WO2022230590A1 - Drug feeder and drug dispensing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a drug feeder favorably employable in a drug dispensing unit having no robot mechanism, and a drug dispensing unit employing such a drug feeder.　A drug feeder 5 comprises a drug container 20 in which a powder medicine is accommodated, a container holding part 16 that holds the drug container 20, and a weight measurement means 25 for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the drug container 20. The drug feeder 5 vibrates the drug container 20 to discharge the powder medicine from the drug container 20, and is able to detect a discharge amount of the powder medicine with the weight measurement means 25. The drug container 20 is provided with an opening/closing member for opening/closing a powder medicine discharge part, and further has an opening/closing mechanism part. The opening/closing mechanism part directly or indirectly imparts power to the opening/closing member and moves at least a part of the opening/closing member to open/close the powder medicine discharge part. The opening/closing mechanism part imparts the power to the opening/closing member when bringing the powder medicine discharge part into an open state and when bringing the powder medicine discharge part into a closed state.

Description

Drug feeder and drug dispensing device

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a medicine feeder for weighing and taking out a predetermined amount of powdered medicine. The drug feeder of the present invention is suitably used as a device for supplying powdered drugs to a powdered drug dispensing device.
The present invention also relates to a drug dispensing device incorporating a drug feeder.

In recent years, large hospitals and large-scale pharmacies have introduced a powder medicine packaging device and a medicine dispensing device having a powder medicine packaging function.
In the conventional medicine dispenser disclosed in Patent Document 1, a medicine bottle containing prescribed powdered medicine is manually taken out from the medicine cabinet, and the total weight of the prescribed powdered medicine is weighed using a scale such as a scale. It is difficult to say that it is a fully automatic device because it is necessary to perform the work of ejecting.
In order to deal with this problem, the applicant has put into practical use the drug dispensing devices disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3.

The drug dispensing devices disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 (prior art drug dispensing devices) employ a drug feeder in which a drug container and a container mounting device are combined.
The container placement device has a horizontal vibrating member and weight measuring means for measuring the weight of the drug container. Then, the drug container is placed on the vibrating member, the vibrating member is vibrated, and the drug is discharged little by little from the powdered drug discharging portion, and the discharged amount of the drug is detected by the weight measuring means.

The drug containers disclosed in Patent Literatures 2 and 3 have a substantially quadrangular prism shape and are installed in the container placing device in a horizontal posture.
In the drug feeder disclosed in Patent Document 2, a substantially quadrangular prism-shaped drug container is horizontally placed on a container mounting device, and when combined as a drug feeder, the drug container has a length in the horizontal direction of and low height.
Further, in the devices for dispensing drugs disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3, a robot transports a drug container to a predetermined position, and the robot opens and closes the lid of the drug container.

In addition, Patent Document 4 discloses a powder medicine supply device used in a powder medicine packaging machine. In the powdered medicine supply device of Patent Document 4, powdered medicine is stored in each of a plurality of cassettes, and the powdered medicine is discharged from the cassette after the cassette is moved to the supply position. Specifically, the cassette has a screw, a shutter that closes a discharge port consisting of a cylindrical tip, and a stirring blade that rotates together with the screw, and the shutter is configured to be forcibly maintained in a closed state by a spring. there is By connecting the rear end of the rotating shaft of the screw to the operating device at the supply position, the screw moves while rotating. As a result, the screw presses the shutter, and the shutter moves against the biasing force of the spring, thereby opening the discharge port. On the other hand, the rotation of the screw and the stirring blade causes the powder to flow toward the discharge port. As a result, powdered medicine is ejected from the cassette.

In the powder medicine supply device of Patent Document 4, movement of the cassette to the supply position and movement from the supply position are automatically executed. In addition, as described above, the powdered medicine feeder in this powdered medicine supply apparatus discharges the powdered medicine by rotating the stirring blade and the screw, and does not discharge the powdered medicine by vibration (by vibrating the entire cassette). . Also, the powder feeder is formed by an actuator in the feed position and one cassette, the actuator merely supplying power to the screw of the cassette. That is, the cassette has all the mechanisms for discharging the powder medicine. Furthermore, the movement of the shutter in the closing direction is made by a spring. In other words, the shutter is opened by temporarily applying a force in the opening direction to the shutter that always maintains the closed state. Close the shutter. In other words, the opening degree of the shutter is not adjusted.

JP-A-2000-85703 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-35001 WO2015/076267/A1 JP-A-7-132135

The drug feeders disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 have a problem that they occupy a large area when installed.
In addition, the medicine dispensers disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 have a problem that the number of parts is large.
Furthermore, Patent Documents 2 and 3 disclose a drug dispensing device that transports a drug container by a robot and opens and closes the lid of the drug container. There was a problem that it was difficult to introduce to small-scale pharmacies. Also, in order to solve such problems, when considering a device in which the robot mechanism is eliminated and the drug container is manually placed at a predetermined position, the mechanism for opening and closing the lid is made as compact as possible and provided in another member. , there was a desire to reduce the size of the entire apparatus. In this case, since the medicine container is manually transported, it is preferable to take into account the ease of holding the container.
Further, the medicine dispensing device disclosed in Patent Document 4 has room for improvement from the viewpoint of finely adjusting the discharge amount of the medicine with a simple structure.

An object of the present invention is to provide a drug feeder that can be suitably employed in a drug dispensing device that does not have a robot mechanism, paying attention to the above-described problems of the prior art. Another object of the present invention is to provide a drug dispensing device that employs such a drug feeder.

One aspect of the present invention for solving the above-described problems is a drug container containing a powdered drug, a container holding section for holding the drug container, and directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the drug container. weight measuring means for discharging the powdered medicine from the medicine container by vibrating the medicine container, and capable of detecting the discharged amount of the powdered medicine by the weight measuring means, wherein the medicine container comprises: The powdered medicine discharging part discharges the powdered medicine to the outside, and further comprises an opening/closing member for opening and closing the powdered medicine discharging part, and further comprising an opening/closing mechanism part, wherein the opening/closing mechanism part applies a force directly or indirectly to the opening/closing member. and moves at least a part of the opening/closing member to open/close the powdered medicine discharge section. It is a drug feeder that applies force.

In the drug feeder of this aspect, the opening/closing mechanism that opens and closes the opening/closing member applies force to the opening/closing member to open/close it, so it is possible to finely control the opening/closing operation of the opening/closing member. Accordingly, by adjusting the degree of opening of the powdered medicine discharge part (the degree of opening, or the degree of opening), it is possible to finely adjust the discharge amount. That is, compared with the case where the discharge amount is adjusted only by adjusting the vibration amount, it is possible to finely adjust the discharge amount.

In the aspect described above, the medicament container is manually retainable in the container holding portion, is manually removable from the container holding portion, and removes the medicament container from the container holding portion. Thus, it is desirable that the drug container separates from the container holding portion and the opening/closing mechanism portion.

By adopting the drug feeder of this aspect in a drug dispensing device, it is possible to reduce the size of the device.

In the aspect described above, it is desirable that the degree of opening of the powdered medicine discharge section can be adjusted stepwise when the powdered medicine discharge section is placed in the open state.

According to this aspect, it is possible to precisely adjust the amount of powdered medicine discharged.

In the aspect described above, the powdered medicine discharge part is a slit extending in an oblique direction, the opening/closing member includes a closing wall that moves below the powdered medicine discharge part, and the closing wall extends in the width direction of the medicine container. As the opening/closing member moves in the closing direction, the overlapping portion between the closing wall and the powdered medicine discharge section increases, and the effective opening width for discharging the powdered medicine in the powdered medicine discharge section becomes smaller. It is desirable to be

Even in this aspect, it is possible to precisely adjust the amount of powdered medicine discharged.

In each aspect described above, it is desirable that the container holding portion has a vertical wall, the vertical wall is vibrated by the vibrating means, and the drug container is fixed to the vertical wall and vibrated.

According to the drug feeder of this aspect, the drug feeder can be placed vertically, and the area occupied can be reduced. That is, there is an effect that a considerable amount of powdered medicine can be accommodated, and the area occupied when installed is small.

In each aspect described above, the drug container has a large-area side surface and a small-area side surface, is taller than it is wide, and has a side portion of the bottom surface and/or a side surface near the bottom surface for discharging the powdered medicine. and a partition member having an opening in the vicinity of the bottom surface. It is desirable that the powdered medicine thus obtained moves between the partition plate and the bottom to reach the powdered medicine discharge section.

The medicine container adopted in this aspect has a narrow width and a high height. Therefore, the width of the container is narrow even though it can contain drugs equivalent to those of conventional drug containers.
The medicine feeder of this aspect has a narrow width, and many medicine feeders can be arranged in a small space.

In each of the aspects described above, it is desirable that the powdered medicine discharge part has a slit shape extending in an oblique direction.

According to this aspect, it is possible to widen the area from which powdered medicine is discharged.

In each aspect described above, the drug container has a large-area side surface and a small-area side surface, is taller than its width, and can open the large-area side surface, and the drug container is Preferably, the medicine container is detachable from the container holding part, and the powder medicine is filled with the large-area side surface opened in a state in which the medicine container is removed from the container holding part.

According to this aspect, it is easy to put the powdered medicine into the medicine container.

In each aspect described above, it is desirable that an eaves-like temporary receiving plate is provided in the middle portion of the drug container in the height direction.

According to this aspect, the weight of the powdered medicine in the upper layer can be supported by the temporary receiving plate, and the powdered medicine in the lower layer is not pressed. Therefore, movement of the powdered medicine is less likely to be hindered when the medicine container is vibrated.

In each aspect described above, a locking mechanism may be provided to lock the opening/closing member in a state where the powdered medicine discharge section is closed, and the locking mechanism may be released by holding the drug container in the container holding section. desirable.

According to this aspect, the drug is less likely to spill when the drug container is removed from the container holding portion.

In each aspect described above, the container holding portion has a vertical wall, the vertical wall has a holding portion-side engaging portion, and the drug container is engaged by the holding portion-side engaging portion so that the drug container is The drug container is held by the container holding portion, the drug container has an engaging portion, and the container holding portion has a detachment assisting member that engages with the engaging portion and presses the drug container in a direction to detach from the container holding portion. is desirable.

According to this aspect, the drug container can be easily removed from the container holding portion.

In each of the above aspects, the medicine container has a powdered medicine passage connected to the powdered medicine discharge part, the powdered medicine moves in the powdered medicine passage and is discharged from the powdered medicine discharge part, and the powdered medicine passage has a ceiling wall. and the opening/closing member has a projecting portion that projects toward the powdered medicine passage when the powdered medicine discharge portion is closed, and the ceiling wall has a partition that projects downward into the dispersion passage, It is desirable that the projecting portion reaches the vicinity of the partition portion when the opening/closing member closes the powdered medicine discharge portion.

According to this aspect, when the opening/closing member is opened, the drug is less likely to spill from the powdered drug discharge part. Furthermore, according to this aspect, it is possible to prevent the powdered medicine from splashing out from the powdered medicine passage while the medicine is being dispensed.

In each of the above-described aspects, a weight member is provided, and lifting means is provided for lifting and lowering at least one of the weight member, the weight measuring means, and the drug container, and the load of the weight member is applied to the weight measuring means. It is preferable to compare a state in which the load of the weight member is applied and a state in which the load of the weight member is not applied to the weight measuring means for calibration and/or failure detection of the weight measuring means.

In each aspect described above, it is desirable that the drug container has a vibration detection sensor that detects its own vibration.

An invention relating to a medicine dispensing device is a medicine dispensing device that takes out a predetermined amount of powdered medicine from a medicine container, divides it into a predetermined number, packs it individually, and discharges it. A plurality of drug feeders according to any one of the above are installed in the vicinity of the distribution tray, and the powdered drug is discharged from the drug container and put into the drug charging groove of the distribution tray.

By the way, the conventional drug dispensing device described above has room for improvement in that it is difficult to reduce the size of the entire device and that the operation of dispensing powdered medicine is completed more quickly. That is, in the medicine dispensing device described above, when the execution of the powdered medicine dispensing operation is determined, the powdered medicine is dispensed after moving the medicine container from the storage position to the dispensing position. In other words, it takes time to transport the medicine container, and there is room for improvement in terms of speeding up the operation of dispensing the powdered medicine.

Therefore, one aspect of the related invention of the present invention for solving such problems is a drug container in which powdered drugs in an amount larger than one dose to be dispensed are allocated one to one, and containing powdered drugs, A plurality of drug feeders having a mounting table for holding drug containers, a vibrating device for vibrating the drug containers, and a distribution plate having an input groove for holding powdered drugs and rotated by power, and a plurality of drug feeders. is fixed around a distribution tray, a drug feeder is selected from among a plurality of drug feeders, and one dose of powdered drug is dispensed from the selected drug feeder to the distribution tray. It is a device.

In addition, one aspect of the above-mentioned related invention has a distribution dish provided with an annular drug feeding groove and rotated by power, and a plurality of drug feeders, wherein the drug feeders are drug containers containing powdered drugs, a loading member for holding the drug container; and a powdered drug discharging means for discharging the powdered drug from the drug container. one or a plurality of drug feeders are selected from among the drug feeders, and a predetermined amount of powdered drug is dispensed from the selected drug feeder to a distribution tray.

According to these aspects, it is possible to reduce the size of the entire device and speed up the operation of dispensing powdered medicine.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a drug feeder that can be suitably employed in a drug dispensing device that does not have a robot mechanism, and a drug dispensing device equipped with such a drug feeder.

It is a perspective view of the medicine dispensing device of embodiment of this invention, and shows the state which opened the upper cover. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the periphery of a distribution plate of the medicine dispensing device of Fig. 1; 1 is a perspective view of a drug feeder of an embodiment of the invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the drug feeder of FIG. 3 with information reading means omitted; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the drug feeder observed from a direction different from that of FIG. 4; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the feeder body of the drug feeder with the drug container removed from the holding member; FIG. 4 is a side view of the feeder main body of the drug feeder with the drug container removed from the holding member. FIG. 8 is a side view of the feeder main body showing a model of FIG. 7; FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the feeder body of the drug feeder, with the drug container removed from the holding member and observed from a direction different from that in FIG. 6 ; FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the feeder main body, with the drug container removed from the holding member, observed from a different direction from FIGS. 6 and 9, showing an enlarged outline of the shutter opening/closing mechanism. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a holding member of the feeder body; FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the holding member of the feeder body exploded in more detail; (a), (b), and (c) are an explanatory view showing a state from mounting the drug container to the feeder body to discharging the powdered drug, and an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part thereof. 10A is a perspective view of the engaging member of the feeder body shown in FIG. 10, and FIG. (b) is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the engaging piece of the feeder body is retracted into the opening on the left side, and an explanatory diagram showing a state where the engaging piece of the feeder body protrudes from the opening on the right side. is. (a) is a perspective view of the drug container with the lid member opened, and (b) is a front view thereof. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a posture when filling powdered medicine into a medicine container. (a), (b), and (c) are front views of the lid portion of the drug container, showing how the lid member is fixed to the container body. (a) is a diagram showing the periphery of the clamping piece with the lid member closed in the drug container described above, the left diagram being a perspective view and the right diagram being a plan view. (b) is a diagram showing the periphery of a clamping piece with the lid member closed in a drug container according to an embodiment different from (a), the left diagram being a perspective view and the right diagram being a plan view. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the shutter of the drug container; FIG. 4A is an explanatory view showing the operation of the shutter of the medicine container, where (a) is a perspective view with the shutter closed, and (b) is a perspective view with the shutter open. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state in which the engaging portion of the transmission member of the drug container is engaged with the engaging portion of the shutter opening/closing mechanism; It is an explanatory view showing the positional relationship between the medicine feeder and the distribution tray. (a) is an explanatory diagram showing the spread of the powdered medicine when the shutter is fully opened and the medicine is dropped onto the distribution tray, and (b) is an explanatory diagram showing the spread of the powdered medicine when the shutter is half-opened and the medicine is dropped onto the distribution tray. It is explanatory drawing which shows the spread of a powder medicine. (a) is a bottom view of the drug container when the shutter is fully opened, (b) is a bottom view of the drug container when the shutter is half-opened, and (c) is a bottom view of the drug container when the shutter is closed. is a bottom view of the medicine container in , and (d) is a perspective view of the lower part of the container body and the shutter. (a) is a perspective view showing a state in which a sealing member different from that in FIG. 19 is attached to the shutter member, and shows a state seen from below. (b) is a perspective view showing the sealing member of (a), and (c) is a bottom view showing the sealing member of (a). FIG. 26 is a bottom view showing a drug container employing the sealing member shown in FIG. 25, (a) showing a state in which the shutter is fully opened, (b) showing a state in which the shutter is slightly opened, and (c). , indicates that the shutter is closed. FIG. 10 is a bottom view of a drug container according to an embodiment different from the above-described embodiment, where (a) shows a state in which the shutter is fully opened, (b) shows a state in which the shutter is slightly opened, and (c). indicates that the shutter is closed. Fig. 10 is a front view of a drug feeder according to another embodiment of the invention; Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the inside of a drug container according to still another embodiment of the present invention, where (a) shows a state in which the shutter of the second partition is closed, and (b) shows a state in which the shutter of the second partition is open; Indicates status. FIG. 30 is an explanatory view showing an opening/closing mechanism of a shutter employed in the medicine container shown in FIG. 29; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the periphery of the distribution tray of the drug dispensing device according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the positional relationship between the distribution tray and the powdered medicine charging hopper, where (a) shows a state in which the powdered medicine has been sprinkled on the distribution tray, and (b) shows a state in which the disk of the scraping device is placed in the distribution tray. and (c) shows how the powdered medicine is scraped out from the distribution dish. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a drug container according to an embodiment different from the above-described embodiment, where (a) shows how the lid member is closed, and (b) shows how the lid member is opened; show. 33(a) is a perspective view showing the medicine container of FIG. 33(a) viewed from another direction, and (b) is a bottom view schematically showing the medicine container of (a). FIG. 33(a) is a cross-sectional view showing the drug container of FIG. 33(a), showing a state in which the lid member and other portions are cut along different cutting planes. Figure 33(a) is an exploded perspective view of the drug container of Figure 33(a); FIG. 37 shows the partition member of FIG. 36, where (a) is a perspective view from below and (b) is a front view; (a) is a plan view schematically showing a medicine feeder and a distribution tray in FIG. 2, and (b) is a perspective view showing a state in which the posture of the tablet hand-dispensing device in FIG. 1 is changed. (a) is a side view showing a modeled medicine feeder of the second embodiment, and (b) is an exploded perspective view of the shutter opening/closing mechanism. (a), (b), and (c) of the drug feeder of the second embodiment are explanatory diagrams showing how the drug container is attached to the feeder main body. (a), (b), and (c) of the drug feeder of the second embodiment are explanatory diagrams showing how the drug container is removed from the feeder main body. (a) is a cross-sectional view showing a drug container of a third embodiment, and (b) is a cross-sectional view near the shutter when the shutter is open. FIG. 10 is a front view of a drug feeder according to still another embodiment of the present invention, where (a) shows a state in which a drug container is attached to the feeder body, and (b) shows a state in which the drug container is removed from the feeder body; Indicates status. Fig. 10 is a front view of a feeder body according to still another embodiment of the present invention, where (a) shows the state of the feeder body when the drug container is attached to the feeder body, and (b) shows the feeder body when the drug container is attached to the feeder body; 2 shows the state of the feeder body when removed from the body. FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the shutter of the drug container of the third embodiment; FIG. 46 shows the partition member of FIG. 45, where (a) is a perspective view from below and (b) is a front view; It is a figure which shows the modification of a partition member, (a) is the perspective view, (b) is sectional drawing of the horizontal part of a partition plate. 1 is a front view of an electronic display; FIG. It is a perspective view of the medicine dispensing device showing a modification of the upper lid, (a) shows a state in which the cover is closed, and (b) shows a state in which the cover is opened. It is a perspective view of the drug dispensing device showing another modification of the upper lid, (a) shows a state in which the cover is closed, and (b) shows a state in which the cover is opened. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the weight calibration unit of FIG. 4 is viewed from another direction; FIG. 52 is an exploded perspective view of the weight calibration unit of FIG. 51; It is a figure which shows the upper guide member of FIG. 51, (a) is a perspective view observed from the downward side, (b) is sectional drawing. 5A to 5C are explanatory diagrams schematically showing the operation when the weight calibration unit shown in FIG. 4 shifts from the first state to the second state, and shifts in the order of (a) to (c). 53A is a perspective view showing a weight according to an embodiment different from FIG. 52, and FIG. 53B is a perspective view showing a weight support member according to an embodiment different from FIG. (a) is an explanatory view schematically showing a drug feeder according to a further different embodiment, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing how the drug feeder in (a) shifts from the first state to the second state. It is an explanatory diagram schematically shown. 3A is a perspective view of a calibration instrument that can be attached to the scraping device of FIG. 2, and FIG. ) is an explanatory diagram showing an exploded calibration instrument. 58(a) is an explanatory diagram schematically showing how a weight member is supported by the calibration instrument shown in FIG. 57, and FIG. 58(b) is a diagram showing a vibration-side horizontal movement of the weight member by the calibration instrument shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view schematically showing how the device is placed on the part; It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the medicine feeder which concerns on further another embodiment, (a) shows a 1st state, (b) shows a 2nd state. (a) is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state in which a weight correcting unit according to still another embodiment is adopted in a drug dispensing device. (b) is an explanatory view schematically showing the periphery of one weight member when the left figure is in the first state, and the right figure is one weight member when in the second state. It is an explanatory view showing the periphery typically. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view schematically showing the main part of the medicine dispensing device according to still another embodiment, showing how powdered medicine is discharged from the medicine feeder to the distribution tray and failure detection operation is executed. FIG. 62 is a diagram showing how the medicine dispensing device shown in FIG. 61 performs a failure detection operation different from that in FIG. 61; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a specific procedure of discharging operation for discharging powdered medicine from a medicine feeder to a distribution tray, and the discharging operation is executed in the order of (a) to (k). 9A is a perspective view showing a simpler model of the container supporting portion shown in FIG. 8, and FIG. 9B is a perspective view showing a simpler model of the medicine container shown in FIG. FIG. 65 is a circuit diagram of the vibration detection sensor of FIG. 64; (a) is a logic table showing the inspection mode when inspecting the vibration state of the medicine feeder, and (b) is a circuit diagram for switching the vibration detection sensor, showing connection of each switch when the inspection mode is N. (c) is a circuit diagram for switching the vibration detection sensor and shows the connection state of each switch when the inspection mode is F1.

The drug dispensing device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be further described below. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the vertical positional relationship is based on the normal installation state (state shown in FIG. 1). For easy understanding, the outline and rough operation of the drug dispensing device 1 will be described first, and then each member and device will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 1, the drug dispensing device 1 of this embodiment is surrounded by a housing 2, and the interior is divided into a tablet hand-dispensing area 300, a powdered medicine division area 301, and a medicine packaging area 302. ing.
The housing 2 has an upper lid 3 as shown in FIG. The upper lid 3 is attached to the main body of the housing 2 with a hinge (not shown). By closing the upper lid 3 , the upper lid 4 covers the upper parts of the members belonging to the powdered medicine division area 301 .
A tablet manual distribution device 303 is provided in the tablet manual distribution area 300 . This tablet hand-dispensing device 303 is positioned above a distribution plate 6, a medicine feeder 5, etc., which will be described later.
Since the tablet manual distributing device 303 is well known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.
The medicine packaging area 302 incorporates a medicine packaging device 305 as conceptually shown in FIG. The medicine packaging device 305 is a machine for packaging medicines for each dose, and has a packing paper supply device 306 (packaging paper feeding section) and a packing device 308 (sealing section). The drug packaging device 305 is also provided with a powdered drug charging hopper 310 above the packaging device 308 for charging the drug.
Although the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is shown at a position away from the distribution tray 6 for drawing purposes, the upper end of the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is actually within the equipment storage opening 15 of the distribution tray 6 .

The drug packaging device 305 is used by attaching roll paper to the attachment portion of the main body (not shown) of the packaging paper supply device 306 . The roll paper is formed by winding a band-shaped packing paper (wrapping paper) around a tubular core member to form a roll. Although not particularly limited, the roll paper of the present embodiment is a roll of packaging paper that is folded in two and has a strip shape.
In addition, the medicine packaging device 305 has a printing mechanism (printing section) (not shown).
In the drug packaging device 305, the packaging paper fed out from the roll paper is introduced into the printing mechanism, and information such as the patient name, drug name, date and time of administration (information related to prescription and information related to the drug to be provided) is printed. . After that, the packaging sheet on which the predetermined information is printed is opened upward. In this state, the medicine (powder medicine) dropped (supplied) from the powder medicine introduction hopper 310 is received.
Furthermore, the packaging paper containing the drug is introduced into the sealing section (packaging device 308) and sealed in the vertical and horizontal directions by the sealing section to sequentially package the received drugs. As a result, a drug package containing a single dose of drug is formed, and the drug package is transported to the outside of the apparatus.
At this time, a drug packaging band is formed in which a plurality of drug packages are continuously packed, and the band is conveyed to the outside of the apparatus. However, instead of the drug packaging band, one or more individual drug packages may be formed and delivered to the outside of the apparatus.
Note that the above-described horizontal direction is the delivery direction (delivery direction) of the packaging paper, and the vertical direction is the direction crossing (perpendicular to) the delivery direction of the packaging paper.

Further, an identifier may be attached to the core member of the roll paper described above. The identifier is information that can individually identify the roll paper (information on the manufacturer, etc. (manufacturer name, etc.), information on the date of manufacture, etc., type of roll paper wound around the core, order number, shipping date , customer information of the delivery destination, the model name and model code of the packaging machine to which the roll paper is attached, other IDs, etc.), and may be, for example, a memory such as an IC tag. Also, a code such as a one-dimensional code (bar code) or a two-dimensional code may be used, and when a code is employed, it may be attached to a label.
Then, when the roll paper is loaded into the packaging paper supply device 306, an operation is executed to check with the device to be loaded, that is, to determine whether or not the predetermined roll paper is to be loaded into the device correctly. good too. Further, information for identifying that the roll paper is unused may be stored in the identifier, and an operation for determining whether the roll paper is unused may be executed when the roll paper is loaded. Further, information regarding the remaining amount of packaging paper when the roll paper (packaging paper roll) is attached to the main body of the packaging paper supply device 306 may be stored. Further, when the packaging operation of packaging the medicine is executed, the remaining amount at an appropriate time during the packaging operation may be stored. Information about this remaining amount may be stored, for example, during the packaging operation. In addition, after the packaging operation, the remaining amount at the end of the packaging operation may be stored. That is, when operating the medicine dispensing device 1, information about the remaining amount may be stored at appropriate timing.

As shown in FIG. 2, the powdered medicine division area 301 is an area where the distribution tray 6 is installed, and the medicine feeder 5 and the cleaning device 7 are arranged around it. A scraping device 8 is provided in the powdered medicine dividing area 301 .
The distribution pan 6 and scraping device 8 are well known and will be briefly described.
The distribution plate 6 is a disk-shaped member provided with a medicine injection groove 13 (injection groove), which is also referred to as a "concave groove". The drug introduction groove 13 surrounds the outer edge of the distribution plate 6 in an annular shape. The distribution plate 6 is provided with an equipment storage opening 15 in the center. In addition, in FIG. 2, most of them are covered with a lid.
The above-described powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is installed in the equipment storage opening 15 .
The distribution dish 6 can be rotated at a constant speed. It can also be rotated by a predetermined angle.

The raking device 8 has a rotary plate 12 (see FIG. 2) at the tip of a raking arm 17 (see FIG. 57(b), etc.). Specifically, a mounting base 255 (see FIG. 57(b), etc.) that can be rotated by a motor is provided at the tip of the scraping arm 17, and a scraping plate or the like (not shown) is attached to the mounting base 255. ) is mounted thereon. That is, the rotating plate 12 is rotated by the power of the motor.
A root portion of the scraping device 8 is installed on a turntable (not shown) in the equipment storage opening 15 of the distribution plate 6 . A scraping arm 17 of the scraping device 8 protrudes from the center of the distribution plate 6 . The scraping device 8 can be turned as a whole by rotating the turntable. Also, the scraping arm 17 can swing vertically. Note that the scraping device 8 may be one in which the turntable is not provided, the whole is not swivel, and the scraping arm 17 is swingable.

