 and the bottom opening of the coil housing space 28, as shown in FIGS. 4, 7, and 8. That is, the lower ends of the fixed coil retaining wall 31, the movable coil retaining wall 32, and the tip closing wall 33 that constitute the peripheral wall of the coil housing space 28 do not reach the bottom 46 of the container body 5, and are shown in FIGS. 4, 7, and 8. The coil housing space 28 is held in a hollow state as shown in FIG.
Therefore, the upper part of the movable rectifier coil 26 is covered with the eaves cover 35.
The axes of the fixed rectifier coil 25 and the movable rectifier coil 26 are parallel to each other, and the axes are perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the container body 5.

When the lid member 8 is attached to the container body 5, the fixed rectifier coil 25 and the movable rectifier coil 26 are both placed horizontally, and their axes are perpendicular to the flow direction of the drug caused by vibrating the vibration table 50. It is an attitude of doing.
Furthermore, the movable rectifier coil 26 has a degree of freedom in the vertical direction and moves up and down by the vibration of the vibration table 50.
In this embodiment, the movable rectifier coil 26 is free to move vertically by making the hole 39 formed in the movable coil retaining wall 32 for holding the movable rectifier coil 26 sufficiently larger than the wire diameter of the movable rectifier coil 26. In reality, the movable rectifier coil 26 also has a degree of freedom in the front-back direction.

The side surfaces of the fixed rectifier coil 25 and the movable rectifier coil 26 are either in contact with the bottom 46 of the container body 5 or are slightly separated from the bottom 46 of the container body 5.

The fixing iron plate portion 6 is a steel plate containing a magnetic component such as ferrite. The fixing iron plate portion 6 is attached to the outer peripheral portion of the container body 5 and to the lower surface 14 of the peripheral wall. The surface to which the fixing iron plate part 6 is attached and the surface to which the above-mentioned transporting iron plate part 7 is attached face each other.

Next, the container mounting device 3 of the medicine feeder 1 will be explained.
As shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, the container mounting device 3 includes, from above, a vibration table 50, vibration excitation means 51a, 51b, intermediate table 52, vibration isolation table 53, weight measurement means 55, foundation member 56, and installation plate 66. It is made up of.

The vibrating table 50 is a mounting table on which the drug container 2 is placed. The vibration table 50 is as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped main body part 85, and a gutter-shaped container holding part 58 is formed on the top thereof.

The top surface of the vibration table 50 serves as a placement surface 61 on which the drug container 2 is placed. Magnet members 62a and 62b are built into the mounting surface 61. The magnet members 62a and 62b are container holding means. The magnet members 62a and 62b are a type of electromagnet and are self-holding solenoids.
The short sides 63a, 63b of the vibration table 50 have inclined surfaces 67a, 67b formed at the center thereof.

The vibrating means 51a, 51b are piezoelectric elements. A motor or a solenoid can also be used as the vibration excitation means 51a, 51b.
As shown in FIG. 11, the intermediate stand 52 has an approximately "H" shape in plan view.
The intermediate stand 52 has inclined surfaces 78a and 78b. The inclined surfaces 67a and 67b of the vibration table 50 are located on extensions of the inclined surfaces 78a and 78b of the intermediate table 52.

Inside the intermediate stand 52, there is a large cavity 75 as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, and the back surface of the main body 74 is wide open.
As shown in FIG. 11, the vibration isolation table 53 is a plate with a protruding central portion and a space inside.

In the container mounting device 3, as shown in FIGS. 10, 11, 12, and 13, vibrating means 51a and 51b are provided between the vibrating table 50 and the intermediate table 52.

In this embodiment, vibrating means 51a and 51b are present between the vibrating table 50 and the intermediate table 52, and the vibrating table 50 is not supported at any part other than the vibrating means 51a and 51b. Therefore, the vibration table 50 has a structure in which it is supported in the air from the intermediate table 52 by the vibration excitation means 51a and 51b.

Further, a vibration isolating table 53 is disposed below the intermediate stand 52 with a vibration isolating member 38 interposed therebetween. In this embodiment, there is no member other than the vibration isolating member 38 that connects the intermediate stand 52 and the vibration isolating table 53. Therefore, the intermediate stand 52 has a structure in which it is supported in the air from the vibration isolating table 53 by the vibration isolating member 38.

Further, a weight measuring means 55 is arranged at the lower part of the vibration isolating table 53 as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, and a foundation member 56 is further arranged at the lower part thereof.
The weight measuring means 55 is a load cell. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, most of the weight measuring means 55 is located within a protrusion 77 provided at the center of the vibration isolating table 53, and the upper installation surface 83 of the weight measuring means 55 is located on the vibration isolating table. 53 is connected to the inner surface of the top surface 79 of the protrusion 77.
On the other hand, the lower installation surface 37 of the weight measuring means 55 is attached to the base member 56.
The base member 56 is attached to the installation plate 66 via a vibration isolating member 42 such as a spring. Further, the container mounting device 3 is attached via the installation plate 66 near the distribution plate 116 of the drug dispensing device 100, which will be described later.

Further, in this embodiment, the installation plate 66 is provided with a connector 72 and a wire holding member 73. The wire holding member 73 is a helical spring, and is fixed to the installation plate 66 in an upright position.
The lower end of the wire holding member 73 is integrally fixed to the installation plate 66 and cannot move relative to the installation plate 66. The upper end of the wire holding member 73 is a free end.

As described above, the container mounting device 3 is composed of the vibration table 50, the vibration excitation means 51a, 51b, the intermediate table 52, the vibration isolation table 53, the weight measurement means 55, the base member 56, and the installation plate 66. Among these members, electric wires are connected to the vibrating table 50, the vibrating means 51a and 51b, and the weight measuring means 55.
That is, the vibration table 50 has magnet members 62a and 62b, and since the magnet members 62a and 62b are self-holding solenoids, it is necessary to supply electric power to operate them. Therefore, the magnet members 62a and 62b have magnet current-carrying wires 65.
Since the vibrating means 51a and 51b are piezoelectric elements, it is necessary to supply electric power to them in order to operate them. Therefore, the vibrating means 51a and 51b have a vibrating means energizing wire 68.
The weight measuring means 55 is a load cell that converts weight into an electrical signal. For this reason, the weight measuring means 55 has a measuring means energizing line 70 which is a signal line.

In the container mounting device 3 of this embodiment, the magnet energizing wire 65, the excitation means energizing wire 68, and the measuring means energizing wire 70 are all connected to a connector 72. The routing route of each electric wire is as shown in FIG. That is, the magnet energizing wire 65, the vibrating means energizing wire 68, and the measuring means energizing wire 70 are once bundled at the intermediate portion and fixed to the intermediate stand 52 with a stopper 71.
The magnet energizing wire 65, the vibrating means energizing wire 68, and the measuring means energizing wire 70 are held at the free end side of the wire holding member 73 between the stopper 71 and the connector 72.
More specifically, on the free end side of the wire holding member 73, an annular portion at the tip of the winding wire is bent in a vertical position, and a ring-shaped wire fixing portion 76 is formed. Then, the wire is fixed to the ring-shaped wire fixing portion 76 with an adhesive or the like.

In this embodiment, a drug container 2 and a container mounting device 3 constitute a set of drug feeders 1.
The medicine feeder 1 of this embodiment is used, for example, as a component of a medicine dispensing device 100 as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16.
The medicine dispensing device 100 of this embodiment is surrounded by a housing 101, and the inside thereof is divided into a medicine shelf area 102, a medicine division area 103, and a medicine packaging area 105.

The housing 101 is provided with a plurality of door sections 130, 180a, and 180b. The door parts 130, 180a, and 180b are all doors for taking the medicine container 2 in and out of the medicine dispensing device 100. The door portions 130, 180a, and 180b are all opened and closed by the power of a motor (not shown).
In addition, opening and closing of the door sections 130, 180a, and 180b is, in principle, performed by an operator operating a touch panel or the like of an operation display section (not shown).

Here, the door section 130 provided at a position covering the drug shelf area 102 is an automatic loading door, and inside the door section 130 is a temporary drug container storage section (not shown) in which the drug container 2 is temporarily placed. There is. The drug containers 2 inserted through the door section 130 and installed in the drug container temporary storage section and the drug containers 2 carried in through the automatic carry-in door are automatically transferred to the container storage device 106 (described later) by a container moving means 110 (described later). Alternatively, the container is transported to a specific container mounting device 3.

