Patent Publication Number: US-2021166799-A1

Title: Medicine loading device and medicine recovery method

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a medicine loading device for loading a medicine based on prescription information, and a medicine recovery method. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     There is generally known medicine dispensing devices which automatically dispense a prescribed medicine based on a prescription. For example, the applicant of the present application has developed a medicine dispensing device described in patent document 1, and this medicine dispensing device has gained a good reputation and has obtained high evaluation that efficiencies of prescription operations have been increased from prescription operators. 
     In a conventional medicine dispensing device, various medicines to be dispensed are stored in a plurality of cassettes. When the medicines have been dispensed and the medicines in the cassette has been lack of short, the prescription operator needs to remove the cassette from the device, discriminates medicines and refills them into the medicine cassette with his/her own hands. 
     On the other hand, although it is preferable that an amount of the prescribed medicines and a dosage of the prescribed medicines should match a required amount depending on a treatment content for a patient, in general, it is often found that there are unused medicines and time-expired medicines due to forgetfulness of taking medicines of the patient or a change in a medical treatment content. Since annual unused medicines and time-expired medicines are generally in enormous quantities, if these unused or time-expired medicines are wasted as they are, it would be significant wasteful and thus it is required to appropriately recover these medicines. 
     However, if a package or identification information for the unused medicines or time-expired medicines breaks, there is often a case that the medicines are brought in an unpacked state, for example. In this case, the prescription operator is forced to discriminate the type of the medicines by his/her own eyes from only appearance of the medicines, and at this time, a mistake that an improper medicine is refilled into the cassette may occur. 
     One of objects of the present invention is to prevent the improper medicine from being refilled into the medicine dispensing cassette. 
     PRIOR ART DOCUMENT 
     Patent Document 
     Patent document 1: WO 2010/110360 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Problem to be Solved by the Invention 
     The present invention provides a medicine loading device which can prevent an improper medicine from being loaded based on prescription information. 
     Means for Solving the Problem 
     A first aspect of the present invention relates to a medicine loading device for loading a medicine based on prescription information. This medicine loading device has a main body, a medicine dispensing cassette and medicine discriminating means. The at least one medicine dispensing cassette is provided in the main body. An openable/closable lid is provided at the medicine dispensing cassette. Further, a locking mechanism for locking the lid is provided at the medicine dispensing cassette. When a type of a medicine detected by the medicine discriminating means and a type of a medicine to be contained in the medicine dispensing cassette match each other, the locking mechanism is released. 
     It is preferable that the medicine discriminating means further has a medicine information obtaining part for reading cassette information provided at either one of the medicine dispensing cassette and the lid and medicine information provided on the medicine and an information processing part connected to the medicine information obtaining part. The information processing part preferably discriminates the type of the medicine based on information on the medicine obtained by the medicine information obtaining part. 
     It is preferable that the medicine information obtaining part has a photographing device for obtaining an image in which the information on the medicine which is a discrimination target is indicated and at least one of a first reading device which can read a code in which the information on the medicine which is the discrimination target is indicated and a second reading device which can read a signal indicating the medicine information of the discrimination target. 
     It is preferable that he image in which the medicine which is the discrimination target is indicated is an image of an engraved mark or a print image of the medicine, and the code in which the medicine which is the discrimination target is indicated is any one of a bar code, a two-dimensional code and a three-dimensional code indicating the medicine information on the medicine. 
     It is preferable that the locking mechanism further has a trigger for allowing a lock to be released. This trigger can further return the locking mechanism to a locked state after releasing the locking mechanism. The trigger more preferably allows the cassette to be removed from the medicine loading device and the trigger is returned from a releasing state of the lock to an original state. Further, it is more preferable that the trigger has a receiving part for receiving an instruction for allowing the trigger to return from the releasing state of the lock to the original state from an outside after the cassette has completed a loading operation, Further, it is preferable that the trigger further has a timer part and the trigger is returned from the releasing state of the lock to the original state when a predetermined time elapses after the locking mechanism has been released by this timer part. 
