JP7371303B2 - drug dispensing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a medicine dispensing device, and more particularly to a medicine dispensing device equipped with a powder dispensing device that dispenses powder medicine.

In this specification, powdered medicines are medicines in powder or granular form, and "drugs" include powdered medicines. The device of the present invention is basically a device for handling powdered medicines, but if there is no need to distinguish between powdered medicines and other forms of medicines, powdered medicines may be referred to as medicines.
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 and the like for each dose. 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.

By the way, all of the powder medicine packaging devices that have been put into practical use are semi-automatic devices and require manual operation.
That is, in powder medicine dispensing devices that have been put into practical use, the process up to the step of measuring out a predetermined amount of powder medicine from a medicine bottle and putting it into a hopper or the like of a powder medicine dispensing device is not automated.
Therefore, even when using a powder medicine packaging device, the pharmacist must check the doctor's prescription, take out the vial containing the prescribed powder medicine from the medicine cabinet, and then use a scale such as a balance to check the prescription. This requires time and effort to weigh out the total weight of a specific powder medicine and to put it into a hopper or the like.

An invention that addresses this problem is disclosed in Patent Document 1. The powder medicine packaging device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a powder medicine storage and a dividing packaging device.
The powder medicine storage has a large number of medicine cassettes attached to an endless track such as a chain.

The dividing packager has two distribution/dividing devices. The distribution/dividing device includes a rotary body having an annular groove having an arc-shaped cross section.

In the powder medicine packaging device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the powder medicine storage and the rotating body are on the same plane. That is, in the powder medicine packaging device, there is a rotating body on the operator's side, and a powder medicine storage is located on the back side.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-80043

The powder medicine packaging device disclosed in Patent Document 1 selects a medicine cassette filled with a desired medicine from a powder medicine storage, discharges the medicine from the medicine cassette, weighs it, transports it, and puts it into a rotating body. do. According to the powder medicine packaging device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a series of these operations can be performed automatically.
However, the powder medicine packaging device disclosed in Patent Document 1 occupies too large a floor area and lacks practicality.
That is, in existing pharmacies and hospitals, it is difficult to secure a large space for installing a powder medicine packaging device, and the powder medicine packaging device disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot be introduced.

Therefore, the present invention provides a drug dispensing device that can automatically select a necessary drug container from a drug shelf area, and also provides a highly practical drug dispensing device that occupies a small area. The issue is development.

One aspect of the present invention developed to solve the above problems includes a medicine feeder for discharging powder medicine contained in a medicine container, and the powder medicine discharged from the medicine container placed on the medicine feeder. In a drug dispensing device that automatically performs a packaging operation of packaging one dose of the drug, the drug feeder has a vibration table that vibrates the drug container, the drug container has a lid member, and the drug feeder has a vibrating table that vibrates the drug container, The device is removable from a vibration table, and when the lid member is opened, the medicine container is vibrated by the vibration table to discharge the powder from the medicine container, and the amount of powder discharged from the medicine container is monitored. , the amount of discharged powder medicine is specified by a change in the weight of the drug container, and when the change in weight of the discharged amount per unit time is less than a certain value, the amplitude of the vibration table is increased; The medicine dispensing device includes an operation of stopping the vibration of the vibration table when the change in the weight of the medicine container per unit time is less than a certain value even if the amplitude of the vibration table is increased.
In a preferred embodiment, the drug container is a sealed container, and the drug includes an operation of automatically stopping vibration of the vibration table when a change in weight of the discharged amount per unit time is less than a certain value. It is a payout device.
A further preferred embodiment is a drug dispensing device that includes an operation of displaying on a display device a display to notify a user that an abnormality has occurred when the change in weight of the discharge amount per unit time is less than a certain value.
One aspect of the present invention developed to solve the above problems includes a drug feeder that discharges powdered medicine contained in a drug container, and a drug packaging device, and a drug container placed on the drug feeder. The amount of powder discharged from the drug container is monitored in the drug dispensing device that automatically executes the packaging operation of putting the powder medicine discharged from the drug container into a drug packaging device one dose at a time, and packaging the powder medicine one dose at a time. The medicine dispensing device executes a predetermined operation based on the discharge amount of the powder medicine.
In a preferred embodiment, the amount of the powder discharged is determined by a change in the weight of the drug container, and the drug dispensing device performs a predetermined operation when the change in the weight of the drug container per unit time is less than a certain value. be.
In a more preferred embodiment, the predetermined operation is a drug dispensing device that displays a display corresponding to the amount of change on a display device.
A further preferred embodiment is a drug dispensing device in which the display is a display that notifies the user that an abnormality has occurred.
Another aspect of the present invention, which was developed to solve the above problems, is a drug dispensing device that takes out a predetermined amount of powder from a drug container, divides it into a predetermined number of parts, and then packages and discharges them individually. The medicine container has a medicine discharge part for discharging the powder medicine, and the medicine dispensing device has a medicine shelf area, a medicine division area, and a medicine packaging area inside thereof, and the medicine shelf area has a plurality of medicine dispensing parts. A container storage device for installing and storing drug containers is provided, and a drug dividing area includes a dispensing tray which is provided with a drug input groove and is rotated by power, and a dispensing tray that scrapes out the powders placed in the distribution tray from the drug input groove. A scraping device and a container placement device on which a drug container is placed act on the drug container to discharge the drug from the drug container. The shelf area, the drug dividing area, and the drug packaging area are arranged in the vertical direction, and the drug shelf area, the drug dividing area, and the drug packaging area are arranged in this order from the top, and a container moving means is provided to move the container. A predetermined drug container is taken out from the container storage device in the drug shelf area and placed on the container placement device in the drug division area, and the powder is discharged from the drug container and placed in the drug input groove of the distribution tray. The dispensing device scrapes out the powders put into the distribution tray from the drug input groove and drops them onto the drug packaging area, the drug packaging device packages the drugs, and the container moving device transfers the drug containers that have been discharged to the drug shelf area. It is possible to return it to the container storage device.

According to the configuration, the medicine shelf area, the medicine division area, and the medicine packaging area are arranged in the vertical direction, and the medicine shelf area is above the medicine division area. Therefore, the space above the drug division area is effectively utilized, and the occupied floor space is small.

Preferably, the container storage device has a vertical drum member that rotates in a substantially horizontal direction, and a plurality of container installation portions are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the drum member, and drug containers are installed in the container installation portions. In this way, the drug container is installed on the outer peripheral surface of the drum member. Therefore, the installation surface for drug containers is wide, and many drug containers can be stored within a small floor area.

The container storage device has a plurality of container installation sections, each of which includes a bottom support section that supports the bottom surface of the drug container when the drug container is placed vertically, and a side support section that supports at least two of the side surfaces. It is preferable to have a container engaging portion that engages with a portion of the drug container. In this way, the medicine container is supported by the bottom support part and the side support part. Therefore, the drug container becomes stable. Further, since it has a container engaging portion that engages with a portion of the drug container, the drug container is unlikely to fall off.

The container storage device has a plurality of container installation parts, and the container installation part has two or more container-engaging parts that engage with a part of the medicine container, and at least one of them is capable of pushing the medicine container. Preferably, the position is changed and escapes to allow the drug container to approach, and when the drug container is installed in the normal position, the posture is fully or incompletely restored to engage a portion of the drug container. In this way, the medicine container can be easily attached to and removed from the container installation part.

It is preferable to include an attachment detection means for detecting whether or not the drug container is attached to the container storage device in a normal posture. In this way, it is possible to detect whether or not the drug container is attached to the container storage device in a normal posture.

The container storage device includes a plurality of container installation sections, each of which has a side support member that engages with one of the side surfaces of the drug container based on the vertically placed posture, and an attachment detection means. preferably has a protrusion member protruding from the side support member, and when the medicine container is attached in a normal position, the protrusion member is recessed into the side support member side. In this way, it is possible to know whether or not the drug container is attached in the correct orientation.

The container storage device has a vertical drum member that rotates in a substantially horizontal direction, a plurality of container installation parts are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the drum member, and a protruding member detection device that detects the attitude of the protruding member is provided inside the drum member. Preferably, a sensor is provided. In this way, it is possible to know whether or not the drug container is attached in the correct orientation.

It is preferable to include a pop-out detection sensor that detects whether any article is present at a position a certain distance away from the container storage device. In this way, it is possible to know whether or not the drug container is attached in the correct orientation.

The container storage device has a vertical drum member that rotates in a substantially horizontal direction, and a plurality of container installation parts are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the drum member, and the pop-out detection sensor is located near the drum member at a certain distance from the drum member. It is preferable that the sensor is an optical sensor that detects whether or not some kind of article is present by irradiating light onto the position where the object is placed.

The container storage device has a vertical drum member that rotates in a substantially horizontal direction, and has a plurality of container installation parts on the outer circumferential surface of the drum member, and a drug container is held by a container moving means, and the container storage device is moved from the container moving means to the container storage device. A drug container is delivered to the device, and during the delivery, the drum member is rotated, and the container moving means rotates the drug container in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the drum member to move the drug container. It is preferable that one side face a part of the drum member, and then the drug container is moved toward the drum member by the container moving means and delivered to the container storage device. In this way, the drug container can be mounted reliably, and the required operating space is small.

The container storage device has a vertical drum member that rotates in a substantially horizontal direction, a plurality of container installation parts are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the drum member, a plurality of distribution plates are provided in the medicine dividing area, and the drum member is The container moving means is provided at a position closer to one of the distribution plates, and the container moving means has an articulated robot installed on a vertical rail installed in the vertical direction, and the vertical rail is located closer to the drum member than the drum member. Preferably, it is provided near the center. In this way, the overall structure of the device can be made smaller.

The container moving means is provided with a multi-jointed robot on a vertical rail installed in the vertical direction, and the robot has two arm members that are connected at least at the joints and rotate in the horizontal direction. It is preferable that the device has a container holding palm portion for holding a drug container, and that the container holding palm portion can be held in a lying position and an upright position with the surface for holding the drug container. In this way, the operating space required by the robot is small.

Preferably, the container moving means holds the container by magnetic force. In this case, since the drug container is held by magnetic force, it is easy to attach and detach the drug container.

Preferably, the drug container is provided with an information recording member that records or describes information regarding the drug contained therein, and an information reading means is provided in or near the container storage device. In this way, it is possible to prevent mix-ups of drugs.

The drug container is provided with an information recording member that records or describes information regarding the drug contained therein, and the container storage device has a vertical drum member that rotates in a substantially horizontal direction, and a plurality of containers are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the drum member. Preferably, there is an installation part, the drum member is capable of accommodating drug containers in multiple stages, and one or more information reading means corresponding to each stage is provided. In this way, many drug containers can be stored in a small occupied area. Further, the number of information reading means may be small.

It is preferable that the drum member is rotated and the information reading means reads the information on the information recording member during the rotation. In this way, the number of information reading means can be reduced.

It is preferable that the drug container is provided with an information recording member recording or writing information regarding the drug contained therein, and that an information reading means is provided in or near the container mounting device. In this way, it is possible to prevent mix-ups of drugs.

The medicine container is provided with an information recording member that records or describes information about the medicine contained therein, and the medicine shelf area and the medicine division area are covered with a housing, and the housing has a door and the medicine container is placed inside. It is preferable that a drug container temporary storage section is provided at or near the door, and that the drug container temporary storage section is provided with information reading means. In this way, it is possible to prevent mix-ups of drugs.

It is preferable that the drug container installed in the drug container temporary storage section be transported to the container storage device by the container moving means.

Preferably, the information recording member is an RFID, and the information reading means is an RFID antenna.

The medicine container is provided with an information recording member that records or describes information about the medicine contained therein, and the medicine shelf area and the medicine division area are covered with a housing, and the housing has a door and the medicine container is placed inside. It is preferable that a drug container temporary storage part is provided at or near the door, and a weight measuring means is provided in the drug container placement part.

Preferably, the medicine shelf area is covered with a housing, and at least one of temperature and humidity within the housing can be adjusted. In this way, deterioration of the drug can be prevented.

Preferably, the position of the drug container is automatically changed depending on the frequency of drug use.

The container mounting device includes a vibration table, a vibrating means for vibrating the vibration table, a container holding means for fixing the drug container to the vibration table, and a weight measuring means for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the drug container. The drug container is placed on a vibration table, the drug container is fixed to the vibration table by a container holding means, the vibration table is vibrated to eject the drug little by little from the drug container, and the amount of drug ejected is measured by a weight measuring means. It is preferable that it is possible to detect. According to this configuration, the medicine container is fixed to the vibration table, and the medicine 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 container mounting device 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.

Preferably, the drug container is partially or entirely made of magnetic material, and the container holding means includes a magnet. In this case, since the drug container is held by magnetic force, it is easy to attach and detach the drug container.

The drug container is partially or entirely made of magnetic material, and the container holding means has a permanent magnet and an electromagnet. It is preferable to release the drug container from the vibration table by generating a magnetic force that cancels out the magnetic force. In this configuration, 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 attached to the main 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 medicine dispensing device as a whole is low, and since it generates little heat, it hardly affects the medicine.

The weight measuring means measures the original weight of the drug container before discharging the drug, and when discharging the powder from the drug container little by little, the weight measuring means monitors the weight of the drug container and determines the current state of the drug container. It is preferable to provide a measuring function that stops discharging the powder from the drug container when the current weight, which is the weight of the drug, 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. According to this configuration, 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, are used, and the current weight matches the value obtained by subtracting the target discharge amount from the original weight. Stop the vibration of the vibration table. 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 has a plurality of weight measuring means, one of which is provided on the container mounting device, and discharges the powder from the drug container, and also measures the weight of the drug container with the weight measuring means provided on the container mounting device. However, after that, it is preferable to carry out a double measuring step in which the weight of the drug container is measured again by a weight measuring means other than the weight measuring means of the container mounting device.

It has a plurality of weight measuring means, and performs a verification operation in which a drug container is measured by one weight measuring means, and then the drug container is transferred to another weight measuring means using a container moving means and the weight of the drug container is measured again. Preferably, it is practicable.

A container moving means is provided, and the container moving means takes out a predetermined drug container from the container storage device and places it on the container mounting device. The means temporarily adjusts the posture of the drug container so that the drug ejecting part is facing upward compared to the previous posture, between taking out a predetermined drug container from the container storage device and placing it on the container mounting device. It is preferable to perform a posture changing operation. In this configuration, it is assumed that when moving the drug container, the drug container is transported with the drug container in a horizontal position (a posture in which the drug discharge section is oriented sideways). For example, even if the storage position of a drug container in a container storage device is vertical, with the drug ejection section facing upward, due to layout constraints of the device, the drug container may be placed horizontally (with the drug ejection section facing sideways). There are cases where drug containers are transported in the same position. Therefore, in this configuration, between taking out the drug container and placing it on the container mounting device, an attitude changing operation is performed to temporarily change the attitude of the drug container so that the drug ejection part is facing upward. More specifically, compared to before starting the posture change operation, the medicine ejection part is tilted so as to face diagonally upward, and the medicine near the ejection part is deflected to the rear of the medicine container (in the opposite direction from the ejection part). let By doing so, the medicine in the medicine container is moved to the side away from the medicine discharge part. Therefore, when the drug container is attached to the container mounting device or when the outlet for discharging the drug is opened, the drug in the drug container does not spill out.

The drug container has a drug discharge section for discharging the drug, an opening/closing lid for opening and closing the drug discharge section, and is provided with a container moving means, which has a function of holding the drug container by magnetic force, and a container mounting device. When the container moving means removes the drug container from the container mounting device, it approaches the drug container without exerting the magnetic force, and moves the drug container to another location. It is preferable to develop the magnetic force to hold the drug container after the lid is closed. It is desirable that the container moving means has a function of opening and closing the lid, and the container moving means closes the lid, but the container mounting device may have a function of opening and closing the lid. Moreover, it may have an opening/closing lid device independent of these. In this way, the medicine in the medicine container will not spill out when the medicine container is removed from the container mounting device. That is, when the magnetic force of the container moving means is activated after dispensing a predetermined amount and before closing the opening/closing lid, the medicine remaining in the vicinity of the discharge part spills due to the vibration of the adsorption. On the other hand, as in the present invention, when the magnetic force of the container moving means is developed after the opening/closing lid is closed and the drug container is attracted to the container moving means, the drug inside will not spill.

The whole or part of the case is covered with a housing, and the housing has a door so that it is possible to take the drug container in and out, and there is a temporary storage part for the drug container at or near the door, so that the drug container can be placed in the container. The temporary storage section includes an engagement lever that engages with a part of the drug container, and a fence member that is retractable.The fence member is interlocked with the engagement lever, and the drug container is placed on the temporary drug container placement section. It is preferable that when the engaging lever is pressed down by the weight of the drug container, the fence member appears in a position where it can hold the drug container. With this configuration, the fence member is located at a position where it does not get in the way when the drug container is placed in the drug container temporary storage section. Therefore, the drug container can be easily installed in the drug container temporary storage section. By simply placing the drug container in the drug container temporary storage section, the fence member appears at a position where the drug container can be held, and the drug member is held so that it does not fall.

Preferably, a container moving means is provided, the container moving means moves the drug container to a predetermined position, and there is a cleaning section, and the container moving means moves the drug container to the cleaning section to clean the outer surface of the drug container. . In this way, drug residue adhering to the outer surface of the drug container is removed.

It is desirable that the cleaning section is provided with a suction device.

The cleaning section preferably includes a container contacting section, and the container moving means presses the drug container against the container contacting section to clean the drug container. In this configuration, the container moving means is used to press the drug container against the container contact portion to clean the drug container. For example, the container moving means is used to press the drug container against the container contact portion, and in this state, the drug container is moved to wipe the outer surface of the drug container.

The container storage device includes a plurality of container installation parts, each of which has one or more container-engaging parts that engage with a portion of a drug container, and at least one of which engages with a portion of a drug container. It is preferable that the device be engaged with the drug container by sliding the drug container from above to below, and disengaged from the drug container by sliding the drug container from below to above.

The drug container has a drug discharge part that discharges the drug, and an opening/closing lid that opens and closes the drug discharge part, and further includes an operating part that operates the opening/closing lid, and a container moving means that moves the drug container. Preferably, the container moving means has a function of holding the drug container, and the container moving means is further provided with an opening/closing member that engages with the operating section to operate the operating section and open/close the opening/closing lid. . In this way, the drug discharge portion of the drug container can be opened and closed by the container moving means.