Doors 180a and 180b provided at positions covering the drug division area 103 are doors for manual loading, and are mainly used when using a drug container 81 with an open drug inlet as described later.
Doors 180a and 180b provided at positions covering the drug division area 103 allow an operator to insert a hand from outside to introduce a drug container 81 with an open drug inlet into the housing 101, and place a specific container. It is used when installing a drug container 81 with an open drug inlet into the device 3. Therefore, the door portions 180a and 180b are large enough to allow an operator to insert his/her hand into the housing 101 from outside, and to allow the operator to insert the drug container 2 into the housing 101. It is provided at a position where it can be placed on the mounting device 3.

In this embodiment, the cover that covers the entire medicine dividing area 103 can be opened and closed by an opening/closing mechanism (not shown), but since the cover that covers the entire medicine dividing area 103 is large, it takes time to open and close it.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, relatively small door portions 180a and 180b are provided at positions covering the drug dividing area 103, thereby facilitating the work of installing the drug container 81 with an open drug input port on a specific container mounting device 3. . In this embodiment, the door portions 180a and 180b can be opened to insert the drug container 81 with an open drug inlet into the housing 101, so there is no need to open and close the cover that covers the entire drug division area 103. .
The door portions 180a and 180b are also used when placing weights on a specific container mounting device 3 for calibrating or verifying the weight measuring means.

The drug shelf area 102 is provided with a container storage device 106 in which the drug containers 2 are placed. In this embodiment, the container storage device 106 has a vertical drum member 107 that rotates in a substantially horizontal direction, and a plurality of container installation parts 108 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the drum member 107. The container installation part 108 holds the drug container 2 by mechanical engagement, and by pushing the drug container 2 in, the drug container 2 is held, and by pulling the drug container 2, the engagement is released and the drug container 2 is removed. can be made to leave.

A container moving means 110 is provided in an area extending from the medicine shelf area 102 to the medicine division area 103. The container moving means 110 is a robot. The container moving means 110 has two arm members 111 and 112 and a hand portion 113. The hand portion 113 is provided with a magnet, and can magnetically attach and hold the iron plate of the medicine container 2.

The medicine dividing area 103 is an area in which a powder medicine dispensing device is built-in, and two distribution plates 116 are installed on a table 115. A plurality of container mounting devices 3 are installed around the two distribution plates 116 of the medicine dividing area (powder medicine dispensing device) 103 .
In this embodiment, three container mounting devices 3 are installed around each distribution plate 116. Further, an information reading device 128 is provided near the container mounting device 3.

Here, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 20, in the container mounting device 3, only a part of the vibration table 50 is placed on the table 115, and other members such as vibration means 51a, 51b, intermediate table 52, The vibration isolation table 53, the weight measuring means 55, the base member 56, and the installation plate 66 are buried under the table 115.
Further, a feeder cover 18 is attached to the vibration table 50 of the container mounting device 3. The feeder cover 18 is made of resin and is a frame that covers the outer periphery of the container holding part 58. A notification member 19 (FIGS. 10 and 20) is provided on the rear end side of the container holding portion 58. The notification member 19 is a lamp such as an LED. In this embodiment, multiple color lamps are used. More specifically, red, green, and blue lamps are employed as the notification member 19.
The notification member 19 is used to notify that the container placement device 3 is the one on which the drug container 2 is to be placed.
In addition, in order to verify whether the weight measuring means 55 of the container mounting device 3 is functioning normally or to calibrate by adding a correction value, a weight (not shown) with a known weight is attached to the container mounting device 3. 3, the notification member 19 is also used to inform the operator that the weight is to be placed on the container placement device 3.

In the drug feeder 1 of this embodiment, a drug container 2 and a container placement device 3 are separate. It is installed around the distribution pan 116 in the area (powder distribution device) 103.
In addition, a cleaning device 117 and a scraping device 120 are provided in the drug division area 103.

A medicine packaging device 122 is built into the medicine packaging area 105 . The drug packaging device 122 is a machine that packages drugs into individual doses, and is composed of a packaging paper supply device and a packaging device, as is well known. Further, a powder medicine introduction hopper 123 is provided for supplying medicine into the packaging section.

As described above, in the drug feeder 1 of this embodiment, the drug container 2 and the container mounting device 3 are separate, and when packaging powdered medicine, the two are combined to form the drug feeder 1. do.
The medicine feeder 1 has a function of stopping the power supply to the magnet members 62a and 62b built in the vibration table 50, fixing the medicine container 2 to the vibration table 50, and vibrating the medicine container 2 to discharge the powder medicine.

In actual work, the drug container 2 is placed in a temporary drug container storage section provided in the door section 130, and then the door section 130 is closed and the drug container 2 is placed into the housing 101.
By closing the door section 130, a safety device (not shown) is released, and the container moving means 110 and the like become operable.The container moving means 110 automatically operates, and the drug container 2 is moved to the drum member in the drug shelf area 102. Transported to 107.
That is, in this embodiment, the medicine container 2 is stored in the container storage device 106 in a vertical position, and the powder medicine is stored in the medicine container 2. In this embodiment, the drug container 2 is held by the hand portion 113 of the container moving means 110, and the drug container 2 is moved and placed on the container mounting device 3 as shown in FIG.

The drug container 2 is installed on the drum member 107 as described above, is held and moved by the hand section 113, and is placed on the container mounting device 3 as shown in FIG. If the drug container 2 is moved in a horizontal position, the drug discharge part 13 side of the drug container 2 will be facing up, as shown in FIG. 26, immediately before the drug container 2 is placed on the container mounting device 3. It is desirable to tilt it once.
By tilting the medicine container 2 so that the medicine discharge part 13 side faces upward, the powder inside is gathered in a direction away from the medicine discharge part 13 side.
This posture change action prevents the powder from spilling out when the movable lid portion 11 is opened.
The above-mentioned "once tilting" operation is an operation for moving the powder inside to one side. As long as only the medicine near the movable lid part 11 can be retreated, the powder medicine can be prevented from spilling out when the movable lid part 11 is opened, so the angle of inclination may be gentle.
Further, it is preferable that the time required for tilting is as short as possible, and it is recommended that the tilting be done vigorously. By tilting it vigorously, the powders near the movable lid part 11 can be moved in a concentrated manner, rather than all the powders inside moving uniformly.

Then, the power supply to the magnet members 62a and 62b built in the vibration table 50 is stopped. The magnet members 62a and 62b are self-holding solenoids 62, and when the power supply is stopped, the magnetic force of the permanent magnet is restored and magnetic force is generated in the vibration table 50, and the fixing iron plate part 6 of the drug container 2 is moved to the vibration table 50. is adsorbed to.
Then, a current of a constant frequency is applied to the vibration excitation means 51a and 51b to generate vibration, and the vibration table 50 is caused to vibrate by this vibration.
Further, the distribution plate 116 is rotated before and after the start of vibration.

Before and after the start of vibration, the weight of the drug container 2 is measured by the weight measuring means 55. The weight of the drug container 2 is obtained by subtracting a certain value from the weight detected by the weight measuring means 55. More specifically, the weight of the drug container 2 is the weight detected by the weight measuring means 55 minus the weight of the member above the weight measuring means 55 of the container mounting device 3.
The weight of the drug container 2 immediately after being placed on the vibration table 50 is stored as the original weight G. Furthermore, the weight of the drug container 2 is constantly monitored. That is, the current weight of the drug container 2 is monitored as the current weight g.

When the vibration table 50 starts vibrating, the medicine container 2 vibrates. Here, in this embodiment, the drug container 2 is firmly joined to the vibration table 50 by the permanent magnets of the magnet members 62a and 62b, and the degree of close contact with the vibration table 50 is high, so that the drug container 2 is It vibrates at the same frequency as the vibration table 50. As a result, the powder stored in the powder storage section 17 of the drug container 2 slowly moves toward the drug discharge section 13 side.

The powder then passes through the rectifier 20. The powder that has passed through the rectifying section 20 flows like a river and finally reaches the drug discharge section 13 of the drug container 2, where it falls like a waterfall and enters the groove of the distribution pan 116 below.

