JPH0532202A - Powdered medicine taking-out device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically take out an optional required amount of powdered medicine from a container in which the powdered medicine is stored. CONSTITUTION:A powdered medicine container 1 is capable of adequately discharging the powdered medicine. A controller 2 regulates the discharging action of the powdered medicine container 1 corresponding to the amount of the powdered medicine to be discharged when a required amount of the powdered medicine is taken out. Thereby, the powdered medicine stored in the container 1 can be automatically discharged and taken out by the amount optionally set in the controller 2 without a need of manual work of a pharmaceutist at all, and in addition, both discharging speed and accuracy are attained as the controller 2 regulates the discharging action.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a powder medicine take-out device adapted to take out a necessary amount of powder medicine from a container containing the powder medicine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, there are many kinds of powders handled in hospital pharmacies, etc., but these powders are separately stored in relatively large amounts in storage containers called device bottles for each type. Besides, they are arranged side by side on the shelf of the dispensation table. When dispensing any type of powder contained in such a device bottle to administer to a patient based on a doctor's prescription, first remove the powder from the device bottle in the required amount as indicated on the prescription. I have to. That is, generally, the type of powder prescribed in the prescription is taken out from the device bottle by the amount of one prescription indicated in the prescription, then divided into doses for one dose, and then, BACKGROUND ART It is practiced that a single dose is packaged into one package and the package is administered to a patient. As described above, the dispensation work of powdered medicines is generally roughly divided into the work of taking out one prescription medicine from the device bottle, the work of dividing the prescription medicine into one dose, and the work of packaging each dose. Among them, regarding the dividing work and the packing work, various dividing devices and packing devices have been developed and partially put into practical use according to the demand for automation.

[0003]

However, since the device bottle does not originally have a function to take out a fixed amount of powdered medicine, it is impossible to automatically take out the powdered medicine from the device bottle. Even if the amount to be taken out is, for example, one prescription, it varies depending on the prescription. Therefore, instead of the device bottle, prepare an appropriate container having a function of taking out a certain amount of the contents, and add a powdered medicine to it. Even if they are stored, it is impossible to automatically take out any desired amount of powdered medicine from the container. Therefore, conventionally, at least of the powdered medicine dispensing work, at least the powdered medicine taking-out work from the device bottle is performed by the pharmacist. Has to be done manually, which is not only a great burden on the pharmacist, but also in order to automate the dispensing work of the powdered medicine. Is a Joteki inhibitory factor, was a very serious problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to provide a powder medicine extracting device which can automatically take out a desired amount of powder medicine from a container containing the powder medicine. It is a thing.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a powdered medicine container capable of appropriately discharging powdered medicine, and a discharge amount of the powdered medicine when the necessary amount of powdered medicine is discharged from the powdered medicine container. And a control device for adjusting the discharging operation of the powder medicine container.

[0006]

According to the present invention, by adopting the above-mentioned means, the powder medicine stored in the powder medicine container is automatically discharged by a pharmacist without any manual work, and only by a required amount arbitrarily set in the control device. Then, the control device adjusts the discharging operation, so that both the discharging speed and the accuracy can be achieved.

[0007]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a powder medicine extracting device according to the present invention. This powder medicine extracting device includes a powder medicine container 1 in which powder medicine can be appropriately discharged and a powder medicine container. When a required amount of the powdered medicine is discharged from 1, the control device 2 adjusts the discharge operation of the powdered medicine container 1 according to the discharged amount of the powdered medicine. The powder container 1
A stock part 3 having an internal volume capable of stocking a sufficiently large amount of powder of any kind, a discharging part 5 for discharging the stocked powder little by little, and a stock part for continuously discharging the powdered drug from the discharging part 5. 3 and a supply unit 4 for supplying powdered medicine to the discharge unit 5. On the other hand, the control device 2 causes the discharging portion 5 to move along with the discharging operation of the powder medicine container 1.