Here, in the drug dispensing device 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper opening serving as the drug input port of the powdered drug input hopper 310 is positioned inside the distribution plate 6 . That is, the distribution tray 6 continues in an annular (annular) fashion outside the powdered medicine charging hopper 310, and the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is located in an area surrounded by the distribution tray 6 in a plan view. The scraping device 8 is also positioned inside the distribution plate 6 .
When the powdered medicine on the distribution tray 6 is scraped out by the scraping device 8 and put into the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 , the powdered medicine is scraped out toward the inside of the distribution tray 6 . That is, the rotary plate 12 is rotated to move the scraping plate so as to move the powdered medicine on the distribution tray 6 to the inside of the distribution tray 6 (the scraping plate moves from the outer edge side to the inner edge side of the distribution tray 6). rotating plate 12 so as to move in the transverse direction).
In this embodiment, the scraping device 8 is provided inside the distribution tray 6 and the powdered medicine is scraped out toward the inside of the distribution tray 6, thereby reducing the number of members outside the distribution tray 6. FIG. That is, a wide space is secured around the medicine feeder 5 outside the distribution plate 6 to facilitate the work when manually attaching and detaching the medicine container 20 to and from the feeder main body 10, and at the same time, the medicine dispensing device 1 is provided with a large space. This contributes to the miniaturization of the entire device.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, the drug feeder 5 has a feeder section 22 provided with a weight calibration section 21. As shown in FIGS. The drug feeder 5 also has an information read/write means 66 (see FIG. 3) capable of reading and writing information to and from an information storage means 65 (see FIG. 4), which will be described later. 4 to 10, the feeder section 22 has a medicine container 20 containing powdered medicine and a feeder body 10 holding the medicine container 20. As shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 8, the feeder body 10 is mechanically divided into a container support portion 23, a weight measurement portion 24, and a base portion 26. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the container support section 23 has a support base 27, a vibrating member 16 (container holding section), and vibrating means 30a and 30b. The vibrating means 30a and 30b are piezoelectric elements and have a plate shape. The vibrating member 16 and vibrating means 30a and 30b are also vibrating devices for vibrating the drug container 20. As shown in FIG.

The support base 27 and the vibrating member 16 are both "L" shaped members having a horizontal portion and a vertical wall portion.
That is, the support table 27 has a support-side horizontal portion 30 and a support-side vertical wall portion 31, as shown in FIGS.
The vibration member 16 also functions as a container holding portion, and has a vibration-side horizontal portion 32 and a vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 (vertical wall). The vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 is provided with an engaging portion (holding portion-side engaging portion, which is a groove-shaped engaging portion 48 (trapezoidal engaging portion 47) described later) that engages with the drug container 20. Two pieces (holding portion side engaging portions) 50 (see FIG. 10) are provided.

The support base 27 and the vibrating member 16 are connected by two vibrating means 30a and 30b.
There is substantially no contact between the vibration-side horizontal portion 32 and the support-side horizontal portion 30 . Therefore, when the vibrating means 30a and 30b are energized, the vibrating member 16 vibrates.

As shown in FIG. 8, a weight measurement section 24 is arranged below the container support section 23 . The weight measurement unit 24 includes weight measurement means 25 and vibration isolation means 18 . The weight measuring means 25 is a known load cell. The vibration isolation means 18 has a vibration isolation member 28 .
A detecting portion of the weight measuring means 25 is connected to the container supporting portion 23 (the supporting base 27, the vibrating member 16, and the vibrating means 30a and 30b). Further, the base portion 26 supports the upper members (the support base 27, the vibrating member 16, and the vibrating means 30a and 30b) via the vibration isolating member 28 of the weight measuring portion 24. As shown in FIG.
The weight of container support portion 23 is detected by weight measuring means 25 . The weight of the anti-vibration means 18 hangs on the base portion 26 but does not hang on the weight measuring means 25 . Therefore, the weight of the container support portion 23 (the support base 27, the vibrating member 16, the vibrating means 30a and 30b) is detected by the weight measuring means 25. FIG. (which is measurable).

The drug container 20 is a container filled with powdered medicine, and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with substantially square side surfaces.
The drug container 20 is surrounded by a front wall 35, a rear wall 36, left and right side walls 37, a top wall 38 and a bottom wall 40, as shown in FIGS.
An openable and closable powdered medicine discharge part 11 is located near the front wall 35 of the medicine container 20 at the bottom wall 40 .
In addition, there are engagement portions (engagement groove 130 and engagement recess 131, see FIG. 6) on the vertical sides and lower portion of the rear wall 36 .

The medicine container 20 is filled with powdered medicine and fixed to the feeder body 10 as shown in FIGS. That is, the back wall 36 of the drug container 20 is in contact with the vibration side vertical wall portion 33 (vertical wall) of the vibrating member 16 serving as the container holding portion, and the back wall 36 side of the bottom wall 40 of the drug container 20 is in contact with the vibration side horizontal portion 32 . , most of the drug container 20 is fixed to the feeder body 10 in a cantilevered state. In other words, the vibration-side horizontal portion 32 is also a mounting member (mounting table) on which at least part of the drug container 20 is mounted.
Further, the engaging portion of the medicine container 20 engages with two engaging portions (a groove-shaped engaging portion 48 (trapezoidal engaging portion 47 holding portion side engaging portion) described later) of the vibrating member 16, respectively. These are two of the pieces (holding portion side engaging portions) 50, and are engaged with the pieces (see FIG. 10). Therefore, the drug container 20 is integrated with the vibrating member 16 and vibrates together with the vibrating member 16 .

Here, information storage means 65 is attached to one of the two left and right side walls 37 (see FIG. 4). Information on the drug container 20 (information on the powdered medicine contained in the drug container 20) is stored in the information storage means 65 . For example, it stores identification information (information such as drug name and various codes) that identifies the stored medicine, and remaining amount information about the current remaining amount of the stored medicine. The information stored in the information storage means 65 is information that can be used in association with prescription data and the like. It becomes possible to perform a specified operation. This information storage means 65 may be a memory such as an IC tag. Also, a code such as a one-dimensional code (bar code) or a two-dimensional code may be used, and when a code is employed, it may be attached to a label.

The medicine feeder 5 has the information reading/writing means 66 (see FIG. 3) capable of reading and writing information to/from the information storage means 65, as described above. In this embodiment, an RFID reader/writer is employed as the information reading/writing means 66, and information can be read from/to the information storage means 65 by wireless communication. An operation of reading the cassette information from the information storage means 65 and an operation of writing (rewriting) the remaining amount after dispensing the powdered medicine from the medicine container 20 are possible. Note that the cassette information is information about the drug container 20 described above, and includes, for example, the drug name and remaining amount.
The information reading/reading means 66 is located outside the information storage means 65 when the medicine container 20 is attached to the feeder main body 10, and is arranged at a position slightly separated from the information storage means 65 (see FIGS. 3 and 5). See Figure 4). In place of the information reading/writing means 66, it is conceivable to provide an information reading means, an information writing means, etc. capable of reading and writing information respectively.

The weight calibration section 21 detects whether or not the weight measuring means 25 is normal. As shown in FIG. 4, the weight calibration unit 21 includes a weight 42 (weight member, weight for calibration), a weight mounting member 43 (weight receiver) on which the weight 42 is mounted, and a weight for lifting the weight 42 into the air. It has a support member 45 (see FIG. 51).
The weight placement member 43 is fixed to the container support portion 23 of the feeder body 10 via an attachment member. Therefore, the weight of the weight mounting member 43 is added to the weight measuring means 25. FIG.
On the other hand, the weight support member 45 is arranged so that a load is applied to the base portion 26 of the feeder body 10 (see FIGS. 51 and 52). The weight of the weight support member 45 is therefore not added to the weight measuring means 25 .

In this embodiment, six drug feeders 5 are fixed around the distribution plate 6, as shown in FIG. The drug container 20 has a front wall 35 side (see FIG. 6 and the like) protruding toward the distribution plate 6 , and the powdered drug discharge section 11 is positioned directly above the drug introduction groove 13 .

In the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, the medicine container 20 of each medicine feeder 5 is filled with different medicines in advance.
Then, based on a prescription (prescription data, which is information about prescription), a specific drug feeder 5 is driven, and powdered drugs are put into the distribution tray 6 . Specifically, according to a signal from a control device (not shown), a current of a constant frequency is applied to the vibrating means 30a and 30b of a specific drug feeder 5 to generate vibration, and the vibrating member 16 (container holding portion) is caused by this vibration. to vibrate.
In addition, the distribution plate 6 is rotated before and after the start of vibration.

Also, the weight of the medicine container 20 is measured before and after the start of the vibration. The weight of the medicine container 20 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 20 is calculated from the weight detected by the weight measuring means 25 by the member including the container supporting portion 23 and part of the weight calibrating portion 21 (the load is applied to the weight measuring means 25). material) is subtracted.
The weight of the medicine container 20 before the powdered medicine is discharged is stored as the original weight G. Also, the weight of the drug container 20 is constantly monitored. That is, the current weight of the drug container 20 is monitored as the current weight g.

When the vibrating member 16 starts vibrating, the drug container 20 vibrates together. Here, in the present embodiment, the drug container 20 is provided with two engaging portions (a groove-shaped engaging portion 48 (trapezoidal engaging portion 47 holding portion side engaging portion) described later). 10) of the vibrating member 16, and the degree of close contact with the vibrating member 16 is high. 20 vibrates at the same frequency as vibrating member 16 . As a result, the powdered medicine stored in the medicine container 20 slowly moves toward the powdered medicine discharging part 11 side.

Then, the powdered medicine falls from the powdered medicine discharge part 11 and enters the medicine input groove 13 of the distribution plate 6 below.

The fact that the powdered medicine is falling is confirmed by the weight of the medicine container 20 decreasing. That is, in this embodiment, the current weight of the medicine container 20 is continuously monitored as the current weight g even while the powdered medicine is falling from the medicine container 20 . The original weight G of the drug container 20 immediately after being placed on the vibrating member 16 is compared with the current weight g, and the falling amount H of the powdered medicine (the discharged amount of the powdered medicine, G minus g) is always calculated.
Then, the vibration of the vibrating member 16 is stopped when the total dropping amount H of the powder medicine reaches the desired weight.

In the subsequent operation, the rotating plate 12 of the scraping device 8 is dropped into the medicine charging groove 13 of the distribution plate 6. As shown in FIG. Furthermore, after that, the distribution plate 6 is rotated by an angle corresponding to the number of distribution, and the powdered medicine for one dose is collected on the front side of the rotary plate 12. - 特許庁Then, the rotating plate 12 is rotated, and the powdered medicine is scraped out of the distribution tray 6 by a scraping plate (not shown) and put into the powdered medicine feeding hopper 310 . The powdered medicine dropped from the powdered medicine feeding hopper 310 is packaged by the medicine packaging device 305 for each dose.
In this manner, the medicine dispensing device 1 of the present embodiment is capable of packaging the medicine by one dose in the same manner as a well-known medicine dispensing device. Further, the container support portion 23 functions as powdered medicine discharge means for discharging the powdered medicine from the medicine container 20 .

The series of drug discharge operations described above is performed while the weight 42 is lifted by the weight support member 45 of the weight calibration unit 21 . Therefore, the weight of the weight 42 is not detected by the weight measuring means 25 .
When determining whether or not the weight measuring means 25 is normal, the weight supporting member 45 is operated to place the weight 42 on the weight placing member 43 (details will be described later).
As a result, the weight of the weight 42 is applied to the weight measuring means 25, and the weight of the weight 42 is detected.
Here, since the weight of the weight 42 is known, it can be said that the weight measuring means 25 is normal if the increase in the detected weight due to the weight 42 being placed is equal to the value of the weight of the weight 42 stored in advance. Conversely, if the amount of increase in the detected weight due to the placement of the weight 42 is different from the weight of the weight 42, it can be said that the weight measuring means 25 is out of order. That is, in calibrating the weight measuring means 25, a weight obtaining step is performed to obtain an increase in the detected weight (the weight of the weight 42) due to placing the weight 42 thereon.

Next, each member and device of the drug delivery device 1 will be described.
(1) Feeder body 10
The feeder body 10 is divided into the container support portion 23, the weight measuring means 25, and the base portion 26, as described above.
Further, the container support section 23 has a support base 27, a vibrating member 16 (container holding section), and vibrating means 30a and 30b.
The external shape of the vibrating member 16 is as shown in FIGS. 4 to 12, and is substantially "L" shaped. That is, the vibration member 16 has a vibration-side horizontal portion 32 and a vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 as a vertical wall.

As shown in FIGS. 9 to 12, the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 has a body portion 63 made of metal and a lining member 46 made of resin.
As shown in FIG. 10, the lining member 46 has a substantially rectangular plate shape as a whole, and has an engaging portion 47 on the surface side.
The engaging portion 47 has a trapezoidal shape that is close to a rectangle when viewed from the front. However, there is a bulging portion 58 at the bottom of one oblique side. A dovetail groove-shaped engaging portion (holding portion-side engaging portion) 48 is provided on a side corresponding to the oblique side of the trapezoidal shape.

　On the rear surface of the vibration-side vertical wall part 33, as shown in Figs. Also, the lower side of each recess 132 forms an inclined surface 133 . The inclined surface 133 is inclined such that the lower side is closer to the back side than the upper side. The inclined surface 133 functions as a seating surface for mounting the vibrating means 30a and 30b.

10 and 13, a substantially rectangular opening 51 is provided on the front surface of the engaging portion 47 and in the lower portion thereof. An engaging piece 50 is accommodated in the opening 51 .
The engaging piece 50 is connected to the loading/unloading mechanism and projects from the opening 51 .

The vibration-side horizontal portion 32 is a plate-like member made of metal.
A shutter opening/closing mechanism 55 (opening/closing mechanism portion) is provided on one side portion of the vibration-side horizontal portion 32, as shown in FIGS. The shutter opening/closing mechanism 55 is an opening/closing mechanism for discharging a fixed amount of powdered medicine from the medicine container 20 .
The shutter opening/closing mechanism 55 is composed of an engagement piece holding portion 56 and an arm 57 as shown in FIGS. It also has a power unit that operates (linearly moves) the arm 57 . This power unit is composed of a motor and the like.
The engaging piece holding portion 56 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has a concave portion that serves as an engaging portion 60 on the upper surface thereof.
One end of the arm 57 is connected to the engagement piece holding portion 56 , and the other end is accommodated in the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 .
And it is connected to the loading/unloading mechanism described above.

In this embodiment, to explain in detail, the feeder body 10 of this embodiment has an engaging member 210 (see the left diagram of FIG. 14(a)), the upper portion of which constitutes an engaging piece 50. do. That is, the engaging member 210 has an upper engaging piece forming portion 210a that forms the engaging piece 50, a lower contact portion 210b, and an intermediate portion 210c that connects them. The engaging member 210 is constantly urged in the direction from the support-side vertical wall portion 31 toward the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 by an urging member such as a coil spring.
In addition, the engaging piece holding portion 56 has a pressing projection portion 56a (see the right figure in FIG. 14(a)) on its side surface.
Then, when the engagement piece holding portion 56 is positioned near the vibration side vertical wall portion 33, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. It is pressed in a direction toward the wall portion 33 . As a result, the engaging member 210 is pressed against the urging force, and the engaging piece 50 is recessed into the opening 51 .
On the other hand, when the engaging piece holding portion 56 is moved away from the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33, the engaging member 210 is pressed by the biasing member as shown in the right diagram of FIG. is moved, and the engagement piece 50 protrudes from the opening 51 . Thus, the engaging member 210 moves within the groove (recess) formed in the vibration-side horizontal portion 32 .

The external shape of the support base 27 is as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, and is substantially "L" shaped. That is, the support base 27 has a support-side horizontal portion 30 and a support-side vertical wall portion 31 .
The support-side vertical wall portion 31 also has an inclined surface (not shown) on the front side thereof, and the inclined surface functions as a seat surface for mounting the vibrating means 30a and 30b.

A vibrating member 16 is mounted on a support base 27 , and a vibrating horizontal portion 32 is on a supporting horizontal portion 30 . The convex side of the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 faces the concave side of the support-side vertical wall portion 31 .
The concave side of the support-side vertical wall portion 31 and the convex side of the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 are connected by two vibrating means 30a and 30b. Both of the vibrating means 30a and 30b are attached so that the support-side vertical wall portion 31 side is upward and the vibrating-side vertical wall portion 33 side is downward.
There is substantially no contact between the vibration-side horizontal portion 32 and the support-side horizontal portion 30 .

The weight measurement unit 24 includes weight measurement means 25 and vibration isolation means 18 . The vibration isolation means 18 is composed of a vibration isolation frame 135 and a vibration isolation member 28 .
The anti-vibration frame 135 has a high frame 136 and a support base 137, as shown in FIG.
The high frame 136 has anti-vibration member attachment plates 140 arranged in parallel. The support base portion 137 is provided at a position below the high portion frame 136 between the anti-vibration member mounting plates 140 .
The vibration isolating members 28 are attached to the four corners of the vibration isolating member mounting plate 140 on the lower side.
Also, the weight measuring means 25 is fixed on the support base portion 137 . Since the support base 137 is located below the high frame 136, most of the weight measuring means 25 is located below the high frame 136, but the upper surface of the weight measuring means 25 is located above the high frame 136. It is positioned above the frame 136 .

The base portion 26 is a plate-like member made of metal, and has a recess in the center.
A container supporting portion 23 is fixed to the upper surface of the weight measuring means 25 of the weight measuring portion 24 . Specifically, the support-side horizontal portion 30 of the container support portion 23 is fixed to the upper surface of the weight measuring means 25 projecting from the high portion frame 136 .
A vibration isolating member 28 of the weight measuring section 24 is installed on the base section 26 .
In this embodiment, what is placed on the upper surface of the weight measuring means 25 is the container supporting portion 23 (the supporting table 27, the vibrating member 16, and the vibrating means 30a and 30b). can be accurately measured.

The feeder body 10 of this embodiment has a container holding portion that holds the drug container 20 and an upright support portion (support side vertical wall portion 31). wall portion 33), and vibrating means 30a and 30b are provided between the support portion and the vertical member.

The feeder main body 10 of this embodiment has vibrating means 30 a and 30 b on one side of the drug container 20 . That is, the medicine container 20 and the vibrating means 30a, 30b are arranged side by side.
Therefore, compared to a layout in which the vibrating means 30a and 30b are located under the drug container 20, the drug container 20 can be placed at a lower position, and the powdered drug discharging portion 11 of the drug container 20 can be brought closer to the distribution plate 6. , can reduce splashing of powdered medicine.

(2) Drug container 20
Next, the drug container 20 will be explained. In the following description, the vertical and horizontal directions are based on the orientation of the drug container 20 installed in the feeder main body 10 .
The drug container 20 has a sealable container body 70 .
6 and 15, the drug container 20 has a partition plate 68 (partition member), a rectifying member 72, and a shutter structure portion 73 inside.

The external shape of the container body 70 is an elongated box-like member when viewed from the front side (the powdered medicine discharge section 11 side) with respect to the orientation of the feeder body 10 attached to the container support portion 23 .
The container main body 70 is a rectangular parallelepiped with a substantially square side surface. That is, the drug container 20 has a large-area side surface 61 and a small-area side surface 62, and the height H is high with respect to the width W. As shown in FIG.
The container body 70 is surrounded by a front wall 35 , a rear wall 36 , left and right side walls 37 , a top wall 38 and a bottom wall 40 .
The front wall 35 and the rear wall 36 are small area side surfaces 62 and are vertically long rectangles. The left and right side walls 37 have a rectangular shape close to a square, and are large-area side surfaces 61 . The top wall 38 and bottom wall 40 are rectangular.

The rear wall 36 is provided with a pair of engaging grooves 130 and one engaging recess 131 as shown in FIGS.
The engaging grooves 130 are vertical grooves that open inward along the left and right vertical sides of the back wall 36 .
The engagement recess 131 is a depression provided in the lower portion of the rear wall 36 .

As shown in FIG. 19, there is a missing portion 77 in a region from the lower portion of the front wall 35 to the bottom wall 40 on the front wall 35 side. A portion of the bottom wall 40 on the front wall 35 side is obliquely missing. Therefore, the end portion of the bottom wall 40 on the side of the front wall 35 is an oblique side as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the slope of the end of the missing portion 77 is a combination of a steep slope portion 150 and a gentle slope portion 151 .

The container body 70 is composed of a box portion 71 with one side open and a lid member 75 .
The box portion 71 constitutes five walls of the container body 70 excluding one side wall. A packing (not shown) is attached to the opening of the box portion 71 . An engaging portion 81 is provided on the opening side of the front wall 35 of the box portion 71 as shown in FIG.
The lid member 75 constitutes one of the walls of the container body 70 (the large-area side surface 61).
The lid member 75 is swingably attached to the back wall 36 of the box portion 71 via a hinge 120 (see FIG. 15(a)).
A tightening member 76 is provided on the free end side of the lid member 75 . The tightening member 76 employs toggle-type tightening means, and includes a tightening piece 78 that can swing via a hinge 121 (see FIG. 15(a)). An engaging recess 80 is provided inside the tightening piece 78 .

When closing the opening of the box portion 71 with the lid member 75, the free end of the lid member 75 is brought close to the box portion 71 as shown in FIG. ), and the clamping piece 78 is brought into contact with the front wall 35 as shown in FIG. 17(c).
As a result, the free end side of the lid member 75 is pulled toward the opening of the box portion 71 , and the inner surface side of the lid member 75 comes into contact with the packing of the box portion 71 to seal the inside of the container body 70 .
The tightening piece 78 is substantially parallel to the front wall 35 of the box portion 71 .

Here, in the drug container 20 of the present embodiment, it is assumed that an external device or jig (not shown) is used to open the opening of the box portion 71 from the closed state. In other words, it is assumed that when releasing the tightened state (locked state) of the lid member 75, the posture is changed by an external device or the like without directly operating the tightening piece 78 by hand.
For this reason, as shown in FIG. 18(a), the tightening piece 78 has a substantially triangular prism-like outer shape, and the thickness decreases toward the free end side. The tightening piece 78 has an inclined surface on the side opposite to the front wall 35 side in the closed state. It adheres without gaps. More specifically, a notch portion 78a is formed on the free end side of the tightening piece 78, and the portion adjacent to the notch portion 78a (the portion located on the base end side of the tightening piece 78) is the front wall 35. A minute gap (not shown) is formed between them. Then, a part of an external device or jig is inserted into this gap from the notch portion 78a, and the posture of the tightening piece 78 is changed to release the tightened state. The cutout portion 78a and the gap adjacent to the cutout portion 78a are sized so that a general adult's finger cannot be inserted therein.

However, instead of the drug container 20 described above, as shown in FIG. 18(b), a drug container that assumes that the tightened state (locked state) is manually released may be employed.
This medicament container differs from the medicament container 20 described above in that a clamping piece 278 is provided. Therefore, in the tightened state, a gap 279 is formed between the tightening piece 278 and the front wall 35 as shown in FIG. 18(b). This gap 279 is a relatively large gap, and is of a size that a general adult's finger can easily enter.
More specifically, when the clamping piece 278 in the clamped state is viewed from above, half or more of the edge portion of the clamping piece 278 on the side of the front wall 35 is located away from the front wall 35 . 18(b), the gap 279 is widest on the free end side of the tightening piece 278 (upper side in FIG. 18), and gradually increases toward the base end side (lower side in FIG. 18). narrow.
As described above, the tightened state (locked state) can be released by the user inserting a finger into the gap 279 to change the posture of the tightening piece 278 .

The partition plate 68 (partition member) is formed by bending a belt-like plate, and as shown in FIG. have.
The partition plate 68 (partition member) has a horizontal portion 146 in the central portion, a large inclined portion 143 and a small inclined portion 145 formed on both sides thereof, and contact wall portions 141 and 142 formed on both sides thereof. is.

The horizontal portion 146 assumes a horizontal posture when installed in the container body 70, and is provided with a large number of small holes (openings) 146. As shown in FIG. The small hole (opening) 146 employed in this embodiment has a slit shape extending in the width W direction of the container body 70 .
The large inclined portion 143 and the small inclined portion 145 are portions inclined toward the horizontal portion 146 when installed on the container body 70 , and the large inclined portion 143 is longer than the small inclined portion 145 . The inclination angles of the inclined portions 143 and 145 are the same.
The contact wall portions 141 and 142 are portions that assume a vertical posture when installed on the container body 70 .

The rectifying member 72 is a coil-shaped member.

The shutter structure 73 is composed of a guide member 90, a shutter member 91 (opening/closing member), a transmission member 92, and a biasing member 93, as shown in FIG.
The guide member 90 is a member having a concave side surface, and has an upper horizontal wall 95, a lower horizontal wall 96, and a back wall 97 connecting the two.

The shutter member 91 has a closing wall 110, a guide wall portion 111, a connecting wall 112, and a stopper wall 113, as shown in FIGS. A sealing member (packing) is attached to a position above the closing wall 110 .
The closing wall 110 assumes a horizontal position when installed. Closing wall 110 has a hypotenuse 138 .
The guide wall portion 111 is a wall surface parallel to the closing wall 110 . The connecting wall 112 is a vertical wall that connects the guide wall portion 111 and the closing wall 110 .
A concave shape is formed by the closing wall 110 , the connecting wall 112 and the guide wall portion 111 .
The stopper wall 113 is a small wall vertically rising from the free end side of the guide wall portion 111 .

The transmission member 92 is a stick-shaped member. In this embodiment, it is made of an elongated metal plate.
A shutter-side mounting portion 118 is provided at one end of the transmission member 92 . A notch portion 115 is provided at the other end of the transmission member 92 , and a portion ahead of the notch portion 115 serves as an engaging portion 116 .
The transmission member 92 is integrated with the shutter member 91 by attaching the shutter side attachment portion 118 to the shutter member 91 .

The biasing member 93 is a spring.

The partition plate 68 (partition member) and the rectifying member 72 are housed inside the container body 70 . The shutter structure 73 is mostly inside the container body 70 and only the transmission member 92 extends along the outer surface of the container body 70 .

The partition plate 68 (partition member) is configured such that the contact wall portion 142 is fixed inside the front wall 35 of the container body 70 and the contact wall portion 141 is fixed inside the rear wall 36 of the container body 70, and the container It is fixed to the body 70 .
The inclined portions 143 and 145 and the horizontal portion 146 of the partition plate 68 (partition member) are suspended from the front wall 35 and the rear wall 36 of the container body 70 as if they were suspended therefrom. The large inclined portion 143 of the partition plate 68 (partition member) is located from the front wall 35 to the center of the container body 70 .
The horizontal portion 146 is in the vicinity of the bottom wall 40 of the container body 70, but is not in contact with the bottom wall 40, and a powdered drug passage 117 is formed between the two through which the powdered drug passes.

The shutter structure portion 73 is accommodated on the lower side of the large inclined portion 143 .
The guide member 90 of the shutter structure 73 is arranged with the back wall 97 facing the rear wall 36 side.
The shutter member 91 is oriented such that a concave portion formed by the closing wall 110 , the connecting wall 112 and the guide wall portion 111 is engaged with the concave portion of the guide member 90 . That is, the lower surface of the guide wall portion 111 of the shutter member 91 is in contact with the lower horizontal wall 96 of the guide member 90 .
Also, the closing wall 110 of the shutter member 91 is in contact with the outside of the bottom wall 40 of the container body 70 .

The biasing member 93 is located between the inner surface of the front wall 35 of the container body 70 and the stopper wall 113 of the shutter member 91 and biases the shutter member 91 toward the inner wall 97 of the guide member 90 .
As shown in FIG. 21, the transmission member 92 is located outside the container body 70 as described above and extends along the side wall toward the rear wall 36 side.