The fact that the powder is falling is confirmed by a decrease in the weight of the drug container 2. That is, in the present embodiment, even while the powder medicine is falling from the medicine discharge part 13 of the medicine container 2, the current weight (current weight g) of the medicine container 2 continues to be monitored by the weight measuring means 55. Then, the original weight G of the medicine container 2 immediately after being placed on the vibration table 50 is compared with the current weight g, and the falling amount H (G minus g) of the powder medicine is constantly calculated.
Then, when the total falling amount H of the powder reaches a desired weight, the vibration of the vibration table 50 is stopped.
That is, when the current weight g of the drug container 2 measured by the weight measuring means 55 becomes smaller than the original weight G before the start of vibration measured by the weight measuring means 55 by a desired weight, the vibration of the vibrating table 50 is stopped. .
Furthermore, before stopping the vibration of the vibration table 50, it is desirable to reduce the amplitude of the vibration table 50 and operate the vibration table 50 with the vibration frequency lowered.
For example, if the current discharge amount of powder medicine is the amount that is obtained by subtracting several grams from the final discharge amount of powder medicine (target discharge amount), the amplitude of the vibration table 50 is reduced and the vibration frequency is lowered. Driving in a state of Then, the remaining several grams are discharged while reducing the amplitude of the vibration table 50 and the vibration frequency.
Then, as described above, the vibration of the vibration table 50 is stopped when the total falling amount H of the powder reaches the desired weight.
Thereafter, the container moving means 700 automatically operates and the drug container 2 is returned to the drum member 107 of the drug shelf area 102.

Furthermore, even though the vibration table 50 continues to vibrate, the powder medicines no longer fall, or even though the vibration table 50 continues to vibrate, the amount of powder medicines falling per unit time becomes excessive. If the amount decreases, the vibration pattern of the vibration table 50 is automatically changed.
Specifically, when the weight of the drug container 2 is continuously monitored while vibrating the vibration table 50, the unit of weight of the drug container 2 is changed even though the falling amount H of the powder does not reach the desired weight. If the change per time is less than a certain value, the amplitude of the vibration table 50 is increased. Or increase or decrease the frequency of the amplitude. Also, if possible, add lateral and longitudinal amplitudes.

There are two reasons why the change in the weight of the drug container 2 per unit time is less than a certain level even though the vibration table 50 is vibrated.
(1) Sticking of powdered medicine Powdered medicine sticks or becomes a lump within the medicine container 2, and cannot pass through the rectifier 20.
(2) Insufficient powder medicine There is no powder medicine in the medicine container 2.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, if the change in the weight of the drug container 2 per unit time is less than a certain value even though the vibration table 50 is vibrated, we first suspect that powdered medicine is stuck, and the vibration table 50 Increase the amplitude. If the cause is the sticking of powdered medicine, the cause may be eliminated by increasing the amplitude of the vibration table 50.

Even if the amplitude of the vibration table 50 is increased, if the change in the weight of the drug container per unit time is less than a certain value, the vibration of the vibration table is stopped and a predetermined notification is given to the user. . For example, an abnormality is displayed on a display device (not shown). Alternatively, the user is informed that an abnormality has occurred in the drug dispensing device 100 by voice, alarm sound, or light.
Then, a predetermined out-of-stock processing process is executed.
In the out-of-stock processing step, the weight of the medicine that has already been discharged from the medicine container 2 is stored.
A user who knows that an abnormality has occurred takes out the drug container 2 manually or by using the container moving means 110 and inspects it.

In this embodiment, in the out-of-stock processing step, the medicine container 2 is taken out using the container moving means 110. That is, even if the amplitude is increased, if the change in the weight of the drug container 2 per unit time is less than a certain value, the vibration of the vibration table is stopped, and the container moving means 110 is automatically operated to move the drug container 2. is moved to a temporary medicine container storage section (not shown) provided with a door section 130.
When the drug container 2 is placed in a temporary drug container storage section (not shown) provided on the door 130, the door 130 automatically opens. The user takes out the drug container 2 from the drug container temporary storage section and inspects the inside of the drug container 2. If there is no powder in the drug container 2, the drug container 2 is replenished with the drug. Furthermore, if the powder medicine has become lumps in the drug container 2, the lumps are crushed.

Thereafter, the drug container 2 is placed on the container mounting device 3 again manually or using the container moving means 110, and the vibrating table 50 and distribution plate 116 are restarted automatically or manually. In this embodiment, by installing the drug container 2 in a drug container temporary storage section (not shown) provided with a door section 130 and performing a predetermined operation, the container moving means 110 is operated and the drug container 2 is moved. Transfer it to the container mounting device 3.
As described above, since the weight of the medicine discharged from the medicine container 2 until the work is interrupted is stored, the remaining amount of powder medicine is discharged from the medicine container 2.

Next, one of the unique functions of the drug feeder 1 of this embodiment will be explained. The medicine feeder 1 of this embodiment can detect the falling amount (discharge amount) H of the powder medicine as described above, and can discharge a predetermined amount of the powder medicine from the medicine container 2. The medicine feeder 1 of this embodiment has little error in the amount of powder medicine discharged.
That is, in the medicine feeder 1 of this embodiment, the difference between the target discharge amount and the amount of medicine actually discharged from the medicine container 2 is small.
The reason for this will be explained below.
In the drug feeder 1, electric wires (magnet energizing wire 65, vibrating means energizing wire 68, and measuring means energizing wire 70) are drawn out from the container mounting device 3. Therefore, the container mounting device 3 receives some kind of force from the electric wire, although it is a weak force.
In the prior art, the force received from the electric wire changes, causing an error in the measured value of the weight measuring means 55.

A conventional drug feeder 1 will be explained. In the drug feeder 1 of the prior art, the electric wires (magnet energizing wire 65, excitation means energizing wire 68, measuring means energizing wire 70) drawn out from the container mounting device 3 are connected to a control device etc. not shown. There were no rules regarding the withdrawal route or withdrawal method; it was just as it happened. That is, electric wires were run through the gaps between each device, and the electric wires pulled out from the container mounting device 3 were connected to a control device or the like.
Further, as a known method, a method of bundling the electric wires or fixing or supporting the electric wires to a wall or the like may be adopted.

However, in any case, one end of the wire is on the container mounting device 3 side, and the next support for the wire is a fixed point.
That is, in the prior art, one end of the electric wire is fixed to the container mounting device 3 side, and the next supporting point after leaving the container mounting device 3 is a fixed point and does not move.
The drug feeder 1 has a vibrating table 50, and has a structure in which the vibrating table 50 is vibrated to discharge the powder from the drug container 2. As a result, the wires sway during vibrations. The attitude of the wire may change slightly before and after the vibration.
That is, by vibrating the vibration table 50, the electric wire shakes, and the degree of bending of the electric wire changes slightly. To put it simply, electric wires have some kind of bending tendency, and the bending tendency changes when they are subjected to vibration. As a result, the force received from the electric wire of the drug feeder 1 changes, resulting in an error of about 0.5 g in the measured value of the weight measuring means 55.

In contrast, in the drug feeder 1 of this embodiment, the relay point of the electric wire is movable. That is, in the drug feeder 1 of this embodiment, the electric wire holding member 73 is provided on the installation plate 66. The wire holding member 73 is a helical spring, and its upper end moves arbitrarily in response to external force. In the drug feeder 1 of this embodiment, the electric wire pulled out from the container mounting device 3 is first relay-supported by the electric wire fixing part 76 on the free end side of the electric wire holding member 73.
Therefore, when the vibration table 50 is vibrated, the electric wire shakes, but the vibration is absorbed by the elasticity of the wire holding member 73. When the vibration table 50 stops vibrating, the wire holding member 73 returns to its original position. Therefore, the bending condition and bending tendency of the electric wire do not change before and after the vibration, and the force received from the electric wire of the drug feeder 1 before and after the vibration does not change, so that no error occurs in the measurement value of the weight measuring means 55.

FIG. 14 shows the behavior of the electric wire and the electric wire holding member 73 before and after vibration. Before the vibration table 50 is vibrated, the electric wire between the stopper 71 and the electric wire fixing part 76 of the electric wire holding member 73 is connected in a bent manner as shown in FIG. 14(a).
When the vibration table 50 is vibrated, the electric wire shakes, and the electric wire holding member 73 shakes accordingly (FIG. 14b). Therefore, no excessive force is applied to the wire, and the wire's tendency to bend remains unchanged.
When the vibration table 50 stops vibrating, the wire holding member 73 returns to its original position as shown in FIG. 14(c). At this time, since the bending tendency of the electric wire has not changed, there is no change in the force received from the electric wire of the drug feeder 1 before and after the vibration, and no error occurs in the measurement value of the weight measuring means 55.