Weighing unit 6 for weighing the powdered medicine discharged from the device, setting unit 8 for arbitrarily setting the required amount of the powdered medicine to be discharged, and the discharge operation before and after the discharge operation is adjusted according to the discharge amount of the powdered medicine. Operating level (ie emissions per unit time)
And an adjusting unit 9 for instructing the amount of discharge (that is, the timing at which the discharge operation level should be switched) to be performed,
The weighing value of the weighing unit 6 and the setting value of the setting unit 8 are compared, and when the weighing value, that is, the discharge amount of the powdered medicine reaches the set value, that is, the required amount of the powdered medicine, the discharging operation of the powdered medicine container 1 is terminated. The control unit 7 is configured to perform the discharging operation of the powder medicine container 1 according to the discharging operation level instructed by the adjusting unit 9 during the discharging operation period of the powder medicine container 1. .. FIG. 2 shows a schematic structure of an embodiment of the powder medicine container 1, wherein the stock portion 3, the supply portion 4 and the discharge portion 5 each have a void having a required inner volume and shape. Moreover, the vacant space of the stock part 3 and the vacant space of the supply part 4 communicate at least partially, and the vacant space of the supply part 4 and the vacant space of the discharge part 5 communicate at least partly. However, the internal volume, shape, communication location, and form of these voids can be designed in various ways, and thus are not specifically illustrated. For example, as an example, the supply unit 4 is disposed below the stock unit 3, and the discharge unit 5 is disposed further below the supply unit 4 so that the stock unit 3
The lower end of the empty space of the supply part 4 communicates with the upper end of the empty space of the supply part 4, and the lower end of the empty space of the supply part 4 communicates with the upper end of the empty space of the discharge part 5. As a result, the powdered medicine in the empty space of the stock portion 3 enters the empty space of the supply portion 4 as long as it smoothly drops, and if it drops even more smoothly from there, it passes through the empty space of the supply portion 4 and is discharged. It is possible to design it so as to fit within the void of 5. Appropriate discharging members 11a and 11b are provided in parallel in the empty space of the discharging portion 5, and the discharging ports formed at appropriate positions in the empty space are
An appropriate shutter 12 is provided. Discharge member 11
Each of a and 11b can be constituted by, for example, a screw formed by a spiral collar protruding around the spindle, and in this case, the cavity is formed into two separated or joined cylindrical shapes. It is preferable to dispose screw-shaped discharge members 11a and 11b in the respective cylinders, and it is preferable to form discharge ports at the tips of the both cylinders and to dispose a common shutter 12 therein. .. Then, for the discharge members 11a and 11b, an appropriate motor 13a that rotates the discharge members 11a and 11b to move the powdered medicine in the cavity toward the discharge port,
13b are connected to each other, and the shutter 12 is connected with an appropriate operating member 14 that opens and closes the shutter 12 and accordingly opens and closes the discharge port of the empty space. Therefore, when the discharge members 11a and 11b are rotated by the motors 13a and 13b and the shutter 12 is opened by the operating member 14, the powdered medicine in the empty space of the discharge portion 5 moves toward the discharge port and is discharged from the discharge port. On the other hand, when the discharge members 11a and 11b are stopped from rotating and the shutter 12 is closed, the movement and discharge of the powdered medicine in the discharge unit 5 are stopped. Further, the discharge amounts of the powdered medicine by the discharge members 11a and 11b are configured to be different from each other.