The medicine dispensing device of the present invention can automatically select a necessary medicine container from the medicine shelf area. Further, the drug dispensing device of the present invention occupies a small floor space.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a medicine dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the drug dispensing device in FIG. 1; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drug feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention. A perspective view of a medicine container. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the drug container of FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the behavior of the medicine inside the medicine container of FIG. 4 when it is discharged; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a container mounting device employed in a drug feeder. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the container mounting device of FIG. 7; FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional perspective view of the container mounting device of FIG. 7; FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional side view of the container mounting device shown in FIG. 7; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a drum member. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a container storage section. FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the container storage section of FIG. 12. FIG. 3 is a side view showing a procedure for mounting a drug container in a container storage section. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the state immediately before the medicine container is returned to the drum member. FIG. 16 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 15 showing the procedure for returning the medicine container to the drum member. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a medicine dividing area of the medicine dispensing device. FIG. 3 is a side view of a part of the medicine dividing area of the medicine dispensing device. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a medicine dividing area of the medicine dispensing device. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a medicine dividing area of the medicine dispensing device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a scraping device placed on a turntable. FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the scraping arm of FIG. 21 seen from another angle. FIG. 22 is a skeleton diagram showing a power transmission system of the scraping device of FIG. 21. FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the arm-side power transmission system and positioning mechanism of the scraping device in FIG. 21; FIG. 22 is an exploded perspective view of the receiving member of the scraping device of FIG. 21; FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the receiving member of FIG. 25; 22A and 22B are side views of the positioning pin and scraping arm of FIG. 21, in which (a) shows the positioning pin retracted into the turntable and the scraping arm is raised; (b) ) shows a state in which the positioning pin protrudes from the turntable and the scraping arm is lowered. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lid of the distribution dish. FIG. 29 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the scraping arm in the lowered position protruding from the arm protruding opening of the lid in FIG. 28; FIG. 30 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the scraping arm in a raised position in FIG. 29; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a hopper closing member. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a medicine packaging area of the medicine dispensing device. A perspective view of a cleaning brush. FIG. 34 is an exploded perspective view of the cleaning brush of FIG. 33. A perspective view of the cleaning device. FIG. 36 is a perspective view of the cleaning device seen from a different angle from that shown in FIG. 35; The perspective view of the cleaning device in a state where the cleaning arm is bent. A vertical cross-sectional view of a cleaning brush. FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a brush cleaning the scraping mechanism of the scraping arm. A conceptual diagram showing a state in which powder medicine is being introduced into a medicine introduction hopper. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which a hopper closing member is placed on a medicine input hopper. The conceptual diagram which shows the state where the residue of the powdered medicine in the medicine input hopper is sucked. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a robot used in a medicine dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the container holding palm of the robot's hand approaches the drug container. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the container holding palm is fixed to the drug container and is lifting the drug container. FIG. 46 is a perspective view showing a state where the angle of the arm of the robot has been changed from the state shown in FIG. 45; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a medicine container approaching a medicine shelf. FIG. 48 is a perspective view showing a state where medicine containers are placed on the medicine shelf of FIG. 47; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a drug container viewed from the drug shelf side. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the inside of another medicine dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a temporary medicine container storage part provided in the door of the medicine dispensing device of FIG. 1 and a perspective view of a cleaning part provided in the housing. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a scraping member. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a scraping member. FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing an intermediate process when a drug container is attached to the drug container temporary storage section shown in FIG. 51; FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing a state in which a drug container is attached to the drug container temporary storage section shown in FIG. 51; FIG. 52 is a perspective view of a lever member and a holding member of the drug container temporary storage section shown in FIG. 51; FIG. 7 is a side view of the hand section and the drug container, showing a state where the drug container is held by the hand section of the robot employed in another embodiment of the present invention, with a part of the hand section broken. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the hand portion of the robot holding the drug container and the drug container immediately before the drug container is placed on the container mounting device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the robot hand unit holding the medicine container and the medicine container being placed on the container mounting device; FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a drug input hopper and members in the vicinity thereof employed in another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 61 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which a cleaning material is introduced into the chemical introduction hopper of FIG. 60; FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which the cleaning material in the medicine input hopper is being sucked with the lower opening/closing member closed. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a state in which the cleaning material in the medicine input hopper is being sucked with the lower opening/closing member open. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which air is injected from an air nozzle to an opening/closing member at the bottom of a medicine input hopper. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a drug input hopper. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a medicine dividing area of a medicine dispensing device according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a medicine dividing area of a medicine dispensing device according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 68 is a perspective view showing the hopper closing member of the medicine dispensing device shown in FIG. 67, in which (a) shows a state where the partition member protrudes from the hopper closing member, and (b) shows a state where the partition member is rotating. (c) shows a state in which the partition member is housed in the hopper closing member. FIG. 68 is an exploded perspective view of the hopper closing member shown in FIG. 67; The perspective view of the cleaning brush of other embodiments. FIG. 71 is an exploded perspective view of the cleaning brush of FIG. 70; It is a sectional view showing a state in which the scraping mechanism of the scraping arm is being cleaned, and (a) shows a state in which the brush is in a part other than the partition plate and the brush is close to the scraping mechanism, (b) shows a state in which the brush is located at the partition plate and is close to the scraping mechanism, and (c) shows a state in which the brush is located at the partition plate and is away from the scraping mechanism. Indicates the state in which FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing a modification of the temporary medicine container storage section shown in FIG. 51;

The drug dispensing device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be further explained below, but in order to facilitate understanding, the outline and general operation of the drug dispensing device 1 will be explained first, and then each member and device will be explained in detail. do.
The medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment is a device that puts powdered medicine into a medicine container 2, automatically takes out the powdered medicine, weighs it, divides it into a predetermined number of parts, and packages it. The medicine container 2 is provided with iron plates on two sides. The iron plate provided on one side is a transportation iron plate part 157 for fixing the drug container 2 to the robot hand by magnetically attaching it to the robot hand. The iron plate provided on the other side is a fixing iron plate portion 6 used for fixing the drug container 2 to a container holding means provided in the vicinity of the dispensing pan.
Further, an information recording member 15 such as RFID is attached to the medicine container 2.
The medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment is surrounded by a housing 7, and the inside thereof is divided into a medicine shelf area 100, a medicine division area 200, and a medicine packaging area 300.
A dehumidifying device and a temperature controller are provided inside the housing 7, and the internal temperature and humidity are maintained within a certain range.
The housing 7 is provided with a door 9 for taking the medicine container 2 in and out of the medicine dispensing device 1. The door section 9 has a temporary drug container storage section 11 in which the drug container 2 is temporarily placed. The drug container temporary holding part 11 holds the drug container 2 by mechanical engagement. When the drug container 2 is pushed in, the drug container 2 is held by the mechanical engagement, and when the drug container 2 is pulled, the drug container 2 is engaged. The drug container 2 can then be removed.
Further, the medicine container temporary storage section 11 is provided with an information reading means 16 (FIG. 47). Further, the drug container temporary storage section 11 is provided with a weight measuring means 19 for measuring the weight of the drug container 2.

The medicine shelf area 100 is provided with a container storage device 101 in which the medicine containers 2 are installed. In this embodiment, the container storage device 101 has a vertical drum member 102 that rotates in a substantially horizontal direction, and a plurality of container installation parts 103 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the drum member 102. The container installation part 103 holds the drug container 2 by mechanical engagement, and by pushing the drug container 2 in, the drug container 2 is held by mechanical engagement, and by pulling the drug container 2, the engagement is released. It comes off and the drug container 2 can be removed.
In this embodiment, the container installation section 103 is provided in three stages. Further, 12 container installation sections 103 are provided in one row, and a total of 36 drug containers 2 can be installed.
Information reading means is provided near the drum member 102.
The container installation section 103 has a protruding member (attachment detection member 322) that protrudes, and when the drug container 2 is attached in a normal posture, the protrusion member (attachment detection member 322) retracts into the side support member 321 side.
On the other hand, inside the drum member 102, as shown in FIG. 15, an optical sensor (protruding member detection sensor 333) is provided to detect whether or not the protruding member (attachment detection member 322) is recessed. .
Further, as shown in FIG. 11, there is also an optical sensor (popout detection sensor 330) on the outside of the drum member 102, so that it can be confirmed whether the medicine container 2 has protruded from its normal position.

The drum member 102 is rotated by a motor, and a desired drug container 2 is brought close to a robot 702 of a container moving means 700, which will be described later, and is attached and detached by the robot 702.

A container moving means 700 is provided in an area extending from the medicine shelf area 100 to the medicine division area 200. As shown in FIG. 43, the container moving means 700 has a robot 702 attached to a lifting mechanism 701 provided in the vertical direction. The robot 702 has two arm members 705 and 706 and a hand section 707. The hand portion 707 is provided with an electromagnet, and can magnetically attach and hold the iron plate of the medicine container 2.

The medicine dividing area 200 is an area in which two distribution plates 201 are installed in a buried state, and a container placement device 3 and a cleaning device 500 are placed around the area. Further, a scraping device 930 is provided in the drug dividing region 200, and a scraping arm 931 of the scraping device 930 protrudes from each distribution plate 201 in the drug dividing region 200.
That is, in the drug division area 200, there is a flat table member 205. The table member 205 is a flat surface, and objects can be placed on it. That is, the table member 205 has a table surface 205a on which articles can be placed.
As shown in FIG. 17, the table member 205 is provided with two distribution plate accommodating openings 206. That is, distribution plate accommodation openings 206 are opened at two locations on the table surface 205a.
A distribution plate 201 is provided in the distribution plate housing opening 206.
The distribution plate 201 can be rotated at a constant speed by a plate rotation mechanism 211, which will be described later. It can also be rotated by a predetermined angle.

The container mounting device 3 includes a vibration table 20 and a weight measuring means 25 that directly or indirectly measures the weight of the drug container 2.
The vibration table 20 is provided with a container holding means for temporarily fixing the drug container 2 to the vibration table 20. The container holding means is specifically a magnet.
In this embodiment, the medicine container 2 is placed on the container mounting device 3, and the medicine can be discharged from the medicine container 2 by vibrating the vibration table 20. Further, the change in weight of the drug container 2 at that time is detected by the weight measuring means 25.

A medicine packaging device 410 is built into the medicine packaging area 300 . The drug packaging device 410 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 413 is provided for supplying medicine into the packaging section.

Next, the general operation of the drug dispensing device 1 will be explained.
The drug dispensing device 1 of this embodiment has the following functions: storing the drug container 2 in the container storage device 101, selecting the drug container 2 according to the prescription, and taking out the drug container 2 from the container storage device 101 and placing it on a dispensing tray. 201 and place it on the container placement device 3; an operation to put a predetermined amount of medicine into the distribution tray 201; an action to divide the medicine and put it into the medicine packaging device 410; 2 to the container mounting device 3 can be automatically performed.

As described above, the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment uses a special medicine container 2. There are a large number of drug containers 2, and each drug container 2 is, in principle, filled with a different type of drug. A pharmacist manually fills the medicine.
Further, an information recording member 15 such as RFID is attached to each medicine container 2, and the type of medicine is stored in the information recording member 15. Further, the date on which the medicine was filled into the medicine container 2 and the amount filled may be stored as necessary.

Then, the door 9 provided on the housing 7 of the drug dispensing device 1 is opened. By opening the door 9, a safety device (not shown) is activated, and the container moving means 700 and the like become inoperable.
Then, the medicine container 2 is installed in the medicine container temporary storage part 11 (FIG. 47) provided in the door part 9. Thereafter, the door 9 is closed and the drug container 2 is placed into the housing 7.
The medicine container temporary storage section 11 is provided with an information reading means 16 and a weight measuring means 19, and the type of medicine filled in the medicine container 2 is read by the information reading means 16.
Further, the weight of the medicine container 2 is measured by the weight measuring means 19, and the amount of medicine filled is indirectly detected.
The type of medicine read by the information reading means 16 and the filling amount of the medicine detected by the weight measuring means 19 are stored in a memory within the control device. Further, the filling amount of the medicine is written in the information recording member 15 as necessary.

In this embodiment, the safety device is released by closing the door 9, and the container moving means 700 and the like become operable.
When the above-mentioned weighing by the weight measuring means 19 and reading of information by the information reading means 16 are completed, the container moving means 700 is operated, and the hand part 707 of the container moving means 700 approaches the drug container temporary storage part 11, and the hand 707 is pressed against the medicine container 2. Then, the iron plate portion 157 for transportation provided on the medicine container 2 is attracted by the magnet provided on the hand portion 707 .

Thereafter, the hand section 707 is moved backward to separate the drug container 2 from the drug container temporary storage section 11 of the door section 9, and the arm members 705 and 706 are moved to move the hand section 707 to either container installation section of the drum member 102. Close to 103.
Then, while rotating the wrist portion 708 of the hand portion 707 horizontally, the drum member 102 is rotated to cause the drug container 2 to face a specific container installation portion 103. That is, the hand section 707 and the drum member 102 are rotated in opposite directions as if two gears are engaged (FIGS. 15 and 16), and the drug container 2 is opposed to the specific container installation section 103. Thereafter, the arm members 705 and 706 are operated to push the medicine container 2 into the container installation part 103 of the drum member 102 so that the medicine container 2 is engaged with the container installation part 103. When the drug container 2 is attached in a normal posture, the protruding member (attachment detection member 322) is recessed into the drum member 102. Whether or not the drug container 2 is attached in a normal posture is detected by a protruding member detection sensor 333 provided in the material of the drum member 102.
Furthermore, after that, the magnetic force of the hand section 707 is erased, and the hand section 707 is separated from the medicine container 2. The position where the drug container 2 is attached is stored in the control device.
By repeating this operation, a considerable number of drug containers 2 are installed on the drum member 102.

In the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, the drum member 102 is rotated at a predetermined timing, and the location of the medicine container 2 and the type of medicine contained therein are confirmed.
That is, in the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, one information reading device 335 (information reading means) is provided corresponding to each stage, and the number of information reading devices 335 is equal to the number of containers installed. The number is smaller than the number of sections 103.
The drug dispensing device 1 of this embodiment adopts a configuration in which the information reading device 335 provided near the drum member 102 reads drug information from the information recording member 15 of each drug container 2 while rotating the drum member 102. In this way, the number of information reading devices 335 installed is reduced.

Further, in the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, the drum member 102 is rotated at a predetermined timing, and the attitude of the medicine container 2 is confirmed. That is, in the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, one protruding member detection sensor 333 (FIG. 15) is provided in the drum member 102 corresponding to each stage, and the number of protruding member detection sensors 333 is equal to the number of containers. The number is smaller than the number of installation units 103.
In the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the protruding state of the mounting detection member 322 (FIGS. 12 and 15) is confirmed by the protrusion member detection sensor 333 while rotating the drum member 102. The number of 333 installed has been reduced.
At the same time, a pop-out detection sensor 330 (FIG. 11) provided on the outside confirms the presence or absence of the drug container 2 that has been attached so as to pop out from its normal position.

The timing for rotating the drum member 102 may be, for example, immediately after the power is turned on, before the start of the day, before each sorting operation, at regular intervals, immediately after the door 9 of the housing 7 is closed, etc.

Further, the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment automatically selects the medicine container 2 according to the prescription. Specifically, the drum member 102 of the container storage device 101 is rotated to bring the desired drug container 2 closer to the container moving means 700. Then, the medicine container 2 is held by the hand portion 707 of the container moving means 700. That is, the hand portion 707 of the container moving means 700 approaches the container installation portion 103 of the drum member 102 and presses the hand portion 707 against the drug container 2 . Then, the iron plate portion 157 for transportation provided on the medicine container 2 is attracted by the magnet provided on the hand portion 707 .
Then, the arm members 705 and 706 are moved backward to remove the drug container 2, and the arm members 705 and 706 are operated to place the drug container 2 on the vibration table 20 of the container mounting device 3.
Note that when a plurality of drugs are mixed and enclosed in one package, a plurality of drug containers 2 are installed on the container mounting device 3.
Further, in this embodiment, since the information reading means 27 (FIG. 17) is provided near the container mounting device 3, the type of medicine contained in the medicine container 2 can be confirmed by the information reading means 27. . That is, the information reading means 27 reads the type of medicine in the medicine container 2 and the like recorded on the information recording member 15.
Then, the vibration table 20 (FIG. 3) is vibrated. As a result, the powder in the drug container 2 moves slowly, is discharged from the drug container 2, and falls onto the distribution tray 201.

That is, when the vibration table 20 starts vibrating, the medicine container 2 vibrates. Here, in this embodiment, the drug container 2 is firmly joined to the vibration table 20 by the permanent magnets of the self-holding solenoids 30a and 30b (FIG. 7), and the degree of close contact with the vibration table 20 is also high. The medicine container 2 vibrates at the same frequency as the vibration table 20. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the powder stored in the powder storage section 17 of the drug container 2 slowly moves toward the drug discharge section 8 side. The self-holding solenoids 30a, 30b function as container holding means.
Further, the distribution plate 201 of the powder medicine distribution device 202 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. While the drug container 2 is being vibrated, the weight of the drug container 2 is monitored, and when the total amount of powder drops reaches a desired weight, the vibration of the vibration table 20 is stopped.

The weight of the drug container 2 is obtained by subtracting a certain value from the weight detected by the weight measuring means 25 (FIG. 8). More specifically, the weight of the drug container 2 is the weight detected by the weight measuring means 25 minus the weight of the member above the weight measuring means 25 of the container mounting device 3.
The weight of the drug container 2 immediately after being placed on the vibration table 20 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.

To explain in more detail, whether the powder medicine is falling is confirmed by the decrease in the weight of the medicine container 2. That is, in this embodiment, even while the powder is falling from the drug discharge part 8 of the drug container 2, the current weight (current weight g) of the drug container 2 continues to be monitored by the weight measuring means 25. The original weight G of the medicine container 2 immediately after being placed on the vibration table 20 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 20 is stopped.
That is, when the current weight g of the drug container 2 measured by the weight measuring means 25 becomes less than the original weight G measured by the weight measuring means 25 before the start of vibration by a desired weight, the vibration of the vibrating table 20 is stopped. .
Furthermore, before stopping the vibration of the vibration table 20, it is desirable to reduce the amplitude of the vibration table 20 and operate the vibration table 20 with the vibration frequency lowered.
For example, if the current amount of powder discharged is equal to the final amount of powder discharged (target discharge amount) minus several grams, the amplitude of the vibration table 20 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 20 and the vibration frequency.
Then, as described above, the vibration of the vibration table 20 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 102 of the drug shelf area 100.