Further, the medicine feeder 1 of this embodiment has a unique effect that the powder medicine is smoothly discharged from the medicine container 2.
That is, the medicine feeder 1 of this embodiment has a rectifying section 20 in the medicine container 2 as a unique configuration. As a unique configuration, the rectifying section 20 has two coils, one of which is a movable rectifying coil 26 and has a degree of freedom in the vertical direction. Therefore, when the vibration table 50 vibrates, the movable rectifier coil 26 also vibrates in the vertical direction.

Therefore, if there is a lump in the powder, the lump is destroyed by the vertical movement of the movable rectifier coil 26.
This point will be explained below.
When the drug container 2 is placed on the container mounting device 3 and vibrated by the vibration table 50, the powder 80 in the drug container 2 slowly moves toward the drug ejection part 13 as shown by the arrow in FIG. It reaches the rectifying section 20. A rectifying coil holding portion 27 is provided on the rear end side of the rectifying portion 20, and has a triangular shape in plan view. Therefore, the powder that has reached the site is appropriately swept aside and dispersed.

Here, in the rectifier 20, the lower ends of the movable coil holding wall 32 and the tip closing wall 33 that constitute the coil accommodation space 28 do not reach the bottom 46 of the container body 5, and as shown in FIG. 46 and the bottom opening of the coil housing space 28, there is a gap 48.
Further, a notch 36 is provided at the boundary between the movable coil holding wall 32 and the distal end closing wall 33.

Therefore, the powdered medicine that has moved to the medicine discharge section 13 side enters the rectification section 20 through the gap 48 and the notch 36, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 9. Many powders enter the rectifier 20 through a gap 48 between the bottom 46 of the container body 5 and the bottom opening of the coil accommodation space 28 and pass under the rectifier 20, but a notch 36 is provided. This makes it easier to introduce the powder medicine from the outside to the movable rectifier coil 26 side.
As described above, since the movable rectifier coil 26 moves up and down, the powder is beaten by the wire of the movable rectifier coil 26, and any lumps are destroyed.
The powder then reaches the stationary rectifier coil 25 downstream. The fixed rectifier coil 25 does not move up and down, and the powder passes through the gaps between the wires and becomes a laminar flow.

That is, the movable rectifier coil 26 hits the powdered medicine mass, causing it to collapse. However, in this state, there are lumps of powder that are crushed into mountains, and the powder does not flow in a laminar flow state.
Therefore, in this embodiment, a fixed rectifier coil 25 is provided downstream of the movable rectifier coil 26 to level out the pile of powdered medicine.
As a result, the powder medicine enters a laminar flow state, finally reaches the medicine discharge section 13, and is discharged from the medicine discharge section 13.

In addition, a relatively large mass of medicine in the medicine container 2 rides on the eaves (eaves member) 35 and falls onto the movable rectifier coil 26 through the opening 43 provided in the eaves 35.
That is, when substances with different particle sizes are mixed and the substance is vibrated in the vertical direction, the larger particles move upward, and the smaller particles sink to the bottom.
Therefore, when the drug container 2 is vibrated, large particles of particles float upwards and proceed toward the drug discharge section 13 in this state. The lump rides on the eave cover (eave member) 35 and falls onto the movable rectifier coil 26 through the opening 43 provided in the eave cover 35.
The fallen lump is struck by the wire of the movable rectifying coil 26 and broken into pieces.

Particularly when the powder stored in the drug container 2 is sticky, such as lactose, and the amount of the powder stored is large, the presence of the opening 43 is effective.
That is, when the amount of powdered medicine filled is large, the powdered medicine moves to the medicine discharge section 13 due to vibration, but the powdered medicine remains near the rectification section 20. Further, if the powder is sticky, the powder is compressed near the rectifying section 20 and forms a lump.
In this embodiment, an opening 43 is provided on the top surface of the coil housing space 28. Moreover, the size of the opening 43 is such that it does not become clogged with lumps of powdered medicine. Therefore, the lump enters the coil housing space 28 through the opening 43, falls onto the movable rectifying coil 26, and is struck. As a result, the lumps dissolve and the discharge of the powder is maintained.

In the embodiment described above, the medicine feeder 1 employing the closed medicine container 2 has been exemplified, but a medicine container 81 with an open medicine entrance as shown in FIG. 17 may be employed. The drug container 81 has an opening 82 on its upper surface side based on the attitude in which it is attached to the container mounting device 3, and a drug can be put into the drug container through the opening 82.

Further, still other modified examples of the drug container will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 to 24. The drug container 170 is a closed container.
The drug container 170 is an improved version of the drug container 2 shown in FIGS. 1 to 9 described above, and although the design is different, the functions of the components are common in many respects. Therefore, the explanation of the drug container 170 will focus on the points that are different from the drug container 2 described above. Further, the same members as in the previous embodiment are given the same numbers, and some explanations will be omitted.

The drug container 170 includes a container body 5, an iron plate portion 6, and a lid member 118.
The container body 5 is a vertically elongated container made of resin. The inner surface of the lower surface 171 of the peripheral wall of the container body 5 is generally flat, but as shown in FIG. 23, there are inclined portions 181a and 181b on the back side. The sloped portion 181b on the back side is a gentle slope, and the sloped portion 181a following it is steeply sloped. A gap 350 is provided in the outer peripheral portion of the container body 5 corresponding to the inclined portions 181a and 181b.

As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, near the opening of the container body 5 and on the outside of the upper surface 126 of the peripheral wall, there is a stepped portion 160, and a low ceiling portion (recess) 161 made with a slightly lower height. be. An engaging member 162 (shown only in FIG. 22) is provided on the stepped portion 160.

A swinging lid (swinging member) 237 is attached to the low ceiling part (recessed part) 161. As shown in FIG. 22, the swinging lid 237 has a main body 163 that is large enough to completely cover the low ceiling portion 161, and knobs 164 that protrude from the main body 163 on both sides in the lateral direction. A hinge portion 167 is provided at one end of the main body portion 163 .
Further, engagement members 166a and 166b are formed on the lower surface side of the main body portion 163. The engaging members 166a, 166b are hook-shaped.
The swinging lid 237 has a hinge part 167 engaged with the container body 5 side, and swings around the hinge part 167.

Next, the lid member 118 will be explained. The lid member 118 has a lid main body portion 125 and a movable lid portion 134.
The movable lid part 134 has a knob part 147, and by pressing the knob part 147, the movable lid part 134 opens as shown in FIG. 23(a). When the movable lid section 134 opens, the medicine discharge section 13 that communicates between the inside and outside of the container body 5 opens, and the movable lid section 134 maintains the medicine discharge section 13 in an open state.
Further, on the rear end side of the lid main body portion 125, a desiccant insertion portion 15 and a rectifying portion 20 are provided as in the previous embodiment.
The lid main body part 125 is made by joining two lid main body parts. The following description will be made based on the state in which the two are combined.
The lid main body part 125 has a frame part 127 on the front side, and a desiccant insertion part 15 and a rectifying part 20 are provided on the rear side.

Further, the front side frame portion 127 includes a portion that functions as a fixing frame 131 and a portion that functions as an abutment frame 132.
A region of the frame portion 127 surrounded by the fixing frame 131 has a bottom and has a shielding wall 138.
The area surrounded by the fixing frame 131 is a recess 373 as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23. A plate spring 185 is provided in the recess 373 on the surface of the shielding wall 138 as shown in FIG. The leaf spring 185 has attachment parts 186a and 186b at both ends as shown in FIG. The area sandwiched between the two attachment parts 186a and 186b is a functional area 187, which is bent and has corners.

Further, on the rear side of the lid main body portion 125 and near the top thereof, an engaging plate (engaging piece) 192 that extends in the horizontal direction is provided. Two engagement holes 193 are provided in the engagement plate 192. The rear side of the lid main body 125 (the desiccant insertion section 15 and the rectifying section 20) is the same as in the previous embodiment, so detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the movable lid portion 134 will be explained. The movable lid portion 134 includes a pressing plate portion 145, an elasticity imparting portion 194, and a knob portion 147. The knob portion 147 is an extension of the press plate portion 145, and the knob portion 147 has a curved surface slightly curved backward from the plane of the press plate portion 145.
A pad 236 is provided on the back side of the holding plate portion 145.

The elasticity imparting portions 194 are provided on the left and right sides of the pressing plate portion 145. The elasticity imparting part 194 has an elastic part 235 which has a hairpin shape when viewed from above as shown in FIG. The elastic part 235 has a forward side part 195 that extends rearward as shown in FIG. 22 with the side of the presser plate part 145 as the base end, and a return side part 196 that is folded back in a "U" shape and reaches the front side. It has elasticity as a whole. A shaft piece 197 is provided on the outside of the return side portion 196. The free end side of the elasticity imparting portion 194 opens outward to form a knob portion 146 .