That is, the discharge amount of the powdered medicine by the discharge member 11a is larger than the discharge amount of the powdered medicine by the discharge member 11b, and conversely, the discharge amount of the powdered medicine by the discharge member 11b is calculated by the discharge member 11a. It should be lower than the discharge amount of powdered medicine per unit time. For example, whether the diameter of the discharge member 11a is larger than the diameter of the discharge member 11b or the screw pitch of the discharge member 11a is longer than the screw pitch of the discharge member 11b. Alternatively, by combining the both, the discharge members 11a, 11
b can also be achieved when they rotate at the same speed, and can also be achieved by making the rotation speed of the discharge member 11a by the motor 13a faster than the rotation speed of the discharge member 11b by the motor 13b. You can The discharge members 11a and 11b having different discharge amounts of powdered medicine from each other in this manner are combined with the control unit 7 and the adjustment unit 9 of the control device 2 in the following manner. That is, for example, from the beginning of the discharge operation period of the powder medicine container 1 to a little before the end of the discharge operation period, the discharge members 11a and 11b are rotated together, whereby a relatively large amount of powder is discharged per unit time, At a point slightly before the end of the discharging operation period, the discharging member 11b is rotated as it is, but the rotation of the discharging member 11a is stopped so that only a very small amount of the powdered medicine is discharged per unit time of the motor 13a. The timing of switching from drive to stop is instructed by the adjusting unit 9, and the control unit 7 controls the motors 13a and 13b in accordance with this instruction. By doing so, for example, during the discharge operation period of the powder medicine container 1,
By rotating the discharge members 11a and 11b together, a relatively large amount of powdered medicine is discharged per unit time, whereby the necessary amount of powdered medicine to be discharged is discharged in a relatively short time, but due to the large amount discharge. It is possible to avoid the disadvantage that a large quantity error is generated at the end of the discharging operation period, and for example, only the discharging member 11b is rotated during the discharging operation period of the powder medicine container 1,
Only a small amount of powder is discharged per unit time, so that due to the small amount discharge, there is substantially no volume error at the end of the discharge operation period, but until the required amount of powder to be discharged has been discharged. It is designed to avoid the disadvantage that it takes a considerable amount of time. In addition, an appropriate stirring member 15 is provided in the empty space of the supply unit 4.
Is provided. The stirring member 15 can be configured by, for example, a scraper formed by a plurality of arm members protruding around the spindle as a center, and
An appropriate motor 16 adapted to rotate the stirring member 15 is connected to the stirring member 15. Therefore, if the stirring member 15 is rotated by the motor 16, the supply unit 4
While being agitated, the powdered medicine in the empty space is smoothly supplied into the empty space of the discharge section 5, and the powdered medicine is supplied from the stock section 3 into the empty space of the supply section 4.
Further, the powdered medicine in the empty space of the stock portion 3 gradually moves toward the empty space of the supply portion 4 in accordance with the powdered medicine discharge operation of the discharge portion 5 and the powdered medicine supply operation of the supply portion 4 accompanying it. To make this move smoothly,
It is desirable that the cross-sectional area of the vacant space of the stock portion 3 be gradually increased from the upstream side to the downstream side, or at least be approximately the same from the upstream side to the downstream side. However, it is required to make the upstream side larger than the downstream side for the purpose of stocking as much powder as possible with the limited external dimensions of the stock portion 3 and for suppressing the installation space of the powder container 1 or the like. In this case, in addition to the stirring member 15 of the supply unit 4, it is indispensable to provide the stock unit 3 itself with an appropriate stirring member 17. Such a stirring member 17
May be rotated by an independent dedicated motor, but the motor 16 for the stirring member 15 of the supply unit 4 is shared, and the motor 16 also rotates the stirring member 17 together with the stirring member 15. can do.
The stirring member 17 is installed not only when the cross-sectional area of the empty space of the stock portion 3 is larger on the upstream side than on the downstream side but also when the cross-sectional area is the same from upstream to downstream. Is also effective when it gradually increases from upstream to downstream.

Next, the operation of the powder-powder extracting device configured as described above will be described. First, powder medicine container 1
Into the stock section 3 of 1., a sufficiently large amount of powder of a predetermined type is put and stocked. Next, the agitating member 17 of the stock section 3 and the agitating member 15 of the supply section 4 are rotated by the motor 16 to supply the powdered medicine in the stock section 3 to the supply section 4 while agitating it, and at the same time, in the supply section 4. The powdered powder of No. 3 is supplied to the discharge unit 5 while being stirred, and the discharge unit 5
To fill. At this time, if necessary, the motor 13
By rotating the discharge members 11a and 11b by a desired amount by a and 13b, it is possible to reliably fill the discharge portion 5 with the powdered medicine. Of course, such a discharge part 5
The filling operation of the powdered medicine into the container can be performed according to an instruction from the control device 2, but since it is effective only for the first time, it may be omitted. When taking out the powdered medicine stored in the powdered medicine container 1 in this way, the motors 13a and 13b are driven together to rotate the discharge members 11a and 11b according to the instruction of the control device 2, and the operating member is operated. 14 is operated to open the shutter 12. Then, the discharge operation of the powdered medicine is started, and the powdered medicine in the empty space of the discharge unit 5 is rotated by the rotation of the discharge members 11a and 11b.