As described above, when the total amount of powder falling reaches the desired weight, the vibration of the vibration table 20 is stopped, and then the rotation of the distribution plate 201 is stopped. Then, the motor 950 (FIG. 21) is rotated in the forward direction to swing the scraping arm 931 and lower the distal end side to lower the scraping mechanism 606. Put it in.
Further, the distribution plate 201 is rotated by an angle corresponding to the number of distributed items, and the items are gathered onto the scraping plate 609. Thereafter, the motor is reversely rotated to rotate the scraping plate 609, scooping up the medicine with the scraping plate 607, discharging it from the distribution tray 201, and putting it into the medicine input opening 241.
The medicine introduced into the medicine introduction opening 241 falls down the powder medicine introduction hopper 413, is carried to the medicine packaging device 410, and is packaged by the medicine packaging device 410.
This operation is repeated in sequence to discharge all the drugs in the distribution tray 201, and each drug is packaged by the drug packaging device 410.
Further, in parallel with this, the container moving means 700 is activated, and the drug container 2 is returned to the container installation section 103 of the drum member 102.

That is, when the series of discharge steps is completed, the electromagnet is de-energized and the container moving means 700 is operated to return the drug container 2 to its original position.
Here, as a unique configuration of the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, when the container moving means 700 is operated to return the medicine container 2 to its original position, the total weight of the medicine container 2 is reweighed. More specifically, when returning the drug container 2 to its original position, the drug container 2 is once transported to the drug container temporary storage section 11, and the drug container 2 is placed on the weight measuring means 19 provided in the drug container temporary storage section 11. and reweigh the total weight of the drug container 2.

Then, the total weight of the drug container 2 at the beginning (immediately before the current drug discharge) is compared with the total weight of the drug container 2 after the drug is discharged. Confirm that the difference between the two matches the amount of medicine discharged during the above-described process. In other words, carry out the process of confirming the amount of emissions.
Alternatively, the weight of the drug container 2 measured by the weight measuring means 19 provided in the drug container temporary storage section 11 is compared with the weight of the drug container 2 after the drug has been discharged, which is measured by the drug feeder 50 (powder feeding device), Make sure they match. That is, a verification step is performed to determine whether the weight measuring means 25 of the drug feeder 50 is accurate.
Then, as a result of reweighing the total weight of the drug container 2, if the total weight of the drug container 2 is normal, the container moving means 700 is operated to return the drug container 2 to its original position. If there is an abnormality in the total weight of the drug container 2, an alarm is immediately issued to notify the pharmacist.
The medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment has a plurality of weight measuring means, and discharges the powder medicine from the medicine container 2, and then measures the weight of the medicine feeder 50 (container placement device 3) other than the weight measuring means 25. The means 19 performs a double measuring step of measuring the weight of the drug container 2 again.

In the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, the above-described operations are repeated to carry out weighing, dividing, packaging, and cleaning of the medicine.
Further, the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment has a function of automatically replacing the medicine containers 2 as a unique operation.
That is, the drug container 2 is installed in the container installation part 103 of the drum member 102 at a predetermined position, but the installation location of the drug container 2 is automatically changed depending on the frequency of use of the drug container 2.

For example, during periods when influenza is prevalent or cedar pollen is scattered, the consumption of specific drugs increases significantly.
In such a situation, the location of the drug container 2 is automatically changed. That is, in this embodiment, a drum-shaped storage device is employed. In the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, the drum member 102 is located above the distribution plate 201, and the container moving means 700 transports the medicine container 2 by moving it in the vertical direction.
On the other hand, the drum member 102 is provided with container installation parts 103 in three stages, and the heights of the installation locations are different, and the distance that the container moving means 700 moves varies depending on the installation location. That is, the lower stage is closer to the distribution pan 201, so the moving distance is shorter, and the upper stage is farther from the distribution pan 201, so the moving distance is longer.

Therefore, the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment checks the usage frequency of the medicine containers 2 within a certain period of time, and moves the medicine containers 2 that are used more frequently to the lower stage.
If there is space in the container installation section 103 provided on the lower side, the frequently used drug container 2 located on the upper container installation section 103 is directly moved to the lower side.
If there is no space in the container installation section 103 provided on the lower side, temporarily install the drug container 2 that was attached to the container installation section 103 on the lower side in a different place, and then create an empty space on the lower side. make. For example, the lower medicine container 2 is temporarily installed in the medicine container temporary storage part 11 provided on the door part 9 to create a space on the lower stage.

Further, the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment has a test function to test whether the weight measuring means 25 is accurate.
For example, a weight member whose weight is known is prepared, and the weight is installed in the container installation part 103 of the drum member 102. Then, the weight member is moved to the vibration table 20 by the robot 702 or the like, and the weight of the weight member is measured by the weight measuring means 25. If the measured value agrees with the weight of the weight, the weight measuring means 25 is accurate; if not, the weight measuring means 25 is faulty.
Further, the medicine container 2 itself can also be used as the weight member. For example, a harmless powder or granular material is placed in the drug container 2, and its weight is measured in advance. The medicine container 2 used as a weight member is installed in the medicine shelf area 100 or the like together with other medicine containers 2. Then, if necessary, the medicine container 2 for the weight is moved by the robot 702 or the like and placed on the vibration table 20, and the weight measuring means 25 is verified.
Further, in the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, the medicine container 2 is measured by one weight measuring means 25, and then the medicine container 2 is transferred to another weight measuring means 19 by the container moving means 700, and the medicine container 2 is again weighed. It is possible to carry out a verification operation to measure the weight of.

As described above, in this embodiment, the vibrating table 20 is vibrated to discharge the powder from the medicine container 2 and drop it onto the distribution tray 201. However, even though the vibrating table 20 continues to vibrate, If the powder stops falling, or if the amount of powder falling per unit time becomes excessively small even though the vibration table 20 continues to vibrate, the vibration pattern of the vibration table 20 may be changed. will be changed automatically.
Specifically, when the weight of the drug container 2 is continuously monitored while vibrating the vibration table 20, the unit of weight of the drug container 2 changes even though the falling amount H of the powder does not reach the desired weight. When the change per time is less than a certain value, the amplitude of the vibration table 20 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 20 is vibrated.
(1) Sticking of powdered medicine Powdered medicine becomes stuck or becomes a lump inside the medicine container 2. Unable to pass through certain parts.
(2) Insufficient powder medicine There is no powder medicine in the medicine container 2.

Therefore, in this embodiment, if the change in the weight of the medicine container 2 per unit time is less than a certain value even though the vibration table 20 is vibrated, we first suspect that the powder is stuck, and the vibration table 20 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 20.

Even if the amplitude of the vibration table 20 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 20 is stopped and a predetermined notification is sent to the user. It will be done. 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 1 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 700 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 700. 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 20 is stopped. Then, the container moving means 700 automatically operates to move the drug container 2 to the drug container temporary storage section 11 provided in the door section 9.
The user opens the door 9, takes out the drug container 2, 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, by placing the drug container 2 on the drug container temporary storage section 11 of the opened door section 9 and notifying the device that the drug container 2 has been placed using an input device or a placement confirmation device (not shown), The drug container 2 is introduced into the drug dispensing device 1. Then, manually or using the container moving means 700, the drug container 2 is placed on the container mounting device 3 again, and the vibrating table 20 and distribution plate 201 are restarted automatically or manually. In this embodiment, by installing the drug container 2 in the drug container temporary storage section 11 provided with the door section 9 and performing a predetermined operation, the container moving means 700 operates, and the drug container 2 is moved to the container mounting device. Carry it to 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.

The medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment receives prescription information through an input device or communication means (not shown), and dispenses a predetermined medicine according to the prescription information. The prescription information is stored in a memory (not shown), and medicine dispensing operations are performed sequentially.

For example, prescription information for 20 people is input and stored in a memory (not shown). Here, to summarize the stored prescription information, there are cases where the amount of medicine stored in the container storage device 101 is insufficient.
For example, assume that 200 g of antipyretic agent A is stored in a specific medicine container 2 attached to the container storage device 101.
However, for example, when influenza or the like is prevalent, there are many prescriptions containing antipyretic agents, and the total prescription amount for each patient may exceed the amount of antipyretic agent A stored in the drug container 2. In such a case, a notification means (not shown) notifies the user that the drug is expected to run out, and prompts the user to replenish the drug. By replenishing the medicine, interruption of the work of discharging the powder from the medicine container 2 is prevented.

Furthermore, when the stored prescription information is analyzed, there are cases where a drug that is not stored in the container storage device 101 (hereinafter referred to as an unstored drug) is prescribed.
That is, the container storage device 101 can store a large number of drug containers 2, and many types of drugs are held in the drug dispensing device 1. However, in some cases, drugs that are not stored (unregistered drugs) are prescribed.
Even in such a case, a notification means (not shown) will display that an unaccommodated drug has been prescribed.

If there is a medicine container 2 filled with the corresponding unaccommodated medicine outside the medicine dispensing device 1, the medicine container 2 is installed in the medicine container temporary storage part 11 of the door part 9, and the container is moved by the container moving means 700. Move it to the storage device 101. That is, before it is the turn to dispense the unaccommodated medicine, the medicine container 2 filled with the relevant medicine is stored in the container storage device 101.
Before and after this operation, an input is made using an input device (not shown) to inform the device that the unaccommodated medicine has been stored in the drug container temporary storage section 11 and preparations for packaging the unaccommodated medicine have been completed.

In addition, the order of dispensing medicines is changed by a predetermined operation, and the medicine containers 2 filled with unaccommodated medicines are transported to the container mounting device 3 without passing through the container storage device 101, and dispensed according to the prescription including the unaccommodated medicines. You may work.
In this embodiment, by installing the drug container 2 in the drug container temporary storage section 11 provided with the door section 9 and performing a predetermined operation, the container moving means 700 is operated, and the drug filled with the uncontained drug is activated. The container 2 is transported to the container mounting device 3. Then, a dispensing operation is performed according to the prescription including unstored medicines.

Of course, the drug container 2 may be manually placed on the container mounting device 3 and the dispensing operation may be performed according to a prescription containing uncontained drugs.
In addition, when a prescription containing an unfilled drug is to be given, a predetermined amount of the drug is weighed externally, placed in the drug container 2, placed on the container placement device 3, and dispensed according to the prescription containing the unfilled drug. Sometimes it is done. In this case, the vibration table 20 of the container mounting device 3 is vibrated to discharge the powder from the drug container 2, but the discharge amount is not monitored by the weight measuring means 25, and the powder in the drug container 2 is entirely discharged. do.
When weighing a predetermined amount of medicine externally, an open medicine container (not shown) such as a boat-shaped or gutter-shaped medicine container can also be used.

Next, each member and device of the medicine dispensing device 1 will be explained.
(1) Drug Container The drug container 2 is an airtight container, and is composed of a container body 5, a transportation iron plate part 157, a fixing iron plate part 6, a lid member 120, and an information recording member 15. There is.
The container main body 5 is a vertically elongated container made of resin, and one longitudinal end thereof is open and forms a drug discharge section 8 .
Further, the container body 5 is provided with an iron plate portion 157 for transportation. In this embodiment, the transportation iron plate section 157 is divided into two small transportation iron plate sections 157a and 157b. The iron plate portion 157 for transportation is made of a steel plate containing a magnetic component such as ferrite.

The lid member 120 includes a lid main body portion 125, a movable lid portion 134 (opening/closing lid), a rectifying coil 126, and a comb-shaped rectifying member 130. Further, a desiccant 182 is arranged on the lid member 120 as shown in FIG.
The movable lid 134 has a knob 147, and by pressing the knob 147, the movable lid 134 opens. The movable lid portion 134 is maintained in an open state.
The lid member 120 is attached to the container body 5 as shown in FIG. 6 to constitute the medicine discharge section 8.
An engaging protrusion 370 is provided on the surface of the lid member 120. Further, there is a recess 371 at the rear end of the medicine container 2.

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 12 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 157 is attached face each other.
The drug container 2 is placed in a vertical position during storage, and is placed in a horizontal position during use.
The drug container 2 is also provided with an information recording member 15 such as a barcode, RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification), or barcode. In this embodiment, an RFID chip is attached as the information recording member 15. The information recording member 15 records the type of medicine filled in the medicine container 2.

(2) Container mounting device As shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the container mounting device 3 includes, from above, a vibration table 20, vibration excitation means 21a, 21b, intermediate table 22, vibration isolation table 23, weight measurement means 25, and It is constituted by a foundation member 26.

The vibration table 20 is a block-shaped mounting table. The external shape of the vibration table 20 is as shown in FIGS. 26, 9, and 10, and is approximately a rectangular parallelepiped.

Self-holding solenoids 30a and 30b are built into the mounting surface 61.
Slanted surfaces 67a, 67b are formed at the center of the shorter side surfaces 63a, 63b of the vibration table 20.

The vibrating means 21a, 21b are piezoelectric elements.
As shown in FIG. 8, the intermediate stand 22 has an approximately "H" shape in plan view.
The intermediate stand 22 has an inclined surface 78a. The inclined surface 67a of the vibration table 20 is located on an extension of the inclined surface 78a of the intermediate table 22.

There is a large cavity 75 inside the intermediate stand 22, and the back surface of the main body 76 is wide open.
As shown in FIG. 8, the vibration isolation table 23 is a plate with a protruding central portion and a space inside.

Next, the positional relationship of each component of the container mounting device 3 of this embodiment will be explained. In the container mounting device 3, as shown in FIGS. 26, 9, and 10, vibrating means 21a and 21b are provided between the vibrating table 20 and the intermediate table 22.

In this embodiment, vibrating means 21a and 21b are present between the vibrating table 20 and the intermediate table 22, and the vibrating table 20 is not supported at any part other than the vibrating means 21a and 21b. Therefore, the vibration table 20 has a structure in which it is supported in the air from the intermediate table 22 by the vibration means 21a and 21b.

Furthermore, a vibration isolation table 23 is arranged below the intermediate table 22. In this embodiment, there is no member other than the vibration isolating member 40 that connects the intermediate stand 22 and the vibration isolating table 23. Therefore, the intermediate stand 22 has a structure in which it is supported in the air from the vibration isolating table 23 by the vibration isolating member 40.

Further, a weight measuring means 25 is disposed at the lower part of the vibration isolating table 23 as shown in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10, and a base member 26 is further disposed at the lower part thereof.
As shown in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10, most of the weight measuring means 25 is located within a convex strip 80 provided at the center of the vibration isolating table 23, and the upper mounting surface 36 of the weight measuring means 25 is located on the vibration isolating surface. It is connected to the inner surface of the top surface 81 of the protruding strip 80 of the stand 23 .
On the other hand, the lower mounting surface 37 of the weight measuring means 25 is attached to the base member 26.
The base member 26 is attached to the vicinity of the distribution pan 201 of the powder medicine dispensing device 202 via the vibration isolating member 41 as in the previous embodiment.

(3) Drug Feeder In the drug dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, the drug container 2 and the container mounting device 3 constitute a set of drug feeders 50 .
That is, the medicine container 2 and the container mounting device 3 are separate, and when packaging powdered medicine, they are combined to form the medicine feeder 50.
The medicine feeder 50 has a function of stopping the power supply to the self-holding solenoid 30 built in the vibration table 20, fixing the medicine container 2 to the vibration table 20, and vibrating the medicine container 2 to discharge the powder medicine.
That is, in this embodiment, the medicine container 2 is stored in a vertical position, and the powder medicine is stored in the powder medicine storage section 17. In this embodiment, the hand portion 707 of the robot 702 holds the drug container 2, moves the drug container 2, and places it on the container mounting device 3 as shown in FIG.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the medicine container 2 is moved and its posture is changed. That is, the drug container 2 is moved to the vicinity of the container mounting device 3, and further, the drug container 2 is laid down in a horizontal position and placed on the vibration table 20.

Then, the power supply to the self-holding solenoid 30 built into the vibration table 20 is stopped. As a result, the magnetic force of the permanent magnet is restored, a magnetic force is generated in the vibration table 20, and the fixing iron plate part 6 of the medicine container 2 is attracted to the vibration table 20.
Then, a current of a constant frequency is applied to the vibrating means 21a and 21b to generate vibration, and the vibrating table 20 is vibrated by this vibration.
Further, the distribution plate 201 of the powder medicine distribution device 202 is rotated before and after the start of vibration.

Further, the weight of the drug container 2 is measured before and after the start of the vibration. The weight of the drug container 2 is obtained by subtracting a certain value from the weight detected by the weight measuring means 25. More specifically, the weight of the drug container 2 is the weight detected by the weight measuring means 25 minus the weight of the member above the weight measuring means 25 of the container mounting device 3.
The weight of the drug container 2 immediately after being placed on the vibration table 20 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 20 starts vibrating, the medicine container 2 vibrates. Here, in this embodiment, the drug container 2 is firmly joined to the vibration table 20 by the permanent magnets of the self-holding solenoids 30a and 30b, and the degree of close contact with the vibration table 20 is high. , vibrates at the same frequency as the vibration table 20. As a result, the powder stored in the powder storage section 17 of the drug container 2 slowly moves toward the drug discharge section 8 side.

The powder then reaches the constriction opening 13 formed by the portion of the comb-like rectifying member 130. The powder that has passed through the constriction opening 13 is discharged into the outlet path section 18. Then, the powder flows through the lead-out path section 18 like a river flow, finally reaches the drug discharge section 8 of the drug container 2, falls like a waterfall, and enters the drug input groove 208 of the distribution tray 201 below.

The fact that the powder is falling is confirmed by a decrease in the weight of the drug container 2. That is, in this embodiment, even while the powder medicine is falling from the medicine discharge part 8 of the medicine container 2, the current weight of the medicine container 2 continues to be monitored as the current weight g. The original weight G of the medicine container 2 immediately after being placed on the vibration table 20 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 20 is stopped.

(4) Container storage device The container storage device 101 has a drum member 102 as shown in FIG. 11. The drum member 102 is a cylindrical member and is hollow inside.
The drum member 102 is placed vertically and rotatably, and a large gear 304 is provided on the lower end side.

A container installation part 103 is provided on the circumferential surface of the drum member 102. In this embodiment, as described above, the container installation section 103 is provided in three stages. Furthermore, 12 container installation sections 103 are provided in one stage, for a total of 36 container installation sections 103.