The transmission member 92 is integrated with the shutter member 91 , and when the transmission member 92 is slid in the front-rear direction of the container body 70 , the shutter member 91 also linearly moves.
The recessed portion of the shutter member 91 is in contact with the guide member 90 and the container body 70, and is restricted by these to move linearly.
When the transmission member 92 is located closest to the rear wall 36, the closing wall 110 of the shutter member 91 covers the missing portion 77 in the lower portion of the container body 70 and closes the missing portion, which is the opening through which the powdered medicine is discharged. Block 77.
When the transmission member 92 is closest to the front wall 35 side, the closing wall 110 of the shutter member 91 leaves the inclined side of the missing portion 77 in the lower portion of the container body 70 (the oblique side on the side of the back wall 36 ). opens at the bottom.
Here, the opening end of the missing portion 77 of the container body 70 (the portion of the missing portion 77 on the front wall 35 side of the bottom wall 40) is inclined, and the free end of the shutter member 91 is also an inclined side 138, so that the powdered medicine The opening that serves as the discharge portion 11 is a slit 148 in an oblique posture as shown in FIGS. 24(a) and 24(b).
The drug feeder 5 of this embodiment can adjust the degree of opening of the width of the slit 148, and the degree of opening can be changed (control to adjust the degree of opening) based on a signal from a control device (not shown). ing. This control is also control of the moving distance of the transmission member 92 . The degree of opening of the slit 148 may be changed according to (based on) the type of drug to be discharged from the drug container 20 (the type of powdered drug, flowability, particle size, etc.) and the discharge amount of the drug. .
The shutter member 91 is pressed by a biasing member 93 in a direction in which the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 is closed, and the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 is opened by moving the transmission member 92 toward the front wall 35 side.

Next, the positional relationship between the medicine feeder 5 and the distribution tray 6 will be explained.
A plurality of drug feeders 5 are arranged side by side around the distribution tray 6 as shown in FIG.
The drug feeders 5 are all oriented normal to the distribution dish 6 .
Since the drug feeder 5 of this embodiment has a narrow width, a large number of drug feeders can be arranged in a narrow area. Therefore, a large number of them can be arranged around the distribution plate 6. - 特許庁In this embodiment, six drug feeders 5 are radially arranged in the front half circumference portion of the distribution plate 6 .
Since the drug feeder 5 of this embodiment supports the back wall 36 of the drug container 20 in a cantilever manner with the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 of the feeder main body 10, most of the drug container 20 is supported by the feeder main body. It protrudes from 10 in a cantilevered manner.
As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, the position of the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 provided on the front wall 35 side of the medicine container 20 is the position right above the medicine introduction groove 13 of the distribution plate 6 .

In the medicine feeder 5 of this embodiment, the powdered medicine discharge part 11 has a slit shape and is inclined with respect to the medicine container 20 . 22 and 23, the powdered medicine discharge part 11 spreads in the width A direction of the medicine feeding groove 13. As shown in FIGS.

Next, the operation of drug feeder 5 will be described.
In the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, as described above, the medicine container 20 of each medicine feeder 5 is filled with different medicines in advance.
When filling the powder medicine, the medicine container 20 is removed from the feeder main body 10, and the medicine container 20 is laid flat as shown in FIG. Then, the cover member 75 is opened, and powdered medicine is filled from the large-area side surface 61 side of the medicine container 20 .
After that, the lid member 75 is closed to make the inside of the drug container 20 hermetically sealed.

Subsequently, the drug container 20 is attached to the feeder main body 10 as shown in FIG.
At that time, the feeder main body 10 is in a standby state as shown in FIG. 13(a). Specifically, the loading/unloading mechanism of the feeder main body 10 is in the retracted posture, and the engaging piece 50 of the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 is recessed into the opening 51 .
The arm 57 of the shutter opening/closing mechanism 55 is drawn toward the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 , and the engagement piece holding portion 56 is located near the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 .
On the other hand, the drug container 20 pulls the transmission member 92 toward the rear wall 36 to block the opening at the bottom of the container body 70 .

In this state, the back wall 36 of the drug container 20 is inserted from above along the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 of the feeder main body 10 as shown in FIG. 13(a).
Here, the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 has a trapezoidal engaging portion 47, and a dovetail-shaped engaging portion (holding portion-side engaging portion) 48 is provided on a side corresponding to the oblique side of the trapezoidal shape. . On the other hand, the rear wall 36 of the container body 70 has a pair of engaging grooves 130 .
Therefore, by inserting the rear wall 36 of the drug container 20 from above along the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 of the feeder body 10 , the engagement groove 130 of the container body 70 is engaged with the engagement portion 48 of the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 . can be engaged.
At this time, since the engaging piece 50 of the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 is recessed into the opening 51, it does not interfere with inserting the drug container 20. As shown in FIG.

At this time, the engaging portion 116 of the transmission member 92 is engaged with the engaging piece holding portion 56 of the feeder body 10 as shown in FIG. 13(b). Here, in this embodiment, when the drug container 20 is attached, the dovetail groove-shaped engaging portion 48 functions as a guide for regulating the moving direction of the drug container 20 as described above. Therefore, the drug container 20 can be attached only by moving the drug container 20 along the engaging portion 48, and the engagement between the engaging portion 116 of the transmission member 92 and the engaging piece holding portion 56 can be achieved. It becomes possible. In other words, the drug container 20 is mounted without performing fine positioning for engaging the engaging portion 116 of the transmission member 92 and the engaging piece holding portion 56 (without being conscious of the work for engaging). It becomes possible to engage naturally only by doing.
Then, as described above, a specific drug feeder 5 is selected and driven based on the prescription. Here, in the present embodiment, the selected drug feeder 5 has the loading/unloading mechanism in a protruding posture, and the engaging piece 50 of the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 protrudes from the opening 51 as shown in FIG. 13(c). As a result, the engagement piece 50 of the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 engages with the engagement recess 131 of the back wall 36 of the medicine container 20 , and the medicine container 20 is firmly fixed to the vibration member 16 .
13(c), the engagement piece holding portion 56 moves toward the front wall 35, the transmission member 92 slides forward, and the shutter member 91 moves forward. It is moved to open the powdered medicine discharge part 11 at the bottom of the container body 70 .

Subsequently, the vibrating member 16 starts to vibrate, and the drug container 20 vibrates together as described above. Here, in this embodiment, the drug container 20 is firmly joined to the vibrating member 16 by the engaging portions provided at two locations, and the degree of close contact with the vibrating member 16 is high. vibrates at the same frequency as the vibrating member 16 .
A partition plate 68 (partition member) is provided inside the drug container 20 of the present embodiment, and the inside of the container body 70 is partitioned vertically. A space (powder medicine passage 117 ) through which the powder medicine passes is secured in the lower part of the partition plate 68 .
Therefore, the powdered medicine in the powdered medicine passage 117 is less likely to bear the weight of the powdered medicine on the upper side, and the powdered medicine moves easily.

Since the drug container 20 of the present embodiment has a narrow width, it is necessary to secure a volume for accommodating the powdered drug, so the height is high. The pressure applied to the powdered medicine is a function that correlates with the height of the powdered medicine.
Therefore, without the partition plate 68 (partition member), the powdered medicine in the vicinity of the bottom wall 40 is pressed against the powdered medicine on the upper side, and there is a concern that the movement of the powdered medicine may become difficult.
In this embodiment, since the weight of the powdered medicine on the upper side is supported by the partition plate 68, the powdered medicine in the vicinity of the bottom wall 40 is not pressed, and the flow due to vibration is smooth. Furthermore, by vibrating the drug container 20 during the discharge operation of the powdered drug, the powdered drug in the drug container 20 is agitated in the storage space above the partition plate 68 (horizontal portion 146). At this time, part of the stored powdered medicine moves upward on the large inclined portion 143 and moves upward from the horizontal portion 146 toward the horizontal portion 146 . For this reason, on the small holes (slits) of the horizontal portion 146, the force of the powdered medicine that presses downward from above is less likely to be applied, and the powdered medicine flowing by stirring appropriately falls from the small holes (slits), so that the powdered medicine can be discharged smoothly. It becomes possible.
When the powdered medicine in the powdered medicine passageway 117 runs short, the powdered medicine falls into the powdered medicine passageway 117 from a small hole 147 provided in the horizontal portion 146, and the powdered medicine passageway 117 is replenished with the powdered medicine.

Further, in this embodiment, replenishment of the powdered medicine to the powdered medicine passage 117 is performed only from the horizontal portion 146 . The horizontal portion 146 is horizontally closer to the rear wall 36 than to the front wall 35 and away from the discharge portion.
Further, since there is a large inclined portion 143 between the horizontal portion 146 and the front wall 35, the front side in the advancing direction of the powder medicine has a wider space. Specifically, the height of the space is increased. Therefore, a space is created above the powdered medicine flowing through the powdered medicine passage 117 . Therefore, as the powdered medicine advances through the powdered medicine passage 117, the flow of the powdered medicine is rectified, laminarization progresses, and the laminarization is advanced.

Further, in this embodiment, when the powdered medicine in the powdered medicine passage 117 advances toward the powdered medicine discharge section 11 side, it passes through the rectifying member 72 and passes through the gaps between the wires of the coil. Therefore, the drug flow is smoothed.
The powdered medicine drops from the powdered medicine discharging portion 11 of the shutter member 91 and enters the medicine feeding groove 13 of the distribution tray 6 below.

Further, in this embodiment, the effective opening degree can be adjusted by providing the inclined side 138 at the end face of the closing wall 110 .
That is, in the medicine feeder 5 of this embodiment, the shape of the powdered medicine discharge part 11 is slit-shaped and inclined with respect to the container body 70 .
Therefore, as described above, the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 is widened in the width A direction of the medicine introduction groove 13 . Since the powdered medicine spreads in the direction of the width A of the medicine feeding groove 13 and falls, it falls evenly in the direction of the width A of the medicine feeding groove 13 .
Therefore, when the powdered medicine is collected in a later step, the gathered powdered medicine is less likely to collapse.

Further, the slope of the end of the cutout portion 77 of the container body 70 is a combination of a steep slope portion 150 and a gentle slope portion 151 .
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 24(a), by increasing the amount of movement of the closing wall 110, the powder can be dropped from the entire width of the bottom wall 40 (see FIG. 23(a)).
On the other hand, when the amount of movement of the closing wall 110 is small as shown in FIG. The width becomes narrow (see FIG. 23(b)).
When it is necessary to discharge a large amount of powdered medicine, as shown in FIGS. 23(b) and 24(b), the amount of movement of the closing wall 110 is reduced to drop the powdered medicine from a narrow width.

When a predetermined amount of powdered medicine is discharged, the vibration of the vibrating member 16 is stopped.
After that, the loading/unloading mechanism of the feeder main body 10 is operated to the retraction side. As a result, the engagement piece holding portion 56 moves toward the rear wall 36, the transmission member 92 slides rearward, the shutter member 91 moves, and the opening at the bottom of the container body 70 closes.
At the same time, the loading/unloading mechanism of the feeder main body 10 assumes the retracted posture, and the engagement piece 50 of the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 disengages from the engagement concave portion 131 of the medicine container 20 .

Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

The bottom portion (bottom surface) of the internal space of the drug container 20 in the above-described embodiment, that is, the bottom portion (bottom surface) of the powdered medicine passage 117 (see FIGS. 15 and 16) connected to the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 may be inclined. . For example, the bottom surface may be an inclined surface that is inclined so that the height decreases toward one side in the width direction of the drug container 20 . That is, the two left and right side walls 37 are sloped surfaces that are inclined so as to become lower from one side to the other side. It may be formed to be
According to such a structure, when discharging the powdered medicine, the powdered medicine tends to gather on one side in the width direction of the medicine container 20, so that even when discharging a small amount of the powdered medicine, accurate and stable discharge is possible.
It is also conceivable to form the bottom surface so as to slope downward toward the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 . That is, in a direction perpendicular to the width direction in a plan view, it may be formed so as to have a downward slope from one end side to the other end side.

The shutter member 91 described above may be fitted with a seal member 250 as shown in FIG. The seal member 250 has an upright plate-like mounting piece portion 251 and a flat plate portion 280 projecting outward from one main surface of the mounting piece portion 251, which are integrally formed.
The attachment piece 251 extends obliquely as shown in FIG. 25(c). Note that the oblique directions refer to the width direction of the drug container 20 (horizontal direction in FIG. 25(c)) and the flow direction of the powdered medicine during discharge (vertical direction in FIG. 25(c)) in plan view. and the direction of inclination.

The flat plate portion 280 has a first protruding piece portion 260, a second protruding piece portion 261, and a third protruding piece portion 262 from one side to the other side in the width direction of the medicine container 20 (left and right direction in FIG. 25(c)). are divided into
In the following description of the sealing member 250, the width direction of the drug container 20 (horizontal direction in FIG. 25(c)) is also referred to as the lateral direction, and the flow direction of the powder medicine (vertical direction in FIG. 25(c)) is referred to as the front-rear direction. Also called At this time, let the downward direction of FIG.25(c) be the front.

The first projecting piece portion 260, the second projecting piece portion 261, and the third projecting piece portion 262 are projecting lengths from the attachment piece portion 251, and are perpendicular to the main surface of the attachment piece portion 251 (Fig. 25(c) ) in the direction indicated by the arrow X) is different. Specifically, the projection length is increased in the order of the first projecting piece portion 260, the second projecting piece portion 261, and the third projecting piece portion 262. As shown in FIG.
Therefore, the projecting end surface of the first projecting piece portion 260 and the projecting end surface of the second projecting piece portion 261 are continuous via a step. The protruding end surface of the second protruding piece portion 261 is located on the rear side of the protruding end surface of the first protruding piece portion 260 in the direction orthogonal to the main surface of the mounting piece portion 251 described above. The protruding end face of the third protruding piece portion 262 is located further rearward than the protruding end face of the second protruding piece portion 261 in the same direction.

In addition, although not particularly limited, the rearmost portion of the projecting end of the first projecting piece portion 260 (the portion indicated by P1 in the figure) and the projecting end of the third projecting piece portion 262 , the rearmost portion (the portion indicated by P2 in the figure) is at the same position in the front-rear direction.
That is, the flat plate portion 280 has a shape in which a notch-shaped missing portion is formed in a plate-like body whose plan view shape is substantially trapezoidal, and a part thereof is missing.

As shown in FIG. 26, the shutter member 91 moves back and forth (left and right in FIG. 26) with the sealing member 250 inserted into the internal space of the drug container 20 (powder passage 117, see FIG. 15). , the opening/closing operation of the powdered medicine discharge unit 11 is executed.
Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 26(a) to 26(c), when the shutter member 91 is moved to switch between the closed state and the open state, at least a part of the third protruding piece 262 is positioned at the drug container 20. The shutter member 91 moves in a state of being constantly inserted into the interior of the . Therefore, the seal member 250 also functions as a guide when the shutter member 91 is moved.

For example, as shown in FIG. 26( a ), the amount of movement of the shutter member 91 (closing wall 110 ) is increased to fully open the powdered medicine discharge section 11 . At this time, the first protruding piece portion 260 and the second protruding piece portion 261 are arranged at a position away from the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 to the outside, while a part of the third protruding piece portion 262 is located inside the powdered medicine discharge portion 11. (inside the medicine container 20).
Therefore, the powdered medicine is discharged from both the portion facing the first projecting piece 260 and the portion facing the second projecting piece 261 in the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 . A part of the opening forming the powdered medicine discharge part 11 is blocked by the third protruding piece part 262 . In other words, the powdered medicine falls from the space between the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 and the first projecting piece portion 260 and the space between the powdered medicine discharging portion 11 and the second projecting piece portion 261 .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 26(b), the amount of movement of the shutter member 91 (closed wall 110) is reduced, and the powdered medicine discharge section 11 is slightly opened. At this time, while the first projecting piece 260 is arranged at a position away from the powdered medicine discharge part 11, part of the second projecting piece 261 and part of the third projecting piece 262 11 (inside the drug container 20).
For this reason, the portion of the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 that faces the first projecting piece portion 260 at a distance is in a state in which the inside and outside are communicated, and the powdered medicine is discharged from this portion. A part of the opening forming the powdered medicine discharge part 11 is blocked by the second protruding piece 261 and the third protruding piece 262 . In other words, the powdered medicine falls from the space between the powdered medicine discharge part 11 and the first projecting piece part 260 . As described above, when the amount of movement of the shutter member 91 is small, the width of the opening effective for ejecting the powder medicine becomes small. In other words, the opening area of the portion of the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 that is effective for discharging the powdered medicine is reduced.

Further, as shown in FIG. 26(c), when the shutter member 91 is closed, the first protruding piece 260, the second protruding piece 261, and the third protruding piece 262 move inside the powdered medicine discharge part 11 ( inside the medicine container 20). As a result, by closing the shutter member 91 after discharging the powdered medicine, the powdered medicine can be pushed back from the vicinity of the powdered medicine discharging portion 11 to the back side.

As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to open the powdered medicine discharge part 11 step by step. By increasing the amount of movement of 110, powdered medicine is dropped from a relatively wide range. When the amount of the powdered medicine discharged is small, the amount of movement of the closing wall 110 is reduced as shown in FIG. 26(a) to drop the powdered medicine from a relatively narrow range. In the above-described embodiment, the opening degree (opening degree) of the powdered medicine discharge section 11 is configured to be adjustable in two stages, but it may be adjustable in a plurality of stages such as three or more stages. That is, the number of projecting pieces may be four or more.

In addition to the above-described structure in which the degree of opening of the powdered medicine discharge unit 11 can be adjusted stepwise, as shown in FIG. ) may be continuously increased or decreased according to the amount of movement of the shutter member 231 (opening/closing member).

In the shutter member 231 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 27, the planar view shape (bottom view shape) of the closing wall 232 is substantially quadrangular (substantially rectangular) unlike the above. That is, the closing wall 232 has a shape having a length in the width direction of the drug container in plan view, and the side 232a on the rearmost side (left side in FIG. 27) extends in the same direction as the width direction of the drug container. is a side extending to In other words, it has a portion extending linearly at the rearmost portion.
On the other hand, the powdered medicine discharge part 11 extends obliquely. The front end portion of the bottom wall 40 also extends obliquely in plan view. The front end portion of the bottom wall 40 is also a boundary portion between the bottom wall 40 and the missing portion 77 (see FIG. 19 and the like) on the front wall 35 side.

The closing wall 232 is arranged at a position that does not overlap the bottom wall 40 in a plan view when it is in a fully open state as shown in FIG. 27(a). In other words, the entire closing wall 232 is arranged forward of the front ends (the right ends in FIG. 27) of the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 and the bottom wall 40 . In this case, the powdered medicine is discharged from the whole area of the powdered medicine discharging part 11 . That is, the powdered medicine falls from the space positioned between the powdered medicine discharge part 11 and the side 232a in plan view (bottom view).
When the shutter member 231 moves in the closing direction from the state shown in FIG. 27(a), a portion of the closing wall 232 is positioned below the bottom wall 40 and closes to the bottom wall 40 as shown in FIG. 27(b). They overlap in the vertical direction (the depth direction in FIG. 27(a)). At this time, in plan view, a portion of the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 (a portion of the front end portion of the bottom wall 40) is positioned forward of the side 232a, and the other portion is positioned rearward of the side 232a. .

In this state, the portion of the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 located on the rear side of the side 232a becomes an effective portion for discharging the powdered medicine. That is, the powdered medicine falls from the space located between the side 232a and the part located behind the side 232a.
Therefore, as the shutter member 231 moves in the closing direction and the overlap between the bottom wall 40 and the closing wall 232 increases, the width of the opening effective for discharging the powder medicine becomes smaller. Conversely, as the shutter member 231 moves in the closing direction and the overlapping portion between the bottom wall 40 and the closing wall 232 becomes smaller, the opening width of the portion effective for discharging the powder medicine becomes larger.
When the fully closed state is achieved, as shown in FIG. 27(c), the entire front ends (right ends in FIG. 27) of the powdered medicine discharge portion 11 and the bottom wall 40 are arranged forward of the side 232a. becomes.

In the embodiment described above, the closing wall 110 of the shutter member 91 is in contact with the outside of the bottom wall 40 of the container body 70 . Also, in the embodiment described above, the contour of the end surface of the closing wall 110 is a simple slanted line.
Alternatively, the closing wall 110 of the shutter member 91 may be configured to contact the inside of the bottom wall 40 of the container body 70 .

If the closing wall 110 of the shutter member 91 is configured to be in contact with the inside of the bottom wall 40 of the container body 70 , when the closing wall 110 is closed, the end of the shutter member 91 will be in the vicinity of the opening of the bottom wall 40 of the drug container 20 . Push the powdered medicine that has reached to the back side.
Therefore, the next time the closing wall 110 is opened, the powdered medicine is prevented from spilling out.

In the above embodiment, the partition plate 68 (partition member) is provided in the vicinity of the lower portion of the container body 70. In addition to this, or in place of the partition plate 68 (partition member), as shown in FIG. An eave-like temporary receiving plate 152 may be provided in the middle portion in the height direction of the .
By providing the temporary receiving plate 152, it is possible to prevent the weight of the powdered medicine on the upper side from being applied to the powdered medicine below.
An opening may be provided in the temporary receiving plate 152 .

In addition to the partition plate 68 (partition member) provided in the vicinity of the lower portion of the container body 70, a second partition 160 for partitioning the inside of the container body 70 may be provided as shown in FIG. 29(a). It is also recommended to provide a shutter 161 on the second partition 160 as shown in FIG. 29(b).
The shutter 161 is manually opened and closed.
By providing the second compartment 160, the first-in/first-out of the powdered medicine can be facilitated.

Although it is desirable to replenish the drug container 20 with new powdered drugs after all the powdered drugs in the drug container 20 have been used up, there are cases where leftovers occur. In this case, the remaining powdered medicine is dropped under the second partition 160, and then the shutter 161 is closed to separate the lower part and the upper part of the drug container. Then, powdered medicine is filled in the upper portion. After that, the shutter 161 is opened. By doing so, the new powdered medicine is piled on top of the original powdered medicine, and the old powdered medicine is discharged first.

The shutter 161 of the second partition 160 may be interlocked with the shutter member 91 of the powdered medicine discharge section 11 .
For example, as shown in FIG. 30, the shutter member 91 and the shutter 161 of the second partition 160 are connected by a spring 170, and the shutter member 91 and the shutter 161 of the second partition 160 are interlocked.
The interlocking spring 170 is desirably weaker than the spring of the biasing member 93 that biases the shutter member 91 in the closing direction.
The reason for this is that when the remaining amount of powdered medicine is large, the shutter 161 of the second partition 160 may be clogged with the powdered medicine and the shutter 161 of the second partition 160 may not close.
The shutter 161 of the second partition 160 does not necessarily need to be fully closed. By weakening the spring 170, the shutter 161 of the second partition 160 can be in a half-open state.

In the drug container described above, the powdered medicine is directly filled from the side surface, but the surface on which the powdered medicine is filled is arbitrary.
For example, powdered medicine may be introduced from the top side of the medicine container.
Also, as shown in FIG. 31, a medicine container 172 with an open upper surface may be used. For example, one or a plurality of feeder bodies 10 are attached with a drug container 172 having an open top side. When powdered medicines that are used infrequently are to be packaged, the powdered medicines are directly put in through the upper opening and packaged.

In the embodiment described above, the powdered medicine input hopper 310 is installed inside the equipment storage opening 15 of the distribution tray 6 .
Here, it is desirable that the height of the opening of the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is slightly lower than that of the distribution plate 6 as shown in FIG.
By making the height of the opening of the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 lower than that of the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 and rotating the rotating plate 12 relatively slowly, the powdered medicine can be put into the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 without being scattered.

The drug feeder 5 described above may employ a drug container 420 of the second embodiment as shown in FIG. 33 instead of the drug container 20 described above. The drug container 420 of the second embodiment can be attached to and detached from the feeder body 10 in the same manner as the drug container 20 described above. That is, together with the feeder main body 10 described above, a drug feeder is configured.

This medicine container 420 is also surrounded by a front wall 435 and a rear wall 436 as small area side surfaces, two side walls 437 as large area side surfaces, a top wall 438 and a bottom wall 440 . In other words, the drug container 420 is also a vertically elongated box-shaped member. Further, the back wall 436 is formed with the engaging groove 130 and the engaging concave portion (the concave portion that engages with the engaging piece 50, not shown) in the same manner as described above.
The medicine container 420 has an openable and closable powdered medicine discharging part 411 (see FIG. 35) at a position near the front wall 435 in the bottom wall 440 . The drug container 420 also has a shutter structure portion 473 .

The shutter structure 473 has a shutter member 491 (opening/closing member) and a transmission member 492, as shown in FIG. 34(a). That is, it differs from the above-described embodiment in that it does not have a guide member 90 and an urging member 93 (see FIG. 19, etc.). Then, as in the above-described embodiment, the transmission member 492 linearly moves, thereby moving the shutter member 491 and opening and closing the powdered medicine discharge section 411 . That is, as in the above-described embodiment, a portion of the transmission member 492 on the side of the rear wall 436 is exposed to the outside. engage mechanism 55;

The medicine container 420 of this embodiment has a holding protrusion 525 that holds the intermediate portion of the transmission member 492 and a locking protrusion 526 . The locking protrusion 526 forms a lock mechanism that maintains the closed state so that the powdered medicine discharging part 411 (shutter) does not open accidentally when the medicine container 420 is removed from the feeder body 10 and carried. be.
The holding protrusions 525 are a pair of protrusions extending in directions approaching each other from above and below. A portion of the transmission member 492 is inserted through a groove-shaped portion formed inside the holding protrusion 525 .
The locking protrusion 526 is a protrusion formed integrally with the flat plate-like portions of the leaf spring member 520 positioned in the front and rear, and is a plate-like portion extending in a substantially V shape in a side view between the two flat plate-like portions. be. The locking protrusion 526 projects outward in the width direction of the drug container 420 in a cantilever manner together with the front and rear flat plate-like portions, and is elastically deformed together with the flat plate-like portions. The locking protrusion 526 restricts unintended movement of the transmission member 492 by engaging with a notch portion (locking portion) formed above the transmission member 492 (above the engaging portion 116).

Then, by attaching the drug container 420 to the feeder body 10, the engagement (locked state) between the locking protrusion 526 and the transmission member 492 is released, and the transmission member 492 becomes movable. Specifically, when the drug container 420 is attached to the feeder main body 10, the engaging portion 60 of the engaging piece holding portion 56 (see FIGS. 13 and 14) and the transmission member 492 are connected in the same manner as described above. Engagement portion 116 is engaged (a portion of transmission member 492 on the rear side of engagement portion 116 is inserted into engagement portion 60 of engagement piece holding portion 56 from above). . That is, in this embodiment, at this time, the flat plate-like portion on the rear side (back wall 436 side) of the locking protrusion 526 is moved by the upper surface of the engaging piece holding portion 56 on which the engaging portion 60 is formed. It will be in a state of being lifted from below. As a result, the locking protrusion 526 and the flat plate portion are elastically deformed so that the locking protrusion 526 and the transmission member 492 are disengaged.

In the drug container 420 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 33, the lid member 475 constitutes the top wall 438 among the walls. A lid member 475 is attached to a box portion 471 having an open upper surface, and the lid member 475 is swingable by means of a hinge 421 . When the lid member 475 is opened, powdered medicine can be filled from above, and when it is closed, the drug container 420 can be sealed. It should be noted that the drug container 420 of the present embodiment can be filled with the powdered drug while being held by the feeder main body 10 .