A large amount moves per unit time toward the discharge port and is continuously discharged from the discharge port. At this time, the discharge member 11
The rotation of the stirring member 15 smoothly supplies the powdered medicine in an amount almost commensurate with the amount discharged from the discharge unit 5 by the rotations of a and 11b, and at the same time, from the supply unit 4 to the discharge unit. As a result, the amount of powdered medicine almost commensurate with the amount supplied to No. 5 smoothly moves from the stock section 3 into the supply section 4 by the rotation of the stirring members 15 and 17, so that the discharge of the powdered medicine from the discharge section 5 is interrupted. Instead, it will be done continuously. Then, slightly before the end of the discharging operation period, the motor 13b is driven by the instruction of the control device 2 and the discharging member 11b is rotated while the motor 13b is being rotated.
a is stopped to stop the rotation of the discharge member 11a, whereby the discharge amount of the powdered medicine per unit time sharply decreases,
It is discharged in small amounts. Further, the discharge amount of the powdered medicine discharged from the discharging unit 5 (that is, the measured value by the measuring unit 6)
However, when the required amount to be discharged (that is, a set value by the setting unit 8) is reached, the motor 13 is instructed by the control device 2.
b is stopped to stop the rotation of the discharging member 11b, and the operating member 14 is operated to close the shutter 12. Then, the discharge operation of the powdered medicine ends,
The discharge of the powdered medicine from the discharger 5 is stopped, and the rotations of the stirring member 15 and the stirring member 17 by the motor 16 are also stopped, and as a result, the taking out of the powdered medicine is completed. Therefore, the required amount of powder to be discharged will be discharged in a relatively short time and with substantially no volume error. Therefore, both speed and accuracy of powder discharge can be achieved without difficulty and effectively. Will be done. Then, the required amount (for example, one prescription) of the powdered medicine discharged from the discharger 5 of the powdered medicine container 1 is then divided into doses by an appropriate dividing device and then by an appropriate packaging device. It can be packaged so that each dose is one packet.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the controller 2 is provided with a weighing section 6 and a setting section 8,
Although the discharge amount of the powdered medicine discharged from the powdered medicine container 1 is controlled by the weighing, the present invention is not limited to this, and the discharge amount of the powdered medicine discharged from the powder medicine container 1 is, for example, the discharge member 11a. , 13b for rotating 11b
Since the control can be performed according to the rotation angles of a and 13b or the driving time, it is also possible to adopt a control method that does not depend on the weighing. Further, in the above embodiment, the discharge members 11a, 11
Although b is composed of a screw formed by a spiral flange projecting around the support shaft as a center, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the discharge member 11a may have a coil shape or other suitable shape and structure. , 11b can be used. Further, in the above embodiment, the stirring member 15 is constituted by a scraper formed by a plurality of arm members protruding around the supporting shaft as a center, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an appropriate shape and structure are provided. It is possible to use a stirring member 15 consisting of Further, in the above-described embodiment, the motor 16 for the stirring member 15 of the supply unit 4 is shared as the motor for the stirring member 17 of the stock unit 3 so that the motor 16 rotates the stirring member 17 together with the stirring member 15. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a dedicated motor for the stirring member 17 of the stock portion 3 may be provided independently. In addition, in the above embodiment, the stirring member 1 of the supply unit 4 is provided separately from the motors 13a and 13b for the discharge members 11a and 11b of the discharge unit 5.
Although the motor 16 for 5 is provided, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, only the motors 13a and 13b are provided, and the discharge members 11a and 11b of the discharge unit 5 are rotated by the motors 13a and 13b. Stirring member 1 of supply unit 4
5 is also rotated, and the stirring member 1 of the stock section 3 is also rotated.
7 can also be configured to rotate, in which case
When it is necessary to selectively and independently rotate either the discharge members 11a and 11b or the stirring members 15 and 17, the motors 13a and 13b are connected via appropriate clutches.