In the present embodiment, the container installation section 103 includes a vertical wall 320 and a mounting table (bottom support section) 323, as shown in FIG. The vertical wall 320 is provided with a side support member 321, an attachment detection member 322, and an upper engagement portion 325 (container engagement portion).
The mounting table (bottom support section) 323 supports the bottom surface of the drug container 2 based on the vertically placed posture, and functions as a bottom support section.
The side support member 321 is made by bending a metal plate, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, and has a front wall and left and right side walls. The left and right side walls are slightly inclined with respect to the front wall, and have the same opening angle as the fixing iron plate portion 6 of the container body 5. The side support member 321 supports three of the side surfaces of the drug container 2 .

The upper engaging portion 325 (container engaging portion) has a shaft portion, and the distal end thereof has a hook shape. The upper engaging portion 325 is located near the upper end of each container installation portion 103 and protrudes from the vertical wall 320. The upper engaging portion 325 swings in the vertical direction centering on the base end side. The shaft portion of the upper engaging portion 325 always maintains a horizontal posture. Further, the upper engaging portion 325 is biased by a biasing means (not shown) so that the shaft portion maintains a horizontal posture.
On the other hand, when receiving a strong external force, the upper engaging portion 325 rotates, and the free end side of the upper engaging portion 325 escapes upward against the urging force of the urging means.

The attachment detection member 322 has a protruding member. The attachment detection member 322 is located below the upper engaging portion 325, and the protruding member protrudes outward from the vertical wall 320. The protruding member is also maintained in an outwardly protruding state by a biasing member (not shown). The biasing member that biases the protruding member has a weak biasing force, and when it hits something and is pushed, the protruding member easily sinks into the inside of the drum member 102. That is, the protruding member normally protrudes toward the outside of the drum member 102, but when the drug container 2 is attached to the container installation part 103, it is pushed by the drug container 2 and sinks into the inside of the drum member 102. It protrudes to the inside of the drum member 102.

Further, the mounting table 323 is provided with a lower engaging portion 326 (container engaging portion). The lower engaging portion 326 is also maintained in a protruding state by a biasing member (not shown).
As described above, the medicine container 2 is provided with the engagement protrusion 370 on the lid member 120. Further, there is a recess 371 at the rear end of the drug container 2 .
By pressing the lid member 120 of the drug container 2, the upper engaging portion 325 rotates upward in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. The lower engaging portion 326 is sunk into the mounting table 323 by pressing against the fixing iron plate portion 6 of the drug container 2 .
When the drug container 2 is pressed against the container installation part 103, the upper engaging part 325 and the lower engaging part 326 escape against the force of the biasing member. When the drug container 2 reaches a predetermined position, the upper engaging portion 325 is returned by a biasing member (not shown) and engages with the engaging protrusion 370 of the lid member 120. Further, the lower engaging portion 326 is returned to its original state by a biasing member (not shown) and engages with the recess 371 at the rear end of the drug container 2 .
When taking out the drug container 2, the robot 702 or the like holds the drug container 2 and pulls it away from the container installation section 103. At this time, the upper engaging portion 325 and the lower engaging portion 326 escape against the force of the biasing member, and the engagement is released.
Furthermore, when installing the drug container 2 in the container installation section 103, the drug container 2 is tilted so that the upper part of the drug container 2 in the vertical position approaches the container installation section 103, and the upper engaging portion 325 of the container installation section 103 Approach the engaging protrusion 370 from below, engage the engaging protrusion 370 with the upper engaging part 325, push up the upper engaging part 325 with the drug container 2, and then push the tilted drug container 2 up. Return to the vertical position, move (slide) the drug container 2 from above to below so that the pushed-up upper engaging portion 325 returns to its original state, and insert the recess 371 at the bottom of the drug container 2 into the lower part of the container installation portion 103. It may be engaged with the engaging portion 326.
Furthermore, when removing the drug container 2 from the container installation part 103, the drug container 2 is moved (slided) from below to above, and the upper engagement part 325 is pushed upward, and the lower engagement part 326 and the recess 371 are pushed up. The upper engaging portion 325 is pushed up by releasing the engagement, tilting the drug container 2 so that the lower part of the drug container 2 is separated from the container installation portion 103, and then moving the drug container 2 from above to below. The upper engaging portion 325 and the engaging protrusion 370 may be disengaged from each other while returning to the original position.

Further, a geared motor 302 is provided near the drum member 102, and a small gear 303 attached to the geared motor 302 is engaged with a large gear 304 attached to the drum member 102.
Therefore, when the geared motor 302 is rotated, the drum member 102 is rotated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a pop-out detection sensor 330 is provided near the drum member 102. The pop-out detection sensor 330 is an optical sensor consisting of a light emitter 331 and a light receiver 332. For example, the light emitter 331 is provided near the drum member 102 and on the upper side. On the other hand, the light receiver 332 is provided at a position below the light emitter 331 in the vertical direction.
A straight line of light connecting the light emitter 331 and the light receiver 332 of the pop-out detection sensor 330 is parallel to the drum member 102 . Further, the straight line of light does not intersect with the rotation trajectory when the drum member 102 is rotated when the drug container 2 is accurately attached to the container installation part 103.
On the other hand, if the medicine container 2 is not pushed into the container installation part 103 enough and the medicine container 2 is not accurately attached to the container installation part 103, the rotational trajectory when the drum member 102 is rotated is intersect with

Therefore, if there is a medicine container 2 that is not correctly attached to the container installation part 103, when the drum member 102 is rotated, the medicine container 2 will block the light emitted from the light emitter 331, and the light receiver 331 will The light coming in is cut off. Therefore, in this embodiment, the drum member 102 is rotated by driving the guard motor 302, and it is possible to detect whether or not the drug container 2 already attached to the container installation part 103 is attached in a normal posture.

A protruding member detection sensor 333 (attachment detection means) is provided inside the drum member 102 to detect the attitude of the above-mentioned attachment detection member 322 (protrusion member). The protruding member detection sensor 333 is an optical sensor or a proximity sensor.
The protruding member detection sensor 333 is attached to a vertical shaft separate from the drum member 102, and the protruding member detection sensor 333 does not rotate even when the drum member 102 rotates.In this embodiment, the container installation part 103 is Since the protruding member detection sensors 333 are provided across the stages, three protruding member detection sensors 333 are provided, one for each stage.
In this embodiment, the protruding member detection sensor 333 is provided near a mounting stage for the drug container 2, which will be described later.
Therefore, when attaching the drug container 2 to the container installation section 103, it is possible to detect whether the drug container 2 is placed in the correct position.
Furthermore, by driving the guard motor 302 to rotate the drum member 102, it is also possible to detect whether or not the drug container 2 already attached to the container installation section 103 is attached in a normal posture.

Further, an information reading device 335 such as an RFID reader is provided near the drum member 102.
In this embodiment, since the container installation parts 103 are provided in three stages, a total of three information reading devices 335 are provided, one for each stage.
In this embodiment, when the drum member 102 is rotated by driving the geared motor 302, the drug container 2 attached around the drum member 102 rotates together with the drum member 102. Therefore, the medicine containers 2 attached around the drum member 102 approach the information reading device 335 one by one. In this embodiment, the information reading device 335 is operated at an appropriate timing while the drum member 102 is rotating, and the type of drug contained in each drug container 2 is read from the RFID attached to each drug container 2. , stored in a control device (not shown). That is, the position where the medicine container 2 is attached and the medicine contained therein are associated and stored in the control device.
It is also used to rewrite information already stored in the control device or to confirm the contents.

Further, the drum member 102 is rotated as appropriate, and the protrusion member detection sensor 333 and pop-out detection sensor 330 detect whether or not the drug container 2 is properly attached.

(5) Distribution plate The medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment has two sets of distribution plates 201.
The two distribution plates 201 have the same size and structure. That is, the distribution plate 201 is disk-shaped, and has an equipment storage opening 210 in the center. As described above, the distribution plate 201 is provided with the drug input groove 208 on the upper surface side. The drug input groove 208 is a shallow groove and has an arcuate cross-sectional shape. The drug input groove 208 is located near the outer edge of the distribution pan 201 and surrounds the equipment storage opening 210 in an annular manner.

The lower surface side of the distribution plate 201 is held by a guide and is rotatable.
Further, the inner surface of the equipment storage opening 210 protrudes downward, and gear teeth are carved on the outer periphery thereof.
A motor 209 is provided at the bottom of the distribution pan 201 , and a gear provided on the motor 209 engages with teeth of a gear provided on the distribution pan 201 . Therefore, when the motor 209 is rotated, the distribution plate 201 is rotated.

A lid 207 is provided at the equipment storage opening 210 described above. The lid 207 is fixed to the turntable 604 side and rotates integrally with the turntable 604. The outer diameter of the lid 207 is approximately equal to the equipment storage opening 210 provided at the center of the distribution pan 201, and since it fits into the equipment storage opening 210, it substantially closes the equipment storage opening 210 and covers the equipment inside. However, the lid 207 does not abut or engage with the distribution plate 201, and the lid 207 and the distribution plate 201 can rotate relative to each other.
The lid 207 has an opening through which the scraping arm 931 projects, and a door member is provided in the opening, and the door member operates as the scraping arm 931 moves up and down. Therefore, the opening area increases or decreases as the scraping arm 931 moves up and down, keeping the opening area at the minimum necessary.

The specific shape and structure of the lid 207 is as shown in FIG. 28, and is composed of a lid body 212 and a door member 213. The lid main body 212 has a thin disk shape like a beret, has a circular lower top surface 230, and has a low-height side wall portion around the lower top surface 230.
A raised portion 231 is formed on a portion of the peripheral edge of the top surface of the lid 207 . The raised portion 231 is located at a slightly eccentric position. That is, the raised portion 231 has three raised portion side surfaces connected to three directions: a high side top surface and a high side top surface. Of the three sides of the raised portion, two opposing sides have a large area, and the remaining one connects the two sides.
The distance from one raised part side surface to the circumference of the lower side top surface and the distance from the opposite raised part side surface to the lower part side top surface are different.

In this embodiment, a large opening 232 is provided from the top surface of the raised portion 231 to the side wall portion of the lid body 212. Further, a guide portion (not shown) is provided on the inner edge of the opening 232.
A pair of ribs are provided on the back side of the lid 207 near the opening 232. The rib is provided with a shaft insertion hole (not shown).

The door member 213 covers the opening 232 in an openable and closable manner, and includes a main body portion and a swing shaft piece 233. The side surface of the main body of the door member 213 engages with a guide (not shown) provided at the edge of the opening 232, and the swing shaft piece 233 engages with a shaft insertion hole (not shown).
The door member 213 is closed by its own weight and closes the opening 232 of the lid body 212. On the other hand, when lifted by an external force, it opens without difficulty.
Therefore, the opening 232 is opened to the minimum extent necessary by the lid 207, and dust and the like are prevented from entering.

(6) Turntable The turntable 604 is a circular plate, and gear teeth are carved on its outer periphery. The turntable 604 is rotatably supported by three guides provided on the outer periphery. Further, a motor 650 is provided near the turntable 604, as shown in FIG. It matches. Therefore, when the motor 650 is rotated, the turntable 604 is rotated.

(7) Scraping device Next, the scraping device 930 will be explained.
21 is a perspective view of the scraping device 930, and FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the scraping mechanism 606 attached to the tip of the scraping arm 931 of the scraping device 930. Further, FIG. 23 is a skeleton diagram showing a power transmission system of the scraping device 930.
As shown in FIG. 21, the scraping device 930 includes a scraping arm 931 and a scraping mechanism 606 provided at the tip of the scraping arm 931.
Further, as shown in FIG. 23, the scraping device 930 includes a scraping-side power transmission system 932 surrounded by a broken line D and an arm-side power transmission system 933 surrounded by a broken line E.
The scraping mechanism 606 of the scraping device 930 is driven by a scraping side power transmission system 932.

The scraping mechanism 606 is a member having a scraping plate 609, a scraping plate 607, and a partition plate 603, as shown in FIG. The scraping board 609 is a disc made of a thin plate.
The partition plate 603 is a thin plate arranged parallel to the scraping plate 609, and has a shape close to a fan shape. That is, the partition plate 603 is a substantially triangular plate formed by an arc having a central angle of about 30 degrees and two straight sides.
The partition plate 603 is arranged parallel to the scraping plate 609. One linear side forming the central angle of the partition plate 603 and the scraping plate 609 are connected by a scraping plate 607. The scraping plate 607 is perpendicular to both the scraping plate 609 and the partition plate 603.
The scraping mechanism 606 is located at the tip of the scraping arm 931, and the scraping plate 609 is rotated by a scraping side power transmission system 932 (FIG. 23), which will be described later.

The scraping arm 931 is a rotating arm having a base end within the turntable 604, and is swung up and down by an arm-side power transmission system 933.

The scraping arm 931 has a casing with an elongated, substantially rectangular columnar outer shape, and a cavity is formed inside the casing. That is, the casing of the scraping arm 931 has a structure surrounded on all sides by a pair of opposing side plates 934a and 934b, a top plate 934d, and a bottom plate 934c. Further, a proximal side plate 935 is provided on the proximal end side of the scraping arm 931.

A shaft member 614 is provided on the base end side of the scraping arm 931. The shaft member 614 passes through the side plates 934a and 934b. Further, a shaft member 615 is provided on the tip side of the scraping arm 931. The shaft members 614 and 615 are parallel to each other, and each extends in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the scraping arm 931.
As shown in FIG. 21, an intermediate portion of the scraping arm 931 is slightly bent. That is, a portion of the scraping arm 931 between one end (base end) where the shaft member 614 (FIG. 23) is provided and the other end (tip end) where the shaft member 615 (FIG. 23) is provided. However, it is slightly bent.

A protrusion 936 (FIG. 26) is provided near the base end of the scraping arm 931. The bottom plate 934c of the housing of the scraping arm 931 is curved along the outer shape of the protrusion 936. The protrusion 936 forms a pressing surface 936a on a part of the bottom plate 934c. The pressing surface 936a is inclined with respect to the top plate 934d.
Furthermore, holes 937a and 937b (only the hole 937b of the side plate 934b is depicted in FIG. 21) are provided near the base ends of the side plates 934a and 934b, through which the shaft member 614 is inserted.
Further, a receiving member 938 is provided on the proximal side plate 935.

As shown in FIG. 21, the receiving member 938 has a fixing part 939 and a pressing part 940.
The fixing portion 939 includes a fixing plate 939a fixed to the proximal side plate 935 by screwing or the like, and an overhanging plate 939b continuous orthogonal to the fixing plate 939a. A hole 941 is provided in the overhang plate 939b. That is, when the fixed plate 939a is fixed to the base end side plate 935 of the scraping arm 931, the overhanging plate 939b projects in the longitudinal direction of the scraping arm 931. Further, the hole 941 of the overhanging plate 939b opens in a direction perpendicular to the shaft member 614 passing through the holes 937a, 937b of the side plates 934a, 934b.

The pressing portion 940 includes a coil spring 942 and a spring fixing member 943.
The spring fixing member 943 includes a bolt portion 943a and a nut portion 943b. The bolt portion 943a passes through the hole 941 of the overhang plate 939b from below, and the bolt portion 943a is screwed into the nut portion 943b.

A spring mounting portion 944 is provided on the bolt portion 943a. The spring mounting portion 944 includes a flange portion 944a and a convex portion 944b projecting downward from the flange portion 944a. As the bolt portion 943a and nut portion 943b are screwed together, the flange portion 944a of the bolt portion 943a approaches the overhang plate 939b of the fixing portion 939. Then, the flange portion 944a can be brought into contact with the overhanging plate 939b and can be integrated.

Coil spring 942 is a compression spring. One end (upper end) of the coil spring 942 engages with a convex portion 944b of the spring mounting portion 944, and the coil spring 942 is mounted on the spring mounting portion 944. The other end (lower end) of the coil spring 942 is attached to the mounting member 945 by engaging with a protrusion 946 of the mounting member 945, which will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 23, in the scraping side power transmission system 932, a gear 628 is attached to a drive shaft 950a of a motor 950. In this embodiment, power is transmitted from the motor 950 to a gear train constituted by gears 628, 641, and 633, and power is further transmitted from the gear 633 to the drive pulley 623 via the shaft member 614. Power is then transmitted from the driving pulley 623 to the driven pulley 682 via the toothed belt 634.
That is, in this embodiment, the scraping side power transmission system 932 includes a gear train constituted by gears 628, 641, and 633, a shaft member 614, a driving pulley 623, a toothed belt 634, a driven pulley 682, and a shaft member. 615. In order to prevent the scraping mechanism 606 from rotating in the opposite direction, the gear 641 may be provided with a one-way clutch.

The arm-side power transmission system 933 includes a motor 960, a positioning mechanism 961, and a swing mechanism 962, as shown in FIG.

Motor 960 is a separate motor from motor 950. That is, the motor 960 is a motor that drives only the arm-side power transmission system 933, and can be driven to rotate in the forward direction and the reverse direction. A gear 951 (pinion) is attached to a drive shaft 960a of the motor 960.

The positioning mechanism 961 includes a positioning pin 952, guide members 953a, 953b, a connecting member 954, and a fixed engagement member 670.

The positioning pin 952 is a round bar-shaped member, and a rack portion 955 is formed on the side surface of the cylinder. The tip side of the positioning pin 952 is tapered like a pencil. The tapered tip portion of the positioning pin 952 can be engaged with a groove 672 of a stationary engagement member 670 installed on the outside of the turntable 604.
Positioning pin 952 is arranged on turntable 604. The positioning pin 952 is perpendicular to the axis of the drive shaft 960a of the motor 960. Further, a gear 951 (pinion) mounted on the drive shaft 960a is engaged with a rack portion 955 of the positioning pin 952. That is, when the motor 960 is driven in the forward and reverse directions, power is transmitted from the gear 951 to the rack portion 955, and the positioning pin 952 moves back and forth in a straight line.

Guide members 953a and 953b are installed on the turntable 604 and guide the positioning pin 952 that moves back and forth.

The connecting member 954 is a member that connects the rear end portion of the positioning pin 952 and a swing mechanism 962, which will be described later. The connecting member 954 is connected to the rear end portion of the positioning pin 952 by a pin 949. That is, the connecting member 954 and the positioning pin 952 are connected via the pin 949 so that they can rotate relative to each other.
Further, the connecting member 954 is capable of reciprocating movement along a linear guide (not shown) provided in the scraping device 930. This linear guide extends in the longitudinal direction of the positioning pin 952. That is, the connecting member 954 can reciprocate in the longitudinal direction of the positioning pin 952 together with the positioning pin 952.
Further, the connecting member 954 is prevented from rotating around the longitudinal direction by the aforementioned linear guide (not shown). Therefore, the positioning pin 952 integrated with the connecting member 954 is also unrotatable. Therefore, the rack portion 955 of the positioning pin 952 is always engaged with the gear 951.