As shown in FIG. 35, the lid member 475 of this embodiment has a lid body portion 475a and a small lid portion 475b. A small lid portion 475b is attached to the lower side of the lid main body portion 475a (the lower side when closed), and is swingable by a hinge 421. As shown in FIG.
Here, the lid member 475 has an in-lid accommodating portion 527 which is a space capable of accommodating a desiccant or the like. A humidity control agent is stored in the in-lid storage portion 527 of the present embodiment. By rocking the small lid portion 475b, the in-lid accommodation portion 527 can be opened and closed. In other words, the in-lid accommodating portion 527 is a space formed between the lid body portion 475a and the small lid portion 475b. Specifically, when the lid member 475 is closed and the small lid portion 475b is closed, the space is located above most of the small lid portion 475b.

34(a) and 35, the lid member 475 has a lid-side locking piece portion 476 on the side opposite to the connecting portion with the box portion 471. As shown in FIGS. The lid-side locking piece 476 is connected to the front end of the lid main body 475a in a swingable state by means of a hinge 421. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 35, the lid-side locking piece portion 476 has a locking projection 476a on the inner surface in an upright posture. The locking projection 476 a is a projection that extends from the front side toward the back side when the lid member 475 is closed, and is a projection that can be engaged with the projection portion 600 formed on the box portion 471 . In other words, the locking projection 476a and the projection 600 are engaging portions that form a pair and engage with each other. By engaging these members, the lid member 475 is in a locked state (a state in which the closed state is maintained firmly). The box portion 471 is formed with an operation notch portion 601 (see FIG. 34(a)) for operating the lid member 475. As shown in FIG. The operation notch 601 is positioned on the side (one side in the width direction) of the lid member 475 when the lid member 475 is in the locked state.

As shown in FIG. 36, the box portion 471 is formed by inserting the partition member 606 into the box portion main body 605 from the opening on the front side, attaching the pressing plate member 607, and further attaching the shutter structure portion 473. It is
The partition member 606 has a flat plate-shaped main body portion 606a, a pressed plate portion 606b projecting upward from the upper surface of the main body portion 606a, and a straightening portion 472 (see FIG. 37) formed on the lower surface side of the main body portion 606a. .
A powdered medicine passage 517 is formed on the lower side of the partition member 606 . The powdered medicine passage 517 is a passage leading to the powdered medicine discharge portion 411 , and is surrounded by the bottom portion of the box portion 471 , the side wall lower portion, and the partition member 606 .

The main body part 606a has a communication hole forming part 546 on the rear wall 436 side. The communicating hole forming portion 546 is a portion in which a large number of small holes (openings) 547 are provided, and in this embodiment, a long hole row is formed. The row of elongated holes is formed by arranging a plurality of elongated holes in the front-rear direction. Each elongated hole penetrates the body portion 606a in the thickness direction and extends in the width direction of the drug container 20. As shown in FIG. The small hole (opening) 547 employed in this embodiment has a slit shape extending in the width W direction of the container body 70 .

The rectifying portion 472 of the present embodiment is a group of projections composed of a plurality of projections, as shown in FIG. 37(a). Each protrusion belonging to the straightening section 472 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape and protrudes downward from the lower surface of the main body section 606a (upward from the upper surface in FIG. 37(a)). Moreover, each protrusion has a thickness in the width direction of the drug container 420 and has a shape extending in the front-rear direction.
Here, the plurality of protrusions belonging to the straightening section 472 are arranged in a zigzag pattern. That is, the rectifying portion 472 is composed of a first projection row 472a on the front side and a second projection row 472b on the rear side (on the communication hole forming portion 546 side). In each row of protrusions, a plurality of (four in this embodiment) protrusions are arranged side by side in the width direction of the drug container 420 at intervals. The rear portions of the protrusions belonging to the first protrusion row 472a are positioned to the sides of the front portions of the protrusions belonging to the second protrusion row 472b. Therefore, a portion of the protrusions belonging to the first protrusion row 472a is disposed between two protrusions whose rear portions belong to the second protrusion row 472b. A gap is formed between the side surface of the protrusion belonging to the first protrusion row 472a and the side surface of the protrusion belonging to the second protrusion row 472b, which are arranged to face each other in the width direction of the drug container 20. .
In addition, as shown in FIG. 37(b), the plurality of protrusions belonging to the rectifying portion 472 have different positions in the height direction of the respective lower end faces. That is, the position of the lower end surface becomes lower as the arrangement position of the protrusion approaches one end in the width direction (the right side in FIG. 10B).

As shown in FIGS. 35 and 36, the pressing plate member 607 has two mounting operation portions 610 and a pressing protrusion 611 (see FIG. 35). The attachment operation portion 610 is a knob that is elastically deformed by being operated by the user. The two attachment operation portions 610 are formed at positions separated in the width direction, and both have protrusions that protrude outward in the width direction.
Here, as shown in FIG. 36, box-side engaging portions 612 are formed on the left and right side walls of the box body 605 respectively. The box-side engaging portion 612 is a hole penetrating the side wall and engages with the projecting portion of the attachment operating portion 610 . In other words, the pressing plate member 607 is attached to the box body 605 by engaging the two attachment operation portions 610 and the two box side engaging portions 612 .

As shown in FIG. 35, the pressing protrusion 611 is a protrusion extending from the front side to the rear side (from the right side to the left side in FIG. 35), and is the portion that contacts the pressed plate portion 606b of the partition member 606 from the front. . Specifically, the surface of the projecting end is in surface contact with the front surface of the pressed plate portion 606b. As a result, unintended displacement of the partition member 606 can be prevented.

The shutter member 491 has a closing wall 510 (see FIG. 34(b), etc.), a guide wall portion 511, and a connecting wall 512, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the above-described stopper wall 113 (see FIG. 19, etc.) is not formed. A seal member 550 is attached at a position above the closing wall 110 .

In the drug container 420 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 34(b), the closed wall 510 is positioned forward of the bottom wall 440 when the powdered drug discharge section 411 is closed. That is, a portion of the closing wall 510 does not vertically overlap the bottom wall 440 . In this embodiment, the bottom wall 440 is brought close to the powdered medicine discharge part 411 and the sealing member 550 is pressed against the powdered medicine discharge part 411 to close the powdered medicine discharge part 411 . In addition, the powdered medicine discharger 411 is opened by separating the sealing member 550 forward from the powdered medicine discharger 411 . When closed, part of the sealing member 550 enters the powdered medicine passage 517 from the powdered medicine discharging portion 411 (see FIG. 35).

Inside the drug container 420 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 35, the communication hole forming portion 546, which is a plate-like portion, serves as a partition plate portion (partition member). That is, a partition plate portion (partition member) is arranged at the boundary between the storage space 613 that stores the powdered medicine and the powdered medicine passage 517 . The powdered medicine passage 517 is a portion through which the powdered medicine passes when the powdered medicine is discharged. Space.

In addition, in this embodiment, the bottom portion (upper surface of the bottom wall 440) of the powdered medicine passage 517 is inclined. Specifically, in the width direction of the drug container 420, it slopes downward toward one side end (in FIG. 35, the back side end in the front and back direction). Furthermore, the medicine container 420 is inclined downward toward the powdered medicine discharging part 411 in the front-rear direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 35). That is, as a whole, the powdered medicine discharge part 411 is inclined toward one end in the width direction of the medicine container 420 .
Further, the lower end portions of the plurality of protrusions belonging to the rectifying portion 472 are in close contact with the bottom portion of the powdered medicine passage 517 . Therefore, when the powdered medicine passes through the straightening section 472 , it passes between two protrusions or between one protrusion and the side wall 437 of the drug container 420 . In other words, when the powdered medicine passes through the rectifying section 472, it passes through a small gap (narrow flow path), smoothing the flow of the medicine.

The communicating hole forming portion 546 is a portion that assumes a horizontal posture when the drug container 420 is held by the feeder body 10 . In addition, a large inclined portion 543 and a small inclined portion 545 are provided in a portion adjacent to the communication hole forming portion 546 serving as a partition plate.

The large inclined portion 543 and the small inclined portion 545 both form an inclined surface inclined toward the communication hole forming portion 546 when the drug container 420 is held by the feeder body 10 . The large inclined portion 543 is longer than the small inclined portion 545 and has the same inclination angle. That is, the space between the large inclined portion 543 and the small inclined portion 545 (the lower portion of the storage space 613) converges toward the communication hole forming portion 546. As shown in FIG.

When the medicine is to be discharged from the medicine container 420 , the medicine container 420 is held by the feeder body 10 , the powdered medicine discharging part 411 is opened, and the medicine container 420 is vibrated. At this time, when the powdered medicine in the powdered medicine passage 517 is reduced due to the discharge, the powdered medicine in the medicine container 420 moves from the storage space 613 , which is the space above the communication hole forming portion 546 , to the powdered medicine passage 517 and toward the powdered medicine discharge portion 411 . to proceed. Then, it is discharged from the powdered medicine discharge part 411 .
In this embodiment as well, the powdered medicine is agitated in the storage space 613 by vibrating the medicine container 420 . At this time, part of the stored powdered medicine moves upward on the large inclined portion 543 and moves upward from the communicating hole forming portion 546 toward the communicating hole forming portion 546 side. That is, similarly to the above, it is difficult for the powdered medicine to apply a pressing force to the communication hole forming portion 546, and the powdered medicine can be discharged smoothly.

Next, a medicine feeder 700 of a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 39 to 42. FIG. A medicine feeder 700 has a medicine container 701 of the third embodiment and a feeder body 702 of the second embodiment holding the medicine container 701 .
Since the basic structure and function of the drug container 701 and the feeder main body 702 are the same as those of the drug containers 20, 172, 420 and the feeder main body 10 described above, only improvements will be described.
The feeder main body 702 of this embodiment includes a detachment assisting member 705 used when detaching the drug container 701 . Further, the feeder main body 702 has a shutter opening/closing mechanism 706 added with a function of locking the shutter 707 .
On the other hand, the drug container 701 of the third embodiment is provided with an engaging portion 710 with which the detachment assisting member 705 is engaged. The drug container 701 also has a lock mechanism that maintains the closed state so that the powdered drug discharge section (shutter) 711 does not open unintentionally, but its structure is different from that of the drug container 420 described above.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 42, the drug container 701 differs from the drug containers 20, 172, and 420 described above in the structure of the powdered drug discharge portion 711 and the shutter structure portion 713. As shown in FIG. This will be explained below.

In the feeder main body 702 of this embodiment, a detachment assisting member 705 used when removing the medicine container 701 is provided on the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 (longitudinal wall) of the vibrating member 16 (container holding portion).
39, 40, and 41, the detachment assisting member 705 is a lever that rotates around a horizontally provided shaft 720, and has an operation portion 721 and an action portion 722. As shown in FIGS.
The operating portion 721 has an upward arcuate shape, and has an engaging pressing portion 723 and a releasing pressing portion 725 .
Actuating portion 722 is a claw.

The operation portion 721 and the action portion 722 are connected by a substantially “L”-shaped connecting portion 726 . The connection portion 726 has a vertical side portion 727 and a horizontal side portion 728 with a state in which the drug container 701 is attached to the vibrating member 16 (container holding portion) as a reference. A shaft 720 is connected to the connecting portion between the vertical side portion 727 and the horizontal side portion 728 .
The connecting portion between the vertical side portion 727 and the horizontal side portion 728 and the outer portion functions as the seating portion 731 and is flat.

A biasing member 732 such as a spring is provided on the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 (vertical wall) to always bias the detachment assisting member 705 . Specifically, the biasing member 732 presses the horizontal side portion 728 upward, biasing the detachment assisting member 705 in the rotational direction.

Further, the shutter opening/closing mechanism 706 of the feeder body 702 is composed of the engagement piece holding portion 735 and the arm 57 as in the above-described embodiment. As in the above-described embodiment, a concave portion that serves as the engaging portion 60 is provided on the upper surface of the engaging piece holding portion 735 .
In this embodiment, in addition to that, a protrusion 737 is provided on the upper surface of the engaging piece holding portion 735 . Projection 737 has an inclined surface 738 . As for the inclination direction of the inclined surface 738 , the front side is lower and the rear side is higher with respect to the protruding direction side of the arm 57 .

A drug container 701 of the third embodiment has a lid member 475 attached to a box portion 471 having an open top, and the lid member 475 is pivoted by a hinge 421, similarly to the drug container 420 of the second embodiment described above. It is possible.
As described above, the drug container 701 is provided with the engaging portion 710 with which the detachment assisting member 705 engages. The engaging portion 710 is a protrusion provided on the rear wall 436 . The position of the engaging portion 710 is arbitrary, and may be on the side wall 437 or the bottom wall 440 .

As shown in FIG. 39, the shutter structure 713 has a shutter 707, a shutter member 740 (opening/closing member), and a transmission member 741, as in the second embodiment. The linear movement of the transmission member 741 causes the shutter member 740 to move and the powdered medicine discharging portion 711 to open and close.
A notch 742 is provided on the upper side of the transmission member 741, as in the drug container 420 of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. A forward slope 743 of the notch 742 is gentle, and a rear slope 745 is steep.
The drug container 701 of this embodiment also has a leaf spring member 748 and a locking protrusion 747 .
The leaf spring member 748 is attached to the outside in the width direction of the medicine container 701 in a cantilevered manner. The locking protrusion 747 is a substantially triangular member and is integrally fixed to the leaf spring member 748 .
The lower surface of the locking protrusion 747 has a forward slope 750 and a rear slope 751 as shown in FIG. A front slope 750 of the locking protrusion 747 is gentle, and a rear slope 751 is steep.

As shown in FIG. 42, the shutter member 740 (opening/closing member) has a protruding portion 760 that protrudes toward the drug container 701 when the powdered drug discharging portion 711 is closed.
The cross-sectional shape of the projecting portion 760 is substantially triangular as shown in FIG. 42, the upper surface 761 is substantially horizontal, and the lower surface 762 is an inclined surface. The tip portion 763 is a substantially vertical surface.
The inclination angle of the lower surface 762 is 30 degrees or less. It is desirable that the angle of inclination of the lower surface 762 is smaller than the angle of repose of the powdered medicine contained in the medicine container 701 .

A powdered medicine passage 517 connected to a powdered medicine discharge portion 711 is provided in the medicine container 701 .
In this embodiment, a partition member 620 corresponding to the ceiling wall of the powdered medicine passage 517 has a partition portion 766 projecting toward the powdered medicine passage 517 (downward) (FIGS. 42, 45, and 46). The height (hanging amount) of the partition 766 is 1.2 mm to 3.0 mm, or 1/5 to 3/5 of the height of the passageway.
When the shutter member 740 (opening/closing member) closes the powdered medicine discharge portion 711 , the tip portion 763 of the projecting portion 760 comes very close to the partition portion 766 .
In addition, the upper surface 761 of the projecting portion 760 is extremely close to the partition member 620 corresponding to the ceiling wall of the powdered medicine passage 517 .
An angle D between the lower surface 762 of the protrusion 760 and the bottom surface of the powder passageway 517 is less than or equal to the repose angle of the powder.

Therefore, immediately after the shutter member 740 (opening/closing member) is opened, the slope angle E of the tip of the powder medicine P in the traveling direction is equal to or less than the angle of repose as shown in FIG. .
In addition, since the space between the upper surface 761 of the protruding portion 760 of the shutter member 740 and the ceiling wall of the powdered medicine passage 517 is small for the powdered medicine to enter, it is difficult for the powdered medicine to get on the upper surface 761 of the protruding portion 760, and when the shutter member 740 is opened. , the powdered medicine is less likely to spill from the upper surface 761 of the projecting portion 760 .
Since the space for the powdered medicine to enter is small between the protruding end portion 763 of the projecting portion 760 of the shutter member 740 and the partition portion 766, the powdered medicine is less likely to adhere to the protruding end portion 763 of the protruding portion 760, and when the shutter member 740 is opened, the powdered medicine is not projected. The powdered medicine is less likely to spill from the tip portion 763 of the portion 760 .

Next, the operation when the drug container 701 is attached to the feeder main body 702 will be described.
When the drug container 701 is not attached, the feeder main body 702 is in a standby state as shown in FIG. 40(a). Specifically, the horizontal side portion 728 of the detachment assisting member 705 is pressed by the biasing member 732, and the detachment assisting member 705 is in an inclined posture as a whole. The engaging piece 50 of the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 is recessed into the opening 51 .

In this state, as shown in FIG. 40(b), the back wall 436 of the drug container 701 is inserted along the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 of the feeder body 702 from above.
At this time, it is desirable to once tilt the drug container 701 so that the powder discharge portion 711 of the drug container 701 faces upward, and then insert the drug container 701 into the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 . By doing so, the powdered medicine in the powdered medicine passage 517 of the medicine container 701 is separated from the powdered medicine discharging portion 711, and when the shutter member 740 is opened, the powdered medicine is less likely to spill.

By inserting the back wall 36 of the drug container 701 from above along the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 of the feeder body 702 , the engagement groove 130 of the drug container 701 is engaged with the engagement portion (holding portion) of the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 . side engaging portion) 48.
An engaging piece (holding portion side engaging portion) 50 of the vibration side vertical wall portion 33 is recessed in the opening 51 .

As the drug container 701 is inserted, the acting portion 722 of the detachment assisting member 705 comes into contact with the engaging portion 710 of the drug container 701 .
When the drug container 701 is further inserted, the working portion 722 of the withdrawal assisting member 705 is pushed by the drug container 701 and rotated, the vertical side portion 727 assumes a vertical posture, and the horizontal side portion 728 assumes a horizontal posture and is removed. The auxiliary member 705 assumes a stable posture.
As described above, the withdrawal assistance member 705 can be rotated by inserting the drug container 701, and the engagement pressing portion 723 of the operation portion 721 is pressed to assist the rotation of the withdrawal assistance member 705. may
In any case, when the drug container 701 is properly attached to the feeder main body 702, the horizontal side portion 728 of the detachment assisting member 705 assumes a horizontal posture as shown in FIG. 40(c). Therefore, by visually confirming that the operation portion 721 is horizontal when viewed from above, it is possible to reliably recognize that the drug container 701 is attached to the feeder main body 702 .

When removing the drug container 701 from the feeder main body 702, the release pressing portion 725 of the operation portion 721 is pushed as indicated by the arrow in FIG. As a result, the detachment assisting member 705 rotates in the opposite direction, and the acting portion 722 of the detachment assisting member 705 rises. Therefore, the acting portion 722 engages with the engaging portion 710 of the drug container 701 to push up the drug container 701 , and the drug container 701 moves upward and is removed from the feeder main body 702 .

According to this embodiment, the drug container 701 can be easily removed from the feeder body 702 .
That is, in the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, since the medicine feeders 5 and 700 are densely arranged, the gaps between the medicine containers 701 are small and it is difficult to insert a finger. According to the medicine feeder 700 of this embodiment, it is not necessary to insert a finger between the medicine containers 701, so the medicine containers 701 can be easily removed.

Next, a mechanism for locking shutter 707 of drug container 701 will be described. In the drug container 701, when the shutter member 740 is closed, the transmission member 741 is retracted, and the locking protrusion 747 attached to the leaf spring member 748 is engaged with the notch 742 of the transmission member 741. there is Here, both the rearward slope 745 of the notch 742 and the rearward slope 751 of the locking protrusion 747 are steep. Therefore, even if the transmission member 741 attempts to move in the direction of opening the shutter 707, the steep slopes of the notch 742 and the locking protrusion 747 engage with each other, and the movement of the transmission member 741 in the direction of opening the shutter 707 is blocked. .
Therefore, the shutter 707 of the drug container 701 is locked, and the shutter 707 does not open.

On the other hand, when the engagement piece holding portion 735 is moved toward the front wall 35 in order to discharge the powdered medicine from the medicine container 701 , the engagement piece holding portion 735 moves and the projection 737 is engaged with the locking projection portion of the medicine container 701 . 747 abuts. The contact surface on the projection 737 side at this time is an inclined surface 738 , and as the projection 737 advances, the locking projection 747 of the medicine container 701 is pushed up against the plate spring member 748 .
As a result, the locking protrusion 747 attached to the leaf spring member 748 leaves the notch 742 of the transmission member 741, and the locking protrusion 747 attached to the leaf spring member 748 and the notch 742 of the transmission member 741 are separated. is disengaged.
The engagement piece holding portion 735 moves toward the front wall 35, the transmission member 741 slides forward, the shutter 707 moves, and the powdered medicine discharging portion 711 of the medicine container 701 opens.

As a measure for further facilitating removal of the drug container 20 (hereinafter, drug containers of other structures may be used), as shown in FIG. to constantly urge the drug container 20 upward.
In the present embodiment, when the engaging piece 50 of the vibration-side vertical wall portion 33 is retracted, the restriction that fixes the drug container 20 is released, and the drug container 20 is lifted upward by the biasing member 770 .

In the embodiment described above, the engaging piece 50 that engages with the drug container 20 is connected to the loading/unloading mechanism and has a structure that interlocks with the shutter opening/closing mechanism 55. However, the engaging piece 50 is independent. It may be configured such that it appears frequently.
For example, as shown in FIG. 44, the engagement piece 50 is biased by a spring 780 in a direction in which the engagement piece 50 protrudes. be able to.
According to this embodiment, the engaging piece 50 can be pulled in and the drug container 20 can be removed from the feeder body without depending on the actuator of the shutter opening/closing mechanism 55 .

The small holes (openings) 146 provided in the container body 70 of the first embodiment and the small holes (openings) 547 provided in the container body 70 of the second embodiment are both arranged in the width W direction of the container body 70. Although it is in the shape of an elongated slit. The shape of the opening is not limited to this configuration.
For example, a small hole (opening) 782 shown in FIGS. 45 and 46 has a slit shape extending from the rear wall 36 side of the container body 70 to the front wall 35 .
The small hole (opening) 782 has an elongated triangular shape when viewed from above, and the width of the opening increases toward the front wall 35 side.
According to experiments, the flow of the powder medicine became smoother by making the shape of the small holes (openings) 782 as shown in FIGS. 45 and 46 . The shape of the opening is not limited to the shapes shown in FIGS.

The partition member 620 shown in FIG. 46 has the partition portion 766 on the lower surface as described above. Further, in the partition member 620 shown in FIG. 46, the straightening portion 621 has a columnar shape.

Further, like a partition member 622 shown in FIG. 47, unevenness 625 may be provided on the upper surface side. According to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the powdered medicine from being compacted in the medicine container 20 .
The unevenness 625 employed in this embodiment has a serrated shape or a wavy shape and has an inclination. Therefore, in the vicinity of the partition member 622, the weight of the powdered medicine itself on the upper side can be released, and the compaction of the powdered medicine in the vicinity of the partition member 622 can be suppressed.
The shape of the unevenness is not limited to a sawtooth shape or a wave shape, and may be, for example, a pyramid shape such as a conical triangular pyramid.

In all of the embodiments described above, the drug container 20 is attached to the feeder main body 10 for use. Here, it is desirable to provide a sensor for confirming whether or not the medicine container 20 is correctly attached to the feeder main body 10 .
Although the structure of the sensor is arbitrary, a sensor capable of detecting an object, such as a photoelectric sensor or a proximity sensor, is desirable. Although the mounting position of the sensor is arbitrary, the vibrating-side vertical wall portion 33 and the vibrating-side horizontal portion 32 of the feeder body 10 are candidates for the mounting position.

In the embodiment described above, an RFID tag is attached to the medicine container 20 as the information storage means 65 . AR markers may be provided instead of or in addition to RFID tags. AR markers are pre-registered photographs, illustrations, and other graphics. A label printed with an AR marker is attached to the drug container 20 at a visible position.
AR markers can be recognized by cameras. In recent years, there has been a tendency to install a plurality of cameras in the device so that the drug dispensing process can be monitored and confirmed later. For example, a camera for dispensing monitoring may be installed near the medicine feeder 5 . For example, the camera is used to photograph the AR marker to identify the drug container 20 .
This makes it possible to check whether the medicine container is set correctly by collating it with the medicine information based on the prescription information.
The RFID tag needs to ensure a detection distance, whereas the AR marker has less such restrictions. Moreover, since the monitoring camera can also be used for photographing the AR marker, if the AR marker is adopted instead of the RFID tag, the parts for reading the RFID tag can be reduced.

In the drug dispensing device 1 described above, a plurality of drug feeders 5 are fixed around a distribution tray 6, as shown in FIGS. In addition, these multiple drug feeders 5 are arranged radially. That is, as shown in FIG. 38( a ), each drug feeder 5 overlaps its center in the width direction in a plan view, and a virtual line extending in the same direction as its longitudinal direction indicates the rotation of the distribution plate 6 . It is arranged so as to overlap with the center (the point indicated by P3 in the figure).
Further, in the medicine dispensing device 1 described above, one kind of powdered medicine is accommodated in the medicine container 20 of one medicine feeder 5 . In other words, the medicine container 20 of one medicine feeder 5 and the predetermined powdered medicine are allocated one-to-one. At this time, the drug container 20 may contain more than one dose. When executing the above-described operation of discharging the powdered medicine, the medicine feeder 5 to which the powdered medicine to be discharged is assigned is selected from among the plurality of medicine feeders 5, and the amount of one dose is supplied from the selected medicine feeder. It is possible to discharge powdered medicine.
Further, when discharging one or more types of powdered medicine from one or more medicine feeders 5 , a predetermined amount of powdered medicine may be discharged (dispensed) from one or more selected medicine feeders 5 to the distribution tray 6 .

If the medicine dispensing device 1 of the embodiment described above continues to be used, the powdered medicine in the medicine container 20 may run out in one of the medicine feeders 5 . That is, there are cases where powdered medicine, which is a consumable item, runs out.
In the medicine dispensing device 1 of the present embodiment, in such a case, the user (pharmacist or the like) removes the medicine container 20 from the feeder main body 10, fills the medicine container 20 with powdered medicine, and then reinserts the medicine container 20 into the feeder main body 10. work to attach it to the In other words, when the powdered medicine runs out (or is predicted to run out) in any of the medicine feeders 5, the user who is notified of this by the notification operation or the like performs the above operation.
Here, in the drug dispensing device 1 of the present embodiment, when reattaching the drug container 20, the drug container 20 can be attached to another feeder body 10 in addition to the feeder body 10 to which the drug container 20 was originally attached. That is, if there is another feeder body 10 to which the medicine container 20 is not attached besides the original feeder body 10, it can be attached to that feeder body 10 as well. That is, when reattaching, the drug container 20 can be attached to any one selected from all the feeder bodies 10 that do not hold the drug container 20 at that time. As a result, the user does not have to think about where to attach the drug container 20, which facilitates the above work.

As described above, it is preferable that the powdered medicine discharge part of the medicine container can change the effective opening width (exit width of the powdered medicine) for discharging the powdered medicine. For example, as described above, the blocked portion of the opening of the powdered medicine discharge section may be changed stepwise or continuously. With such a configuration, it is possible to combine with control for changing the flow rate of the powdered medicine by varying the amount of vibration, thereby enabling a more accurate discharge operation of the powdered medicine.

By the way, the drug delivery device 1 described above is intended to be miniaturized. Here, if the entire device is miniaturized, there is a risk that the housing 2 (the entire device) will tilt even if the impact received is small. Then, when the drug dispensing device 1 is moved or the housing 2 receives an impact during installation, the housing 2 tilts. operation of measuring the weight of the powdered medicine) may cause problems.
Therefore, the medicine dispensing device 1 described above may be provided with a gyro sensor (inclination detecting means, level). Further, based on information detected by the gyro sensor (signal transmitted from the gyro sensor), a tilt notification operation of notifying the tilt of the housing 2 may be executed.
This tilt notification operation is an operation for notifying that effect on the condition that the tilt of the entire device detected by the gyro sensor exceeds a specified value. This operation may be an operation that is executed on the condition that the drug dispensing device 1 is powered on. Further, for example, the medicine dispensing device 1 may be provided with a sound generating means such as a speaker, and an operation of outputting an alarm or a message may be performed.