And the discharge members 11a and 11b or the stirring members 15 and 17
And may be configured to be separably coupled. Further, for example, only one of the motors 13a and 13b is provided so that either one or both of the discharge members 11a and 11b can be selectively rotated by this motor 13 via an appropriate clutch. Is also possible. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the discharge port of the discharge unit 5 is provided with only one common shutter 12, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, discharge ports corresponding to the discharge members 11a and 11b are formed. Then, independent shutters 12a and 12b may be arranged, and in that case, independent operating members 14a and 14b may be connected to the shutters 12a and 12b, respectively. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the discharge amounts of the powdered medicine by the discharge members 11a and 11b are configured to be different from each other, but the present invention is not limited to this, and, for example, both are configured to be the same and either It is possible to change the discharge amount of the powdered drug per unit time as a whole by distinguishing whether to use only one or both at the same time, and the number of discharge members is limited to two. Alternatively, it is possible to provide three or more and use them selectively. Further, for example, the driving speed of the motor 13a or 13b can be configured to be switched in the middle of the discharging operation period of the powder medicine container 1, and by doing so, one of the discharging members 11a and 11b, that is, Even with a single discharge member, it is possible to change the discharge amount of the powdered medicine per unit time during the discharge operation period of the powdered medicine container 1. Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the required amount (for example, one prescription) of the powdered medicine discharged from the powdered medicine container 1 and taken out by the function of the control device 2 is divided into each dose by an appropriate dividing device. In addition, although it is configured such that each dose is packaged by an appropriate packaging device such that each package is one package, the package is not limited to this, and, for example, the setting unit 8 may include powders to be discharged. It is also possible to set the amount for one dose instead of the amount for one prescription, and in such a case, the required amount of powdered drug discharged will be packaged as it is without dividing it. It is possible to package as. Then, for example, among the discharging members 11a and 11b, the discharging member 11a capable of discharging a large amount per unit time is used as a discharging member for taking out one prescription powder, while the discharging member 11b capable of discharging a small amount per unit time is used. It can also be used properly as a discharge member for taking out a dose of powdered medicine. Therefore, the method of adjusting the discharge operation by the adjusting unit 9 is limited to the method of switching the discharge operation level (the discharge amount per unit time) in the middle of the discharge operation period of the powder medicine container 1, as shown in the above embodiment. However, for example, when the discharge amount of the powdered medicine is one prescription, the powdered medicine container 1 is caused to perform a discharge operation corresponding to the discharge amount, and a relatively large amount of the powdered medicine is discharged per unit time, while the discharge amount of the powdered medicine is 1 In the case of a dose (one package), the powder medicine container 1 is caused to perform a discharging operation according to the dose.
To expel a relatively small amount of powder per unit time,
It is also possible to switch the discharge operation of the powder medicine container 1 between the case of taking out the prescription and the case of taking out one package.

[0010]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above,
The powdered medicine stored in the powdered medicine container can be automatically discharged and taken out by the required amount arbitrarily set in the control device without any manual work of the pharmacist. Therefore, from the powder medicine container, The desired amount of powder can be automatically taken out, and the control device adjusts the discharge operation to achieve both discharge speed and accuracy. Therefore, the dispensing work of powder can be automated. It is extremely beneficial in achieving the goal, and by extension, has an excellent effect that it can play an indispensable role in realizing an automatic powder dispensing and packing machine that automatically performs the operations from taking out the powdered medicine to the packaging work. It is a thing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a powder medicine extracting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a powder medicine container of the powder medicine extracting device of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Powder medicine container 2: Control device 3: Stock part 4: Supply part 5: Discharge part 6: Weighing part 7: Control part 8: Setting part 9: Adjusting part 11a: Discharging member 11b: Discharging member 12: Shutter 13a: Motor 13b: Motor 14: Operating member 15: Stirring member 16: Motor 17: Stirring member

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A powder medicine container capable of appropriately discharging a powder medicine, and the powder medicine container according to the discharge amount of the powder medicine when a necessary amount of the powder medicine is discharged from the powder medicine container. And a control device for adjusting the discharging operation of the powdered medicine.