The fixed side engaging member 670 has a groove 672 that can be engaged with the positioning pin 952. Furthermore, the fixed-side engagement member 670 is arranged on a fixed member 699 adjacent to the outer peripheral side of the turntable 604.

The positioning mechanism 961 moves the positioning pin 952 back and forth in conjunction with the raising and lowering of the scraping arm 931. When the positioning pin 952 protrudes from the turntable 604, the positioning pin 952 engages with the groove 672 of the stationary engagement member 670, and the turntable 604 is fixed unrotatably. Further, when the positioning pin 952 is retracted into the turntable 604, the engagement between the positioning pin 952 and the groove 672 is released, and the turntable 604 becomes rotatable.

The swing mechanism 962 includes a mounting member 945 and a swing member 947. The mounting member 945 and the swinging member 947 are fixed together with screws 948a and 948b. That is, the mounting member 945 and the swinging member 947 cannot move relative to each other.

As shown in FIG. 24, the swinging member 947 is a substantially L-shaped plate-like member. The swinging member 947 is provided with two holes (not shown) through which screws 948a and 948b are inserted. One end of the swinging member 947 is connected to a connecting member 954 through a pin 956 so as to be relatively rotatable. The other end of the swinging member 947 is passed through the shaft member 614. That is, the swinging member 947 can swing around the shaft member 614. Both ends of the shaft member 614 are supported by support members 963 and 964 (FIGS. 21 and 23) fixed on the turntable 604.

The mounting member 945 has a main body 957 and mounting portions 958 and 959, as shown in FIG.
The main body 957 is a plate placed in a vertical position. The main body 957 is provided with holes 965a and 965b through which screws 948a and 948b are inserted. Two places on the upper side of the main body 957 are bent vertically to form placing parts 958 and 959. Both the placing part 958 and the placing part 959 are orthogonal to the main body 957, and they are not in the same plane but are inclined to each other.
A protrusion 946 is provided on the mounting portion 958. The protrusion 946 has a function of engaging with the coil spring 942 and fixing the coil spring 942 to the mounting portion 958.
As shown in FIG. 24, the swinging member 947 and the mounting member 945 are integrally fixed with two screws 948a and 948b.

As shown in FIG. 26, the lower end of the coil spring 942 is fixed to the mounting portion 958 of the mounting member 945. The upper end of the coil spring 942 is fixed to a spring fixing member 943 of the fixing part 939. The flange portion 944a of the spring mounting portion 944 is in contact with the projecting plate 939b of the fixing portion 939. That is, the overhang plate 939b is held between the flange portion 944a and the nut portion 943b. The coil spring 942 is arranged between the flange portion 944a on the fixed portion 939 side and the mounting portion 958 of the mounting member 945 of the swing mechanism 962. Coil spring 942 is compressed.

As shown in FIG. 26, the pressing surface 936a of the scraping arm 931 is placed on the placing portion 959 of the placing member 945.

The proximal end of the scraping arm 931 is penetrated by the shaft member 614 . The shaft member 614 passes through the side plates 934a and 934b of the scraping arm 931, and a drive pulley 623 is mounted inside the scraping arm 931, as shown in FIG.
Since the shaft member 614 is supported by the support members 963 and 964, the base end side of the scraping arm 931 is supported by the shaft member 614.
The pressing surface 936a of the scraping arm 931 is placed on the placing portion 959 of the placing member 945. The pressing surface 936a is formed closer to the distal end than the portion of the scraping arm 931 through which the shaft member 614 is inserted. Therefore, by pressing the pressing surface 936a formed on the bottom plate 934c from below by the mounting section 959, or by placing the pressing surface 936a on the mounting section 959, the scraping arm 931 can be moved onto the mounting member 945. It can be supported by
That is, the mounting member 945 prevents the scraping arm 931 from rotating around the shaft member 614 due to its own weight.

Next, the operation of the scraping device 930 will be explained.

When the positioning pin 952 is retracted into the turntable 604, the turntable 604 can rotate. Moreover, at this time, as shown in FIG. 27(a), the scraping arm 931 is rising. That is, the swinging member 947 of the swinging mechanism 962 shown in FIGS. 23 and 76 rotates counterclockwise around the shaft member 614 and stops, and the mounting portion 959 of the mounting member 945 rises. Therefore, the scraping arm 931 whose pressing surface 936a is pressed by the mounting portion 959 is in the raised position shown in FIG. 27(a).

From this state, when the motor 960 is driven to cause the positioning pin 952 to protrude from the turntable 604 and engage with the groove 672 of the stationary engagement member 670, the turntable 604 is fixed unrotatably. Further, a connecting member 954 integrated with the positioning pin 952 pulls the swinging member 947 of the swinging mechanism 962 via the pin 956. Therefore, the swinging member 947 rotates clockwise about the shaft member 614. The mounting member 945, which is integrated with the swinging member 947, also rotates clockwise together with the swinging member 947. As a result, the position of the placing part 959 is lowered and the position of the placing part 958 is raised, so that the distal end side of the scraping arm 931 is lowered, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 27(b).

When the swinging member 947 rotates about the shaft member 614 from the state shown in FIG. 27(a) to the state shown in FIG. 27(b), the pin 956 fixed to the swinging member 947 moves to the lowest point ( (directly below the shaft member 614) and rises slightly from the turntable 604. That is, although the distance between the pin 956 and the shaft member 614 is always constant, the pin 956 is at a higher position in the state shown in FIG. 27(b) than in the state shown in FIG. 27(a).

In this way, the height position of the pin 956 changes as the swinging member 947 rotates, but since the connecting member 954 and the positioning pin 952 are connected by the pin 949, the connecting member 954 is centered around the pin 952. The connecting member 954 can swing around the pin 949 while following the protruding movement of the positioning pin 952, and can raise the end of the connecting member 954 to which the pin 956 is connected. .

When the scraping arm 931 assumes the downward posture shown in FIG. 27(b), it drives the motor 950 shown in FIG. 23. The driving force of the motor 950 is transmitted to the scraping plate 609 via the drive shaft 950a, gears 628, 641, 633, shaft member 614, drive pulley 623, toothed belt 634, driven pulley 682, and shaft member 615. Ru.

Further, when the drug scraping operation is completed, the motor 950 is stopped and the tip side of the scraping arm 931 is raised. That is, the motor 960 is rotated in the opposite direction, the positioning pin 952 is retracted onto the turntable 604, and the mounting member 945 of the swing mechanism 962 is rotated counterclockwise around the shaft member 614. As a result, the mounting portion 959 of the mounting member 945 rises, and the tip side of the scraping arm 931 rises.

When the scraping arm 931 changes from the raised position to the lowered position, the scraping plate 609 of the scraping mechanism 606 may collide with the distribution plate 201. However, the impact generated at that time is alleviated by the coil spring 942 of the fixed part 939.

Although not shown in FIG. 23, it is preferable that the gear 641 is provided with a one-way clutch. This one-way clutch prevents the scraping plate 609 from rotating in reverse due to its own weight.

(8) Hopper closing member The hopper closing member 400 has a main body portion 401 and an inner lid portion 402. The main body portion 401 has a substantially rectangular planar shape and a plate shape with a thickness of about 1 cm.
The area of the inner lid portion 402 is smaller than the area of the main body portion 401. The shape of the inner lid portion 402 is approximately rectangular and is similar to the main body portion.
The outer surface of the inner lid portion 402 is made of resin. The inner lid part 402 is arranged parallel to the main body part 401, and is guided to approach and move away from each other while maintaining the parallel state.
Further, a motor and a cam are built in between the inner lid part 402 and the main body part 401, and by rotating the motor, the inner cover part 402 moves in parallel to the main body part 401, approaching and moving away from each other.

(9) Drug Packaging Device The drug packaging device 410 has a basic configuration including a packaging paper supply device and a packaging device. Further, as accessory devices, a powder medicine input hopper 413 for supplying powder medicine and a suction device 415 are provided.
The packaging paper supply device is a part that supplies sheet-shaped packaging paper to the packaging unit.
The packaging device is a part that folds a sheet of packaging paper, introduces the powder into it, and then fuses the sides of the sheet to form it into a bag. The packaging paper supply device and packaging device employed in this embodiment are both well-known, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The powder medicine introduction hopper 413 introduces powder medicine into the medicine packaging device 410 side, and has a funnel shape. That is, the powder medicine input hopper 413 has an introduction side opening with a large opening area and a discharge side opening (medicine discharge port) with a small opening area. The discharge side opening is located at the lower end of the powder medicine input hopper 413, and is provided with an opening/closing plate 416. The opening/closing plate 416 can be opened and closed by power, and can open and close the discharge side opening.
The discharge side opening of the powder medicine input hopper 413 reaches the packaging device of the medicine packaging device 410, and the powder medicine is introduced into the folded sheet.

In this embodiment, a suction device 415 is connected to a midway portion of the powder medicine input hopper 413. The suction device 415 is a known vacuum suction device, and includes a negative pressure generating device such as a blower and a vacuum hose.
In this embodiment, a vacuum hose is connected to a midway portion of the powder medicine input hopper 413.

The packaging paper supply section, the packaging section, and the powder medicine input hopper 413 are integrated into a unit.
Further, in this embodiment, rails 417 are provided on both sides of the drug packaging device 410 in the drug packaging area 300. Further, a rack 418 is provided near the rail 417.
On the other hand, on the unit side such as the packaged paper supply section, a rail engaging section (not shown) that engages with the rail 417 and a traveling motor are provided. The travel motor is provided with a pinion, which engages with the rack 418 described above.
Therefore, the drug packaging device 410 is integrally movable in the front and back direction.

(10) Table member As shown in FIG. 19, the table member 205 is made of a glossy smooth plate made of stainless steel or the like. The table member 205 is provided with distribution plate accommodating openings 206 at two locations. Further, three container mounting device openings 240 are provided around each distribution plate accommodation opening 206. A drug input opening 241 and a closing member installation opening 242 are provided between the distribution tray housing openings 206 .
The distribution pan housing opening 206 is a circular opening with a large outer diameter. The outer diameter of the distribution pan receiving opening 206 is larger than the outer diameter of the distribution pan 201, and the distribution pan 201 fits completely within the distribution pan receiving opening 206.
Two distribution pan storage openings 206 are provided side by side, and a portion thereof is in communication.

The container mounting device opening 240 is a rectangular opening, and is provided so as to surround the distribution pan accommodating opening 206. The center line of the container placement device opening 240 is parallel to the tangent of the distribution pan receiving opening 206. Therefore, when the drug container 2 is mounted on the container mounting device 3, the axis of the drug container 2 is oriented in the tangential direction of the distribution plate 201.

A drug input opening 241 and a closing member installation opening 242 are located between the distribution pan housing openings 206 and on the near side of the drawing. In this embodiment, the drug input opening 241 and the closing member installation opening 242 are integrated and communicate with each other.
There is a stepped portion inside the closing member installation opening 242.

Both of the two distribution plates 201 described above are housed within the distribution plate housing opening 206, and any portion of the distribution plate 201 is located below the top surface of the table member 205.

Further, since the outer diameter of the distribution plate 201 is smaller than the inner diameter of the distribution plate housing opening 206 as described above, there is a slight gap between the outer edge of the distribution plate 201 and the inner edge of the distribution plate housing opening 206.
Around the outer edge of the distribution pan 201 is a gutter-like receiving member 243 (FIG. 18). The receiving member 243 described above is arranged under the gap created between the outer edge of the distribution plate 201 and the inner edge of the distribution plate receiving opening 206, and the powder that falls into the gap falls into the receiving member 243.

A hopper closing member 400 is provided in the closing member installation opening 242 . The lower surface of the main body of the hopper closing member 400 is supported by a stepped portion, and the inner lid portion 402 protrudes below the table member 205.

The drug packaging device 410 is also located below the table member 205. The powder medicine input hopper 413 is normally located at the back of the device, and the input opening of the powder medicine input hopper 413 is located below the medicine input opening 241 of the table member 205.
Further, as described above, the drug packaging device 410 is movable as a whole, and when the packaging operation is completed, the drug packaging device 410 moves to the front side as a whole, and the input opening of the powder drug input hopper 413 is opened by the hopper closing member. 400 position is reached.

(11) Cleaning Device The cleaning device 500 has a cleaning arm 501 whose distal end is moved up and down by power, and a cleaning brush 502 is provided at the distal end. Further, the cleaning brush 502 is rotatably mounted within a brush cover 503. A suction device is connected to the brush cover 503.

As shown in FIG. 33, when the cleaning brush 502 is viewed macroscopically, there is a hub member 505 provided with two grooves C and D, and the circumferential surface of the hub member 505 is flocked. .
As shown in FIG. 34, when the cleaning brush 502 is disassembled, it has a structure in which four disc-shaped brushes 506a, 506b, 506c, and 506d are connected by the same rotating shaft 508. That is, the cleaning brush 502 has two central disk-shaped brushes 506a and 506b and two side disk-shaped brushes 506c and 506d, whose centers are connected by a rotating shaft 508. However, the two central disc-shaped brushes 506a and 506b are in close contact with each other and apparently form one central brush 507.

The side disk-shaped brushes 506c and 506d have thin disk portions. The disk portion is a disk having a shaft insertion hole in the center, and has an outer circumferential surface and a side surface. Small holes are provided at equal intervals on the circumferential surface of the disk portion. Here, the small holes are inclined in the axial direction of the cleaning brush 502. That is, the extension line of the small hole is directed toward the central axis of the cleaning brush 502, but does not pass through the center of the disk portion.

The side disk-shaped brushes 506c and 506d are implanted with bristles using these small holes. Hair transplantation uses stiff and self-supporting hair materials, several dozen of which are bundled together to form a hair bundle, and one end of the hair bundle is inserted into the aforementioned small hole and glued.
Therefore, the free end side of the hair bundle protrudes from the circumferential surface of the disk portion. However, as described above, since the small hole in which the hair bundle is embedded is formed in an inclined direction, the hair bundle as a whole is inclined toward the side surface.

The two central disk-shaped brushes 506a and 506b also have thin disk portions. The structure of the two central disc-shaped brushes 506a, 506b is also similar to the side-side disc-shaped brushes 506c, 506d described above, and the bristles are implanted using small holes formed in an inclined direction. As for the two central disc-shaped brushes 506a and 506b, the bristle strands as a whole are inclined toward the side surfaces.

The two central disc-shaped brushes 506a, 506b are closely joined. When the two matched central disc-shaped brushes 506a and 506b are considered as one central brush 507, it has a shape like a thick rotating brush. That is, the disk portion of the mating structure is a disk having a shaft insertion hole in the center. Regarding the disk portion of the mating structure, small holes are provided at equal intervals on the circumferential surface of the disk portion.
However, in this embodiment, the small holes are provided in two rows.
Further, the small holes are inclined in the axial direction of the cleaning brush 502. That is, the extension line of the small hole is directed toward the central axis of the cleaning brush 502, but does not pass through the center of the disk portion.
Here, if one side of the disc part of the central brush 507 is the A side and the other side is the B side, the tips of the hair bundles embedded in one hole row are inclined toward the A side, The tips of the hair bundles embedded in the other hole row are inclined toward the B side.
That is, the central brush 507 includes a mixture of hair strands that slope toward one side and hair strands that slope toward the other side.
Further, in both the one hole row and the other hole row, the small holes are provided at equal intervals, but the distribution angles of the small holes are shifted. Therefore, the central brush 507 has a structure in which tufts of hair that slope toward one side and tufts of hair that slope toward the other are alternately arranged.

The cleaning brush 502 has a central brush 507 in the center, side disk-shaped brushes 506c and 506d are arranged on both sides thereof, and a rotating shaft 508 is inserted through the three to integrate them. Each disc-shaped brush is integrally fixed to the rotating shaft 508 and does not allow relative rotation.
A gear is provided at the end of the rotating shaft 508.

Further, as shown in FIG. 38, there is a gap between the central brush 507 and the side disk-shaped brushes 506c and 506d on both sides, and an annular groove is formed by the gap. That is, there is an annular groove C between one side disk-shaped brush 506c and the center brush 507, and an annular groove D between the other side disk-shaped brush 506d and the center brush 507.

Further, the two side disk-shaped brushes 506c and 506d arranged on both sides of the central brush 507 are both attached with their bristles inclined toward the central brush 507 side.
As a result, the cleaning brush 502 has a hub member 505, and a row of bristles is provided on the outer periphery of the hub member 505.
The flocked rows are provided in four rows, and the flocked rows at both ends are centrally inclined groups in which the hairs are planted in a direction in which the tips of the hairs are inclined toward the center of the hub member 505. The flocked row on the center side includes one end-direction inclined bristles group in which the bristles are flocked in a direction in which the bristles are slanted toward one end of the hub member 505 and the bristles are flocked in a direction in which the bristles are directed toward the other end of the hub member 505. and a group of slanted bristles toward the other end, which are planted in the slanted direction.

The brush cover 503 is a housing that can cover most of the cleaning brush 502. In this embodiment, the brush cover 503 has a cochlea-shaped main body. That is, the side surface shape of the main body portion has an arcuate surface portion of about 180 degrees, and both ends of the arcuate surface portion are extended. The two extensions extend at divergent angles from each other, creating an overall shape similar to the cochlea. The ends of the two extensions are open.
Further, a connecting portion is provided in a part of the main body. The connecting portion is hollow and communicates with the space within the main body.

To explain in more detail, the brush cover 503 has two side walls 510 and a peripheral wall 509 that connects the ends of the two side walls except for the opening 513.
The two side walls 510 are each formed by integrating an arcuate surface portion 511 with an angle of just under 180 degrees and an extension wall portion 512 in which both ends of the arcuate surface portion 511 are extended. The extension wall portion 512 has linear sides on the left and right, and an arcuate side at the tip. Therefore, one side of the side wall 510 is an arcuate side.
An opening 513 is formed between the arcuate sides of the two side walls 510.

Here, in this embodiment, the two side walls 510 are opposed in parallel, but the shapes of the two side walls 510 are different.
That is, as described above, the two side walls 510 are formed by integrating the arcuate surface portion 511 and the extension wall portion 512. Here, the arcuate surface portions 511 of the two side walls 510 have the same shape and the same area, but the sizes of the extension wall portions 512 are different between them.
That is, one side of the extension wall portion 512 is large and the other side is small.
The larger extension wall 512a has longer linear portions on the left and right sides than the other extension wall 512b.
The curvature of the arcuate side portion of the larger extended wall portion 512a is equal to the curvature of the drug input groove 208 of the distribution tray 201 described above.
Further, the entire length of the arcuate side portion is longer than the drug input groove 208 of the distribution plate 201. Therefore, when the arcuate portion is aligned with the drug input groove 208 of the distribution plate 201, the two will fit together without any gaps, and both ends of the arcuate side portion will extend slightly outside the drug input groove 208.