     It is preferable that the medicine loading device further has a storage part which can store predetermined medicine information in advance and further store the information on the medicine detected by the medicine discriminating means, and this storage part stores an image of the medicine, a numerical value or a rank indicating a degree of possibility of correctness and the engraved mark or a print code of the medicine. 
     It is preferable that the medicine loading device further has a control part which creates template image data based on the stored information on the medicine and performs pattern matching for calculating a score serving as an index of a degree of matching between image data of the engraved mark and/or a print of the medicine and the template image data to discriminate the medicine. 
     It is preferable that the medicine loading device further has a display and this display displays a result of comparing the information on the medicine detected by the medicine discriminating means with the information on the medicine stored in the storage part. 
     It is preferable that the medicine loading device further has an alert part for alerting an operator when the type of the medicine detected by the medicine discriminating means and the type of the medicine to be contained in the medicine dispensing cassette do not match each other. 
     A second aspect of the present invention relates to a medicine recovery method for recovering a medicine based on prescription information. This medicine recover method has a step of obtaining medicine information indicating a type of a medicine which is a discrimination target, a step of comparing the medicine information with cassette information indicating a type of a medicine to be contained in a medicine dispensing cassette, a step of determining whether the medicine information and the cassette information match each other, and a step of releasing a locking mechanism provided at the medicine dispensing cassette when the medicine information and the cassette information match each other. 
     A third aspect of the present invention relates to a medicine loading support device for preventing an improper medicine from being loaded into medicine holding means. This medicine loading device has a main body, at least one medicine holding means contained in the main body, an opening and closing part attached to the medicine holding means, a locking mechanism for locking the opening and closing part, and discriminating means for discriminating a type of a medicine. When the type of the medicine discriminated by the discriminating means and a type of a medicine to be contained in the medicine holding means match each other, the locking mechanism is released. 
     Effects of the Invention 
     According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the improper medicine from being refilled into the medicine dispensing cassette. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a medicine dispensing device. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a medicine dispensing cassette included in the medicine dispensing device. In this regard, this figure is a view of the medicine dispensing cassette seen from the front right side. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the medicine dispensing cassette. In this regard, this figure is a view of the medicine dispensing cassette viewed from the rear right side.  FIGS. 4-9  are mainly used to explain a locking mechanism included in the medicine dispensing cassette. 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the medicine dispensing cassette. 
         FIG. 5( a )  is a perspective view of a lid included in the medicine dispensing cassette, In this regard, this figure is a view of the lid viewed from the lower rear side.  FIG. 5( b )  is a cross-sectional rear view of the lid. In this regard, this figure is a view of the lid viewed from the rear side toward the front side. 
         FIG. 6  is a bottom view of members constituting a medicine dispensing cassette main body, 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the locking mechanism included in the medicine dispensing cassette main body. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional rear view of the vicinity of the locking mechanism in the medicine dispensing cassette, In this regard, this figure is a view of the locking mechanism viewed from the rear side toward the front side of the medicine dispensing cassette. 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram illustrating a mechanism for enabling the locking mechanism to lock/unlock the lid.  FIGS. 10 to 16  mainly show a configuration of a medicine photographing device. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the medicine photographing device. 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing a state that a front cover of the medicine photographing device shown in  FIG. 10  is opened. 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view showing an internal configuration of the medicine photographing device shown in  FIG. 10 . This figure mainly shows a frame and members attached to the frame. 
         FIG. 13  is a front view of he medicine photographing device shown in  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 14( a )  is a perspective view showing an overall shape of a support member.  FIG. 14( b )  is a side view showing a positional relationship among a first light source, a second light source and a medicine placing item. 
         FIG. 15( a )  is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a tray set in the medicine photographing device.  FIG. 15( b )  is a top view of the tray.  FIG. 15( c )  is a side view of the tray. 
         FIG. 16  is a perspective view of a petri dish attached to the tray shown in  FIG. 15 .  FIGS. 17 to 21  show a processing procedure for performing automated discrimination for the medicine. 
         FIG. 17  is a flowchart showing processes at an upstream portion of the discrimination. 
         FIG. 18  is a flowchart showing processes of medicine individual discrimination. 