It is also recommended to employ a triaxial acceleration sensor as the tilt detection means. For example, a substrate on which a triaxial acceleration sensor is mounted is attached to a partition or plate that is horizontally supported inside the housing 2 .
A 3-axis acceleration sensor is one of inertial sensors for measuring acceleration, and can detect 3-dimensional inertial motion (translational motion in orthogonal 3-axis directions). A 3-axis accelerometer can measure gravity, motion, vibration, and shock.
For example, the drug dispensing device 1 is installed at a predetermined position, and the output values for each axis of the three-axis acceleration sensor after horizontal adjustment of the housing 2 are stored. The triaxial acceleration sensor can detect gravitational acceleration, and gravitational acceleration is always applied in the vertical direction. Therefore, when the housing 2 is tilted, the detection values of the three axes change.
The degree of inclination of the housing 2 is calculated based on the change in the detected value, and the inclination of the housing 2 is detected. It may be displayed how to correct the posture to return to the horizontal posture.
Conversely, when the change in each detected value of the three axes is less than a constant, it can be determined that the medicine dispensing device 1 is not tilted and its posture is stable.

By the way, the operation of discharging the powdered medicine in the medicine feeder 5 is performed by vibrating the medicine container 20 while keeping the powdered medicine discharging part 11 closed (while the shutter is closed), then opening the powdered medicine discharging part 11, An operation of vibrating the drug container 20 to discharge the drug may be employed. That is, prior to the action of vibrating the drug container 20 with the powdered medicine discharge part 11 in the open state (hereinafter also referred to as the open state vibrating action), the action of vibrating the drug container 20 with the powdered drug discharge part 11 in the closed state (hereinafter referred to as the closed state) is performed. (also referred to as state oscillation operation) may be performed.
Here, the closed-state vibrating action may be an action that vibrates the drug container 20 more strongly than the open-state vibrating action. In other words, the medicine feeder 5 may be configured to be able to change the frequency and amplitude. Then, the closed-state vibrating action may be an action with a larger vibration amount (vibration magnitude) than the open-state vibrating action, or may be an action with a larger number of vibrations per unit time. Further, the closed-state vibrating action may be an action of vibrating the drug container 20 with the strongest vibration, that is, an action of maximizing vibration or maximizing the number of vibrations per unit time.
More specifically, immediately after the medicine container 20 is filled with medicine, there may be no powdered medicine near the powdered medicine discharge section 11 . If a normal powdered medicine discharge operation is performed in such a state, it may take a long time to discharge a small amount of powdered medicine. In other words, if the powdered medicine discharge unit 11 is opened and the medicine container 20 is strongly vibrated, a large amount of powdered medicine may drop at once when the powdered medicine actually starts to be discharged. Therefore, it is difficult to strongly vibrate the drug container 20 when discharging a small amount of drug. Also, if the vibration is weakened, it takes a long time before the powdered medicine actually starts to be discharged.
Therefore, by executing the closed-state vibration operation and the open-state vibration operation to discharge the powdered medicine, it is possible to shorten the time required for discharging the powdered medicine even when discharging a small amount of the powdered medicine.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 38(b), the above-mentioned manual tablet distributing device 303 is a member having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, and is attached in a swingable state. . That is, it is possible to change the posture between a normal posture (see FIG. 1) in which the opening of the square portion on the upper surface faces upward and an inclined posture (see FIG. 38(b)) in which the opening faces upward to the rear. .
Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cleaning device 7 described above is arranged below the tablet manual distribution device 303 (see FIG. 1). Here, the cleaning device 7 has a suction port 7a connected to a suction device (not shown), and is a device that generates negative pressure to suck dirt (residual powdered medicine, dust, etc.) together with air. Specifically, the cleaning device 7 has an extension portion 7b extending inwardly from the outside of the distribution plate 6, and the extension portion 7b is formed with a suction port 7a. The cleaning device 7 cleans the distribution plate 6, and is normally in a state in which the suction port 7a faces downward.

Here, in the medicine dispensing device 1 of this embodiment, the tablet hand-dispensing device 303 and the cleaning device 7 are interlocked. That is, when the attitude of the manual tablet distributing device 303 is changed from the normal attitude, which is the attitude during use, to the tilted attitude, the cleaning device 7 automatically rotates accordingly, as shown in FIG. 38(b). Specifically, this rotating operation is an operation in which the extending portion 7b rotates once, and the axis of rotation at this time is the same direction as the extending direction of the extending portion 7b. As a result, the suction port 7a faces downward, faces sideways (sideways with respect to the normal time), faces upward, and then returns to face downward.
With such a configuration, the user can easily check whether or not the area around the suction port 7a of the cleaning device 7 is dirty. That is, when the user changes the attitude of the tablet hand-dispensing device 303, the change in attitude is detected by a sensor or the like (not shown), and the cleaning device 7 automatically starts rotating. By moving the cleaning device 7 in this way, it is possible to make it easier for the user to see the cleaning device 7 (it is possible to make it easier to draw the user's attention). In addition, the portion around the suction port 7a, which is likely to get dirty and is difficult to see in the normal posture, becomes easier to see. That is, when the area around the suction port 7a is dirty, the user can be made aware of the dirt. As a result, the user can be prompted to determine whether or not cleaning of the cleaning device 7 (maintenance of the cleaning device 7) is necessary.

The inside of the drug container 20 can be washed by putting water, a cleaning liquid, etc. inside the drug container 20, attaching the drug container to the feeder main body 10 in this state, and vibrating the drug container 20.

Next, the upper lid 3 will be explained. The upper lid 3 is provided with an electric display 800 as shown in FIG.
The electric display 800 has a plurality of light emitting groups 801a to 801f in which a plurality of light emitting portions 802 are arranged in a row. Each luminescence group 801 a to 801 f corresponds to a drug feeder 5 in the powdered drug dividing area 301 . That is, six drug feeders 5 are installed in the powdered drug division area 301 .
The luminous group 801a corresponds to the drug feeder 5a, the luminous group 801b corresponds to the drug feeder 5b, the luminous group 801c corresponds to the drug feeder 5c, the luminous group 801d corresponds to the drug feeder 5d, and the luminous group 801e corresponds to the drug feeder. 5e, and luminous group 801f corresponds to drug feeder 5f.
In this embodiment, the light emitting groups 801a-801f are arranged in a fan shape.
The light-emitting portions 802 belonging to the light-emitting group 801 are mixed with different colors and/or luminances, and are arranged stepwise so that the color or the like gradually changes from the center toward the outside. In this embodiment, the light is emitted in a lighter color toward the center and darker in color toward the outside.

The light-emitting group 801 is used to notify the user of the operation status of the drug dispensing device 1 by electric light.
When the drug dispensing device 1 is started and in the preparation stage, the light emitting units of the light emitting group sequentially emit light according to the preparation state. Brightness and color may vary. For example, it emits light sequentially according to the temperature rise of the heater of the heat seal. Similarly, when the tablet manual distributing device 303 is in the preparatory stage, the light emission state changes according to the preparatory stage.
When the medicine dispensing device 1 is stopped, the fan for cooling the heater is driven, and the light-emitting units of the light-emitting group are extinguished according to the cooling condition. When there are a plurality of light emitting groups, each light emitting group may be turned off.

In addition, the light emission state changes according to the mounting state of the drug container 20 in each drug feeder 5 . Furthermore, a warning is issued that the drug container 20 has been forgotten to be removed.
After the day's work is completed, the medicine container 20 is removed from the feeder main body 10. If the removal is forgotten, the corresponding light-emitting unit 802 of the light-emitting group 801 emits light to issue a warning. It is desirable to reduce the number of light-emitting units 802 and light-emitting groups 801 that emit light over time. The emission color and brightness may be changed.

When powdered medicine has been dispensed from the drug container 20, the corresponding light-emitting units 802 of the light-emitting group 801 emit light in a predetermined order. For example, light may be emitted from the back to the front, or light may be emitted from a light color to a dark color.
When the amount of medicine held in the medicine container 20 is insufficient for the required dispensing amount, the corresponding light-emitting section 802 of the light-emitting group 801 performs display different from usual. For example, in contrast to the usual case, light is emitted from the front toward the back, or light is emitted from the dark side toward the light side.
When all the drugs in the drug container 20 have been dispensed and the drug container 20 is empty, the corresponding light emission group 801 is in a specific light emission state.

If there are any errors, it will display a distinctly different display. For example, all the light emitting units 802 are caused to emit red light.
The type of error is not limited, and may be an abnormality in the drug container 20, an abnormality in the feeder main body 10, or other abnormalities. Other abnormalities also include an abnormality in the tablet hand-dispensing device 303 .

It is desirable to cause the light-emitting group 801 to emit light depending on how the drug container 20 is attached.
The light emission state shown below is merely an example, and is not limited to this.
For example, when the drug container 20 is not attached, the corresponding light emission group 801 is in a predetermined light emission state, and when the drug container 20 is attached, it is in a different light emission state. For example, when the medicine container 20 is not attached, the corresponding light emitting group 801 is turned off, and when the medicine container 20 is attached, it emits light in a pale color or in a state of low brightness.
When the drug is being dispensed from the drug container 20, the corresponding light emitting group 801 is in a predetermined light emitting state, and when the dispensing from the drug container 20 is temporarily stopped, it is in a different light emitting state. For example, when the medicine is being dispensed from the medicine container 20, the corresponding light emitting group 801 of the light emitting unit 802 is lit continuously, and when the dispensing from the medicine container 20 is temporarily stopped, the corresponding light emitting group 801 flashes.
When dispensing of the drug container 20 is completed, the light-emitting part 802 that has been emitting light is extinguished.
When a drug container 20 is to be installed in a specific feeder body 10, the corresponding light-emitting group 801 is in a predetermined light-emitting state.

Further, the light emitting group 801 may be caused to emit light in order according to the rotation of the distribution plate 6 .
For example, the arc-shaped light-emitting portion 802a closest to the yuyama logo is finely divided in the same direction as the rotation direction and lights up and flashes.
A predetermined light emitting state may be obtained according to the situation of the medicine dispensing device 1 by a maintenance staff performing a predetermined operation.

The opening/closing structure of the upper lid 3 is not limited to hinges. For example, covers 616 and 617 may be provided on the upper lid 615 as shown in FIGS.
The cover 616 shown in FIG. 49 can be slid to the back side as shown in FIG.

The cover 617 shown in FIG. 50 can be slid to the front side and woven further downward as shown in FIG. 50(b). As for the cover 617 shown in FIG. 50 as well, the position of the cover 617 can be changed to partially open the upper lid 615 .

The drug dispensing device disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a container storage device that stores a large number of drug containers, a robot that transports the drug containers, a container placement device that vibrates the drug containers and discharges the drugs from the drug containers, A distribution plate is built in. The container placement device also has weight measuring means for measuring the weight of the drug container.
Then, the required drug container is automatically selected, placed on the container placing device by the robot, and the drug container is vibrated to discharge the drug directly from the drug container to the distribution tray. While the medicine is being discharged, the weight measuring means monitors the weight of the medicine container to detect the amount of medicine discharged, and when the amount of medicine discharged reaches a predetermined amount, the vibration is stopped.
After that, the robot is driven to move the medicine container onto another weight measuring means, and the weight of the medicine container is detected again by another weight detecting means.
This weight re-detection operation is mainly performed for the purpose of detecting a failure of the weight measuring means.
That is, the weight of the drug container after drug discharge detected by the weight measuring means of the container placing device is compared with the weight of the same drug container detected by another weight detecting means. If the means are not faulty and there is a difference between the two, the weighing means may be faulty.

In the drug dispensing device disclosed in Patent Document 2, a robot is used to transfer the drug container to another weight measuring means to determine the quality of the weight measuring means, so it is essential to operate the robot. In addition, the medicine dispensing device disclosed in Patent Document 2 needs to use a plurality of weight measuring means.

An object of the invention below is to provide a drug feeder that does not necessarily require a robot and does not necessarily require the use of a plurality of weight measuring means when judging the quality of the weight measuring means. and Another object of the present invention is to provide a drug dispensing device having such a drug feeder. A further object of the present invention is to provide a drug feeder calibration method and a drug feeder failure detection method that do not necessarily require a robot and do not necessarily require the use of a plurality of weight measuring means.

One aspect of the present invention for solving the above-described problems is a drug container containing a powdered drug, a holding member for holding the drug container, and a weight for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the drug container. and measuring means for discharging the powdered medicine from the medicine container and detecting the discharged amount of the powdered medicine by the weight measuring means, the medicine feeder having a weight member, the weight member or the weight measuring means. and a lifting means for lifting and lowering at least one of the means and the drug container, and a state in which the load of the weight member is applied to the weight measuring means and a state in which the load of the weight member is not applied to the weight measuring means. A drug feeder for comparing conditions to calibrate said weighing means.

According to the drug feeder of this aspect, it is possible to calibrate the weight measurement means and detect failures without necessarily requiring a robot as an external device or other weight measurement means.

In the aspect described above, the elevating means elevates the weight member, and it is preferable that the weight member elevates and performs the calibration.

The preferred aspect described above has a weight receiving portion, and the weight receiving portion is adapted to support the weight when the holding member holds the drug container and when the drug container is removed from the holding member. It is further preferred to be able to take the load of the member.

According to this aspect, the weight measuring means can be calibrated both in a state in which the drug container is held and in a state in which the drug container is removed.

The preferred aspect described above has a measurement means inspection section formed including the weight member, the lifting means, and a weight receiving section capable of receiving the load of the weight member, and the measurement means inspection section It is further preferable that the calibration is performed, and the measuring means inspection portion is arranged at a position laterally spaced from the holding member.

According to this more preferable aspect, even if the measuring means inspecting part for calibrating the weight measuring means fails, replacement and maintenance of the measuring means inspecting part become easy.

The preferred aspect described above has a weight receiving portion, and the lifting means includes a motor as a power source, a cam rotated by the operation of the motor, and a lifting member mounted on the cam, The elevating member moves up and down as the cam rotates while maintaining a state of being placed on the cam. It is further preferable that the state in which the member is in contact with the weight receiving portion is shifted to the state in which the weight member is not in contact with the weight receiving portion.

According to this more preferable aspect, it is possible to calibrate the weight measuring means with a simple structure.

The preferred aspect described above has a weight receiving portion, and the weight receiving portion is a part of the holding member, is formed at a position below the held drug container, and lifts and lowers the weight member. and switching between a state in which the weight member is placed on the weight receiving portion and the load of the weight member is applied to the weight measuring means and a state in which the weight member is separated upward from the weight receiving portion, The weight member may be arranged at a position below the held drug container in each of the state of being placed on the weight receiving portion and the state of being separated upward from the weight receiving portion. More preferred.

According to this more preferable aspect, it is possible to save the space required for arranging the drug feeder, which is preferable.

In the aspect described above, it is preferable that the drug container can be manually held by the holding member, and the drug container held by the holding member can be manually removed.

Another aspect of the present invention is a drug dispensing device comprising the drug feeder described above.

Even in this aspect, it is possible to calibrate the weight measurement means without necessarily requiring a robot or other weight measurement means.

The aspect described above has a medicine packaging unit for packaging powdered medicine, a hopper member into which the powdered medicine to be supplied to the medicine packaging unit is put, and a hopper-side weight measuring means for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the hopper member. Then, a target amount of powdered medicine is discharged based on the detected value of the weight measuring means, and the discharged powdered medicine is put into the hopper member, and the failure is detected based on the detected value of the hopper side weight measuring means. It is preferable to

In this aspect, it is possible to determine whether or not the weight measuring means was normal during the operation of discharging the powdered medicine, so it is possible to suppress the occurrence of problems caused by the failure of the weight measuring means.

Another aspect of the present invention comprises a medicine container containing a powdered medicine, a holding member holding the medicine container, and weight measuring means for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the medicine container, A method for calibrating a drug feeder capable of detecting the amount of powdered medicine discharged by a weight measuring means, comprising: a weight acquisition step of performing weight measurement by the weight measuring means in a state in which a load of a weight member is applied to the weight measuring means. and comparing the weight obtained in the weight obtaining step with a pre-stored weight to determine whether or not the weight measuring means is normal.

Another aspect of the present invention comprises a medicine container containing a powdered medicine, a holding member holding the medicine container, and weight measuring means for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the medicine container, A drug feeder failure detection method capable of detecting the amount of powdered medicine discharged by a weight measuring means, wherein the weight is measured by the weight measuring means while a load of a weight member is applied to the weight measuring means. performing the weight obtaining step prior to the operation of discharging the powdered medicine, further performing the weight obtaining step after the operation of discharging the powdered medicine, and weight obtained in the weight obtaining step performed prior to the operation of discharging the powdered medicine; A failure detection method for a medicine feeder, wherein the weight obtained in the weight obtaining step performed after the powdered medicine discharging operation is compared with the weight obtained in the weight obtaining process to determine whether or not the weight measuring means has failed during the powdered medicine discharging operation. be.

According to this aspect, it is possible to calibrate the weight measurement means and detect failures without necessarily requiring a robot as an external device or other weight measurement means.

In the above aspect, in the operation of discharging the powdered medicine, the powdered medicine is discharged with the powdered medicine discharging portion of the medicine container in the open state. , and preferably the weight of the drug container before discharging the powdered drug is obtained as the original weight before opening the powdered drug discharging portion of the drug container.

According to this aspect, it is possible to discharge powdered medicine with higher accuracy.

The present invention can provide a drug feeder that does not necessarily require a robot and does not necessarily require the use of a plurality of weight measurement means when determining the quality of the weight measurement means. Also, it is possible to provide a drug dispensing device equipped with such a drug feeder. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a drug feeder calibration method and a drug feeder failure detection method that do not necessarily require a robot and do not necessarily require the use of a plurality of weight measuring means.

In the medicine dispensing device 1, when discharging (supplying) the powdered medicine from the medicine container 20 to the distribution tray 6, it is determined whether there is uneven discharge and whether there is an abnormality in the discharged amount. An allocation check operation is performed to determine whether the amount of one package (one dose) is correct.
More specifically, when the powdered medicine is discharged, the falling amount H of the powdered medicine is constantly calculated as described above. Then, based on the falling amount H of the powdered medicine, the discharge speed (discharged amount per unit time) of the powdered medicine to the distribution tray 6 is calculated. Here, when the amount of discharge per unit time deviates from the specified value, that is, when it is detected that the amount of discharge per unit of time has become extremely small or, conversely, has become extremely large, uneven discharge occurs. It is determined that
Further, when discharging the powdered medicine, the weight of the powdered medicine contained in the medicine container 20 is measured before the discharge of the powdered medicine is started and after the discharge of the powdered medicine is completed. When the value obtained by subtracting the weight of powdered medicine after completion of discharging from the weight of powdered medicine before starting discharging is the same as the expected discharge amount (target discharge amount based on prescription), it is determined that there is no abnormality in the discharged amount. On the other hand, if they are not the same, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the amount of discharge.
When it is determined that uneven discharge has occurred, or when it is determined that there is an abnormality in the discharged amount, a notification operation is performed to notify that effect. The notification operation may be an operation in which the medicine dispensing device 1 is provided with sound generating means such as a speaker and a display device such as a display, and outputs warning sounds and voices, and displays a message. This also applies to the notification operation in the following description.

Next, the weight calibration unit 21, which is a characteristic part of this embodiment, will be described.
As shown in FIG. 51, the weight calibration section 21 of the present embodiment includes the weight 42 and the weight placement member 43 described above, an elevating device 173 (elevating means), an upper guide member 175, and a control device 176. is doing. The lifting device 173 , the upper guide member 175 , and the control device 176 are fixed to the base portion 26 (see FIG. 4) via mounting members 177 . In other words, these loads are applied to the base portion 26 .

The weight placing member 43 and the mounting member 177 are directly mounted to the container supporting portion 23 and the base portion 26, respectively, or indirectly via other members (see FIG. 4). At this time, the weight placement member 43 and the attachment member 177 are attached via temporary fastening elements.
The term "temporary fastening element" as used herein refers to a type of fastening element, and in principle refers to a fastening element that can be removed without being destroyed. , is the screw. As described above, the weight calibration unit 21 can be removed from the drug feeder 5 (detachable from the feeder main body 10).

The weight 42 is a metal weight having an approximately spherical outer shape, as shown in FIG.
The weight mounting member 43 is a member in which a flat plate-like receiving plate portion 43a and an upright plate-like mounting plate portion 43b are integrally formed. The mounting plate portion 43b is a portion to be affixed to an object to be mounted (the container support portion 23 or a mounting member interposed between the container support portion 23) and has a screw hole.

An engagement hole portion 67 is provided in the receiving plate portion 43a. The engagement hole portion 67 is a through hole having a circular opening shape, and penetrates the receiving plate portion 43a in the thickness direction (vertical direction). The engagement hole 67 has a size that allows the weight support member 45 to pass through but not the weight 42 .

As shown in FIGS. 51 and 52, the lifting device 173 has a motor 83 serving as a power source (power section), a cam 85, a weight supporting member 45 (lifting member), and a support-side guide member 82.

The cam 85 is fixed to the output shaft of the motor 83 and rotates as the motor 83 operates. This embodiment employs an eccentric cam in which the distance from the center of rotation to the outer peripheral surface changes in the circumferential direction.
As shown in FIG. 52, the weight support member 45 is a vertically elongated substantially rectangular parallelepiped member having a recess 45a on its upper surface. The recessed portion 45a is a portion on which the weight 42 is placed. In other words, it has a shape in which a part (lower part) of the weight 42 can be fitted almost exactly, and has a curved surface that comes into contact with a part of the weight 42 when the weight 42 is placed. This curved surface has a recessed depth that becomes shallower from the center toward the edge.

The support-side guide member 82 is a thick plate-shaped member formed to have a substantially square outer shape when viewed from above. A guide hole 86 is provided in the support-side guide member 82 . The guide hole 86 is a through hole that passes through the support-side guide member 82 in the thickness direction (vertical direction), and is formed to have a size that allows the weight support member 45 to be substantially just inserted therethrough.

The upper guide member 175 is a thick plate-like member having a thickness in the vertical direction. A guide recess 88 is provided on the lower surface of the upper guide member 175 as shown in FIG. The guide recessed portion 88 is a bottomed hole having a bottom portion on the upper side, and is a recessed portion that is recessed in a substantially truncated cone shape (substantially mortar shape).

The control device 176 is a control board that controls the operation of the weight calibration unit 21, and can transmit and receive information to and from the control device on the main body side of the medicine dispensing device 1. That is, the control device 176 has computing means such as a CPU, storage means such as a memory, and communication means such as an I/O port. Communication with an external device such as a control device on the main body side may be wired communication or wireless communication.

As shown in FIG. 52, the mounting member 177 has a main body portion 63a having an upright mounting plate portion 87 and a control device mounting portion 63b. is attached to the base portion 26 with .

Next, an assembly structure of the weight calibration unit 21 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 51, a motor 83 and a cam 85 are arranged on both sides of the mounting member 177 with the body portion 63a therebetween. A motor 83 arranged on one main surface side of the main body portion 63a, and a support-side guide member 82 and an upper guide member 175 arranged on the other main surface side are attached to the main body portion 63a. At this time, the support-side guide member 82 is arranged above the cam 85, and the upper guide member 175 is arranged further above it.

The control device mounting portion 63b of the mounting member 177 partially extends around the cam 85 as shown in FIGS. Thus, the cam 85 is positioned between the motor 83 and the controller 176, as shown in FIG.

The weight support member 45 is placed on the cam 85 and inserted through the guide hole 86 . Further, the receiving plate portion 43a is arranged at a position spaced upward from the supporting side guide member 82, and the weight 42 is arranged above the receiving plate portion 43a. An upper guide member 175 is arranged above the weight 42 .

As shown in FIG. 54, the weight calibration unit 21 operates the motor 83 to obtain the first state in which the load of the weight 42 is not applied to the receiving plate portion 43a, and the load of the weight 42 as described above. The second state added to the receiving plate portion 43a can be switched.

In the first state, as shown in FIG. 54(a), the weight 42 is lifted by the weight support member 45, is positioned above the receiving plate portion 43a, and is not in contact with the receiving plate portion 43a. That is, the weight 42 does not contact the upper opening of the engaging hole 67 . In the present embodiment, at this time, a portion of the lower side of the weight 42 is positioned inside the engaging hole portion 67 .
Also, in the first state, the upper portion of the weight 42 is in a state of being deeply inserted into the guide concave portion 88 of the upper guide member 175 .

When the motor 83 operates in the first state and the cam 85 rotates, the weight support member 45 moves downward and the weight 42 moves downward as shown in FIGS. 54(b) and 54(c). It moves downward while being placed on the member 45 . Then, a part of the weight 42 comes into contact with the upper opening of the engagement hole portion 67, and the weight 42 is placed on the receiving plate portion 43a. As a result, the first state (see FIG. 54(a)) shifts to the second state (see FIG. 54(c)).
In the second state, the weight support member 45 is positioned downwardly away from the weight 42, that is, the weight 42 and the weight support member 45 are not in contact with each other, and the upper surfaces of the weight 42 and the weight support member 45 are not in contact with each other. It is preferable to set a state in which a gap is formed between. Conversely, if all the load of the weight 42 is to be received by the receiving plate portion 43a, the weight 42 and the weight support member 45 are in contact with each other in the second state (the state in which they are arranged adjacently). good.

Also in the second state, the upper portion of the weight 42 is positioned inside the guide recess 88 of the upper guide member 175 . That is, when the weight 42 moves up and down within the movable range, the upper part of the weight 42 is positioned inside the guide recess 88 and the lower part is positioned inside the engagement hole 67. state is maintained. In other words, in each of the first state, the second state, and the state in the middle of transition, the weight 42 is partly always positioned inside the guide recess 88 and partly positioned inside the engaging hole 67 . It will be in a state where it is always located inside the

As described above, the upper guide member 175 and the receiving plate portion 43a function as movement restricting means for restricting the range of movement of the weight 42, and also function as drop-off preventing means for preventing the weight 42 from dropping off.
When the weight support member 45 also moves vertically within the range of movement, some portion of the weight support member 45 is positioned inside the guide hole 86 . In other words, the support-side guide member 82 functions as movement restricting means for restricting the movement range of the weight support member 45, and also functions as drop prevention means for preventing the weight support member 45 from dropping off.

When shifting from the second state to the first state, the cam 85 may be rotated in the same direction as when shifting from the first state to the second state, or may be rotated in the opposite direction. may
By rotating the cam 85 in this manner, the weight support member 45 (contact position between the weight support member 45 and the cam 85) moves upward, and the weight 42 is lifted and moved upward.

According to the weight calibration unit 21 of the present embodiment, whether or not the weight measuring means 25 is normal in the state in which the drug container 20 is not attached to the feeder unit 22 and the state in which the drug container 20 is attached to the feeder unit 22 is determined. can be determined. Hereinafter, this determination operation is also referred to as calibration of the weight measuring means 25 . That is, calibration of the weight measuring means 25 is an operation to determine whether the weight measuring means 25 is in a state in which the weight can be detected correctly, or whether the weight cannot be detected correctly for some reason.

In the present embodiment, as described above, on the condition that the weight of the weight 42 is correctly detected by the weight measuring means 25, it is determined that the weight measuring means 25 is in a state of being able to correctly detect the weight. That is, when the weight calibration section 21 is shifted from the first state to the second state, the load of the weight 42 is applied to the receiving plate section 43a as described above. At this time, since the weight mounting member 43 is attached to the container support portion 23, the load of the weight 42 is received by the receiving plate portion 43a, so that the weight of the weight 42 can be detected by the weight measuring means 25. .

Therefore, the weight is measured by the weight measuring means 25 in the first state, and then the weight is measured by the weight measuring means 25 in the second state. Then, the value obtained by subtracting the detected value of the first weight measurement performed in the first state from the detected value (measured value) of the second weight measurement performed in the second state is the same as the weight of the weight 42. It is determined that the weight of the weight 42 is correctly detected on the condition that the weight is equal to the weight.