The smaller extension wall portion 512b has shorter straight portions on the left and right sides than the other extension wall portion 512a. The arcuate side of the smaller extension wall 512b has a curvature equal to the curvature of the drug input groove 208 of the dispensing tray 201, but its entire length is equal to the arcuate side of the larger extension wall 512a. It's relatively short.
Therefore, when the arcuate portion of the opening 513 of the brush cover 503 is aligned with the medicine input groove 208 of the distribution plate 201, a gap is created between the open end of the smaller side wall 510 and the medicine input groove 208.

The cleaning brush 502 described above is rotatably arranged inside a brush cover 503. Most of the cleaning brush 502 fits within the space within the brush cover 503, with only a portion exposed through the opening 513.
A gear 504 provided on the cleaning brush 502 is exposed outside the brush cover 503.
The brush cover 503 encloses the cleaning brush 502 and is attached to the tip of the cleaning arm 501.

Further, a connecting portion of the brush cover 503 is connected to the cleaning arm 501. Here, the cleaning arm 501 also functions as a vacuum flow path and is hollow inside. Further, the base end of the cleaning arm 501 is connected to a vacuum device 515 (suction means).

The cleaning arm 501 is an arm that swings with the table member 205 side as its base end, and a pin 555 that is the center of swing is fixed to the table member 205 side (to be precise, the frame). The pin 555, which is the center of swing, is provided horizontally.
A fixed gear 516 is provided on the side surface of the cleaning arm 501. The central axis of the fixed gear 516 coincides with the pin 555. The fixed gear 516 is integral with the cleaning arm 501, and the two do not rotate relative to each other.
A swing motor 517 is provided on the table member 205 side near the cleaning arm 501. The swing motor 517 is provided with a gear 518, and the gear 518 is engaged with the fixed gear 516 described above. Therefore, when the swing motor 517 is rotated, the fixed gear 516 is rotated. The fixed gear 516 is integrally provided with the cleaning arm 501, and the cleaning arm 501 swings around a rotation shaft 556 of the fixed gear 516.
As a result, the tip side of the cleaning arm 501 moves up and down.

Further, a gear train is formed on the other side of the cleaning arm 501. The gear train is composed of idle gears 514a to 514e, and can freely rotate relative to the cleaning arm 501. The gears at the ends of the gear train engage gears 504 provided on the brush cover 503.
A brush motor 519 (rotating device) is provided on the table member 205 side near the cleaning arm 501. The brush motor 519 is provided with a gear 520, which engages with one of the gear trains provided on the other side of the cleaning arm 501 described above. Therefore, in this embodiment, a series of gear trains is formed from the gear 520 provided on the brush motor 519 to the gear 504 provided on the cleaning brush 502, and a series of power transmission paths exist. Therefore, when the brush motor 519 is rotated, the cleaning brush 502 attached to the tip side of the cleaning arm 501 is rotated.

(12) Container Moving Means The container moving means 700 includes a lifting mechanism 701 and a robot 702. The elevating mechanism 701 is a linear guide provided in the vertical direction, and is composed of a linear rail 703 (vertical rail) and an elevating table 704. A rack (not shown) is formed on the straight rail 703, and a motor and pinion gear (not shown) are provided on the lifting platform 704.
The lifting platform 704 is moved in the vertical direction by operating a motor (not shown).
The straight rail 703 is arranged closer to the center than the drum member 102.

The robot 702 is a multi-joint robot having two arm members 705 and 706 and a hand portion 707.
That is, the first arm member 705 is attached to the lifting table 704 via a vertical shaft (not shown), and rotates in the horizontal direction about the lifting table 704 by driving a motor attached to the lifting table 704. . A motor attached to the lifting platform 704 projects upward.
The second arm member 706 is attached to the tip of the first arm member 705 via a vertical shaft (joint portion) not shown, and the second arm member 706 is attached to the tip of the first arm member 705 by driving the motor attached to the tip of the first arm member 705. One arm member 705 rotates horizontally around its tip. The motor attached to the first arm member 705 projects upward.
The first arm member 705 and the second arm member 706 described above both have a thickness smaller than their width, and have a flat cross-sectional shape.

The hand section 707 has a wrist section 708 and a container holding palm section 709. The wrist portion 708 is an arm shorter than the arm members 705 and 706 described above. The wrist portion 708 is attached to the tip of the second arm member 706 via a vertical shaft (not shown), and rotates in the horizontal direction about the tip of the second arm member 706 by driving a motor.
The wrist portion 708 is taller than the arm members 705 and 706 described above, and has a motor built into the arm member.

The container holding palm part 709 is a rectangular plate, and is attached to the tip of the wrist part 708 via a fitting 710.
The attachment fitting 710 is a metal fitting bent in a direction perpendicular to the plane formed by the container holding palm portion 709, and one end thereof is pivoted to the wrist portion. The shaft to which the mounting fitting 710 is attached is arranged horizontally, and the container holding palm part 709 is rotated about the horizontal axis by a motor provided at the wrist part.
Therefore, the container holding palm portion 709 can take a parallel posture as shown in FIGS. 44 and 45, or a vertical posture as shown in FIG. 46. That is, the container holding palm part 709 can take either a position with the surface holding the drug container 2 lying down or an upright position. Therefore, the container holding palm part 709 can hold the drug container 2 in either a lying position or an upright position.
Furthermore, the wrist portion 708 can also be rotated in the horizontal direction.
An electromagnet is attached to the container holding palm 709.

The container moving means 700 can take out the drug container 2 from the container installation part 103 of the drum member 102, move the drug container 2 to the container mounting device 3, and perform an operation to deliver the drug container 2 to the container mounting device 3. Further, the drug container 2 can be taken up from the container placement device 3, moved to the drum member 102, and delivered to the container installation section 103.

When taking out the drug container 2 from the container installation part 103 of the drum member 102, the container holding palm part 709 is placed in a vertical position and brought close to the drug container 2, as shown in FIG. Then, the container holding palm part 709 is pressed against the transportation iron plate part 157 attached to the medicine container 2. Thereafter, the electromagnet provided on the container holding palm portion 709 is energized to attract the transport iron plate portion 157 provided on the drug container 2. Then, the arm members 705 and 706 are moved back and the drug container 2 is removed.
Then, the medicine container 2 is moved to the vicinity of the distribution tray 201 below by operating the arm member or the like. Further, the attitude of the container holding palm part 709 is changed to a parallel attitude as shown in FIG. 45 and brought closer to the vibration table of the container mounting device 3.
Then, the container holding palm portion 709 of the container moving means 700 is lowered to place the drug container 2 on the container mounting device 3.
Then, the power supply to the electromagnet on the hand section 707 side is stopped, and instead, the magnetic force of the container mounting device 3 is restored.
In this way, the drug container 2 is transferred from the hand section 707 side to the container mounting device 3 side.

When the dispensing operation is completed, the drug container 2 is returned to the drum member 102 by the reverse route.
Here, when returning the drug container 2 to the drum member 102, as shown in FIG. It is made to face the container installation part 103.
That is, the container installation part 103 of the drum member 102 of this embodiment has the side support member 321 as described above, and the side support member 321 has the same opening angle as the fixing iron plate part 6 of the container body 5. are doing. Therefore, the surface of the drum member 102 is not flat, and a portion of the side support member 321 protrudes radially. Therefore, if the container moving means 700 is easily moved to bring the drug container 2 close to the drum member 102, the drug container 2 will hit the side support member 321.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, the wrist portion 708 of the hand portion 707 is horizontally rotated, and the drum member 102 is also rotated so that the circumferential speed thereof becomes equal to the wrist portion 708 of the hand portion 707.
Then, the hand portion 707 and the drum member 102 are rotated in opposite directions as if two gears are engaged (FIG. 16), and the medicine container 2 is opposed to the specific container installation portion 103. Thereafter, the arm portion is operated to push the drug container 2 into the container installation portion 103 of the drum member 102 so that the drug container 2 is engaged with the container placement portion 103. When the drug container 2 is attached in a normal position, the protruding member is recessed into the drum member 102. Whether or not the drug container 2 is attached in a normal posture is detected by an optical sensor provided in the drum member 102.
Furthermore, after that, the magnetic force of the hand section 707 is erased, and the hand section 707 is separated from the drug container 2.
In this embodiment, the container moving means 700 is also used when moving the drug container 2 installed in the drug container temporary storage section 11, which will be described later, to the drum member 102.

(13) Skeleton and Housing The medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment has a structure in which a frame is made of steel and each member and device is attached to the frame.
Further, the frame is entirely covered with a housing 7, shielding the inside and outside.
A dehumidifying device and a temperature controller are provided inside the housing 7, and the internal temperature and humidity are maintained within a certain range. Furthermore, two fans are provided on the top surface of the housing 7 to ventilate the inside of the housing 7.
The housing 7 is generally divided into a shelf area housing 100a that covers the medicine shelf area 100, a divided area housing 200a that covers the medicine division area 200, and a packaging area housing 300a that covers the medicine packaging area 300. .
The shelf area housing 100a and the divided area housing 200a are made of transparent resin, and the inside thereof can be observed. On the other hand, the packaging area housing 300a is made of a steel plate, and the inside cannot be seen.

The shelf area housing 100a has a smaller planar area than the other two. Therefore, the shelf area casing 100a is designed such that it is placed on the medicine dividing area 200. In this embodiment, the shelf area housing 100a is located closer to the left side when viewed from the front. Therefore, only a part of the upper part of the drug division area 200 communicates with the shelf area housing 100a, and the remaining part does not communicate and forms a ceiling surface.

A door portion 9 is provided in the shelf area housing 100a. The door portion 9 is a wing-type door that opens and closes with a hinge.
In this embodiment, the door portion 9 opens to the left and opens in the pulling direction. That is, when the door section 9 is opened, the door section 9 protrudes outward from the space within the shelf area housing 100a. The door portion 9 is an entrance for taking the medicine container 2 in and out of the medicine dispensing device 1 . In the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, the medicine container 2 is put in and taken out only through the door 9 in principle. That is, in the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, the medicine container 2 is taken in and taken out only through the door 9, except when dealing with an abnormality such as a failure.

In this embodiment, a drug container temporary storage section 11 is provided inside the door section 9 . The drug container temporary storage section 11 functions as an introduction section when introducing the drug container 2 into the housing 7 . It also functions as a take-out section when taking out the medicine container 2 from inside the housing 7.

The drug container temporary storage section 11 has the same structure as the container installation section 103. The container installation section 103 has the same structure as that attached to the drum member 102 described above, and is composed of a vertical wall 320 and a mounting table 323. The vertical wall 320 is provided with a side support member 321, an attachment detection member 322, and an upper engagement portion 325.
Further, the drug container temporary storage section 11 is provided with an information reading/writing device (FIG. 47) such as an RFID reader/writer. Further, the drug container temporary storage section 11 is provided with a weight measuring means for measuring the weight of the drug container 2.

In this embodiment, when the drug container 2 is introduced into the housing 7, when the drug container 2 is taken out, and when the drug container 2 is returned to the container storage device 101 after packaging, the drug stored in the drug container 2 is It performs the function of measuring the amount of
That is, when the drug in the drug container 2 runs out, the drug container 2 is taken out from the drug dispensing device 1 and the drug container 2 is refilled with the drug. The weight of the vehicle is measured and stored in a control device (not shown). The information is also recorded on the information recording member 15 attached to the medicine container 2.
Specifically, the door section 9 is opened by operating a switch (not shown), and the drug container 2 is placed in the drug container temporary storage section 11. Thereafter, when a switch (not shown) is operated, the door 9 is automatically closed and the weight of the drug container 2 is measured.

Furthermore, when packaging is completed and the drug container 2 is returned to the container storage device 101, the hand section 707 of the robot 702 holds the drug container 2, moves the drug container 2, and places it in the drug container temporary storage section 11. . Then, the weight of the drug container 2 is measured. Also, the information on the information recording member 15 attached to the medicine container 2 is rewritten.
If the weight of the medicine container 2 exceeds the expected range for the amount of medicine discharged, a notification is given by a notification means (not shown).

A large sliding door 105 is provided in the divided area housing 200a. That is, the front wall of the drug division area 200 is provided with guide rails at both ends, and approximately the lower half of the front wall of the division area housing 200a is fitted into the front wall, and the door portion is opened and closed up and down by a motor (not shown). do.

(14) Modification (container installation part)
The following configuration can be considered as a modification of the container installation part. As shown in FIG. 49, the container installation section 340 of the modified example includes a vertical wall 341 and a mounting table 343. The vertical wall 320 has an opening 346, and a protrusion 347 (upper engagement part on the storage section side, container engagement part) 347 projects upward in the opening 346.
Further, the mounting table 343 is provided with a storage section side lower engagement section 348. The storage section side lower engaging portion 348 is a projection.
The drug container 2 employed in this embodiment has a recess 371 at the rear end. A container-side engaging portion 352 is provided on the lower surface 12 of the peripheral wall of the container body 5. The container-side engaging portion 352 is located on the lower surface 12 of the peripheral wall, slightly closer to the lid member 120 than the center, so that it does not hit the vibration table 20 when the drug container 2 is installed on the vibration table 20. The container-side engaging portion 352 is ring-shaped, and is provided with a square hole 351 passing through the drug container 2 in the longitudinal direction.

In this embodiment, the container-side engaging part 352 of the drug container 2 is inserted into the opening 346, the drug container 2 is pushed down, and the protrusion of the container installation part 340 (the upper part of the storage part side) is inserted into the hole 351 of the container-side engaging part 352. By inserting the engaging part (container engaging part) 347, the drug container 2 is suspended from the container installation part 340.
Also, at this time, the protrusion (lower engagement portion on the storage section side) 348 provided on the mounting table 343 engages with the recess 371 of the drug container 2 .
The container installation part 340 of this embodiment has a protrusion 347 that engages with a part of the drug container 2 (storage part side upper engagement part vs. container engagement part), and the protrusion moves the drug container 2 from above to below. The drug container 2 is engaged by sliding the drug container 2 downward from above. Further, by sliding the drug container 2 upward from below, the engagement between the drug container 2 and the protrusion (storage section side upper engagement portion to container engagement portion) 347 is released.

(15) Modification (container storage device)
In the embodiment described above, the drum member 102 was provided, and the container installation portions 103 were arranged circumferentially. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the container installation section 340 may be arranged in a plane as shown in FIG. 49.
The overall structure of a medicine dispensing device 800 in a modified example is as shown in FIG. 50, for example. The medicine dispensing device 800 is functionally divided into a medicine shelf area 803, a medicine division area 805, and a medicine packaging area 806 in the vertical direction.
A drug container storage shelf 801 is arranged around the uppermost drug shelf area 803, and a drug container moving device 802 is provided inside the drug container storage shelf 801.
The medicine shelf area 803 is dehumidified by a dehumidifier (not shown). Further, a dust collector (not shown) is provided inside the medicine shelf area 803 to remove dust within the medicine shelf area 803. For example, a blower fan is provided in the drug shelf area 803, and the air in the drug shelf area 803 is circulated by the blower fan. A filter is provided in a certain ventilation path, such as on the intake side of the blower fan, to remove dust and the like floating in the medicine shelf area 803.

The drug container moving device 802 has a vertically moving shaft 810, a horizontal moving arm 808, and a hand portion 812 that holds the drug container 2. The horizontal movement arm 808 has two joints 813 and 814 as shown in FIG. The hand portion 812 can change the posture of the medicine container 2. Note that the medicine container moving device 802 employs a hand portion 812 of the electromagnet 807.

In the medicine dispensing device 800 of this embodiment, there is a shelf member 815 in the medicine shelf area 803, and the shelf member 815 is placed on a rail 816. Further, a rack (not shown) is provided near the rail 816. On the other hand, the shelf member 815 is provided with a travel motor, and the travel motor is provided with a pinion, which engages with the rack described above.
In the medicine dispensing device 800 of this embodiment, the shelf member 815 moves forward and backward as a whole, and when taking out the medicine container 2, moves forward and approaches the distribution tray 201.
Next, supplementary explanation of details and other modified examples will be explained.

(16) Opening and Closing the Lid of the Container Body Although the movable lid portion (opening/closing lid) 134 of the container body 5 can be opened and closed by any means, it is recommended that the hand portion 707 of the robot 702 be provided with an opening/closing means.
FIG. 57 shows an example in which the container holding palm portion 709 of the hand portion 707 is provided with an opening/closing means. The hand portion 707 shown in FIG. 57 is a container holding palm portion 709 and has an opening 426 on the surface that is pressed against the drug container 2. The hand portion 707 shown in FIG. An opening/closing member 419 is provided within this opening 426 . The opening/closing member 419 is an "L"-shaped member and has contact members 420 and 421 on two sides.
Further, the opening/closing member 419 swings around the base portions of the contact members 420 and 421 on the two sides. The opening/closing member 419 is swung by the power of a solenoid, a motor, or the like (not shown).

When the container body 5 is held by the hand portion 707, the knob portion (operation portion) 147 provided on the movable lid portion 134 of the container body 5 enters the opening 426 of the hand portion 707 as shown in FIG. At this time, the knob 147 enters between the contact members 420 and 421 on the two sides of the opening/closing member 419.
In this state, the opening/closing member 419 is swung left and right in the direction of an arrow by a solenoid (not shown) or the like. As a result, the opening/closing member 419 engages with the knob 147, the knob 147 swings, and the movable lid 134 is opened and closed.

A means for opening and closing the movable lid portion 134 of the container body 5 may be provided in the container mounting device 3. Further, an independent means for opening and closing the movable lid portion 134 may be provided.

(17) Posture when moving the container body The drug container 2 is installed in the container installation part 103 of the drum member 102 as described above, and is moved while being held by the hand part 707 of the robot 702, as shown in FIG. The container is placed on the container placement device 3. If the drug container 2 is moved in a horizontal position, the drug discharge part 8 side of the drug container 2 will be facing up, as shown in FIG. 58, 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 8 side faces upward, the powder in the powder medicine storage part 17 is moved away from the medicine discharge part 8 side.
This posture change action prevents the powder from spilling out when the movable lid portion 134 is opened.