         FIG. 19  is a flowchartillustrating processes of tablet discrimination. 
         FIG. 20  is a flowchart illustrating processes of capsule discrimination. 
         FIG. 21( a )  is a perspective view of a calibration sheet used for calibration of a camera.  FIG. 21( b )  is a planar view of the calibration sheet. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     § 1 Summary of medicine loading device  FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a medicine dispensing device. The medicine dispensing device  100  shown in this figure can dispense a prescribed medicine into a vial bottle based on input prescription information. This medicine dispensing device  100  has a vial bottle feeding device  110 , a label attachment device  120 , a vial bottle carrying device  130  and discharge ports  140 . Further, the medicine dispensing device  100  has cassette arranged portions  150  on side surfaces thereof. In addition, the medicine dispensing device  100  has a touch panel display  160 , a scanner  170  and a medicine refilling portion  180  on a front surface thereof. Further, the medicine dispensing device  100  has a control device  190  therein. In addition, it has an alert part (not shown) for alerting a user when a type of a medicine detected by medicine discriminating means and a type of a medicine to be contained in a medicine dispensing cassette do not match each other. 
     Details of this medicine dispensing device  100  have been disclosed in WO 2010/110360. Further, details of a mechanism for enabling a cassette attached to the cassette arranged portion  150  to dispense the medicine have been disclosed in WO 2013/035692. Thus, in the following description, an overview of the medicine dispensing device  100  will be briefly described. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the vial bottle feeding device  110  is provided on the inner lower side and the rear side of the medicine dispensing device  100 . This vial bottle feeding device  110  also has a function of storing a plurality of vial bottles. The label attachment device  120  is provided on the inner lower side and the front side of the medicine dispensing device  100 . The cassette arranged portions  150  are provided on both side surfaces of an upper side of the medicine dispensing device  100 . A plurality of medicine dispensing cassettes  200  (each of which is also called as a container) are arranged in these cassette arranged portions  150  in a matrix. The medicines to be dispensed by the medicine dispensing device  100  are stored in these medicine dispensing cassettes  200 . The vial bottle carrying device  130  is provided between the cassette arranged portion  150  and the cassette arranged portion  150 , that is, provided on the inner upper side of the medicine dispensing device  100 . Further, the plurality of discharge ports  140  (three discharge ports  140  in the example shown in  FIG. 1 ) are provided on the front surface of the medicine dispensing device  100 . 
     The touch panel display  160  has both a function as a display device and a function as an input device. In addition, it can display a result of comparing information on the medicine detected by the medicine discriminating means with information on the medicine stored in a storage part. The scanner  170  can read a scanner reading symbol such as an image, a bar code, a two-dimensional code and an RF signal in which the information on the medicine is indicated. The control device  190  controls operations of various devices included in the medicine dispensing device  100  based on input information from the touch panel display  160 , the scanner  170  and the like. 
     When the medicine dispensing device  100  dispenses the medicine, the scanner  170  first scans the symbol attached to a prescription to obtain prescription information. When the medicine dispensing device  100  receives an input of the prescription information and receives an input of a medicine dispensing instruction from a prescription operator, the vial bottle feeding device  110  first feeds a vial bottle to the label attachment device  120 . Next, the label attachment device  120  prints a label based on the input prescription information and attaches this label to the vial bottle. Thereafter, the vial bottle carrying device  130  carries the vial bottle to which the label is attached into the vicinity of the medicine dispensing cassette  200  in which the prescribed medicines are stored. Then, the medicine dispensing cassette  200  dispenses the prescribed medicines into the vial bottle by a prescribed number. When the prescribed medicines are loaded in the vial bottle, the vial bottle carrying device  130  carries the vial bottle to the discharge port  140 . Then, the prescription operator such as a pharmacist or a technician takes out the vial bottle discharged from the discharge port  140 . 
     While the medicine dispensing device  100  is dispensing medicines, one of the medicine dispensing cassettes  200  is emptied in due course of time. In that case, the prescription operator needs to refill new medicines into this medicine dispensing cassette  200 . However, in the medicine dispensing cassette  200 , a lid  310  of the cassette is locked so that the lid  310  cannot be opened in a normal state. Therefore, at the time of refilling the medicines, the prescription operator needs to perform a predetermined operation for releasing the lock of the lid  310 . 