Furthermore, an engagement piece 149 protrudes from the back side of the holding plate portion 145. The engagement piece 149 is rod-shaped or plate-shaped, and is provided in a cantilevered manner on the pressing plate portion 145. The engagement piece 149 is provided with a small protrusion 199 .

The movable lid portion 134 is attached to the lid body portion 125 by the shaft piece 197 of the elasticity imparting portion 194 engaging with the bearing portion 140 of the lid body portion 125.
When installing, press the knobs 146 on both sides in the direction to shorten the distance, bend the elastic part 235 to shorten the distance between the left and right shaft pieces 197, and insert the movable lid into the recess 373 of the lid body 125. The back side of the portion 134 is inserted, and in that state, the elastic portion 235 is returned to engage the left and right shaft pieces 197 with the bearing portion 140. When removing the movable lid part 134, the elastic part 235 is bent to shorten the distance between the left and right shaft pieces 197, and the left and right shaft pieces 197 are separated from the bearing parts 140a and 140b.

The lid member 118 is attached to the container body 5 as shown in FIGS. 23 and 24. When the lid member 118 is attached to the container body 5, as shown in FIG. After entering the internal space, the engaging members 166a and 166b of the swinging lid 237 are engaged with the engaging holes 193 of the engaging plate 192.

That is, the engagement plate (engagement piece) 192 of the lid member (swinging member) 118 is located in the low ceiling part (recessed part) 161 formed on the outer periphery of the container body 5, and when the lid member 118 is closed, the engagement plate (engaging piece) 192 is located in the low ceiling part 161. The engaging plate (engaging piece) 192 of the lid member (swinging member) 118 engages with the engaging plate (engaging piece) 192 of the lid member (swinging member) 118, and the lid member 118 covers the container body 5. Fixed.

Note that when the swing lid 237 is opened as shown in FIG. 24(b), the engagement members 166a, 166b of the swing lid 237 and the engagement hole 193 of the engagement plate 192 are disengaged. Therefore, the lid member 118 can be easily removed from the container body 5 as shown in FIG. 24(c).

In this embodiment, when the movable lid portion 134 is closed, the small protrusion 199 of the engagement piece 149 engages with the portion above the corner portion 188 of the leaf spring 185, as shown in FIG. 23(a). However, the movable lid portion 134 remains stable in the closed position.
When opening the movable lid 134, the knob 147 of the movable lid 134 is pressed. As a result, the movable lid portion 134 swings around the shaft piece 197. At this time, the small protrusion 199 of the engagement piece 149 that was engaged with the corner 188 of the plate spring 185 is moved against the elastic force of the plate spring 185 as the movable lid part 134 swings. Moving. Then, as shown in FIG. 23(b), the small protrusion 199 of the engagement piece 149 gets over the corner 188 of the leaf spring 185, and the movable lid part 134 is stabilized in the open position.

The embodiment described above mainly uses a closed type drug container 2,170, and moves the drug container 2,170 by inserting the drug container 2,170 through the door 130 provided in the housing 101. Although an example in which the medicine container 2, 170 is moved by means 110 has been described, it is also possible to manually transport the medicine container 2, 170 into the housing 101.
In particular, when employing a drug container 81 with an open drug inlet as shown in FIG. 17, the drug container 81 is manually carried into the housing 101 and placed on a desired container mounting device 3. Further, in this embodiment, a plurality of container mounting devices 3 are provided in the housing 101, and each container mounting device 3 is provided with a notification member 19 (FIGS. 10 and 20). The notification member 19 is used to notify that the container placement device 3 is the one on which the drug container 2 is to be placed.
When using a drug container 81 with an open drug inlet, either the manual loading door 180a or 180b is opened and the drug container 81 is inserted into the housing 101. The notification member 19 of the mounting device 3 lights up to notify the container mounting device 3 where the drug container 81 is to be installed.

This will be explained below.
The medicine container 81 with an open medicine entrance is used when packaging medicines that are used relatively infrequently. More specifically, it is used when there is no prescribed medicine filled in the container storage device 106 of the medicine dispensing device 100 or the sealed medicine containers 2, 170 stored outside.
In such a situation, the operation display (not shown) will display a message such as ``Please place the manual dispensing cassette (Medicine container 81 with an open drug inlet)'' or ``A missing cassette has occurred. If so, please install it on the feeder (meaning container placement device 3).'' A message prompting the user to perform the work is displayed.
Displays such as ``Open'', ``Close'', and ``Start Distribution'' of the manual distribution door A (meaning the manual loading door section 180a) appear on the touch panel or the like of the operation display section (not shown).

At the same time, the notification member 19 of one of the container mounting devices 3 lights up. When the operator presses "open" on a touch panel or the like, the manual loading door 180a is automatically opened by the power of the motor.
That is, the manual loading door 180a located closest to the lit container mounting device 3 opens. The operator manually inserts the drug container 81 with an open drug input port through the manual loading door 180a, and places the drug container 81 on the container mounting device 3 that is lit.
At this time, an information reading operation is performed to read the information stored in the information recording member 90 such as RFID of the drug container 81, and it is confirmed whether the drug container 81 to be used is correctly placed on the container placement device 3. A confirmation operation is performed.
When the operator presses "Start Distribution" on the touch panel, the manual loading door 180a is closed by power.
When it is confirmed that the drug container 81 is correctly placed on the container placement device 3, the message display on the operation display section ends. Also, the notification member 19 turns off.

In this embodiment, since the notification member 19 uses lamps of multiple colors, various messages can be sent to the user by changing the color and changing the way the light is illuminated (continuously lit or blinking). I can tell you.
In principle, when a request is made to place the drug container 81 (or a weight in the case of calibration or verification), the notification member 19 flashes in a specific color. For example, a green light flashes.

If some work is being performed, a specific color will be lit continuously. For example, a green lamp lights up continuously. For example, when the medicine is being discharged from the medicine container 81, the green lamp lights up continuously. In addition, the green lamp lights up continuously when the medicine is being discharged from the normal medicine container 2, when calibration or verification using weights is being performed, when the vibration frequency of the vibration table 50 is being tuned, etc.

When the work is completed, a specific color will be lit continuously. For example, a blue lamp lights up continuously. For example, when the discharge of the medicine from the medicine container 2, 81 is completed, when the calibration using a weight is completed, or when the tuning of the vibration frequency is completed, the blue lamp is lit continuously. When a drug is being dispensed using the open drug container 81, a green lamp is lit continuously, and when the dispensing operation is completed, the color of the lamp changes to blue. The operator sees the display to know that the work is complete, and removes the drug container 81 from the container mounting device 3.

If any error occurs, a specific color will be lit continuously. For example, a red lamp lights up continuously. For example, if a weight is placed on the container mounting device 3 and calibration is performed, but the calibration fails, the red lamp lights up continuously.

Next, a recommended control method will be explained.
A configuration in which the vibration pattern of the vibration table 50 can be changed depending on the drug type, discharge timing, and total discharge amount is recommended.
Particle size and hygroscopicity of drugs vary depending on the type. Therefore, when the vibration table 50 is vibrated, the behavior of the medicine in the medicine container 2 differs depending on the medicine.
When subjected to vibrations, there are drugs that are easy to rectify and flow, and there are drugs that are difficult to rectify. Furthermore, the amount of movement per vibration varies depending on the type of drug.
In addition, there is a problem that the amount of drug discharged is not stable in the initial stage of drug discharge.

Therefore, the device is configured to be able to change the number of vibrations per unit time and the magnitude of the amplitude, and the frequency and magnitude of the amplitude are changed according to the drug type, discharge timing, and total discharge amount.
For example, the ease of drug discharge is tested in advance, and all the drugs scheduled to be discharged from the drug feeder 1 are divided into multiple stages. This is called, for example, a "flow coefficient", and medicines are classified into flow coefficients of 1 to 3.
Furthermore, the emission level is divided into multiple levels depending on the total amount of drug excreted. For example, the discharge amount is divided into 20 grams, and the names are referred to as "discharge amount 20, discharge amount 40, and discharge amount 60."
The vibration level is also divided into multiple levels depending on the vibration frequency and amplitude. These are called, for example, "vibration level 1, vibration level 2", and can be changed from, for example, vibration level 1 (minimum vibration) to vibration level 20 (maximum vibration).