(18) Procedure for removing the container body from the container mounting device When removing the drug container 2 from the container placement unit 103, the drug container 2 is placed on the container mounting device 3, and then the container main body 5 is removed. The movable lid part 134 is closed, and then the medicine container 2 is held and moved by the hand part 707 of the robot 702.
The most recommended operation is to bring the hand section 707 close to the container body 5 and align the container holding palm section 709 of the hand section 707 with the drug container 2 installed on the container mounting device 3 as shown in FIG. and insert the knob 147 shown in FIG. 57 into the opening 426. Then, the opening/closing member 419 is operated to close the movable lid portion 134. At this time, the magnet on the hand part 707 side is turned off, and the container body 5 is fixed to the container mounting device 3 side by the magnetic force generated by the container mounting device 3 side. The magnetic force on the third side is stopped, and the magnet on the hand part 707 side is turned on to hold the container body 5 on the hand part 707 side.
By performing this operation, it is possible to prevent the medicine from spilling out from the medicine discharge part 8 of the medicine container 2 due to the vibration when the medicine container 2 is attracted by the hand part 707.
That is, if the magnetic force on the hand section 707 side is developed after dispensing a predetermined amount and before closing the movable lid section 134, the medicine container 2 will remain near the movable lid section 134 due to the vibration when it is attracted. spilled medicine. On the other hand, if the magnetic force on the hand section 707 side is developed after the movable lid section 134 is closed, and the drug container 2 is attracted to the hand section 707 side, the drug will not spill.

(19) Covering the distribution plate It is desirable to provide a cover 220 on the upper surface side of the distribution plate 201 as shown in FIG. 67. Further, when a plurality of distribution plates 201 are provided as in the above-described embodiment, it is desirable to partition the area where the distribution plates 201 are provided with a partition wall 221.
That is, the particles of powder medicine vary depending on the drug, and some are extremely fine particles. Very fine powder particles may become airborne even with slight air movement.
Therefore, in a medicine dispensing device having a plurality of distribution trays 201, it is conceivable that powdered medicine placed in one distribution tray 201 floats and falls onto the other distribution tray 201. As a practical matter, even if the floating powder were to fall onto the other dispensing tray 201, the amount would be extremely small and it is unlikely that it would have any effect on the patient. However, it is a possibility, and it is desirable to take measures to prevent it.

FIG. 67 shows an example in which a cover 220 is provided on the upper surface side of the distribution plate 201 in order to meet this request. The cover 220 covers 30% to 100% of the area of the distribution pan 201.
In this embodiment, approximately 30% of the area of the distribution pan 201 is covered. The cover 220 is fixed to the table member 205 and extends over the distribution plate 201 in a cantilevered manner with the table member 205 side as the base end.

The height of the cover 220 is such that the scraping plate 609 does not interfere when moving the scraping mechanism 606 toward the cleaning device 500 side.
That is, the scraping arm 931 of the scraping device 930 is set up on the upper side, the scraping mechanism 606 is moved to the upper side, and the turntable 604 is further rotated to move the scraping mechanism 606 to the cleaning device 500 side. At that time, the scraping board 609 and the like pass over the cover 220.

In this embodiment, the cover 220 is missing near the cleaning device 500.
In this embodiment, the cover 220 includes one central cover member 222 and two end cover members 223.
The central cover member 222 is installed across the two distribution plates 201 and covers an area from the vicinity of the powder medicine input hopper 413 to the vicinity of the cleaning device 500.
Furthermore, a partition wall 221 is suspended below the central cover member 222. The lower end of the partition wall 221 is fixed to the table member 205. Therefore, the partition wall 221 also functions as a support member that supports the central cover member 222.
The end covering members 223 are located on both sides of the central covering member 222, but there is a gap between the end covering members 223 and the central covering member 222 for inserting the cleaning brush 502 of the cleaning device 500. It is secured.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 67, the hopper closing member 400 is also provided with a partition wall 430. A partition wall 430 provided on the hopper closing member 400 is movable and moves in and out of the hopper closing member 400.
FIG. 69 is an exploded perspective view of members related to the partition wall 430 in the hopper closing member 400.

The hopper closing member 400 has a main body portion 431, a cleaning member 432, and a partition wall 430. The main body portion 431 has a slit 433 formed from the top surface to the side surface.
Further, a recess 424 for mounting a cleaning member 432 is provided on the top surface of the main body portion 431. Furthermore, engagement grooves 425 are provided on both sides of the recess 424 .
The partition wall 430 has a plate shape and is inserted into a slit 433 in the top surface of the main body 431. Furthermore, the partition wall 430 has a rotation shaft 435. A motor (not shown) for rotating a rotation shaft 435 is built in the main body portion 431, and the partition wall 430 is located in the slit 433 and rotates around the rotation shaft 435.

Therefore, the partition wall 430 takes the posture of protruding to the side of the main body 431 as shown in FIG. 68(a), rotates as shown in FIG. 68(b), and finally the main body 431 as shown in FIG. 68(c). It is possible to take a posture of being accommodated in the slit 433 of 431.
Further, in this embodiment, a cleaning member 432 is provided on the top surface of the main body portion 431. The cleaning member 432 is a thin member and includes a frame member 436 made of metal and a central member 437. The frame member 436 is a U-shaped member in plan view and has three sides.

The central member 437 is a thin plate made of soft but somewhat stiff rubber or resin. A slit 438 is provided in the central member 437. The slit 438 has a cutout shape with one end open. The width of the slit 438 is narrower than the width of the slit 433 provided in the main body portion 431. Further, the width of the slit 438 is narrower than the thickness of the partition wall 430.
The cleaning member 432 is attached to the recess 424 on the top surface of the main body 431 . The sides on both sides of the cleaning member 432 are engaged with engagement grooves 425 provided in the recess 424, and by sliding the cleaning member 432 forward or backward through the engagement grooves 425, the cleaning member 432 can be moved. It can be attached to and detached from the main body part 431.
As described above, the partition wall 430 rotates from the position protruding to the side of the main body part 431 as shown in FIG. Then, the partition wall 430 passes through the slit 438 in the central member 437. The central member 437 is made of soft but somewhat stiff rubber or resin, and the width of the slit 438 is narrower than the thickness of the partition wall 430, so that when the partition wall 430 passes through the slit 438, The slits 438 of the central member 437 wipe both sides of the partition wall 430. Therefore, when the partition wall 430 is accommodated in the main body portion 431, the partition wall 430 is cleaned.
Furthermore, as described above, in this embodiment, the cleaning member 432 can be removed from the main body 431 by sliding it relative to the main body 431, so the cleaning member 432 can be removed and cleaned by washing with water or the like. .

(20) Temporary medicine container storage section Next, a modification of the temporary medicine container storage section 11 provided in the door section 9 will be described.
FIG. 51 shows a temporary medicine container storage section 250 according to another embodiment. Similar to the previous embodiment, the drug container temporary storage section 250 is attached to the door section 9 and moves together with the door section 9.
The drug container temporary storage section 250 is composed of a mounting table 251, an engagement lever 252, and a holding member 253 (fence member). The holding member 253 has a fence shape and holds the medicine container 2.
The mounting table 251 includes a backrest portion 255 that is placed in an upright position or a slightly inclined position, and a pedestal portion 256 that is placed in a substantially horizontal position.
The backrest portion 255 has a rectangular, large-area installation portion 257 in the center, and rectangular side portions 258a, 258b on both sides thereof.
The side portions 258a and 258b are inclined toward the front with respect to the installation portion 257.
There is a large notch 260 in the center of the pedestal 256.

The engagement lever 252 is arranged in a notch 260 of the base portion 256. The engagement lever 252 and the holding member 253 are engaged, and when the engagement lever 252 descends, the holding member 253 rises.
The engagement lever 252 is made by bending a metal plate. The engagement lever 252 is a type of lever, and as shown in FIG. 56, has a fulcrum region 261 at the center, a container contacting portion 262 serving as a point of effort at one end, and an action portion 263 at the other end.
The fulcrum area 261 is an area where a plate material is bent into an "L" shape, and a swing shaft 265 is located at a corner of the area.

Further, one end of the fulcrum region 261 is bent to provide a container abutting portion 262. The other end of the fulcrum region 261 is bent to provide an action portion 263. A hole 264 is provided in the action portion 263 .

The holding member 253 is made by bending a wire symmetrically.
The holding member 253 has a rotating shaft portion 269 at the center, and both ends thereof are bent to form connecting portions 266a and 266b. Further, the distal ends of the connecting portions 266a, 266b are bent in a direction away from the rotating shaft portion 269 to provide side holding portions 267a, 267b. The front end sides of the side holding parts 267a and 267b are bent in a direction toward each other to provide front holding parts 268a and 268b.

A swing shaft 265 of the engagement lever 252 engages with a frame (not shown), and swings around the swing shaft 265.
The holding member 253 is located near the engagement lever 252, and the rotating shaft portion 269 is arranged parallel to the swing shaft 265 of the engagement lever 252.
The holding member 253 has a rotating shaft portion 269 held by a bearing 273 and swings around the rotating shaft portion 269 .

The engagement lever 252 and the holding member 253 are engaged with each other via a spring 270 and a connecting fitting 271.
The connecting fitting 271 is integrally attached to the rotating shaft portion 269 of the holding member 253. A hole 275 is provided in the connection fitting 271 .
The spring 270 is a torsion coil spring, and has a coil portion 274 in the center and engaging portions at both ends.
In the spring 270, a coil portion 274 is attached to the holding member 253 around a rotating shaft portion 269. One engaging portion of the spring 270 is engaged with the hole 264 of the acting portion 263 of the engaging lever 252. Further, the other engaging portion of the spring 270 is engaged with a hole 275 of a connecting fitting 271 attached to the holding member 253.
Therefore, when the container abutting portion 262 of the engagement lever 252 is pushed down, the engagement lever 252 rotates clockwise with reference to FIG. 56, causing the spring 270 to rotate counterclockwise. Then, the holding member 253 that engages with the spring 270 rotates counterclockwise, raising the side holding parts 267a, 267b and the front holding parts 268a, 268b.
Note that the container contacting portion 262 of the engagement lever 252 always projects upward from the notch 260 of the pedestal portion 256 of the mounting table 251.

When attaching the drug container 2 to the drug container temporary storage section 250, the drug container 2 is placed on the mounting table 251 using a human hand or the hand section 707 of the robot 702.
As described above, the container abutting portion 262 of the engagement lever 252 protrudes upward from the notch 260 of the mounting table 251, so when the drug container 2 is placed on the mounting table 251, the container abutting portion 262 swings. The side holding parts 267a, 267b and the front holding parts 268a, 268b rise instead. The side holding parts 267a and 267b hold the side surfaces of the drug container 2, and the front holding parts 268a and 268b hold the side of the drug container 2 on the transport iron plate part 157 side. Further, the side of the fixing iron plate section 6 of the medicine container 2 is held by the backrest section 255 of the mounting table 251.
Therefore, the drug container 2 is held on five sides by the base portion 256 and the backrest portion 255 of the mounting table 251, the side holding portions 267a, 267b, and the front side holding portions 268a, 268b of the holding member 253, and does not fall off.

(21) Cleaning of drug containers (scraping member)
The embodiment shown in FIG. 51 is based on the state in which the door section 9 is closed, and a scraping member 280 (cleaning section) is provided at a position directly above the drug container temporary storage section 250. The scraping member 280 is provided not on the door portion 9 but on the main body side of the drug dispensing device 1.
The scraping member 280 has a recess 281 (container contact portion) whose cross-sectional shape follows the shape of the container body 5. Further, a suction port 282 is opened inside the recess 281 (container contact portion), and the suction port 282 is connected to a suction device (not shown).

52 is an exploded perspective view of the scraping member 280, and FIG. 53 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the scraping member 280.
The scraping member 280 is composed of a main body portion 283 and a wiping member 234, as shown in FIG.
The main body portion 283 is made of hard resin, and is provided with the recess 281a as described above.

The wiping member 234 is made of soft resin or rubber such as silicone rubber, and is provided with a recess 281b like the main body 283.
The wiping member 234 is attached to the lower part of the main body part 283 with a slight gap between them. Further, the tip of the recess 281b of the wiping member 234 is located at a position that protrudes slightly in front of the tip of the recess 281a of the main body 283, as shown in FIG.
Further, as described above, there is a small gap between the wiping member 234 and the main body portion 283, and this gap serves as the suction port 282.

The scraping member 280 is a member provided for cleaning the side surface of the medicine container 2. In the embodiment described above, the drug is supplied directly from the drug container 2 to the dispensing dish 201 . Therefore, after the medicine is supplied, the medicine may adhere to the side surface of the medicine container 2 due to static electricity or the like. In particular, the medicine may stick to the vicinity of the medicine discharge part 8 of the medicine container 2.
Then, the side surface of the drug container 2 is pressed against the recess 281 (container contact portion) of the scraping member 280, and the drug container 2 is slid downward or upward.
At the same time, a suction device (not shown) is activated.
Here, in this embodiment, there is a hard and highly rigid main body part 283, and a slightly soft wiping member 234 is provided below it. Further, the wiping member 234 protrudes beyond the main body portion 283. Therefore, when the drug container 2 is slid downward or upward, the side surface of the drug container 2 near the drug discharge portion 8 is wiped by the wiping member 234, and the stuck drug is removed. In this way, the medicine adhering to the side surface of the medicine container 2 is wiped off and sucked into the suction device through the suction port 282. Therefore, even if drug residue remains on the side surface of the drug container 2, it is cleaned by the scraping member 280.

As described above, the drug container 2 is attached to the temporary drug container storage section 250 using a human hand or the hand section 707 of the robot 702. When attaching to the temporary drug container storage section 250, it is desirable to wipe the side surface of the drug container 2 with the scraping member 280 before attaching it to the temporary drug container storage section 250. That is, the drug container 2 held by the hand portion 707 is pressed against the container contact portion 281, and the drug adhering to the side surface of the drug container 2 is scraped off.
Furthermore, when the used drug container 2 is returned to the container installation section 103 of the drum member 102 by the robot 702, it is desirable to wipe the side surface of the drug container 2 with the scraping member 280 before attaching it to the drug container temporary storage section 250.

(22) Hopper Cleaning In the above-described hopper cleaning operation, it is recommended to introduce a cleaning agent into the powder injection hopper 413. The cleaning agent is a stripping agent, a powder other than the prescribed medicine, and a powder for cleaning the inside of the hopper. Furthermore, cleaning agents are selected that are harmless even if they are ingested by humans, regardless of whether they have medicinal properties or not.
The cleaning agent is a powder or particles that are harmless to the human body, such as baking soda powder, lactose, and starch.
FIG. 60 is a conceptual diagram of an embodiment provided with a function of throwing cleaning agent into the powder medicine feeding hopper 413 during a cleaning operation.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 60, a cleaning agent input device 423 is provided near the introduction side opening of the powder medicine input hopper 413. Further, an opening/closing plate 416 is provided at the discharge side opening (medicine outlet) at the end of the powder medicine input hopper 413, and an air nozzle 422 is provided near the outside of the opening/closing plate 416.

The powder medicine input hopper 413 has a shape as shown in FIG. 65, for example, and has a discharge side opening (medicine discharge port) 1000 at the bottom and an introduction side opening 1001 at the top. Further, an opening/closing plate 416 is provided at the discharge side opening 1000.
A suction opening 1002 is opened on the side surface of the powder medicine input hopper 413. The suction opening 1002 is located at least above the discharge side opening 1000 and at a height closer to the introduction side opening 1001 than the discharge side opening 1000. An extension of the central axis XX of the suction opening 1002 in the planar direction passes near the central axis ZZ of the powder injection hopper 413. That is, the suction opening 1002 is provided at the center of the side surface of the powder medicine input hopper 413 in plan view.
The shape of the suction opening 1002 is flat, and the width is wider than the length. A pipe member 1010 such as a pipe or a hose is connected to the suction opening 1002 , and the end of the pipe member 1010 is connected to a suction device 415 . That is, the pipe member 1010 constitutes a part of the suction path from the suction opening 1002 to the suction device 415.

In this embodiment, the tube member 1010 has a bent portion 1012. That is, in this embodiment, the position of the suction path closest to the suction opening 1002 is largely curved. That is, when the tube member 1010 is viewed from above, the curved portion 1012 is visible.
Further, the suction opening 1002 is flat. Therefore, the flow velocity of air near the suction opening 1002 differs between the side near the outside of the curve and the side near the inside.

The hopper cleaning operation performed by charging the cleaning agent is performed in the following steps.
As a first step, a cleaning agent is charged into the powder medicine input hopper 413. At this time, the opening/closing plate 416 at the end of the powder injection hopper 413 is kept closed.
Then, the input opening of the powder medicine input hopper 413 is closed by the hopper closing member 400. In this state, the suction member is operated. As a result, a strong air flow is generated within the powder medicine input hopper 413, and the cleaning agent swirls violently and collides with the inner wall of the powder medicine input hopper 413.
Here, since the opening/closing plate 416 at the end of the powder medicine input hopper 413 is closed, the amount of air supplied into the powder medicine input hopper 413 is limited. Therefore, although the cleaning agent swirls within the powder medicine input hopper 413, the amount of air suctioned by the suction member is small. Therefore, the cleaning agent is simply stirred within the powder medicine input hopper 413, and the amount sucked out by the suction member is small.
Therefore, the cleaning agent remains in the powder medicine input hopper 413 and collides with the inner wall of the powder medicine input hopper 413 for a long time. Also, like a cyclone vacuum cleaner, the centrifugal force of the cleaning agent acts and it hits the inner surface of the powder injection hopper 413, so the impact of the collision is large. Therefore, the medicine adhering to the inner wall of the powder medicine input hopper 413 is peeled off.

Then, the opening/closing plate 416 at the end of the powder medicine input hopper 413 is opened. More preferably, the opening/closing plate 416 is opened and closed repeatedly.
As a result, outside air is introduced from the end of the powder medicine input hopper 413 into the powder medicine input hopper 413, which tends to have a negative pressure, and an even stronger air flow is generated inside the powder medicine input hopper 413, causing the cleaning agent to swirl violently and introduce the powder. The drug colliding with the inner wall of the hopper 413 and adhering to the inner wall of the powder medicine input hopper 413 is stripped off.