     First, the prescription operator places the medicine dispensing cassette  200  to be refilled onto the medicine refilling portion  180 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , an RF tag  211  is provided on a main body  210  of the medicine dispensing cassette  200  as an identification label for identifying the medicine dispensing cassette  200 , Referring back to  FIG. 1 , the medicine dispensing device  100  includes an RF tag reading device  181  at the medicine refilling portion  180 . Therefore, when the medicine dispensing cassette  200  is placed onto the medicine refilling portion  180 , the medicine dispensing device  100  can identify the medicine dispensing cassette  200  placed on the medicine refilling portion  180  through the RF tag reading device  181 . Then, the medicine dispensing device  100  holds information on the medicines stored in each of the medicine dispensing cassettes  200  therein. Therefore, based on this information, the medicine dispensing device  100  can identify the medicines to be refilled into the medicine dispensing cassette  200  placed on the medicine refilling portion  180 . 
     At the time of refilling the medicine, the prescription operator makes the scanner  170  read the medicine to identify the type of the medicine to be refilled, which has been recovered from a warehouse or a patient. With this configuration, the medicine dispensing device  100  can identify the medicine to be refilled. The medicine dispensing device  100  has an unlocking device  182  for releasing the lock of the lid  310  of the medicine dispensing cassette  200  at the medicine refilling portion  180 . Only when the medicine whose type has been identified is proper as the medicine to be refilled into the medicine dispensing cassette  200 , the medicine dispensing device  100  drives the unlocking device  182  to release the lock of the lid  310  of the medicine dispensing cassette  200 . With this configuration, the prescription operator can open the lid  310  and refill the new medicine into the medicine dispensing cassette  200 . The medicine dispensing cassette  200  of the present embodiment has one feature regarding a locking mechanism for locking the lid  310 . Hereinafter, the medicine dispensing cassette  200  including this locking mechanism will be described in detail. 
     § 2 Summary of the medicine dispensing cassette  200   FIGS. 2 and 3  are perspective views of the medicine dispensing cassette  200 . In this regard,  FIG. 2  is a view of the medicine dispensing cassette  200  viewed from the front right side and  FIG. 3  is a view of the medicine dispensing cassette  200  viewed from the rear right side. In this specification, for convenience of description, a surface of the medicine dispensing cassette  200  facing the outside of the medicine dispensing device  100  is referred to as a “front surface” and a surface of the medicine dispensing cassette  200  facing the inside of the medicine dispensing device  100  is referred to as a “rear surface” when the medicine dispensing cassette  200  is set in the medicine dispensing device  100 . Further, a portion of the medicine dispensing cassette  200  located on the right side is referred to as a “right side” and a portion of the medicine dispensing cassette  200  located on the left side is referred to as a “left side” when the medicine dispensing cassette  200  is viewed from the front side. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , in the medicine dispensing cassette  200 , the lid  310  is attached to an upper surface of the main body  210 . The lid  310  is hinged to the main body  210  at its left end by a hinge  311 . Therefore, when the lock of the lid  310  is released, the lid  310  pivots around the hinge  311  to open. In other words, when the lock of the lid  310  is released, a right end of the lid  310  rises up and the lid  310  opens. 
     The medicine dispensing cassette  200  has a locking mechanism  800  for locking the lid  310  therein.  FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the medicine dispensing cassette  200 . Namely,  FIG. 4  is a view of the medicine dispensing cassette  200  viewed from the lower side toward the upper side. As shown in this figure, a hole  212  is provided on a bottom surface of the main body  210 . More specifically, the hole  212  is formed in the right side of the bottom surface of the main body  210  and in the vicinity of the rear surface of the main body  210  and opened in the vertical direction. The unlocking device  182  (see  FIG. 1 ) of the medicine dispensing device  100  includes a rod (not shown) and this rod is configured to be inserted through the hole  212 . Further, the unlocking device  182  operates the locking mechanism  800  with this rod to release the lock of the lid  310 . If the hole  212  is provided in the bottom surface of the main body  210  as described in the present embodiment, assembly of the unlocking device  182  becomes easier. In addition, the user cannot easily release the lock of the locking mechanism  800 . 