Then, select an appropriate vibration level based on the "flow coefficient" and "emission amount". Furthermore, the vibration level is distinguished between the vibration level at the initial stage of discharge and the vibration level at the stable stage.
For example, if the drug is easily discharged, such as with a "flow coefficient of 1", and the total discharge amount is small, such as with a "discharge amount of 20", vibration is started at a slow vibration such as with a vibration level of 3, After a certain period of time has elapsed, the vibration is switched to a stronger one, such as a vibration level of 10. Alternatively, the method is switched to a method in which the vibration intensity of the vibration table 50 is feedback-controlled, centering on strong vibrations such as vibration level 10, so that the discharge amount h per unit time is constant.

In addition, if the drug is difficult to be discharged, such as with a "flow coefficient of 3", and the total discharge amount is large, such as a discharge amount of 80, vibration is started with a strong vibration such as a vibration level of 11, and the vibration level is set to 11. When the time elapses, the vibration is switched to a stronger one, such as a vibration level of 15. Alternatively, feedback control is performed so that the discharge amount h per unit time is constant, centering on strong vibrations such as vibration level 15.

Further, when the amount of medicine stored in the medicine container 2 is small, it is desirable to increase the vibration level until the medicine reaches the medicine discharge part 13 at the tip.
That is, in this embodiment, the drug container 2 is stored in the container storage device 106 in a vertical position. Therefore, during storage, the medicine is gathered at a position far from the medicine discharge section 13.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, immediately before installing the drug container 2 on the container mounting device 3, the drug container 2 is once tilted so that the drug discharge portion 13 side is facing upward, as shown in FIG. By this operation, the medicine in the medicine container 2 is brought to a position far from the medicine discharge part 13.

Here, if the amount of medicine stored in the medicine container 2 is small, immediately after the medicine container 2 is placed on the container mounting device 3, the medicine inside will be moved to a position far from the medicine discharge part 13. This means that they are unevenly distributed.
Then, the vibrating table 50 is vibrated to move the medicine in the medicine container 2 toward the medicine discharge part 13. However, if the medicine stored in the medicine container 2 is small, the medicine unevenly distributed at the back is discharged. It takes time to reach part 13.

In this embodiment, as a countermeasure against this problem, a configuration is adopted in which the vibration level is increased until the medicine reaches the medicine discharge section 13 at the tip. Furthermore, by monitoring the weight of the drug container 2, it is determined whether the drug has reached the drug discharge section 13 or not.
More specifically, in the initial stage of starting the vibration, the vibration table 50 is vibrated with stronger vibration than the initial value determined by the above-mentioned flow coefficient and the like. Then, the weight of the drug container 2 is monitored, and if it is detected that the weight of the drug container 2 has decreased even slightly, it is determined that the drug has reached the drug discharge section 13.
Thereafter, the vibration is weakened, and the vibration table 50 is vibrated at the initial value determined by the flow coefficient and the like described above.
Further, when it is detected that the weight of the drug container 2 has decreased by a certain amount, the vibration of the vibration table 50 is switched to stronger vibration.

For example, immediately after the start of vibration, the vibration table 50 is vibrated at a strong vibration of vibration level 12. For example, when a very small amount of the drug, such as 0.3 grams, is discharged, the vibration level is reduced to the vibration level 3 described above. When a certain amount of the drug is further discharged, the vibration level is switched to a stronger vibration level of 10. Alternatively, the method is switched to a method in which the vibration intensity of the vibration table 50 is feedback-controlled, centering on strong vibrations such as vibration level 10, so that the discharge amount h per unit time is constant.

In this way, the timing of switching from the initial value such as vibration level 3 to the normal value such as vibration level 10 is preferably based on the amount of medicine discharged.
For example, if the vibration table 50 is vibrated with strong vibrations such as vibration level 12, and only a very small amount of medicine, such as 0.3 grams, is discharged, the vibration level is lowered to vibration level 3, and the medicine is reduced to, for example, 0. When .8 grams are discharged, the vibration level is switched to a stronger vibration level of 10. Alternatively, the method is switched to a method in which the vibration intensity of the vibration table 50 is feedback-controlled, centering on strong vibrations such as vibration level 10, so that the discharge amount h per unit time is constant.
The timing of switching from an initial value such as vibration level 3 to a normal value such as vibration level 10 may be based on time.

Although the above-described control method is recommended when the amount of medicine stored in the medicine container 2 is small, it may be implemented regardless of the remaining amount of medicine stored in the medicine container 2.

Furthermore, when the amount of medicine stored in the medicine container 2 is always small, such as when the amount of medicine prescribed at one time is small, it is also effective to make the medicine container 2 have an upwardly raised bottom.
For example, as shown in FIG. 25, a partition plate (raised bottom member) 150 is provided inside the drug container 2 to intentionally narrow the space in the drug container 2.
As a result, the distance between the substantially innermost part of the drug container 2 (bottom-up member 150) and the drug ejection section 13 is shortened, and the drug reaches the drug ejection section 13 earlier.

The drug container 151 shown in FIG. 25 has a container body 5 that is substantially entirely covered and has an internal space 155, and is deeper than the drug ejection part 13 based on the attitude placed on the container mounting device 3. A partition plate (raised bottom member) 150 is provided on the side.
Therefore, even when the medicine container 151 is in a vertical position, the medicine inside does not reach deeper than the partition plate (raised bottom member) 150.
In the drug container 151 shown in FIG. 25, an opening 152 is provided in the wall surface that corresponds to the bottom when placed in the vertical position. The position of the plate (raised bottom member) 150 can be changed. Furthermore, by providing the partition plate (raised bottom member) 150, the actual space can be narrowed, and even when a small amount of medicine is stored in the medicine container 151, it is expected to have the effect of reducing the risk of the medicine becoming moist. can.

Next, other modified examples of the drug container will be described with reference to FIGS. 27 to 33. The medicine container described below is a medicine container 300 with an open medicine entrance.
As shown in FIG. 30, the drug container 300 is composed of a storage space forming member 301 and a bottom forming member 302.
The storage space forming member 301 has a main body portion 303 whose four sides are completely covered by side walls 304 and whose upper and lower surfaces are open.
That is, the main body portion 303 has a rectangular shape in plan view. The main body 303 has an opening 305 at the top, through which a medicine can be introduced.
There is also an opening 306 at the bottom of the main body 303, as shown in FIG.
The lower opening 306 is smaller than the upper opening 305. Both are connected by an inclined side wall 304.
An information recording member 90 such as RFID is attached to the side wall 304 of the main body 303 . In this embodiment, the information recording member 90 stores symbols and the like that identify the medicine container 300.

Guide pieces 309 are provided on a pair of side surfaces of the main body portion 303 . The guide piece 309 is located on the side wall 304 on the long side of the main body 303, and projects horizontally from the side wall 304 (based on the attitude placed on the container mounting device 3). Further, the guide piece 309 extends along the long side of the side wall 304. A stopper 307 is formed at one end. The stopper 307 is located at the end of the guide piece 309 and has a large cross-sectional area.
A lid 308 is attached to the opening 305 at the top of the main body 303 .

The bottom forming member 302 has the same cross-sectional shape as the fixing iron plate part 6 described above, and is a steel plate containing a magnetic component such as ferrite.
As shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, both sides of the bottom forming member 302 are bent upward around a bottom 310 to form an inclined wall 311.
Further, one end in the longitudinal direction of the bottom forming member 302 is open to constitute a medicine discharge section 315. A vertical wall 316 is provided on the other longitudinal end side of the bottom forming member 302 and is closed.
A plurality of protrusions 325 are provided in a region of the bottom 310 of the bottom forming member 302 that is close to the drug ejection section 315.
The total length of the bottom forming member 302 is longer than the total length of the storage space forming member 301, as shown in FIG.

A guide receiving member 313 is provided on the outer periphery of the inclined wall 311 of the bottom forming member 302 .
As shown in FIG. 31, the guide receiving member 313 includes a receiving portion forming member 317 and an elastic member (elastic body) 320.
The guide receiving member 313 has a substantially rectangular box shape. A cover portion 318 is provided on the top surface of the guide receiving member 313, and a slit portion 319 with which the aforementioned guide piece 309 engages is formed between the top surface of the box-shaped portion and the cover portion 318.
The slit portion 319 is open on the medicine discharge portion 315 side and closed on the vertical wall 316 side.