In particular, in this embodiment, the suction opening 1002 is flat and is a suction path, and the position immediately adjacent to the suction opening 1002 is greatly curved. There are differences between the side closer to and the side closer to the inside.
In this embodiment, the air flow velocity is high near the inner wall 1003, and the air flow velocity is slow near the opposing inner wall 1006.
Therefore, a strong swirling flow is generated in the powder medicine input hopper 413. Air is also introduced from a discharge side opening 1000 provided at the bottom of the powder medicine input hopper 413. Therefore, the air flow travels from the lower side to the upper side while swirling along the inner wall of the powder medicine input hopper 413. Therefore, the introduced cleaning agent acts as if scraping the inner wall of the powder medicine input hopper 41 to strip off the medicine, which is rolled up together with the cleaning agent and discharged by the suction member.
In this embodiment, since the suction opening 1002 is provided near the upper end of the powder medicine input hopper 413, substantially all of the inner wall of the powder medicine input hopper 41 is cleaned.

The peeled medicine is sucked out by the suction member together with the cleaning agent, and is discharged to the outside of the powder medicine input hopper 413.
When opening and closing the opening/closing plate 416 repeatedly, stirring of the cleaning agent while the cleaning agent is stopped in the powder supply hopper 413 and stirring of the cleaning agent while introducing air and discharging a part of the cleaning agent are repeated. It will be.

Further, the medicine adhering to the outer surface of the opening/closing plate 416 itself is removed by blowing air from an air nozzle 422 provided near the opening/closing plate 416.
That is, according to the experience of the present inventors, medicines may adhere to the opening/closing plate 416 provided at the discharge side opening 1000 of the powder medicine input hopper 413. Here, the inside of the opening/closing plate 416 (inner side of the powder input hopper 413) can be cleaned by using the impact caused by stirring the cleaning agent described above, but the outer surface of the opening/closing plate 416 itself can be cleaned by the impact of the cleaning agent. I can't do it.
Therefore, in this embodiment, air is blown directly toward the outside of the opening/closing plate 416 from an air nozzle 422 provided near the opening/closing plate 416 to remove the drug attached to the outside of the opening/closing plate 416.

Note that since the opening/closing plate 416 is normally provided at a deep position in the device, it is difficult to apply the air jet when the opening/closing plate 416 closes the discharge side opening 1000. Therefore, in this embodiment, an air nozzle 422 is provided at a position where the air injected when the opening/closing plate 416 is in the open position hits.
Further, since there is a packet of paper near the opening/closing plate 416, the drug released by air is collected in the package.
To summarize the series of operations, a cleaning agent is put into the powder medicine input hopper 413 and suction is started, and in the second half of the suction, the opening/closing plate 416 starts to be opened/closed, and at that time, the air nozzle 422 releases the cleaning agent from the opening/closing plate 416. Blow air directly to the outside. Stop suction and air after 5 to 10 seconds.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 60, the cleaning agent input device 423 is provided near the introduction side opening of the powder medicine input hopper 413, but the cleaning agent may be input into the powder medicine input hopper 413 using the medicine container 2. . That is, in the previous embodiment, the cleaning agent injection device 423 was provided as a cleaning agent injection means for introducing the cleaning agent, but the chemical container 2 may be utilized as the cleaning agent injection means.
For example, a specific medicine container 2 is filled with a cleaning agent such as baking soda and stored in the container storage device 101 in the same manner as other medicine containers 2.
Then, the cleaning agent in the medicine container 2 is thrown into the powder medicine introduction hopper 413 by an operation similar to the action of taking out the powder from the medicine container 2 and putting it into the powder medicine introduction hopper 413.

Specifically, when a medicine that requires cleaning is packaged, or when a residual medicine sensor or the like detects that there is dirt in the powder medicine input hopper 413, the cleaning agent is filled automatically or manually. Select drug container 2.
Then, the robot 702 holds the drug container 2 with the hand portion 707, moves the drug container 2, and places the drug container 2 filled with the cleaning agent on the container mounting device 3.
Thereafter, the vibration isolating table 23 of the container mounting device 3 is operated to charge the powder from the drug container 2 into the distribution tray 201 of the powder dispensing device 202. Then, the cleaning agent is discharged from the distribution plate 201 by the scraping device 930 and placed into the powder input hopper 413.
Note that this series of operations is executed at a speed faster than the operation speed during normal drug packaging.

In addition, when performing normal drug packaging, the opening/closing plate 416 is closed when putting the medicine from the medicine container 2 into the powder medicine input hopper 413, but when the cleaning agent is put into the powder medicine input hopper 413, the opening/closing plate 416 is closed.

(23) Remaining medicine detection sensor Next, the remaining medicine detection sensor 372 that targets the distribution tray 201 will be supplementarily explained. The remaining drug detection sensor 372 (hereinafter simply referred to as the remaining drug detection sensor 372) that targets the distribution tray 201 is an optical sensor that has a light emitting section and a light receiving section integrated.
The light emitting part of the remaining medicine detection sensor 372 emits a beam having a width corresponding to the width of the medicine input groove 208 of the distribution tray 201, as shown in FIG. The light emitting part of the remaining medicine detection sensor 372 is fixed, and the area irradiated with the beam is limited to a certain area.
If there is no dirt or residual medicine at the beam irradiation position, the light emitted from the light projecting section is regularly reflected on the surface of the drug injection groove 208 and does not return to the light receiving section.
On the other hand, if there is dirt or residual medicine at the beam irradiation position, the light emitted from the light projecting section hits the residual medicine and is diffusely reflected, and a portion of the light enters the light receiving section of the residual medicine detection sensor 372.
Therefore, it is possible to detect whether there is dirt or residual medicine in the irradiation part.

The residual medicine detection work is performed by irradiating light from the light projection part of the residual medicine detection sensor 372 (hereinafter simply referred to as the residual medicine detection sensor 372) while rotating the distribution plate 201.
Specifically, after the surface of the distribution plate 201 is cleaned by the cleaning device 500, the remaining medicine detection work is performed.
As described above, cleaning of the distribution plate 201 is performed by rotating the distribution plate 201 one or more revolutions while rotating the cleaning brush 502. Thereafter, the rotation of the cleaning brush 502 is stopped, and the distribution plate 201 is further rotated one or more revolutions. At that time, light is irradiated from the light emitting part of the residual medicine detection sensor 372 to check whether there is dirt or residual medicine.
If the light receiving unit detects the light and it is determined that there is a residual medicine or the like on the distribution tray 201, the cleaning brush 502 is rotated again to clean the distribution tray 201 again. If there is no medicine remaining in the distribution tray 201, the cleaning arm 501 is rotated to raise the cleaning brush 502 provided at the tip, and the cleaning brush 502 is taken out from the medicine input groove 208 of the distribution tray 201.

If the residual medicine detection sensor 372 detects dirt or residual medicine even though the surface of the distribution tray 201 has been cleaned, a configuration may be adopted in which the user is notified by sound or video. The user can take this notification as an opportunity to visually check the condition of the dispensing tray 201 and determine whether the cause of the notification is dirt, foreign matter, or drug residue.

If there is any drug residue, the cleaning brush 502 performs cleaning again, and then the remaining drug detection sensor 372 detects the remaining drug. Even if this operation is performed a plurality of times (for example, three times), if a residue is found on the distribution tray 201, an audible or visual alarm is issued. The alarm has a release mode and a skip mode. The release mode is a mode in which the issued alarm is stopped and cleaning is performed again using the cleaning brush 502. The skip mode is a mode in which an alarm is issued, but cleaning with the cleaning brush 502 is not performed, and the user checks whether there is any remaining medicine and cleans it manually if necessary.

(24) Scraping section cleaning In the scraping section cleaning operation described above, it is desirable to change the relative position of the cleaning brush 502 and the scraping mechanism 606 during the operation.
A cleaning brush 521, which is a modification of the cleaning brush 502, will be described below.
The cleaning brush 521 employed in this embodiment is used instead of the cleaning brush 502 in the cleaning device 500 shown in FIGS. 35 and 36. The cleaning brush 521 has a hub member 522 provided with two grooves 525 and 526 (FIG. 72) in the same way as the cleaning brush 502 described above, and the circumferential surface of the hub member 522 is flocked with bristles. .
The cleaning brush 521 of this embodiment has a structure in which three disk-shaped brushes 526a, 526b, and 526c are connected.

The disc-shaped brushes 526a and 526c on the side surfaces are flocked. The bristle bundles 523a and 523b (centrally inclined bristle group) implanted on the disc-shaped brushes 526a and 526c are both inclined toward the center. As shown in FIG. 71, the hair bundles 523 (flocked rows) implanted on the disc-shaped brushes 526a and 526c include a long hair bundle 523a and a short hair bundle 523b.

The central disc-shaped brush 526b has two rows of bristles. The hair bundles 524 implanted in each row include a hair bundle 524a with long hair and sloped toward the side (one end direction slope hair group), and a hair bundle 524b with short hair and slope toward the side (other end There is a hair bundle 524c which has long hair and is straightly implanted.

As shown in FIG. 22, the scraping mechanism 606 is a member having a scraping plate 609, a scraping plate 607, and a partition plate 603. The scraping board 609, the scraping board 607, and the partition plate 603 are integrally constructed. A circumferential sealing material 683 made of rubber or resin is provided around the scraper plate 609 so as to be in close contact with the drug input groove 208 of the distribution plate 201. Further, a scraping sealing material 685 made of rubber or resin is provided on the edge of the scraping plate 607 so as to be in close contact with the drug input groove 208 .

In the scraping section cleaning operation, the cleaning brush 521 is pressed against the side surfaces of the scraping plate 609, the scraping plate 607, and the partition plate 603, the circumferential seal material 683, and the scraping seal material 685 to clean them. Therefore, in principle, the scraping plate 609 of the scraping mechanism 606 and the partition plate 603 are deeply inserted into the grooves 525 and 526 of the cleaning brush 521, as shown in FIGS. 72(a) and 72(b).
However, when the scraping plate 607 rotates and the cleaning brush 521 cleans the scraping plate 607 and the partition plate 603, the cleaning brush 521 hits the scraping plate 607 and the scraping seal material 685 too strongly. There is a fear that the scraping sealing material 685 and the like may be damaged. Therefore, when the scraping plate 607 rotates and the cleaning brush 521 cleans the scraping plate 607 and the partition plate 603, the cleaning arm 501 is swung to perform the cleaning as shown in FIG. 72(c). It is desirable to move the brush 521 (hub member 522) in a direction away from the scraping mechanism 606.

An ideal operation would be to first deeply insert the scraping plate 609 of the scraping mechanism 606 and the partition plate 603 into the grooves 525, 526 of the cleaning brush 521, and then rotate the cleaning brush 521 while rotating the scraping plate 609. When the scraping plate 607 rotates and approaches the cleaning brush 521 (hub member 522), the cleaning brush 521 is slightly released. Then, when the cleaning brush 521 passes the scraping plate 607, the cleaning brush 521 is brought closer to the scraping mechanism 606 again and the cleaning brush 521 is deeply inserted into the scraping mechanism 606.
After the scraping plate 609 has rotated once or several times, the cleaning brush 521 is slightly released. In this state, the scraping plate 609 is rotated while the cleaning brush 521 is being rotated, and the circumferential portion sealing material 683 and the scraping sealing material 685 are cleaned primarily.

(25) Surveillance Camera Next, the surveillance camera 540 that monitors whether powder medicine is being discharged from the medicine container 2 will be described. One monitoring camera 540 is installed next to each of the remaining drug detection sensors 372 described above. The surveillance camera 540 is equipped with a rotating device (not shown), and can change the location to be photographed.
The surveillance camera 540 is set to particularly photograph the vicinity of each container mounting device 3. More specifically, in a state where the drug container 2 is placed on each container mounting device 3, the vicinity of the drug discharge portion 8 of the drug container 2 and the distribution plate 201 are photographed.
The video captured by the surveillance camera 540 can be viewed in real time on an externally installed computer or the like. Further, the video captured by the surveillance camera 540 is recorded on a recording medium (not shown), and can be checked later.
The medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment is entirely covered with the housing 7 as described above, and the medicine is distributed in a closed space. is provided. Therefore, the user can check how the powder is falling and how it is being distributed to the distribution tray 201 by looking at an externally installed computer or the like.
Further, the user can adjust the vibration strength of the vibration isolation table 23 and the rotation speed of the distribution plate 201 by observing the falling state of the powder medicine.
As described above, since the video taken by the surveillance camera 540 is recorded on a recording medium (not shown), if a problem occurs, it can be used to find the cause of the problem.

(26) Information Recording Member As described above, an RFID chip is attached to the drug container 2 as the information recording member 15.
The information recording member 15 records the name of the drug and the remaining amount of the drug in the drug container 2.
In this embodiment, when the drug dispensing device 1 is started, the container storage device 101 reads the types and remaining amounts of drugs contained in all the drug containers 2 mounted on the drum member 102 from the information recording member 15. output and recorded in the control device. That is, the drum member 102 is rotated, and the information on the information recording member 15 is read by the information reading device 335. Also, which drug container 2 is housed in which position on the drum member 102 is confirmed and recorded.

Further, in this embodiment, an information reading/writing device 27 is provided near the container mounting device 3. Then, when the drug container 2 is taken out from the container storage device 101 and placed on the container placement device 3 in order to package the drug, it is confirmed whether the drug is the target drug.

Further, when the dispensing work is completed, the remaining amount of the drug in the drug container 2 recorded on the information recording member 15 is rewritten by the information reading/writing device 27 near the container mounting device 3.

Furthermore, before the packaging is completed and the drug container 2 is returned to the container storage device 101, the drug container 2 is placed in the drug container temporary storage section 11, and the weight of the drug container 2 is measured again. In this way, in the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, the weight of the medicine is double confirmed.

After returning the drug container 2 from the drug container temporary storage unit 11 to the container storage device 101, the drum member 102 is rotated to bring the returned drug container 2 closer to the information reading device 335, and the drug container 2 returned to the container storage device 101 is returned to the container storage device 101. It is confirmed that the container 2 is the original drug container 2.

Further, when storing the medicine container 2 in the medicine dispensing device 1 from the outside, information on the medicine stored in the medicine container 2 is inputted into an input device (not shown). Then, the drug container 2 is placed in the drug container temporary storage section 11, and the weight of the drug container 2 is measured by operating a predetermined switch, and the weight is written in the information recording member 15. Further, drug information is read from the information recording member 15, and it is confirmed that the drug is the drug input by the user into the input device.

The same applies when there is a shortage of medicine in the medicine container 2, the medicine container 2 is replenished with medicine, and the medicine container 2 is stored in the medicine dispensing device 1.
Note that if there is a shortage of medicine in the medicine container 2, the medicine container 2 is moved from the container placement device 3 or the container storage device 101 to the medicine container temporary storage section 11 of the door section 9. Then, the door 9 automatically opens, allowing the user to take out the drug container 2.

When packaging medicines (emergency medicines) that are not normally stored in the container storage device 101, the medicine containers 2 containing the medicines are placed in the medicine dispensing device 1 according to the procedure described above. Information on the medicine (emergency medicine) is read from the information recording member 15, and it is confirmed that the medicine is the medicine input by the user into the input device.
In addition, when using emergency medicine, the medicine container 2 is directly transported to the container placement device 3 and dispensing is started.
The medicine container 2 filled with the emergency medicine is moved to the medicine container temporary storage section 11 immediately after dispensing is completed. Then, the door 9 automatically opens, allowing the user to take out the drug container 2.

The large sliding door 105 of the divided area housing 200a does not need to be opened during normal work, but when the door 105 is opened in the event of some kind of trouble, it creates an environment where the drug containers 2 of the container storage device 101 can be inserted and removed freely. Become. Therefore, in order to confirm that the drug container 2 has not been replaced and to confirm the position of the drug container 2 again just in case, when the door 105 is closed, the drum member is The types and remaining amounts of drugs contained in all drug containers mounted on the device 102 are read from the information recording member 15 and recorded in the control device. That is, the drum member 102 is rotated, and the information on the information recording member 15 is read by the information reading device 335. Also, the position of the drug container 2 housed in the drum member 102 is confirmed and recorded.

Instead of the medicine container temporary storage parts 11 and 250 shown in FIGS. 47, 48, and 51, a box-shaped medicine container temporary storage part 111 shown in FIG. 73 may be employed. The drug container temporary storage section 111 has an installation section 257 similar to the drug container temporary storage section 250 in FIG. 51 . In the drug container temporary storage section 111 , the drug container 2 is installed on the installation section 257 and placed on the mounting table 113 , and the lower side surface of the drug container 2 is held by the guide section 112 . This stabilizes the holding of the drug container 2. In addition, although the drug container temporary storage section 111 shown in FIG. 73 does not hold the front surface of the drug container 2, the left and right guide sections 112 may be connected to each other or the front surface may be completely closed to prevent the drug container 2 from falling forward. A mechanism for preventing this may be separately provided.

1 Drug dispensing device 2 Drug container 3 Container placement device 7 Housing 8 Drug discharge section 9 Door section 11 Container temporary storage section 15 Information recording member 16 Information reading means 19 Weight measurement means 20 Vibration table 21 Vibration means 25 Weight measurement means 30 Self-holding solenoid 50 Medicine feeder 100 Medicine shelf area 101 Container storage device 102 Drum member 103 Container installation part 200 Medicine division area 201 Distribution plate 202 Medicine distribution device 208 Medicine input groove 300 Medicine packaging area 321 Side support member 322 Attachment detection member 325 Upper engaging part 326 Lower engaging part 330 Protrusion detection sensor 333 Protrusion member detection sensor 335 Information reading device 410 Drug packaging device 930 Scraping device

Claims (3)

A drug dispensing device that includes a drug feeder that discharges powdered medicine contained in a drug container, and automatically performs a packaging operation of packaging each dose of the powdered medicine discharged from the drug container placed on the drug feeder. In,
The drug feeder has a vibration table that vibrates the drug container,
The drug container has a lid member and is removable from the vibration table,
With the lid member open, the medicine container is vibrated by the vibration table to discharge the powder from the medicine container, and the amount of powder discharged from the medicine container is monitored;
The discharged amount of the powder medicine is determined by a change in the weight of the medicine container,
When the change in the weight of the discharge amount per unit time is less than a certain value, increase the amplitude of the vibration table, and even if the amplitude of the vibration table is increased, the change in the weight of the drug container per unit time does not change. The medicine dispensing device includes an operation of stopping the vibration of the vibration table when the vibration is less than a certain value. The drug container is a closed container,
The drug dispensing device according to claim 1, further comprising an operation of automatically stopping vibration of the vibration table when a change in weight of the discharged amount per unit time is less than a certain value.. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an operation of displaying, on a display device, a display informing a user that an abnormality has occurred when a change in the weight of the discharged amount per unit time is less than a certain value. The drug dispensing device described.

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