In addition, the following operations may be performed in the calibration without the drug container 20 attached. That is, the weight is measured by the weight measuring means 25 in the second state, and the value obtained by subtracting the basic weight from the detected value is calculated.
Here, the “basic weight” is the sum of the weight of the members constituting the feeder section 22 that apply a load to the weight measuring means 25 and the weight of the weight placement member 43 . Further, "the weight of the weight placing member 43" includes the weight of the other member when the weight placing member 43 is attached to the container support portion 23 via another member.
Then, on the condition that the value obtained by subtracting the basic weight from the detected value is the same as the weight of the weight 42, it is determined that the weight of the weight 42 is correctly detected. At this time, it may be determined that the weight of the weight 42 is correctly detected on the condition that the detected value is equal to the sum of the weight of the weight 42 and the basic weight.
Among the members constituting the feeder section 22, the weight of the members to which a load is applied to the weight measuring means 25, the weight of the weight mounting member 43, and the weight of the weight 42 are measured in advance by another electronic balance or the like, and controlled. It may be stored in the device.

In addition, in the calibration with the drug container 20 attached, for example, the weight is measured by the weight measuring means 25 in the second state, and the value obtained by subtracting the total value of the basic weight and the weight of the drug container 20 from the detected value is obtained. calculate. Then, on the condition that the calculated value is the same as the weight of the weight 42, it is determined that the weight of the weight 42 is correctly detected. At this time, it is determined that the weight of the weight 42 is correctly detected on the condition that the detected value is the same as the sum of the weight of the weight 42, the basic weight, and the weight of the medicine container 20. good.
The weight of the drug container 20 may be measured in advance and stored in the control device. In addition, the weight of the medicine container 20 may be the sum of the weight of the medicine container 20 itself and the weight of the contained medicine when medicine (powder medicine) is contained therein.

In the medicine dispensing device 1 of the present embodiment, the weighing means 25 of each medicine feeder 5 is automatically calibrated before the power is turned on and the work of the day is started.
In addition, when it is decided to perform the packaging operation, the weight measuring means 25 of each medicine feeder 5 is automatically calibrated before the packaging operation is performed. Note that the calibration performed before execution of the packaging operation may be performed for all the medicine feeders 5, or may be performed only for the medicine feeder 5 used in the packaging operation scheduled to be performed next.

In addition, in the calibration of the weight measuring means 25 performed before the start of work on the day, an operation of comparing the value obtained or calculated in the previous day's calibration with the value obtained or calculated in performing the calibration may be performed. For example, the weight value of the weight 42 calculated in the previous day's calibration is compared with the weight value of the weight 42 calculated after the power is turned on. It may be determined that there is none. Conversely, if they are not the same, it may be determined that the weight measuring means 25 of the drug feeder 5 is abnormal.

When it is determined by calibration that the weight measuring means 25 is incapable of correctly measuring weight (the weight measuring means 25 has an abnormality), the medicine dispensing device 1 of the present embodiment performs a notification operation to notify that effect. may be executed. In addition, until the abnormality (failure) of the weight measuring means 25 is resolved (until the fact that the abnormality has been resolved is input by a certain operation, etc.), the user may mistakenly place the medicine container 20 into the feeder body. A notification operation may be performed to notify that the medicine cannot be discharged by the feeder main body 10 even if the medicine is placed (held) on the feeder body 10 . This notification operation is performed each time the drug container 20 is placed on the feeder body 10 . Alternatively, in addition to or instead of this operation, the feeder main body 10 is controlled so as not to perform the vibrating operation (set to not perform the vibrating operation).

In the drug dispensing device 1 of the present embodiment, when discharging the powdered drug from the drug container 20 to the distribution tray 6 in the packaging operation, it is possible to execute a failure detection operation for determining whether or not the weight measuring means 25 has failed. It's becoming The failure detection operation may be an operation performed in addition to the distribution check operation described above. Specifically, when discharging the powdered medicine from the medicine container 20 of the medicine feeder 5 to the distribution tray 6, the following operations may be performed.
First, in the drug feeder 5 holding the drug container 20, the weight calibration section 21 is set to the first state (step 1). Then, the weight of the medicine container 20 (and/or the weight of the contained powdered medicine) is obtained (step 2). Subsequently, the weight calibration unit 21 is shifted from the first state to the second state, and an operation of detecting the weight of the weight 42 (hereinafter also referred to as preliminary weight measurement operation) is executed (step 3). Further, the weight calibration unit 21 is shifted from the second state to the first state, and the above-described operation of discharging the powdered medicine to the distribution tray 6 is executed (step 4). Also, after executing the operation of discharging the powdered medicine, the weight of the medicine container 20 (and/or the weight of the contained powdered medicine) is obtained (step 5). Further, the weight calibration unit 21 is shifted from the first state to the second state, and an operation of detecting the weight of the weight 42 (hereinafter also referred to as post-weight measurement operation) is executed (step 6).

After the series of operations, when the weight values of the weight 42 acquired in the pre-weight measurement operation (weight acquisition step) and the post-weight measurement operation (weight acquisition step) are the same, the weight measurement means 25 fails. determine that it did not. This makes it possible to detect an abnormality in the balance (weight measuring means 25) even in an environment where the powdered medicine scatters due to the packing operation, and by extension, an abnormality in the discharge operation of the powdered medicine (dispensing of the medicine). It can be detected whether or not In addition, according to such an operation, even when the weight 42 is aged, it is possible to perform a packaging operation with high reliability.
The failure detection operation is not limited to the operation performed by the weight calibration unit 21 described above, and may be an operation performed by the weight calibration units 200, 428, 521, etc., which will be described later. Further, the pre-weight measurement operation and the post-weight measurement operation may be operations of placing the weight on the medicine container and detecting the weight of the weight. Furthermore, the configuration is not limited to the configuration in which the state in which the load of the weight is applied to the weight measuring means 25 and the state in which it is not applied are automatically switched. It is also conceivable to carry out the operation of placing and sensing the weight of the weight.
As described above, in the failure detection operation, the amount of increase in the detected weight due to the placement of the weight 42 is obtained in each of the pre-weight measurement operation and the post-weight measurement operation, and the obtained weight (increased weight) is compare. In the pre-weight measurement operation and the post-weight measurement operation, as in the calibration described above, the detected value of the weight measurement performed in the second state is subtracted from the detected value of the weight measurement performed in the first state to obtain the increment. You can get the weight. Alternatively, the increased weight may be obtained by subtracting the basic weight and the weight of the medicine container 20 from the detected value of the weight measurement performed in the second state. Furthermore, the weight of the weight 42, the basic weight, and the total value (total weight) of the drug container 20 may be obtained and compared.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the approximately spherical weight 42 is employed and the approximately rectangular parallelepiped weight support member 45 is employed is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, it may be a weight 153 (weight member) shown in FIG. 55(a). The weight 153 has an upper portion 142a and a lower portion 142b, both of which are substantially truncated conical, and a substantially disk-shaped central portion 142c located therebetween. That is, the upper and lower sides of the weight 153 are tapered portions, and have a tapered shape in which the area of the cross section decreases as it goes upward or downward.
Moreover, when this weight 153 is employed, a weight support member 155 (elevating member) shown in FIG. 55(a) may be employed. The weight support member 155 is a vertically long member having an upwardly convex curved surface on the upper end side and a downwardly convex curved surface on the lower end side, and has a substantially oval longitudinal cross-sectional shape. is.

In the embodiment described above, an example in which the weight calibration section 21 is arranged on one side of the feeder section 22 has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The weight calibration unit 21 may be arranged on the other side, rearward (a position on the opposite side of the distribution plate 6 with the feeder unit 22 interposed therebetween, and rearward when the distribution plate 6 side is defined as the front). may be placed in In other words, it may be arranged on one side of the periphery of the feeder section 22 (the periphery including the four sides). At this time, it may be arranged at a position adjacent to the feeder section 22 or may be arranged at a position slightly separated from the feeder section 22 in the horizontal direction.
Further, in the medicine dispensing device 1 described above, the user can manually hold the medicine container 20 in the feeder main body 10 . Then, the user can manually remove the drug container 20 held by the feeder main body 10 . That is, it is possible to manually replace (change) the medicine container 20 held by the feeder main body 10 .

The medicine feeder employed in the medicine dispensing device 1 is not limited to the one described above, and may be a medicine feeder 201 equipped with a weight calibration section 200 (measuring means inspection section) as shown in FIG. The weight calibration section 200 includes an elevating device 202 (elevating means), a weight member 203 (calibration weight), and a weight receiving member 204 (weight receiving section).

The lifting device 202 has a motor (not shown), a gear 215 that rotates with the operation of the motor, a container lifting section 211 and a weight lifting section 212 . The gear 215 is a pinion gear, and the container elevating section 211 and the weight elevating section 212 each have a gear-cut rack portion. Gears 215 are engaged with respective rack portions. Therefore, when the container raising/lowering part 211 rises, the weight raising/lowering part 212 descends, and when the container raising/lowering part 211 descends, the weight raising/lowering part 212 rises.

The container raising/lowering part 211 has a flat pressing piece 211a. The pressing piece portion 211a is a portion that contacts the drug container 20 supported by the container support portion 23 from below.
The weight raising/lowering part 212 has a plate-shaped weight support part 212a. As shown in FIG. 56(b), the weight support portion 212a is provided with a support hole 230 penetrating through the weight support portion 212a in the thickness direction (vertical direction).

The weight member 203 has a flange portion 203a, a constricted portion 203b, and a body portion 203c in order from above. The flange portion 203a has a size that cannot pass through the support hole 230, and the constricted portion 203b and the body portion 203c have sizes that allow it to pass through the support hole 230. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 56(a), the weight receiving member 204 is a member that has a flat plate-like receiving plate portion 204a and an upright plate-like mounting plate portion 204b, and is fixed to the support base 27. As shown in FIG.

Here, the weight raising/lowering part 212 is a member capable of supporting the weight member 203 in a suspended state, as shown in FIG. 56(b). That is, when the weight member 203 is inserted into the support hole 230 from above while the weight support portion 212a is positioned at a high position, the flange portion 203a is caught, and the lower surface of the flange portion 203a and the upper surface of the weight support portion 212a are aligned. Be in contact. At this time, at least part of the constricted portion 203b is positioned inside the support hole 230, most of the weight member 203 is disposed below the weight support portion 212a, and the lower surface of the weight member 203 is the receiving plate portion. 204a at a spaced position.

In the weight calibration unit 200 of the present embodiment, between a first state in which the load of the weight member 203 is not applied to the receiving plate portion 204a and a second state in which the load of the weight member 203 is applied to the receiving plate portion 204a, Switching is possible.

In the first state, the weight member 203 is supported in a suspended state as described above and arranged at a position spaced upward from the receiving plate portion 204a. Then, the drug container 20 is placed on the vibration-side horizontal portion 32 of the vibrating member 16, and the pressing piece 211a is arranged at a position spaced downward from the drug container 20. As shown in FIG.

Then, when the motor operates in the first state and the gear 215 rotates to raise the container raising/lowering part 211, the pressing piece 211a comes into contact with the drug container 20 from below. Then, the container raising/lowering part 211 is raised as it is, thereby moving the drug container 20 upward, and the pressing piece 211 a lifts the drug container 20 .
At this time, when the weight lifting portion 212 descends as the container lifting portion 211 rises, the weight member 203 is placed on the receiving plate portion 204a. When the weight raising/lowering portion 212 is further lowered from this state, the upper surface of the weight support portion 212a is arranged at a position separated below the lower surface of the flange portion 203a. This causes a transition from the first state to the second state. Further, in the second state, the load of the weight lifting section 212 (lifting device 202) is not applied to the receiving plate section 204a (weight measuring means 25).

That is, in the first state, the load of weight member 203 is not applied to weight measuring means 25 and the load of medicine container 20 is applied to weight measuring means 25 . In the second state, the load of weight member 203 is applied to weight measuring means 25 and the load of drug container 20 is not applied to weight measuring means 25 . Therefore, by shifting to the second state, it is possible to calibrate the weight measuring means 25 . Switching between the first state and the second state can be performed automatically. In addition, the gear 215 rotates in the opposite direction between the transition from the first state to the second state and the transition from the second state to the first state.
In the embodiment described above, the drug container 20 is lifted in the second state, but the drug container 20 does not necessarily have to be lifted. In other words, the weight measuring means 25 may be calibrated while the drug container 20 is being held, and the container elevating section 211 may not necessarily be provided.

By the way, the calibration of the weight measuring means 25, which is performed before starting work for the day, may be performed using a calibration tool 256 shown in FIG. 57(a).
The calibrating instrument 256 is an instrument used by being attached to the scraping device 8, and has a mounting member 257, a bearing member 252, a base member 253, and a locking member 254, as shown in FIG. 57(b). The bearing member 252 is a bearing such as a ball bearing, and the locking member 254 is a C-ring.

The mounting member 257 has a body portion 251a and a connecting rod portion 251b.
The main body portion 251a has a disk-shaped portion 263 and a peripheral wall portion 265 that continues in an annular shape. The peripheral wall portion 265 is formed to protrude from the edge of the disk-shaped portion 263 to one side in the thickness direction. A recessed portion (not shown) capable of accommodating the mounting base 255 of the scraping device 8 is formed in a portion surrounded by the peripheral wall portion 265 .
The mounting member 257 is a member mounted on the mounting base 255 described above. That is, the mounting member 257 is mounted on the mounting base 255 with the rotating plate 12 removed from the mounting base 255 . In this embodiment, the recessed portion of the mounting member 257 can fit the mounting base 255 substantially exactly inside. In addition, an engaging portion (not shown) that engages with a projecting portion provided on the mounting base 255 is provided on one side portion (recess portion) of the mounting member 257 . That is, it is an engaging portion that forms a pair (engages with each other) with the projection portion that is the engaging portion on the mounting base 255 side. By engaging these members, the mounting member 257 is integrally mounted and fixed to the mounting base 255 .
The connecting rod portion 251b is a round rod-shaped portion, and is formed at a position opposite to the above-described recessed portion with the disc-shaped portion 263 interposed therebetween.

The pedestal member 253 is a member in which a weight support portion 270, a rotation preventing portion 271, and an upright plate-like connecting plate portion 272 are integrally formed.
The weight support portion 270 is a plate-like portion and is provided with a support hole portion 270a. The support hole portion 270a penetrates the weight support portion 270 in the thickness direction (vertical direction).
The rotation preventing portion 271 has two plate-like members consisting of an upper plate portion 271a and a lower plate portion 271b. Both the upper plate portion 271a and the lower plate portion 271b are plate-shaped portions, and are provided so as to face each other with a space therebetween in the vertical direction.
The connecting plate portion 272 is continuous with the weight support portion 270 at one end in the longitudinal direction, and is continuous with the rotation preventing portion 271 at the other end. The connecting plate portion 272 is provided with a connecting hole portion 272a. The connecting hole portion 272a is a through hole penetrating through the connecting plate portion 272 in the thickness direction.

When the calibration instrument 256 is assembled, the bearing member 252 is attached to a part of the connecting plate portion 272, and the connecting rod portion 251b is inserted through the inner hole of the bearing member 252 and the connecting hole portion 272a. A locking member 254 is attached to a portion of the connecting rod portion 251b that partially protrudes from the connecting hole portion 272a and is located on the distal end side in the insertion direction.
As described above, when the calibrating instrument 256 is not mounted on the scraping device 8, the base member 253 and the mounting member 257 are connected so as to be relatively rotatable. That is, it is rotatable around the connecting rod portion 251b as a rotation axis.

When attached to the scraping device 8, as shown in FIG. 57(a), the weight supporting portion 270 is positioned on the tip side of the mounting base 255 in the extending direction of the scraping arm 17, The anti-rotation portion 271 is located on the base end side of the base 255 . At this time, the scraping arm 17 is positioned between the upper plate portion 271a and the lower plate portion 271b of the rotation preventing portion 271, and the scraping arm 17 is sandwiched between the upper plate portion 271a and the lower plate portion 271b. Become. Also, the mounting member 257 and the connecting plate portion 272 are positioned on one side of the mounting base 255 in the thickness direction.

When the calibration instrument 256 is attached to the scraping device 8, the weight member 203 can be supported in a suspended state by the weight support portion 270 in the same manner as described above (see FIG. 58(a)).
That is, in the calibration of the weight measuring means 25 using the calibration tool 256, the drug container 20 is previously removed from the drug feeder 5 having the weight measuring means 25 to be calibrated. Then, the turntable is rotated to turn the entire scraping device 8 (scraping arm 17 and mounting base 255). As a result, the weight member 203 is positioned above the vibration-side horizontal portion 32 as shown in FIG. 58(b). Subsequently, the weight member 203 is placed on the vibration-side horizontal portion 32 by swinging the scraping arm 17 and moving the tip side of the scraping arm 17 downward. By moving the tip side of the raking arm 17 downward as it is, the load of the weight member 203 is applied to the weight measuring means 25, and the weight measuring means 25 is calibrated.

Further, after the calibration is completed, the scraping arm 17 is swung to move the tip side of the scraping arm 17 upward, thereby supporting the weight member 203 in a suspended state and allowing the weight measuring means 25 to carry the weight. A state is assumed in which no load is applied to the member 203 . Subsequently, when calibrating another weight measuring means 25, the entire scraping device 8 is rotated and the above operation is executed.

Further, the medicine feeder employed in the medicine dispensing device 1 is not limited to the one described above, and may be a medicine feeder 405 equipped with a weight calibration section 428 (measuring means inspection section) as shown in FIG. .
The drug feeder 405 of this embodiment has a structure different from that of the drug feeder 5 described above in the container supporting portion 423 (holding member). That is, the vibration side horizontal portion 432 of the vibration member 416 is formed with a weight arrangement portion 443 which is a concave portion with an open top. A member placement hole 446 is formed below the weight placement portion 443 to communicate the space below the vibration member 416 with the weight placement portion 443 . Further, the support-side horizontal portion 430 of the support table 427 is also formed with a member arrangement hole 447 penetrating through the support-side horizontal portion 430 in the vertical direction.

The member arrangement hole 446 of the vibrating member 416 and the member arrangement hole 447 of the support base 427 are formed so that at least parts of them overlap each other in plan view. As a result, a member placement space 448 is formed below the weight placement portion 443 . The member placement space 448 is a space in which the lifting member 445 that is part of the lifting device 460 is arranged.

The elevating device 460 has an elevating member 445 and an elevating mechanism (not shown) that elevates the elevating member 445 . The elevating mechanism has a motor as a power source and a conversion mechanism that converts rotary motion of the motor into linear motion. The conversion mechanism may be a cam positioned below the elevating member 445, or may be a rack and pinion mechanism that combines a toothed portion provided on the elevating member 445 and a pinion gear. That is, the elevating member 445 is vertically moved by the operation of the motor.

In the drug feeder 405 of this embodiment, an elevating mechanism is arranged below the vibrating member 416 and the support base 427 . A weight measuring means (not shown) of the medicine feeder 405 is in a state where the weight of the member such as the container support portion 423 is applied, but the load of the lifting device 460 is not applied.

A substantially rectangular parallelepiped weight member 442 (calibration weight) is arranged in the weight arrangement portion 443 . The weight placement portion 443 is positioned below the lower surface of the drug container 20 when the container support portion 423 holds the drug container 20 . At this time, the weight placement portion 443 is entirely covered with the drug container 20 on the upper side.

The drug feeder 405 of this embodiment has a first state (see FIG. 59A) in which the weight member 442 is arranged at a position separated from the bottom portion of the weight arrangement portion 443, and a state in which the weight member 442 It is possible to switch between a second state (see FIG. 59(b)) in which the bottom portion of 443 is contacted. By shifting the medicine feeder 405 from the first state to the second state, the weight measuring means can be calibrated. Note that the weight member 442 is arranged inside the weight arrangement portion 443 in both the first state and the second state.

That is, in the first state, the weight member 442 is lifted by the elevating member 445 . At this time, the lower portion of the weight member 442 contacts the upper portion of the elevating member 445 , and the weight member 442 is placed on the elevating member 445 . Therefore, the load of the weight member 442 is applied to the lifting member 445 but not applied to the vibrating member 416 . That is, the load of weight member 442 is not applied to the weight measuring means of drug feeder 405, and the load of weight member 442 is not measured by the weight measuring means.
As the lifting member 445 moves downward from the first state, the weight member 442 moves downward along with the movement of the lifting member 445 . Then, the lower portion of the weight member 442 contacts the bottom portion of the weight arrangement portion 443 from above.

Here, the weight member 442 has a size (and/or shape) that cannot be inserted into the member arrangement hole 446 of the vibration member 416 from above. Therefore, when the elevating member 445 continues to move downward, the elevating member 445 is arranged at a position away from the weight member 442 downward. On the other hand, the weight member 442 is placed on the bottom portion of the weight arrangement portion 443 . This completes the transition from the first state to the second state. That is, the load of the weight member 442 is applied to the weight measuring means of the medicine feeder 405, and the load of the weight member 442 is measured by the weight measuring means.
As described above, since it is possible to shift from the first state to the second state, in the same manner as described above, the operation ( (calibration of weight measuring means, failure detection). For example, in calibration of the weight measuring means, the weight of the drug feeder 405 is measured by the weight measuring means in the first state. After that, it is shifted to the second state, and weight measurement is performed by the weight measurement means of the medicine feeder 405 . The condition is that the value obtained by subtracting the detected value of the weight measurement performed in the first state from the detected value (measured value) of the weight measurement performed in the second state is the same as the weight of the weight member 442. , it is determined that the weight of the weight member 442 is correctly detected. That is, it is determined that the weight measuring means is in a state of being able to correctly detect the weight.

When shifting from the second state to the first state, contrary to the above, the lifting member 445 is moved upward. As a result, the upper portion of the elevating member 445 contacts the lower portion of the weight member 442 from below, and the elevating member 445 is pushed up to move upward, thereby raising the elevating member 445. Become.

Further, instead of the weight calibration unit 21 described above, a motor as a power source, a torque limiter, and a wire as a linear member are provided, and the wire can be used to pull a portion of the container support unit 23 upward. A weight calibration unit (not shown) may be provided.
That is, one end side of the wire in the longitudinal direction is attached to a member (container support section 23 or the like, hereinafter also referred to as a fixing target member) among the members constituting the feeder section 22 where a load is applied to the weight measuring means 25. fixed. On the other hand, the motor and the torque limiter are fixed to the upper lid 4 and the lower part of the upper unit (tablet manual distributing device 303).
In the pulling operation, the wire is wound by operating the motor to pull the member to be fixed to which one end of the wire is fixed, thereby applying a vertically upward force to the member to be fixed. At this time, by interposing a torque limiter between the motor and one end of the wire, a force of a specified magnitude is applied to the member to be fixed.

To calibrate the weight measuring means 25, the detected value of the weight measuring means 25 when the pulling action is not executed and the detected value of the weight measuring means 25 while the pulling action is being executed are obtained. Then, the detected value during execution of the pulling operation is subtracted from the detected value while the pulling operation is not being executed. determine that it is in a detectable state

It should be noted that the wire may be fixed to the drug container 20 when the weight measuring means 25 is calibrated while the drug container 20 is being held. Further, in this case, the drug container 20 having the same weight is held in the measurement when the pulling operation is not performed and the measurement when the pulling operation is performed. Here, the term "medicine container 20 having the same weight" means that the weight of the drug container 20, which is the weight of the contained drug added to the weight of the drug contained therein, is the same.

The drug delivery device 1 of the above-described embodiment is provided with a plurality (six) of drug feeders 5, and each drug feeder 5 has its own weight calibrating section 21 individually. That is, one weight calibration unit 21 can apply a load of a weight (weight 42) to one weight measurement means 25. FIG.
However, like the weight calibration section 521 (measuring means inspection section) shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, one weight calibration unit 521 is associated with a plurality of feeder units 22 to configure a drug feeder.
As shown in FIG. 60, the weight calibration unit 521 of this embodiment includes a motor (not shown), a take-up pulley 501, a wire 502, a plurality of pulley members 503, and a plurality of weight members 504 (for calibration). weight). The take-up pulley 501 and the pulley member 503 are fixed to the upper lid 4 or the lower part of the upper unit (tablet manual spreading device 303). Also, by operating the motor, the wire 502 can be wound by the winding pulley 501 .
In FIG. 60(a), for the convenience of drawing, the pulley member 503 and the weight member 504 are only partly numbered, and the other parts are omitted.

Separate pulley members 503 and weight members 504 are arranged above the respective feeder portions 22 . By switching between a state in which the wire 502 is tightly wound around the take-up pulley 501 and a state in which the wire 502 is loosely wound, the weight member 504 is arranged at a position away from the upper surface of the drug container 20 . The first state in which the weight member 504 is placed and the second state in which the weight member 504 is placed on the drug container 20 can be switched.

Here, as shown in FIG. 60(b), the weight member 504 has an internal space 530. The internal space portion 530 is a space that is open at the bottom and surrounded by a peripheral wall portion that continues in an annular shape. A wire insertion hole 531 that communicates the interior space 530 with the outside is provided in the upper portion of the weight member 504 . The wire insertion hole 531 is formed narrower than the internal space portion 530 .

A hooking member 532 is attached to the tip of the portion of the wire 502 that hangs down from the pulley member 503 . The locking member 532 can be inserted into the internal space 530 from below the weight member 504 and has a size (and/or shape) that prevents it from passing through the wire insertion hole 531 . Then, as shown in FIG. 60(b), the hooking member 532 is arranged in the internal space 530, and the wire 502 hanging down from the pulley member 503 extends into the internal space 530 through the wire insertion hole 531. It extends and is in a continuous state with the hooking member 532 .

Therefore, when the winding of the wire 502 is loosened in the first state, the hooking member 532 moves downward, and the weight member 504 moves downward accordingly. Then, the lower end portion of weight member 504 comes into contact with drug container 20 from above. In this state, the locking member 532 moves further downward, so that the locking member 532 is separated downward from the upper portion of the weight member 504 in the internal space 530 and does not contact the ceiling wall portion of the internal space 530. state. As a result, the weight member 504 is placed on the medicine container 20, and the state is shifted to the second state.
In the second state, the load of weight member 504 is applied to weight measuring means 25 while the load of hooking member 532 and wire 502 is not applied to weight measuring means 25 .

Conversely, by winding the wire 502 in the second state, the hook member 532 moves upward and contacts the upper portion of the weight member 504 within the internal space 530 from below. As the hooking member 532 moves upward, the weight member 504 moves upward, and the lower end portion of the weight member 504 separates upward from the drug container 20, thereby shifting to the first state.
Since it is possible to shift from the first state to the second state as described above, whether or not the weight measuring means of the feeder section 22 is in a state in which the weight can be detected correctly is checked in the same manner as described above. It becomes possible to perform discriminating operations (calibration of weight measuring means, failure detection). For example, in the calibration of the weight measuring means, the weight is measured by the weight measuring means of the feeder section 22 in the first state. After that, it is shifted to the second state, and the weight measurement by the weight measurement means of the feeder section 22 is performed. The condition is that the value obtained by subtracting the detected value of the weight measurement performed in the first state from the detected value (measured value) of the weight measurement performed in the second state is the same as the weight of the weight member 504. , it is determined that the weight of the weight member 504 is correctly detected. That is, it is determined that the weight measuring means is in a state of being able to correctly detect the weight.

The weight calibration unit 521 of the present embodiment can raise and lower a plurality of weight members 504 at the same time. That is, it is possible to switch between a state in which the load of the weight member 504 is applied to each of the weight measuring means 25 of the plurality of feeder portions 22 and a state in which the weight member 504 does not apply the load to the weight measuring means 25 . be.
Further, instead of the hooking member 532 described above, a weight holding means such as an electromagnet may be provided at the tip of the wire 502 (the tip of the portion hanging down from the pulley member 503). That is, the first state may be obtained by energizing the electromagnet to attract the weight and lifting the weight. Alternatively, the current to the electromagnet may be stopped while the weight is placed on the drug container 20, and the weight may not be held.
Furthermore, in the above example, the weight member 504 is placed on the medicine container 20 of the feeder section 22 . In other words, the drug container 20 is made to function as a weight receiving portion that receives the load of the weight member 504. However, when performing calibration, the drug container 20 is previously removed from each feeder portion 22, and the weight member is attached to the container support portion 23. 504 may be placed.