Inside the guide receiving member 313, two pins 324 are provided that hang down from the ceiling.

The elastic member 320 is provided on the inclined wall 311 of the bottom forming member 302 and is attached to a support base 321 that protrudes outward in the form of a shelf.
That is, it is provided on the inclined wall 311 of the bottom forming member 302, and there is a support stand 321 on the outer periphery thereof, and two elastic members 320 are erected from the support stand 321.
Specifically, the elastic member 320 is a spring. A receiving member 322 is provided on the upper part of the elastic member 320. A recess 323 is formed in the receiving member 322 .

The receiving portion forming member 317 covers the elastic member 320, and an internal pin 324 engages with a recess 323 of the elastic member 320.

Further, the storage space forming member 301 described above is attached to the bottom forming member 302 via a guide receiving member 313.
That is, the guide piece 309 of the storage space forming member 301 is engaged with the slit portion 319 of the guide receiving member 313, and the two are integrated.
Since the guide receiving member 313 has the elastic member 320, the storage space forming member 301 and the bottom forming member 302 are connected with the elastic member 320 interposed therebetween.
Note that, as described above, since the slit portion 319 is open on the drug ejection portion 315 side and closed on the vertical wall 316 side, the storage space forming member 301 is inserted into the drug ejection portion 315 along the longitudinal direction of the bottom forming member 302. By moving it to the side, the storage space forming member 301 can be removed from the bottom forming member 302.

The lower opening 306 of the storage space forming member 301 is not in contact with the bottom 310 of the bottom forming member 302, and there is a gap between the two.

The drug container 300 of this embodiment can be used in the same manner as the drug container 81 with an open drug input opening described above. That is, a drug is put into the storage space forming member 301, and the drug container 300 is manually carried into the housing 101 and placed on a desired container mounting device 3.
Then, the vibrating table 50 of the container mounting device 3 is vibrated to discharge the medicine from the medicine discharge section 315. Here, since the drug container 300 of this embodiment has the elastic member 320 between the storage space forming member 301 and the bottom forming member 302, the bottom forming member 302 of the drug container 300 vibrates to move the drug. The amount of vibration of the storage space forming member 301 is smaller than that of the bottom forming member 302.
Therefore, the detection accuracy of the storage space forming member 301 and the weight measuring means 55 is high. Moreover, the movement of the drug is smooth.
That is, according to the embodiment, there is an elastic member 320 between the storage space forming member 301 and the bottom forming member 302, and the structure is such that a border is cut between the two. Therefore, the bottom forming member 302 directly receives the vibration from the vibration table 50 and vibrates greatly, but the storage space forming member 301 placed on the upper side vibrates less. In this manner, in this embodiment, the vibrations of the storage space forming member 301 and the vibrations of the bottom forming member 302 are not synchronized.
Therefore, the drug in the storage space forming member 301 falls into the bottom forming member 302 from the opening 306 on the lower side, moves smoothly through the bottom forming member 302, and is discharged from the drug discharging portion 315 at the tip.

In the drug feeder 1 and the drug dispensing device 100 of the present embodiment, the weight measuring means 55 built in the drug feeder 1 measures the drug to be discharged into the distribution tray 116 on the downstream side. In some cases, the medicine is measured by a machine, filled into a medicine container after being measured, and then dispensed by a powder medicine dispensing device.
In such a case, the drug container 300 is placed on a desk and the measured amount of drug is put into the storage space forming member 301.

Here, the medicine container 300 described above has a bottom forming member 302 at the bottom, but the cross-sectional shape of the bottom forming member 302 is groove-like, and the area of the portion in contact with the desk surface is small. Therefore, if the drug container 300 is placed directly on a desk, it will be unstable, and there is a risk that the drug container 300 will be turned upside down.

As a means to solve this problem, the medicine dispensing device 100 of this embodiment is provided with a temporary storage stand 340 on which a medicine container is temporarily placed.
The temporary storage stand 340 is a stand that has an installation groove 341 with which the bottom surface of the bottom forming member 302 of the drug container 300 matches.
The installation groove 341 has an open portion 345 on one side and a vertical wall portion 342 on the other side.
Further, the installation groove 341 is slightly inclined so that the open portion 345 side is upward. The inclination angle is about 3 degrees to 10 degrees, and in this embodiment, it is 5 degrees.
In this embodiment, an information reading device 346 is provided on the vertical wall portion 342.

In this embodiment, the drug container 300 is placed on the temporary stand 340 to stabilize it, and the drug can be introduced through the opening 305 of the main body 303. More specifically, the inclined wall 311 of the bottom forming member 302 of the drug container 300 is aligned with the inclined surface of the installation groove 341 of the temporary storage stand 340, and the vertical wall 316 of the bottom forming member 302 is aligned with the vertical wall of the temporary holding stand 340. The drug container 300 is placed on the temporary stand 340 so as to be in contact with the portion 342.
As a result, in the medicine container 300, the bottom forming member 302 is in an inclined position, and the medicine discharge part 315 is directed upward. Therefore, the medicine does not fall out from the medicine discharge part 315.
Further, information specifying the drug container 300 is read by the information reading device 346.

In the embodiment described above, the medicine container 2 is provided with the rectifier 20, and the rectifier 20 mainly includes the fixed rectifier coil 25 and the movable rectifier coil 26.
However, when filling a drug with poor fluidity such as rhubarb powder, the fixed rectifier coil 25 and the movable rectifier coil 26 become a hindrance. Therefore, when filling a drug with poor fluidity such as rhubarb powder, it is desirable to use a drug container with the coil removed.

34, 35, and 36 show a lid member 156 attached to a modified medicine container.
The lid member 156 differs from the lid member 8 shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 9 described above in that it does not have the fixed rectifier coil 25 and the movable rectifier coil 26.
Further, in the lid member 8 shown in FIGS. 6, 9, and 19, an opening 43 was provided in the center of the eaves lid 35, but this opening is not provided in the lid member 156 shown in FIGS. 34, 35, and 36. None.
Furthermore, although the lid member 8 shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 9 was provided with the distal end closing wall 33, the lid member 156 shown in FIGS. 34, 35, and 36 does not have the distal end closing wall 33, That part is open.

In the lid member 156 shown in FIGS. 34, 35, and 36, a height limiting member 157 is provided in place of the movable rectifier coil 26.
The height limiting member 157 is a partition that limits the amount of medicine introduced into the lid member 156, and is attached to the movable coil holding wall 32.

The height limiting member 157 is a groove-shaped member in a plan view as shown in FIG. 35, and has a partition wall 158 in the center and mounting pieces 159 on both sides of the partition wall 158.
The mounting piece 159 of the height limiting member 157 is in contact with the movable coil retaining wall 32 . Further, the upper side of the partition wall 158 is in contact with the eaves cover 35. There is a gap between the lower side of the partition wall 158 and the bottom 46 of the container body 5.
When the medicine passes through this gap, the undulations in the height of the medicine are smoothed out, the height is made uniform, and the amount of medicine discharged is optimized. Then, the medicine is suitably guided by the vibration and advances toward the medicine discharge section 13 side.

Another possible measure when using a drug with poor fluidity is to improve the bottom 46 of the container body 5 of the drug container 2 to improve the slippage of the drug.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 37 and 38, a sliding plate 250 is attached to the bottom 46 of the container body 5. The sliding plate 250 is made by bending a metal plate such as stainless steel or aluminum.
The sliding plate 250 has a shape that follows the shape of the bottom 46 of the container body 5.
Specifically, the sliding plate 250 has a groove-like cross-sectional shape, and has a bottom matching portion 251 that matches the shape of the bottom 46 of the container body 5 and a side surface 252 of the container main body 5 that matches the vicinity of the bottom 46. It has a side surface matching portion 253. The side mating portion 253 is longer than the bottom mating portion 251.
Furthermore, the sliding plate 250 is shorter than the overall length of the container body 5 and is mounted near the opening of the container body 5.

In this embodiment, the sliding plate 250 is made of a metal plate that has been surface-treated to improve its non-adhesive properties. For example, a material that is surface-treated with iron, stainless steel, or aluminum alloy by eutectoiding nickel and fluororesin is suitable as the material for the sliding plate 250.
It is desirable that a non-adhesive resin (for example, fluororesin) of about 30% by volume be uniformly distributed in the surface film.

The material of the sliding plate 250 is not limited, and resin itself having excellent non-adhesive properties such as fluororesin may be used as the material. Although the shape of the sliding plate 250 is not limited, it is desirable that it covers the bottom 46 of the container body 5 and the vicinity of the opening of the container body 5.
The reason for this is that the vicinity of the opening of the container body 5 is a part that protrudes from the vibration table 50 of the container mounting device 3 as shown in FIG. This is because there is a concern that the condition may deteriorate somewhat compared to the site.
It is desirable that the sliding plate 250 covers a wider area of the bottom 46 of the container body 5. Specifically, the sliding plate 250 may completely cover the bottom 46 of the container body 5. For example, it is made by bending a metal plate surface-treated with fluororesin into a groove shape, and has an external shape that follows the shape of the bottom 46 of the container body 5, and its entire length is the same as the bottom 46 of the container body 5. A sliding plate having a total length comparable to that of 46 may be adopted.
Further, instead of the sliding plate 250, the inner surface of the container body 5 may be coated with a resin having excellent non-stick properties.

In the drug feeder 1 of the embodiment described above, the container mounting device 3 includes a vibrating table 50, a vibrating means 51 for vibrating the vibrating table 50, and a container holding means (magnetic member) for fixing the drug container 2 to the vibrating table 50. 62) and a weight measuring means 55 for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the drug container 2, the drug container 2 is placed on the vibration table 50, and the drug container 2 is moved to the vibration table 50 by the container holding means. It is possible to discharge the medicine little by little from the medicine container 2 by vibrating the vibration table 50, and detect the amount of medicine discharged by the weight measuring means 55, and the total amount of medicine discharged from the medicine container 2. The drug feeder 1 is characterized in that the vibration of the vibration table 50 becomes smaller when the amount approaches the target amount.

In the drug feeder 1 of the embodiment described above, the container mounting device 3 includes a vibrating table 50, a vibrating means 51 for vibrating the vibrating table 50, a container holding means for fixing the drug container 2 to the vibrating table 50, and a drug The medicine container 2 is placed on the vibration table 50, the medicine container 2 is fixed on the vibration table 50 by the container holding means, and the medicine container 2 is fixed to the vibration table 50 by the container holding means. It is possible to discharge the medicine little by little from the medicine container 2 by vibrating the table 50, and detect the amount of medicine discharged by the weight measuring means 55, and if the total amount of medicine discharged from the medicine container 2 is less than the target amount. The drug feeder 1 is characterized in that the vibration of the vibration table 50 increases when the discharge amount of the drug per unit time becomes less than a certain amount.

The medicine feeder 1 of the embodiment described above stores the total amount of medicine discharged up to the present and vibrates when the amount of medicine discharged per unit time is below a certain amount even if the vibration of the vibration table 50 becomes large. The vibrating table 50 is configured to stop the vibration of the table 50 and remove the drug container 2 from the vibrating table.

In the drug feeder 1 of the embodiment described above, when the drug container 2 is fixed again on the vibrating table 50, the vibration of the vibrating table 50 is resumed to discharge the drug little by little from the drug container 2. The vibrating table 50 is configured to stop vibrating when the total amount of medicine to be discharged reaches a target amount.

In the embodiment described above, only one wire holding member 73 is provided, but a plurality of wire holding members 73 may be provided. FIG. 18 shows an example in which two wire holding members 73 are provided.

In the embodiment described above, the top surface of the desiccant insertion part 15 and the upper part of the fixed rectifier coil 25 in the coil housing space 28 are closed by the inner lid 22, and the upper part of the movable rectifier coil 26 in the coil housing space 28 is covered with an eaves. Although the lid (eaves member) 35 is used to close the lid, the rear end side of the lid main body 10 may be closed with a full lid 23 that integrates both as shown in FIG.

In the above-described embodiments, magnetism is used as the container holding means, but other actuators such as motors may be used as the container holding means.

In the embodiments described above, control using coefficients called "flow coefficients" was introduced, but additional explanation regarding the "flow coefficients" will be given below.
The drug feeder 1 of the above-described embodiment has a configuration in which the vibration frequency per unit time and amplitude of the vibration table 50 can be changed, and the frequency and amplitude can be changed depending on the drug type, discharge timing, and total discharge amount. It is possible to change the amplitude.

To explain in more detail, the vibration table 50 of this embodiment has a structure in which the magnitude of vibration can be varied according to a preset setting value (the vibration frequency and amplitude can be varied). ). A "flow coefficient" is assigned according to a target setting value (hereinafter also referred to as a vibration value) when operating the vibration table 50 when discharging each chemical.
In the embodiment described above, the flow coefficient is divided into three stages from "flow coefficient 1" to "flow coefficient 3", but more preferably it is divided into nine stages from "flow coefficient 1" to "flow coefficient 9".

To explain this "flow coefficient" specifically, this "flow coefficient" is a value set for each drug feeder 1 shipped, and the ease of drug discharge is determined in advance by actually using the drug feeder 1. The value is assigned after experimentation. Specifically, first, a reference chemical (for example, magnesium oxide) is used, and a vibration value for dispensing a predetermined amount in a predetermined time is obtained and classified into "flow coefficient 1". Then, for each drug, a vibration value is obtained to dispense the same amount of the reference drug in the same amount of time, and a "flow coefficient" is assigned according to the vibration value. Note that the larger the value of the flow coefficient, the greater the vibration of the vibration table.
In other words, the "flow coefficient" is the target vibration setting value for discharging each chemical in the same way as the standard chemical, and the larger the value of the "flow coefficient", the more difficult it is for the chemicals to flow. Therefore, it is also a value that indicates the ease with which chemicals can be discharged.

Then, select an appropriate vibration level based on the "flow coefficient" and "emission amount". In addition, the vibration level shall be distinguished between the vibration level at the initial stage of discharge and the vibration level during the stable period. When the amount of discharge is small, the vibration starts at a slow vibration level of 3, and when a certain decrease in the amount of the chemical is detected (when a certain weighing value is reached), the vibration increases to a vibration level of 10. Switch to vibration. Alternatively, the method is switched to a method in which the vibration intensity of the vibration table section is feedback-controlled, centering on strong vibrations such as vibration level 10, so that the discharge amount h per unit time is constant.

In the embodiment described above, the medicine feeder 1 is used to supply the powder to the distribution tray 116 of the medicine dividing area (powder medicine dispensing device) 103, but the powder is supplied directly from the medicine feeder 1 to the medicine packaging device 122. Good too.
It is also conceivable to supply tablets and capsules using the drug feeder 1, 50 of the present invention.

1: Drug feeder 2,170: Drug container 3: Container placement device 6: Fixing iron plate part 7: Transport iron plate part 8,118: Lid member 13: Drug discharge part 19: Notification member 20: Rectification part 25: Fixation Rectifier coil 26: Movable rectifier coil 27: Rectifier coil holding part 28: Coil housing space 35: Eaves cover (eaves member) 43: Opening 50: Vibration table 51a, 51b: Vibration means 52: Intermediate stand 53: Vibration isolation table 55 : Weight measuring means 56: Foundation member 62a, 62b: Magnet member 65: Magnet energizing wire 66: Installation plate 68: Vibrating means energizing wire 70: Measuring means energizing wire 71: Stopper 72: Connector 73: Wire holding member 76: Electric wire fixing part 81: Medicine container 100: Medicine dispensing device 103: Medicine dividing area (powder medicine dispensing device) 118: Lid member (swinging member) 130: Door part (automatic loading door) 150: Partition plate (raised bottom member) 151 : Drug container 161: Low ceiling part (concave part) 180a, 180b: Door part (manual loading door part) 192: Engagement plate (engagement piece) 300: Drug container 301: Storage space forming member 302: Bottom forming member 304: Side wall 306: Opening (lower side) 315: Drug discharge part 320: Elastic member (elastic body) 340: Temporary stand

Claims (4)

A drug dispensing device comprising a container storage device in which sealed drug containers are stored, a container placement device constituting a drug feeder, a powder dispensing device for dispensing powdered drugs, and a display section,
Multiple container placement devices are installed around the powder dispensing device.
If there is no sealed drug container filled with the prescribed drug in the container storage device, the display section will prompt the user to place a drug container with an open drug inlet into the container placement device from outside the drug dispensing device. A drug dispensing device that displays a message urging you to do so. 2. The drug dispensing device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification member for notifying which container mounting device among the plurality of container mounting devices the drug container with an open drug insertion opening should be placed. The medicine dispensing device according to claim 2, wherein the notification member lights up. The medicine dispensing device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the notification member is provided on the container mounting device.

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