Further, the drug feeder described above may be formed so that the container support portion 23 can be moved up and down by an elevating device. At this time, the container support part 23 may be moved up and down while supporting the drug container 20 . When the drug container 20 and the container support portion 23 are positioned upward, the load is not applied to the weight measuring means 25, and a large amount of pressure is applied between the lower surface of the support-side horizontal portion 30 positioned above and the weight measuring means 25. A void may be formed.
In this case, the weight measuring means 25 can be calibrated by manually placing the weight member on the weight measuring means 25 .

In the above-described embodiment, the weight calibration section 21 is arranged on one side of the feeder section 22, and the weight 42 is placed on the weight placement member 43 to calibrate the weight measuring means 25. As shown in FIG. However, the medicine feeder 5 that can be employed in the medicine dispensing device 1 is not limited to this.
For example, an elevating device having cams arranged on both sides of the feeder section 22 is provided to move a weight member such as a weight up and down. You may switch the state arrange|positioned in the position away from the part 32 upwards.
In this case, the drug container 20 is removed from the feeder body 10 and the weight measuring means 25 is calibrated. A weight supporting member, which is a member extending from one side of the feeder portion 22 to the other side and supports the weight member, is detachably formed from the main body of the lifting device. That is, when the drug container 20 is supported by the feeder main body 10, the weight supporting member is removed. The weight support member may be capable of supporting the weight member in a suspended state as described above.

In the drug dispensing device 1 of the above-described embodiment, a lower weight measuring means to which the load of the plurality of drug feeders 5 is applied may be provided below the plurality of (for example, three) drug feeders 5 .
With such a configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not the weight of the drug container 20 is correctly detected in all of the plurality of drug feeders 5 .
That is, the weight of each drug container 20 is measured in each drug feeder 5, and the total weight of the plurality (three) of drug containers 20 is calculated. Further, by subtracting the members other than the drug container 20 (such as the weight values of the feeder main body 10 and the weight calibration unit 21) from the values detected by the lower weight measuring means, a plurality of (three) drug containers Calculate the total value of the 20 weights.
Furthermore, the total value of the weights of the plurality (three) of drug containers 20 calculated based on the detection values of the plurality of weight measurement means 25 and the plurality (three) calculated based on the detection values of the lower weight measurement means is compared with the total value of the weight of the drug container 20 of As a result of the comparison operation, if there is no difference in the total value, it is determined that the weight of the drug container 20 is correctly detected by all of the plurality (three) of drug feeders 5 . Conversely, if there is a deviation, it is determined that the weight of the drug container 20 is not correctly measured by any of the plurality (three) of drug feeders 5 .
As described above, according to the above configuration, it is possible to double-check the weight of the drug container 20 without moving the drug container 20 . Similarly, a plurality of weight measuring means 25 measure the weights of different weights 42 and calculate the total value thereof, and the lower weight measuring means calculates the total value of the weights of the plurality of weights 42, By comparing these, the weight measuring means 25 may be calibrated.

The medicine dispensing device 1 described above may construct and operate a medicine dispensing system together with an external host controller. At this time, it is possible to transmit and receive signals between the drug dispensing device 1 and the host controller. Also, the host controller is configured to have a display device such as a display.
Then, when the medicine dispensing device 1 is turned on before starting work for the day (hereinafter also referred to as start of work), it may be determined whether the medicine feeder 5 needs to be calibrated.

Specifically, at the start of the operation, each medicine feeder 5 is held in a state of holding a measurement container (measurement member). It should be noted that the weight of each container for measurement is obtained by measurement or the like performed in advance, and is stored in the control device.
Then, in each drug feeder 5, a comparison operation is performed to compare the zero point of the weight measuring means 25 and the detected weight of the container for measurement. For example, in each drug feeder 5, a value is calculated by subtracting a previously stored value of the weight of the held measurement container from the detected value of the weight of the held measurement container.
Subsequently, the values calculated by the comparison operations performed in each drug feeder 5 are compared. Then, when the values calculated by the respective medicine feeders 5 are not all the same, the medicine dispensing device 1 transmits a signal to that effect to the host controller. When the host controller receives this signal, it performs a notification operation to prompt the user to calibrate the weight measuring means 25 .
That is, when the values calculated by the respective medicine feeders 5 are not all the same, it is determined that the medicine feeders 5 need to be calibrated, and a notification operation to prompt the calibration of the medicine feeders 5 is performed.

The series of operations described above may be operations executed based on a signal transmitted from the host controller to the drug dispensing device 1 at the start of work. That is, the operation may be automatically executed by turning on the medicine dispensing device 1 . In addition, a signal is periodically transmitted from the host control device such as each time the packaging operation is performed, every time the packaging operation is performed a predetermined number of times (multiple times), and every time a predetermined time elapses. may be
The measurement container may be an empty drug container 20 or a drug container 20 containing powdered medicine. That is, it may be the medicine container 20 used in the packaging operation. Further, the measurement containers held by the respective drug feeders 5 may have different weights.

The drug dispensing device 1 described above may be operated in a state where the power is always on. Further, even when the main body of the medicine dispensing device 1 is turned off, the medicine feeder 5 may be always turned on. In these cases, the detection value of the weight measuring means 25 of each medicine feeder 5 may be constantly monitored to detect whether or not the weight measuring means 25 is abnormal. That is, it may be determined that the weight measuring means 25 has an abnormality when the change in the value of the weight per hour is not a predicted change (eg, the specified value is not maintained).
That is, in a waveform graph in which the horizontal axis is time and the vertical axis is the detected value (weight value), if the waveform is greatly disturbed outside a predetermined range, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the weight measuring means 25. good. Similarly, by continuously monitoring the detection value of the weight measuring means 25, it is possible to detect whether or not the drug container 20 has been removed, whether or not disturbance vibration has occurred, and the like.
Note that when an abnormality is detected, a notification operation may be performed to notify that effect. Also, at that time, information indicating changes in detected values over time, such as the above-described graph, may be displayed on a display device or the like provided in the medicine dispensing device 1 .

In the drug dispensing device 1 described above, as shown in FIG. 61, a hopper-side weight measuring means 560 capable of detecting the weight of the powdered drug charging hopper 310 may be provided. The hopper-side weight measuring means 560 is a part of the packaging device 308 and may be provided on a base member to which the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is fixed. Further, when detecting the weight of the powdered medicine charging hopper 310, the detected value of the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 determines the weight of the member different from the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 among the members on which the load is applied to the hopper-side weight measuring means 560. A weight value may be obtained by subtracting the weight. Also, an upper lid member that closes the upper opening of the powdered medicine introduction hopper 310 and a lower lid member that closes the lower opening may be provided. In this case, the upper lid member and the lower lid member are members capable of switching between an open state and a closed state of their respective openings. Furthermore, the lower lid member may be provided integrally with the powdered medicine introduction hopper 310 . The powdered medicine may be temporarily retained inside the powdered medicine feeding hopper 310 by putting the powdered medicine into the powdered medicine feeding hopper 310 with the lower lid member closed. At this time, the weight of the powdered medicine charged into the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 can be detected by the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 .

When the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 is provided, the following failure detection operation may be performed.
Specifically, powdered medicine is discharged from the medicine container 20 of the medicine feeder 5 to the distribution tray 6 as described above. Around this time, the weight of a package of powdered medicine is obtained based on the prescription data. For example, when 63 g of powdered medicine is discharged to the distribution tray 6 as 21 packets, the weight of one packet of powdered medicine is 3 g (63/21).
Then, one packet of the powdered medicine is put into the powdered medicine injection hopper 310 whose lower opening is closed by the lower cover member in the same manner as the normal packaging operation. Subsequently, based on the detection value of the hopper-side weight measuring means 560, the weight of the powdered medicine charged into the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is acquired.

Subsequently, the weight of one package of powdered medicine obtained in advance and the weight of the powdered medicine put into the powdered medicine feeding hopper 310 obtained based on the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 are compared. If the result of the comparison operation is that they are the same, it is determined that the weight measuring means 25 has not failed. Conversely, if the compared weights are not the same, it is determined that the weight measuring means 25 has failed.
Here, as shown in FIG. 61, if powdered medicine is discharged from one medicine feeder 5, it is determined whether or not the weight measuring means 25 of this medicine feeder 5 is out of order. On the other hand, if the powdered medicine is discharged from a plurality of medicine feeders 5, it is determined whether or not the weight measuring means 25 of all the medicine feeders 5 are out of order. That is, if the compared weights are the same, it is determined that the weight measuring means 25 of all of the plurality of drug feeders 5 have not failed. On the other hand, if the compared weights are not the same, it is determined that the weight measuring means 25 belonging to one or more drug feeders 5 has failed.
Note that the weight of one package may be a value calculated based on the detected value of the weight measuring means 25 . That is, the total discharge amount may be calculated based on the detected value of the weight measuring means 25, and the weight of one package may be calculated from the total discharge amount.

In addition, when it is determined that the weight measuring means 25 is out of order by the failure detection operation, a notification operation to notify that fact may be executed. Further, the notification operation may include an operation to prompt calibration of the weight measuring means 25 . For example, an operation may be executed to prompt calibration of the medicine feeder 5 determined to be out of order (or suspected to be out of order) by the failure detection operation, and belongs to the medicine dispensing device 1 (associated with the distribution tray 6). b) an operation to prompt calibration of all drug feeders 5 may be executed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 62, the failure detection operation may be performed by stacking the powdered medicine discharged from the medicine feeder 5 to the distribution tray 6 at one point or in an extremely narrow area.
That is, when this failure detection operation is started, one dose of powdered medicine is discharged from the medicine feeder 5 to the distribution tray 6 . During this time, the rotation of the distribution plate 6 is stopped, or the distribution plate 6 is rotated at a very low rotational speed. For this reason, the discharged powdered medicine is piled up at one point or in a very narrow area of the distribution tray 6 to form a powdered medicine assembly 570 . In other words, the powdered medicine set 570 is a collection of powdered medicines piled up like a mountain in a narrow range that is part of the distribution tray 6 (a pile of powdered medicines).

When executing the failure detection operation for the weight measuring means 25 of a plurality of drug feeders 5 , one package of powdered drugs is discharged from each of them to form powdered drug aggregates 570 at a plurality of locations on the distribution tray 6 . Around this time, based on the prescription data, the weight of one package of the powdered medicine discharged from each medicine feeder 5, that is, the weight that becomes the target discharge amount when creating each powdered medicine group 570, is obtained.
Subsequently, the distribution tray 6 is rotated at a low speed to move one powdered drug set 570 a to a position close to the powdered drug charging hopper 310 , and then this powdered drug set 570 a is charged to the powdered drug charging hopper 310 . At this time, the lower opening of the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is kept closed, and the weight of the powdered medicine charged into the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is obtained based on the detection value of the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 .

Then, the weight of the powdered medicine (powder medicine set 570a) fed into the powdered medicine feeding hopper 310 is compared with the weight of one package that was the target discharge amount of the fed powdered medicine (target discharge amount when forming the powdered medicine set 570a). . As a result of the comparison operation, if they are the same, it is determined that the weight measuring means 25 of the medicine feeder 5 that discharged this powdered medicine was not out of order. Conversely, if they are not the same, it is determined that the weight measuring means 25 of the drug feeder 5 that has discharged this powdered drug has failed.
For example, if one medicine feeder 5 discharges powdered medicine with a target discharge amount of 3 g to create the powdered medicine set 570a, it is determined whether or not the weight of the powdered medicine fed into the powdered medicine feeding hopper 310 is 3 g. . Then, if it is 3 g, it is determined that the weight measuring means 25 belonging to one drug feeder 5 has not failed.

Subsequently, the lower opening of the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is opened, and the powdered medicine (the powdered medicine set 570a) is discharged from the inside of the powdered medicine charging hopper 310. After that, by rotating the distribution tray 6 at a low speed, another powdered medicine set 570b is moved to a position close to the powdered medicine feeding hopper 310, and this powdered medicine set 570b is fed into the powdered drug feeding hopper 310. Prior to this charging operation, the lower opening of the powdered drug charging hopper 310 is closed. Then, in the same manner as described above, based on the detection value of the hopper-side weight measuring means 560, the weight of the powdered medicine (powder medicine set 570b) fed into the powdered medicine feeding hopper 310 is acquired.

Then, in the same manner as described above, the weight of the powdered medicine (powder medicine set 570b) fed into the powdered medicine feeding hopper 310 and the target discharge amount of the fed powdered medicine (target discharge amount when forming the powdered medicine set 570a) for one package Compare the weight of From this, it is determined that the weight measuring means 25 of the drug feeder 5 that discharged this powdered drug was not out of order. Similarly, it is determined whether or not the weight measuring means 25 is out of order for each of the plurality of drug feeders 5 .
This failure detection operation is not limited to an operation targeting the weight measuring means 25 of a plurality of drug feeders 5 , and may be an operation targeting the weight measuring means 25 of one drug feeder 5 .
In the failure detection operation described above, the value (discharge amount) calculated based on the detection value of the weight measuring means 25 and the value (input amount) calculated based on the detection value of the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 are compared. Actions may be performed.
Further, in the above example, the failure detection operation was performed using powdered medicine discharged from the medicine feeder 5 to the distribution tray 6 . However, the failure detection operation may use cleaning chemicals (cleaning agents), foods, excipients, etc., instead of the powdered medicine. That is, a powder different from the drug may be used. An excipient is an additive added to increase the volume before formulation, and is a so-called bulking agent. The term "food" as used herein includes starch, sodium bicarbonate, and other foods that can be taken orally by humans, and the same applies to the following. When these are used in place of the powdered medicines, a container for detection operation containing these in the medicine container 20 is used.

As described above, when the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 is provided, the following hopper attachment determination operation may be performed.
This hopper attachment determination operation is an operation for determining whether or not the powdered medicine introduction hopper 310 is attached to the base member. Specifically, the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 detects the weight change when the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is attached and detached. That is, based on the detection value of the hopper-side weight measuring means 560, it is determined whether or not the load of the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is applied to the hopper-side weight measuring means 560. Then, when it is determined that the load of the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is applied, it is assumed that the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is attached. Conversely, if it is determined that no load is applied to the powdered medicine charging hopper 310, it is assumed that the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 has been removed.
According to the hopper attachment determination operation described above, it is possible to detect whether or not the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is attached without providing a sensor for detecting the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 or wiring for detection in the powdered drug charging hopper 310 .

As described above, when the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 is provided, the following hopper cleaning operation may be performed.
First, the basic cleaning operation of the hopper will be explained. In the medicine delivery device 1 described above, the cleaning operation of the powdered medicine introduction hopper 310 is executed after execution of the packaging operation and before execution of the subsequent packaging operation.
As a cleaning operation of the powdered medicine charging hopper 310, a cleaning chemical or food (hereinafter simply referred to as a cleaning agent) is charged into the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 with the lower opening closed, and then the upper opening is closed, There is a suction cleaning operation that provides suction within the powdered drug input hopper 310 . In the suction cleaning operation, the lower lid member may be opened and closed in the latter half of the suction, and at this time, air may be blown from the air nozzle to the outside of the lower lid member. Further, as the cleaning operation, there is a dust collection operation for removing the medicine or the like adhering to the powdered medicine introduction hopper 310 by a dust collector (not shown). The dust collector generates negative pressure to suck in dust together with air, and is not particularly limited, but may be equipped with a vacuum pump or a dust bag. Furthermore, as the cleaning operation, there is a vibrating cleaning operation in which the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is hit or vibrated by a vibrator, a knocker, or the like. In the cleaning operation of the drug dispensing device 1, one or more selected from a suction cleaning operation, a dust collection operation, and a vibration cleaning operation is performed.

Here, depending on the type of the powdered medicine adhering to the powdered medicine feeding hopper 310, there are some that are difficult to remove by the cleaning operation. In addition, it may be difficult to remove the powdered medicine by the cleaning operation due to the humidity of the place where the medicine dispensing device 1 is installed.
Therefore, in the medicine dispensing device 1 of the present embodiment, when performing the cleaning operation after performing the packaging operation, before the packaging operation is performed, after the packaging operation is performed (before the cleaning operation is performed), and when the cleaning operation is performed. After each execution, the operation of weighing the powdered medicine input hopper 310 is executed. That is, when powdered medicine adheres to the powdered medicine charging hopper 310, the value of the weight of the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 measured by the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 increases. Therefore, by acquiring the weight difference before and after the packaging operation (comparing the detected values), it is possible to determine how much powdered medicine has adhered to the powdered medicine introduction hopper 310 due to the packaging operation. In addition, by comparing the weight value before execution of the packaging operation and the value of weight after execution of the cleaning operation, it is possible to determine whether the cleaning operation was properly performed, that is, whether the powdered medicine was completely removed. can determine whether Therefore, the cleaning operation can be evaluated by comparing the detection values before the packaging operation and after the cleaning operation.

Then, the drug dispensing device 1 performs a cleaning operation based on the detection value of the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 described above. For example, compare the detected values before and after the packaging operation, and if a large amount of powdered medicine is adhered, increase the amount of cleaning agent, increase the strength of hitting, and increase the number of times of hitting. , the suction strength of the dust collector is increased, the suction time is lengthened, and the like to perform the cleaning operation. Conversely, if the powdered medicine is not very attached, the cleaning operation is performed by reducing the amount of cleaning agent, weakening the strength of tapping, and so on. That is, based on the detected value of the hopper-side weight measuring means 560, the details of the cleaning operation to be performed (the amount of cleaning agent, the length (execution time) of various operations such as the suction operation, the number of tapping, the interval, the strength, etc.) , strength of dust collecting operation, etc.). Further, based on the detection value of the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 described above, it is determined whether or not the cleaning operation is to be performed again after the cleaning operation. When the cleaning operation is performed again, the content of the subsequent cleaning operation is also determined based on the detection value of the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 . In other words, based on the detection value of the hopper-side weight measuring means 560, the number of times the cleaning operation is performed is determined, and the content of each cleaning operation to be performed once or multiple times is determined. The number of cleaning operations to be performed may be determined whether or not the cleaning operation is to be performed continuously each time the cleaning operation is performed, or may be determined how many times to perform the cleaning operation before the first cleaning operation is performed. , the number of times to perform the cleaning operation may be determined before the second and subsequent cleaning operations are performed. As for the contents of the cleaning operation, similarly, the contents of the cleaning operation to be performed successively each time the cleaning operation is performed may be determined, or the contents of the cleaning operation may be determined at an appropriate timing.

Further, after the cleaning operation is performed, information regarding the evaluation of the already performed cleaning operation (hereinafter also referred to as cleaning evaluation information) may be stored in a storage means such as a control device. The cleaning evaluation information may be information stored in association with information on the type of powdered medicine to be cleaned, information on humidity at the time of execution, information on the details of the cleaning operation performed, and the like. Then, each time the cleaning operation is performed, the cleaning operation may be performed with the content changed so as to obtain a better evaluation based on the cleaning evaluation information and related information. According to such a configuration, the longer the operation of the medicine dispensing device 1 is continued, the more the accuracy of the cleaning operation is improved.

As described above, the scraping device 8 is used with the rotary plate 12 attached to the mounting base 255 . Here, when the hopper-side weight measuring means 560 is provided, the following attachment determination operation may be performed.
The attachment determination operation is an operation for determining whether or not a member (rotary plate 12 in this embodiment) to be attached to the scraping device 8 afterward is correctly attached. Specifically, the operation of closing the lower opening of the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 and charging one package of the powdered medicine from the distribution tray 6 into the powdered medicine charging hopper 310 is executed. Then, on condition that the weight of the powdered medicine thrown into the powdered medicine feeding hopper 310 is correctly detected by the hopper-side weight measuring means 560, it is determined that the rotary plate 12 is correctly mounted on the scraping device 8. Conversely, when the weight of the powdered medicine put into the powdered medicine injection hopper 310 is not detected correctly, it is determined that the rotating plate 12 is not properly attached to the scraping device 8 .
The attachment determination operation may be an operation that is executed in parallel with the packaging operation. That is, it may be determined whether or not the rotating plate 12 is correctly mounted when the powdered medicine is put into the powdered medicine injection hopper 310 from the distribution tray 6 in the packing operation. In this case, if it is determined that the rotary plate 12 is not correctly attached, the packaging operation that is being performed may be stopped. Also, a notification operation may be performed to notify that the rotating plate 12 is not correctly mounted.
The attachment determination operation may be performed separately from the packing operation. For example, the powdered medicine may be discharged from the medicine feeder 5 to the distribution tray 6 before the packaging operation is performed. . Also, the attachment determination operation may be an operation executed in parallel with the failure detection operation described above. That is, when the weight of the powdered medicine put into the powdered medicine feeding hopper 310 is correctly detected, it is determined that the rotating plate 12 is correctly mounted and the weight measuring means 25 of the medicine feeder 5 that has discharged this powdered medicine is not out of order. . On the other hand, if the weight of the powdered medicine is not correctly detected, it is determined that the rotating plate 12 is not properly mounted or the weight measuring means 25 of the medicine feeder 5 that has discharged the powdered medicine is out of order.

Here, in the medicine dispensing device 1 (see FIG. 1, etc.), when discharging the powdered medicine from the medicine container 20 of the medicine feeder 5 to the distribution tray 6, as described above, prior to discharge, the preliminary weight measurement operation is performed. do. Then, the weight calibration unit 21 is shifted from the second state to the first state, and the operation of discharging the powdered medicine to the distribution tray 6 is executed. After executing the operation of discharging the powdered medicine, the weight of the medicine container 20 (and/or the weight of the contained powdered medicine) is acquired. Furthermore, a post weight measurement operation is executed.

Also, in the operation of discharging the powdered medicine, the operation of measuring the weight of the medicine container 20 is executed as described above. That is, the weight of the medicine container 20 is measured before and after the vibrating member 16 in the feeder section 22 starts to vibrate, and the current weight of the medicine container 20 is continuously monitored as the current weight g even while the powdered medicine is falling. Then, the original weight G and the current weight g of the drug container 20 immediately after being placed on the vibrating member 16 are compared to constantly calculate the falling amount H of the powdered medicine, and when the total falling amount H of the powdered medicine reaches the desired weight, Vibration of the vibrating member 16 is stopped.

Here, in the operation of discharging the powdered medicine described above, the weight of the medicine container 20 before the opening provided on the lower side of the medicine container 20 is opened may be obtained as the original weight G of the medicine container 20 (it may be set as a zero point). ). When the drop amount H of the powdered medicine reaches a certain level or more and approaches the desired weight (or reaches the desired weight), the vibration of the vibrating member 16 is stopped, and the opening of the medicine container 20 is kept open for a predetermined period of time. A waiting operation of waiting may be performed. At this time, the falling amount H of the powdered medicine calculated by comparing the original weight G and the current weight g obtained after the execution of the standby operation can also be used as the amount of the powdered medicine finally discharged to the distribution tray 6 (discharge amount of the powdered medicine). good.
Hereinafter, regarding a specific procedure for discharging the powdered medicine to the distribution tray 6 by such a discharging operation, the medicine container 20 is attached to the feeder main body 10 and held, and after executing the powdered medicine discharging operation, the medicine container 20 is removed. A case of removing from the feeder main body 10 will be described in detail as an example.

First, as shown in FIG. 63, the drug container 20 is attached to and held by the feeder body 10 (step 1, see FIG. 63(a)). Next, the weight calibration unit 21 is shifted from the first state to the second state, and the operation of detecting the weight of the weight 42 (preliminary weight measurement operation) is executed (step 2, see FIG. 63(b)). Next, the weight calibration unit 21 is shifted from the second state to the first state (step 3, see FIG. 63(c)). Next, the weight before opening the drug container 20 is acquired as the original weight G of the drug container 20, and zero point is taken (step 4, see FIG. 63(d)). Next, the drug container 20 is opened (step 5, see FIG. 63(e)). The vibrating member 16 is vibrated to discharge (pay out) the powdered medicine (step 6, see FIG. 63(f)). The standby operation is executed, and the original weight G and the current weight g obtained after the standby operation are compared to obtain the final discharge amount of the powder medicine (step 7, see FIG. 63(g)). The opening of the drug container 20 is closed (step 8, see FIG. 63(h)). The weight calibration unit 21 is shifted from the first state to the second state, and the operation of detecting the weight of the weight 42 (post weight measurement operation) is executed (step 9, see FIG. 63(i)). At this time, similarly to the above, when the weight values of the weight 42 obtained in the pre-weight measurement operation and the post-weight measurement operation are the same, it is determined that the weight measurement means 25 has not failed. Subsequently, the weight calibration unit 21 is shifted from the second state to the first state (step 10, see FIG. 63(j)). The drug container 20 is removed from the feeder body 10 (step 11, see FIG. 63(k)).

By executing the operation of discharging the powdered medicine as described above, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of measurement error (dispensing error) in the discharged amount of the powdered medicine due to unintended dropping of the powdered medicine.
More specifically, when the drug container 20 is opened, there is a possibility that the drug adhering to the shutter member 91 or the like may drop as the drug container 20 is moved to the open state. In addition, it is conceivable that the drug may fall from the vicinity of the powdered drug discharge portion (opening) in the drug container 20 by any chance. Therefore, by performing the zero point before opening the drug container 20, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of errors due to the unintended dropping of the powdered medicine.
That is, if the shutter member 91 is opened and the zero point is taken after the shutter member 91 is opened, and the drug (powder drug) is dropped when the shutter member 91 is shifted to the open state, the weight of the discharged drug is divided and packaged. There is a possibility that it will be different from the amount (emission amount that should be emitted originally). In other words, there is a possibility that the discharge amount will increase by the amount of the powdered medicine that has fallen before the zero point is taken.
On the other hand, by executing the operation of discharging the powdered medicine according to the procedure described above, it becomes possible to discharge the powdered medicine more accurately. In other words, according to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to cause a problem caused by the failure of the weight measuring means due to the failure detection operation, and it is possible to prevent (suppress) the occurrence of measurement errors in the amount of discharge. It is possible to discharge powdered medicine with high accuracy.

The above-described embodiment is an embodiment of the following invention.
[Invention 1]
a drug container containing a powdered drug, a holding member for holding the drug container, and weight measuring means for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the drug container, discharging the powdered drug from the drug container, In the drug feeder capable of detecting the discharge amount of the powdered drug by the weight measuring means,
a state in which a load of the weight member is applied to the weight measurement means; A drug feeder that performs calibration and/or failure detection of said weight measuring means by comparing a state in which no member load is applied to said weight measuring means.

[Invention 2]
The medicine feeder according to invention 1, wherein the elevating means elevates the weight member, and the weight member elevates to perform the calibration and/or the failure detection.

[Invention 3]
having a weight receiving part,
Invention 2, wherein the weight receiving portion can receive the load of the weight member in each of a state in which the holding member holds the drug container and a state in which the drug container is removed from the holding member. A drug feeder as described in .

[Invention 4]
a measurement means inspection unit including the weight member, the elevating means, and a weight receiving portion capable of receiving the load of the weight member;
The medicine feeder according to invention 2 or 3, wherein the calibration and/or the failure detection are performed by the measuring means inspecting part, and the measuring means inspecting part is arranged around the holding member.

[Invention 5]
having a weight receiving part,
The elevating means has a motor as a power source, a cam rotated by the operation of the motor, and an elevating member mounted on the cam,
The elevating member moves up and down with the rotation of the cam while maintaining a state of being placed on the cam,
According to any one of Inventions 2 to 4, wherein the lifting member pushes up the weight member from below, thereby shifting from a state in which the weight member is in contact with the weight receiving portion to a state in which the weight member does not contact the weight receiving portion. A drug feeder according to any one of the above.

[Invention 6]
having a weight receiving part,
The weight receiving portion is a part of the holding member and is formed at a position below the held drug container,
By moving the weight member up and down, the weight member is placed on the weight receiving portion, the load of the weight member is applied to the weight measuring means, and the weight member moves upward from the weight receiving portion. The separated state is switched,
Invention 2, wherein the weight member is disposed at a position lower than the held drug container in each of the state of being placed on the weight receiving portion and the state of being separated upward from the weight receiving portion. Or the drug feeder according to 3.

[Invention 7]
The drug feeder according to any one of Inventions 1 to 6, wherein the drug container can be manually held by the holding member, and the drug container held by the holding member can be manually removed. .

[Invention 8]
A drug dispensing device comprising the drug feeder according to any one of Inventions 1 to 7.

[Invention 9]
A medicine packaging unit for packaging powdered medicine, a hopper member into which the powdered medicine to be supplied to the medicine packaging unit is put, and a hopper-side weight measuring means for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the hopper member,
A target discharge amount of powdered medicine is discharged based on the detected value of the weight measuring means, and the discharged powdered medicine is put into a hopper member, and the failure detection is performed based on the detected value of the hopper side weight measuring means. , the drug delivery device according to the invention 8.

[Invention 10]
A medicine container containing a powdered medicine, a holding member for holding the medicine container, and weight measuring means for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the medicine container, wherein the weight measuring means discharges the powdered medicine. A method for calibrating a drug feeder capable of detecting
a weight acquisition step of measuring the weight by the weight measuring means with the load of the weight member applied to the weight measuring means;
A method of calibrating a drug feeder, wherein the weight obtained in the weight obtaining step is compared with a prestored weight to determine whether or not the weight measuring means is normal.

[Invention 11]
A medicine container containing a powdered medicine, a holding member for holding the medicine container, and weight measuring means for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the medicine container, wherein the weight measuring means discharges the powdered medicine. A drug feeder failure detection method capable of detecting
a weight acquisition step of measuring the weight by the weight measuring means with the load of the weight member applied to the weight measuring means;
performing the weight acquisition step prior to the operation of discharging the powdered medicine;
Further performing the weight acquisition step after the powder medicine discharging operation,
The weight obtained in the weight obtaining step performed prior to the powdered medicine discharging operation is compared with the weight obtained in the weight obtaining step performed after the powdered medicine discharging operation, and the weight measuring means performs the powdered medicine discharging operation. A drug feeder failure detection method for determining whether or not a drug feeder has failed.

[Invention 12]
In the operation of discharging the powdered medicine, the powdered medicine is discharged by opening the powdered medicine discharging portion of the medicine container, and in the operation of detecting the amount of discharged powdered medicine, the weight of the medicine container before discharging the powdered medicine is obtained as the original weight. A failure detection of a drug feeder according to invention 11, wherein an operation of acquiring the weight of the drug container before discharging the powdered drug as the original weight is executed before opening the powdered drug discharging portion of the drug container. Method.

　Conventional medicine dispensers had room for improvement from the viewpoint of accurately detecting vibrations when discharging powdered medicine from the medicine feeder.

An object of the present invention described below is to provide a drug feeder capable of accurately detecting vibrations when discharging powdered drugs. Another object of the present invention is to provide a drug dispensing device having such a drug feeder.

One aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a medicine which has a medicine container in which a powdered medicine is stored and a holding member which holds the medicine container, and is capable of discharging the powdered medicine from the medicine container. In the feeder, the drug container is a drug feeder having a vibration detection sensor for detecting vibration of the drug container.

In the drug feeder of this aspect, the drug container containing the powdered drug has a vibration detection sensor, and when discharging the powdered drug, its own vibration detection sensor can detect its own vibration. That is, it is possible to detect the vibration at the time of discharging at a position close to the powdered medicine to be discharged, and the detection accuracy can be improved.

In the aspect described above, the holding member has a holding-side engaging portion, the vibration detection sensor has a sensor-side engaging portion, and the drug container is held by the holding member so that the holding-side engaging portion is held by the holding member. It is preferable that the joint portion and the sensor-side engaging portion are brought into contact with each other to be electrically connected, so that signals can be transmitted and received between the vibration detection sensor and other circuits.

According to this aspect, it is possible to detect vibration without extending the wiring member from the medicine container to the outside, so that the detection accuracy can be improved without complicating attachment and detachment of the medicine container to and from the holding member.

In the preferred aspect described above, a mounting detection operation for determining whether or not the drug container is held by the holding member is executed. It is further preferable to determine that the drug container is held by the holding member on the condition that the signal is input to the circuit of .

According to this aspect, it is possible to detect the attachment of the drug container without separately providing a sensor or the like for detecting whether or not the drug container is held, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In the aspect described above, the vibration detection sensor is capable of detecting vibrations in a plurality of directions including the vertical direction and a direction crossing the vertical direction, and the vibration detection value in the vertical direction by the vibration detection sensor is amplified and output. The value of the offset voltage that amplifies the detected value is determined based on the effect of gravity on the vibration detection sensor. It is preferable that the value of the offset voltage for amplifying the vibration detection value is the same.

According to this aspect, it is possible to detect vibrations with high precision with an inexpensive configuration.

In the aspect described above, it is preferable that the vibration detection sensor is an acceleration sensor.

Another aspect of the present invention is a drug dispensing device comprising the drug feeder described above.

Even in such an aspect, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of the vibration when discharging the powdered medicine.

The present invention can provide a drug feeder that can accurately detect vibrations when discharging powdered drugs. Also, it is possible to provide a drug dispensing device equipped with such a drug feeder.

The drug feeder 5 of the present embodiment is provided with vibration detection means 180 for detecting vibration of the drug container 20 as shown in FIG. 64 as a characteristic configuration. The vibration detection means 180 has a vibration detection sensor 181 provided integrally with the medicine container 20 . By holding the drug container 20 on the container support portion 23, the vibration of the drug container 20 can be detected as an electric signal.

In this embodiment, an acceleration sensor capable of detecting three-axis vibration is used as the vibration detection sensor 181 . Specifically, two axes extending in a direction parallel to the horizontal plane and perpendicular to each other are defined as the X axis and the Y axis, and an axis extending in a direction perpendicular to the two axes is defined as the Z axis. , Y-axis, and Z-axis. In other words, in the present embodiment, one axis of the three-axis acceleration sensor is in a state capable of detecting in the vertical direction (vertical direction), and the other axis is in a state capable of detecting in a direction parallel to the horizontal plane.

The vibration detecting sensor 181 has a connector contact portion 71a that contacts a connector pin 182 (holding side engaging portion, see FIG. 64(a)) provided on the vibrating member 16 (feeder body 10). The connector contact portion 71a (sensor-side engaging portion) is a portion made of metal and having a flat plate-like outer shape.
The vibration detection sensor 181 is mounted on a substrate constituting the sensor such that the connector contact portion 71a is exposed to the outside and most of the other portions are invisible from the outside. Specifically, the connector contact portion 71a is exposed to the outside from each of the plurality of through holes provided in the back wall 36 of the drug container 20, and the other portions are attached so as not to be exposed to the outside.

As described above, when the drug container 20 is properly held by the container support portion 23, the connector contact portion 71a of the vibration detection sensor 181 and the connector pin 182 come into contact with each other and are electrically connected. That is, the connector contact portion 71a and the connector pin 182 function as a pair of engaging portions that can be electrically connected.
By electrically connecting the connector contact portion 71a and the connector pin 182, the vibration detection sensor 181 and the control device (not shown) (hereinafter, circuits on the container support portion 23 side (communication circuit, power supply circuit, signal processing circuit, etc.) are connected. circuit) are electrically connected. As a result, it is possible to supply power to the vibration detection sensor 181 and to transmit and receive signals between the vibration detection sensor 181 and the circuit on the container support portion 23 side. In other words, the vibration detection sensor 181 is connected to the external circuit provided on the container support portion 23 side through the members serving as the signal line and the power supply line.

Note that the connector pin 182 may be attached to the vibrating member 16 (container support portion 23) in such a manner that a part or the whole of the connector pin 182 can move in and out. For example, the vibration-side horizontal portion 32 is provided with a trigger piece that can move in and out. It is good also as a structure which protrudes. That is, it may protrude to the outside when the medicine container 20 is held.
Further, in this embodiment, the connector pin 182 is used as the holding side engaging portion, but the present invention is not limited to this. The external shape of the terminal is not limited to a projecting (rod-like or needle-like) shape, and may be, for example, a plate-like portion. That is, it is sufficient that it is a terminal portion that forms a pair with the terminal portion (connector contact portion 71a) of the vibration detection sensor 181 and that is capable of electrical contact.

The drug feeder 5 of the present embodiment is capable of an attachment determination operation for determining whether or not the drug container 20 is correctly attached to the container support portion 23 (whether or not it is correctly held).
The attachment determination operation determines that the drug container 20 is properly attached to the container support portion 23 on the condition that an input voltage (input signal) is input from the vibration detection sensor 181 to the circuit on the container support portion 23 side. . Conversely, if the input voltage (input signal) is not input to the circuit on the container support portion 23 side, there is a high possibility that the connector contact portion 71a and the connector pin 182 are not in proper contact. Therefore, in this case, it is determined that the drug container 20 is not correctly attached.

Here, when the output voltage (output signal) from the vibration detection sensor 181 is input to an external circuit as an input voltage (input signal), the input voltage needs to be amplified depending on the type of acceleration sensor employed. For example, if an analog output acceleration sensor with a large scale (low detection sensitivity) is used as the vibration detection sensor 181, even if the drug container 20 vibrates at its maximum, the input voltage may change only slightly. have a nature. In this case, accurate vibration detection becomes difficult unless the input voltage is amplified.
However, providing an offset voltage (offset adjustment circuit) for each of the three axes to amplify the input voltage raises a problem that the circuit configuration becomes expensive. Further, in this case, the offset voltage for correcting each axis has variations, and may be affected by surrounding environment such as temperature characteristics and gravity. As a method of preventing the offset voltage from deviating from the set value and the amplified waveform from swinging out of the measurement range, it is conceivable to make the sensor substrate of the vibration detection sensor 181 capable of adjusting the volume. It is not desirable because it is necessary.
As a measure to solve this problem, it is recommended to use the same offset voltage when amplifying the signals of the 3-axis vibration detection sensor 181, and to set the offset voltage to such an extent that the amplified waveform does not exceed the measurement range. be.
Here, the maximum output voltage from the vibration detection sensor 181 is detected in the vertical direction (vertical direction) among the three sensor axes. Therefore, the offset voltage when amplifying the vibration detection sensor 181 is high as long as the amplified signal of the vibration detection sensor 181 that detects vibration in the vertical direction (vertical direction) among the three sensor axes falls within the measurement range. shall be

Therefore, in the medicine feeder 5 of the present embodiment, the Z-axis, which is one of the three sensor axes, is set in a state in which detection in the vertical direction (vertical direction) is possible, thereby reducing the influence of gravity during detection. That is, by reducing the error in the detected value due to the influence of gravity, the influence of the amplification including the error is reduced.
Furthermore, the effect of gravity is reflected in the value of the offset voltage that corrects the detected value on the Z axis.

Specifically, the medicine container 20 is set in advance to a state in which vibration is not performed, the Z-axis is set to a state in which vertical detection is possible, and the measurement is performed in a predetermined temperature range (for example, 0° C. to 40° C.). By this measurement, the influence (magnitude of generated error, change in output voltage) per 1 g of gravity in the Z-axis detection value at a predetermined power supply voltage (for example, 3 V) is obtained. When the present inventor measured the Z-axis detection value (voltage measurement) under the influence of gravity of 1 g, 0 g, and -1 g when the drug feeder 5 was stationary without vibrating, the results were as shown in Table 1 below. Got.
In this way, by measuring the detected value of the Z-axis before amplification and the detected value after amplification under the influence of each gravity, the magnitude of the error in the detection value caused by the influence of the predetermined gravity and the error The post-amplification effect on the magnitude of is obtained. The "effect after amplification on the magnitude of the error" is the magnitude of the error in the detected value after amplification and the amount of change in the detected value (output voltage) after amplification. According to the measurement conducted by the present inventor, it was found that the detected value after amplification changes by a maximum of about 0.2 V per 1 g of gravity.

Then, the value of the offset voltage for correcting the Z-axis detection value (included in the output voltage) is determined based on the acquired amount of change in the detection value after amplification and the measurement range of the input circuit. Specifically, the value of the offset voltage is determined by adjusting the resistance values of R1 and R2 in FIG. 65 and adjusting the bias voltage.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the X-axis and Y-axis detection values are corrected with offset voltages, the values of the offset voltages for correcting the X-axis and Y-axis detection values are set to the values described above as shown in FIG. The Z-axis detection value is adjusted to the value of the offset voltage to be corrected. That is, as shown in FIG. 65, in this embodiment, an amplifier circuit (operational amplifier) is provided for correcting (amplifying) detection values for each of the three axes, ie, the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis. Then, similar offset adjustment circuits (offset adjustment operational amplifiers) are used to correct the detected values of the three axes.
Here, the value of the offset voltage for correcting the detected value is a value reflecting the influence of gravity as described above. Since the X-axis and Y-axis detection values are not affected by gravity, if the same offset voltage as the Z-axis detection value is used for correction, the set values will deviate from the Z-axis correction. However, since the amplitudes in the X-axis and Y-axis directions are smaller than the amplitudes in the Z-axis direction, even if the offset voltage matched to the Z-axis (even if the same bias voltage as the Z-axis is used as a reference), the measurement range will be out of range. It is unlikely that problems such as storage will occur.
In other words, the vibration detection sensor 181 of the present embodiment has an amplifier circuit that amplifies the output voltage, and the offset voltage for correcting the detection value of each of the three axes is an offset voltage suitable for correcting the detection value of the Z axis. matched to the voltage. In this manner, the maximum vibration can be detected with high accuracy by aligning the offset voltage with the axis (Z-axis) that is expected to vibrate the most. In order to improve the detection accuracy, it is preferable to correct the X-axis detection value and the Y-axis detection value separately based on the measurement performed in advance as in the case of the Z-axis. However, as described above, if each of the three axes is corrected separately, there arises a problem that the manufacturing cost increases. Therefore, as described above, even if the detection values of the X-axis and Y-axis are corrected in accordance with the Z-axis, there is a low possibility that problems will occur, and it is possible to exhibit sufficient detection accuracy. , X-axis, and Y-axis detection values are corrected according to the Z-axis.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to detect vibration with high precision with an inexpensive circuit configuration.

The vibration detection means 180 may constantly monitor the vibration state for all vibration axes (X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis). is detected, or at a regular time such as before starting work, the vibration state may be checked for all vibration axes.

For example, as shown in FIG. 66(a), inspection modes may include N, F1, F2, and F3. For ease of explanation, FIG. 66 assumes that there are three medicine feeders 5, but the number of medicine feeders 5 is arbitrary.
Mode N is a monitoring mode during normal operation. This detection mode is performed more carefully than modes F1, F2, and F3, and is a mode in which vibration states of all vibration axes (X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis) of each drug feeder 5 are individually inspected.
66(b) and (c) are circuit diagrams for switching the vibration detection sensor according to the inspection mode. The circuits shown in FIGS. 66B and 66C have an input section 100, a switch group 101, and an output section .
In the input unit 100, the output voltages (output signals) from the X-, Y-, and Z-axis vibration detection sensors 181 of the drug feeders (F1), (F2), and (F3) are directly or amplified. is entered.
That is, X1 is the output of the X-axis vibration detection sensor of the drug feeder (F1), Y1 is the output of the Y-axis vibration detection sensor of the drug feeder (F1), and Z1 is the drug feeder (F1). is a terminal to which the output of the Z-axis vibration detection sensor is input. Similarly, X2, Y2 and Z2 are terminals to which the output of the vibration detection sensor of the drug feeder (F2) is input. Similarly, X3, Y3 and Z3 are terminals to which the output of the vibration detection sensor of the drug feeder (F3) is input.

The inspection mode N is the connection state shown in FIG. 66(b), in which the Z-axis input terminals of the drug feeders (F1), (F2), and (F3) are connected to the output terminals. .
In the connection state shown in FIG. 66(b), an output voltage (output signal) from the Z-axis vibration detection sensor 181 of the medicine feeder (F1) is output to the output terminal S1. An output voltage (output signal) from the Z-axis vibration detection sensor 181 of the drug feeder (F2) is output to the output terminal S2. An output voltage (output signal) from the Z-axis vibration detection sensor 181 of the drug feeder (F3) is output to the output terminal S3.

The inspection mode F1 is the connection state shown in FIG. 66(c), in which the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis input terminals of the drug feeder (F1) are connected to the output terminals.
In the connection state shown in FIG. 66(c), an output voltage (output signal) from the X-axis vibration detection sensor 181 of the medicine feeder (F1) is output to the output terminal S1. An output voltage (output signal) from the Y-axis vibration detection sensor 181 of the drug feeder (F1) is output to the output terminal S2. An output voltage (output signal) from the Z-axis vibration detection sensor 181 of the drug feeder (F1) is output to the output terminal S3.
Although illustration of switch connections in other inspection modes is omitted, in inspection mode F2, the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis input terminals of the medicine feeder (F2) are connected to the output terminals. In the inspection mode F3, the X-, Y-, and Z-axis input terminals of the drug feeder (F3) are connected to the output terminals.

The feeder section 22 described above has vibrating means 30a and 30b, a potentiometer (not shown), an actuator (not shown), a weight measurement section 24, and a vibration detection sensor 181 as electrical components. there is
The potentiometer is a sensor that can detect the amount of movement and the angle of rotation, and can detect the amount of movement of a predetermined member (for example, a member that constitutes the shutter opening/closing mechanism 55). The actuator is a member that functions as a driving device that drives a predetermined member (a member that constitutes the shutter opening/closing mechanism 55), and is specifically a DC motor.
The vibrating means 30a, 30b, potentiometers, and actuators (not shown) are arranged so that a load is applied to the weight measuring section 24. As shown in FIG. In addition to these vibrating means 30a and 30b, potentiometers, and actuators (not shown), the weight measuring section 24 and the vibration detecting sensor 181 are arranged so that a load is applied to the vibration isolating means 18 (vibration isolating member 28). It is

Here, when the electrical components of the feeder section 22 described above are connected to a higher control device (control device of the main body arranged in the housing 2 of the medicine dispensing device 1, not shown), the wiring member is You can connect via At this time, the actuator may be communicated with a higher control device via a motor driver.
In addition, at least part of the electrical components of the feeder section 22 may be connected to a higher control device without wiring members. For example, potentiometers and actuators may be connected to a host control device by wireless power supply or wireless communication.
In this way, in the case of a configuration in which connection is made to the host control device without the wiring member, it is possible to eliminate (reduce) the influence of the wiring during the weight measurement operation by the weight measurement unit 24, and the accuracy is high. Weight measurement operation becomes possible. Therefore, when performing an operation of putting a small amount of powdered medicine into the distribution tray 6 (packing a small amount of powdered medicine), etc., a more accurate operation is possible.

As shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the drug feeder 5 is fixed to a feeder portion 22 having a vibrating member 16 and an intermediate plate portion (a plate portion serving as a base positioned outside the distribution plate 6; see FIG. 2 and the like). It has a weight calibration unit 21 that does not vibrate. Here, when connecting the electrical components of the feeder section 22 and the host controller via wiring, a thin and flat belt-shaped wiring member (hereinafter referred to as belt-shaped wiring) such as FFC (flexible flat cable) is used. (referred to as a member) is preferably adopted. Moreover, it is preferable that the strip-shaped wiring member is arranged in a state (orientation) extending along a rounded trajectory. That is, it is preferable to extend while drawing an arc instead of extending downward linearly. At this time, the portion forming the arc includes a portion that once extends upward, a portion that extends downward while moving away from the feeder portion 22 from above, and a portion that extends downward while extending in a direction approaching the feeder portion 22. may be configured.
In this way, when the arc-shaped (looped) extended portion is formed, when the vibrating member 16 is vibrated and the weight measuring section 24 performs the weight measuring operation, the accuracy of the weight measuring operation is improved. It becomes possible to plan That is, it is possible to eliminate (reduce) the effects of changes in the tension of the wiring member due to vibration, movement of a part of the wiring member, and the like, and it is possible to improve the accuracy of the weight measurement operation.

As described above, the feeder section 22 includes piezoelectric elements (vibrating means 30a and 30b). Here, a D-class amplifier or an AB-class amplifier may be adopted for the oscillation circuit of the piezoelectric element. However, it is preferable to employ a class AB amplifier for better control of the oscillatory behavior. That is, by employing a class AB amplifier, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the operation of putting powdered medicine into the distribution tray 6 .

The above-described embodiment is an embodiment of the following invention.
[Invention 1]
A drug feeder having a drug container for containing a powdered drug and a holding member for holding the drug container, and capable of discharging the powdered drug from the drug container,
A drug feeder, wherein the drug container has a vibration detection sensor that detects vibration of the drug container.
[Invention 2]
The holding member has a holding-side engaging portion,
The vibration detection sensor includes a sensor-side engaging portion,
When the drug container is held by the holding member, the holding-side engaging portion and the sensor-side engaging portion come into contact with each other and are electrically connected to each other. The drug feeder according to invention 1, which enables transmission and reception of a signal at .
[Invention 3]
a mounting detection operation for determining whether or not the drug container is held by the holding member;
The drug according to invention 2, wherein the attachment detection operation determines that the drug container is held by the holding member on condition that the signal output from the vibration detection sensor is input to another circuit. feeder.
[Invention 4]
The vibration detection sensor is capable of detecting vibration in a plurality of directions including a vertical direction and a direction crossing the vertical direction,
The value of vertical vibration detected by the vibration detection sensor is amplified and output, and the value of the offset voltage for amplifying the detection value is determined based on the effect of gravity on the vibration detection sensor. can be,
The medicine feeder according to any one of inventions 1 to 3, wherein the value of the offset voltage for amplifying the detected value of vibration in the vertical direction and the detected value of vibration in the direction crossing the vertical direction are the same.
[Invention 5]
The drug feeder according to any one of Inventions 1 to 4, wherein the vibration detection sensor is an acceleration sensor.
[Invention 6]
A drug dispensing device comprising the drug feeder according to any one of Inventions 1 to 5.

The present invention is a drug dispensing device that achieves the third goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of "ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages". It is what you get.
The drug dispensing device of the present invention is a device that can be performed even by non-pharmacists such as technicians by eliminating powdered drug inspection work such as powdered drug weighing that should be performed by a qualified person such as a pharmacist. Specifically, without being conscious of the fact that it is a drug, the operator can select the number of the drug container specified based on the prescription information, or if the drug container is placed on a shelf or the like, the specified drug container can be selected by a lamp or the like. Only by taking out the drug and placing it on the drug dispensing device, the packaging work required for the prescription can be reliably performed and completed. As a result, qualified pharmacists can shift from pharmacist-oriented work such as dispensing work to person-to-person work in which they face patients. The third goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is to ensure decent livelihoods and promote well-being, can be achieved.
The present invention can also reduce labor costs and improve economic productivity. This will also contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

1; drug dispensing device, 5; drug feeder, 6; distribution plate, 8; scraping device, 10; feeder body, 11, 411; , 18; vibration isolating means, 20, 172, 420, 701; drug container, 22; feeder section, 23; container supporting section, 24; weight measuring section, 25; Vibration-isolating member 30 Support-side horizontal portion 30a Vibrating means 30b Vibrating means 31 Support-side vertical wall portion 32 Vibration-side horizontal portion 33 Vibration-side vertical wall portion (vertical wall), 55; shutter opening/closing mechanism (opening/closing mechanism), 56; engagement piece holding portion, 61; large area side surface, 62; small area side surface, 68; Box portion 72; rectifying member 73, 473; shutter structure portion 75, 475; lid member 76; tightening member 91, 231, 491, 740; Engagement groove, 131; Engagement recess, 132; Recess, 152; Temporary receiving plate, 301; Detachment assisting member 710; engaging portion 760: projecting portion 766; partitioning portion

Claims (15)

1. A medicine container containing a powdered medicine, a container holding part for holding the medicine container, and weight measuring means for directly or indirectly measuring the weight of the medicine container, wherein the medicine container is vibrated to cause the weight of the medicine container to be measured. In a medicine feeder capable of discharging powdered medicine from a medicine container and detecting the discharged amount of the powdered medicine by the weight measuring means,
   The drug container discharges the powdered medicine to the outside from the powdered medicine discharge part, and includes an opening and closing member for opening and closing the powdered medicine discharge part,
   further having an opening/closing mechanism,
   The opening/closing mechanism section applies a force directly or indirectly to the opening/closing member to move at least a part of the opening/closing member to open/close the powdered medicine discharge section. a drug feeder that applies a force to the opening/closing member when closing and when closing.
2. The drug container can be manually held in the container holding part and can be manually removed from the container holding part,
   2. The drug feeder according to claim 1, wherein removing the drug container from the container holding part separates the drug container from the container holding part and the opening/closing mechanism.
3. The medicine feeder according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the opening degree of the powdered medicine discharge part can be adjusted stepwise when the powdered medicine discharge part is opened.
4. The powder medicine discharge part is a slit extending in an oblique direction,
   The opening/closing member includes a closing wall that moves below the powdered medicine discharge unit,
   The closing wall has a shape extending in the width direction of the drug container, and as the opening/closing member moves in the closing direction, the overlapping portion between the closing wall and the powdered medicine discharge section increases, and the powdered medicine in the powdered medicine discharge section increases. 3. A drug feeder according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the effective opening width for the discharge of is reduced.
5. The medicine feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said container holding part has a vertical wall, said vertical wall is vibrated by a vibrating means, and said medicine container is fixed to said vertical wall and vibrated. .
6. The drug container has a large-area side surface and a small-area side surface, is taller than it is wide, and has the powdered medicine discharge part on the side of the bottom surface and/or the side surface near the bottom surface,
   6. A partition member having an opening in the vicinity of the bottom surface, and the powdered medicine passes through the opening and moves between the partition part, the partition plate and the bottom to reach the powdered medicine discharge part. A drug feeder according to any one of the above.
7. The medicine feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said powdered medicine discharge part has a slit shape extending in an oblique direction.
8. The drug container has a large-area side surface and a small-area side surface, is taller than the width, and can open the large-area side surface,
   2. The medicine container is detachable with respect to the container holding part, and in a state in which the medicine container is detached from the container holding part, the large-area side surface is opened and the powdered medicine is filled. 8. A drug feeder according to any one of 1 to 7.
9. The drug feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein an eave-like temporary receiving plate is provided in the middle part of the drug container in the height direction.
10. 10. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a locking mechanism for locking the opening/closing member in a state in which the powdered medicine discharge part is closed, and the locking mechanism is released by holding the medicine container in the container holding part. A drug feeder as described in .
11. The container holding portion has a vertical wall, and the vertical wall has a holding portion side engaging portion, and the drug container is held by the container holding portion by engaging the holding portion side engaging portion. ,
    11. The drug container according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the drug container has an engaging portion, and the container holding portion has a detachment assisting member that engages with the engaging portion and presses the drug container in a direction to separate from the container holding portion. A drug feeder according to any one of the above.
12. The medicine container has a powdered medicine passage leading to the powdered medicine discharge part, the powdered medicine moves in the powdered medicine passage and is discharged from the powdered medicine discharge part, the powdered medicine passage has a ceiling wall,
    The opening/closing member has a projecting portion that projects toward the powdered medicine passage when the powdered medicine discharge portion is closed,
    12. The ceiling wall according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the ceiling wall has a partition projecting downward into the powdered medicine passage, and the projection reaches the vicinity of the partition when the opening/closing member closes the powdered medicine discharge part. A drug feeder according to any one of the above.
13. a state in which a load of the weight member is applied to the weight measurement means; 13. The medicine feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein calibration and/or failure detection of said weight measuring means are performed by comparing a state in which no member load is applied to said weight measuring means.
14. The drug feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the drug container has a vibration detection sensor that detects its own vibration.
15. A drug dispensing device that takes out a predetermined amount of powdered medicine from a drug container, divides it into a predetermined number, and further packs and discharges it individually,
    Having a distribution dish provided with a drug input groove and rotated by power,
    15. A medicine dispensing device, wherein a plurality of medicine feeders according to any one of claims 1 to 14 are installed in the vicinity of the distribution tray, and powdered medicine is discharged from the medicine container and put into the medicine feeding groove of the distribution tray.

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