     § 2.1 Structure of the lid  310   FIG. 5( a )  is a perspective view of the lid  310  viewed from the lower side and  FIG. 5( b )  is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the lid  310 . In this regard, note that  FIG. 5( b )  shows the lid  310  viewed from the rear side toward the front side. As shown in these figures, an engaging portion  320  is provided in the vicinity of the right end of the lid  310 , that is, in the vicinity of the end opposite to the hinge  311 . The engaging portion  320  engages with the locking mechanism  800 . The engaging portion  320  is constituted of a protruding portion  321  downwardly protruding from a bottom surface of the lid  310  and a slit  322  formed on the protruding portion  321 . This slit  322  extends in the front-rear direction and its opening is opened toward the rear direction. A plurality of ribs  323  are provided between both ends so as to be parallel to each other. 
     § 2.2 Structure of the locking mechanism  800   FIG. 6  is a view of the inside of the main body  210  viewed from the lower side toward the upper side. Strictly speaking, as described later, the main body  210  is constituted of a main member  500 , a first sub-member  300  and a third sub-member  600  as shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 6  is a view of the first sub-member  300  viewed from the lower side toward the upper side in a state that a bottom cover of the first sub-member  300  is removed. As shown in this figure, the locking mechanism  800  is provided in the main body  210 . More specifically, the locking mechanism  800  is provided at an upper portion of the main body  210  and in the vicinity of a right side surface of the main body  210 . 
     The locking mechanism  800  further has a trigger for allowing the lock to be released and can use this trigger to release the locking mechanism  800  and then again return it to a locked state. Specifically, it can allow the cassette to be removed from the medicine loading device and return the trigger from a releasing state of the lock to an original state and further it can return to the locked state by receiving an instruction for returning the trigger from the releasing state of the lock to the original state from the outside after the cassette has completed the loading operation. Further, it is to return the trigger from the releasing state of the lock to the original state when a predetermined time elapses after the locking mechanism has been released, 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing the locking mechanism  800 . As shown in this figure, the locking mechanism  800  has an inclined portion  810 , a shaft  820  and an engaging member  840  and further has a biasing member  830  as one example of the trigger. The engaging member  840  is attached to the vicinity of a front end of the shaft  820 . The inclined portion  810 , the shaft  820 , the biasing member  830  and the engaging member  840  are integrally formed of one material (for example, resin, plastic, metal, rubber). This facilitates manufacture of the locking mechanism  800  and assembly of the medicine dispensing cassette  200 . The biasing member  830  is attached to the vicinity of a rear end of the shaft  830 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the shaft  820  is provided in the vicinity of a right inner wall  213  of the main body  210  so as to face toward the front-rear direction and be parallel to  310 . Therefore, the shaft  820  faces toward a direction perpendicular to a central axis of the hole  212  (see  FIG. 4 ). As shown in  FIG. 7 , the engaging member  840  is provided so as to face toward the upper side in an initial state (an unoperated state). A pawl  841  is formed at a tip end portion of the engaging member  840  so as to face the right inner wall  213  of the main body  210 . Further, the biasing member  830  is formed in a tripod shape at a central portion of the shaft  820  and this tripod portion biases the shaft  820  toward the front direction with resistance force between the ribs. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , both ends of the biasing member  830  are made of a substantially V or U-shaped plate-like material, that is a leaf spring having a shape such as a so-called triple crotch. Therefore, the biasing member  830  has a base end portion  831 , a curved portion  832  and a tip end portion  833 . The base end portion  841  is provided at the central portion of the shaft  830 . The biasing member  830  is curved with an acute angle at the curved portion  832 . Therefore, the tip end portion  833  extends straight at both oblique ends. The tip end portion  833  contacts with the rib  322  of the lid  310 . 
     An inclined surface of the inclined portion  810  is configured to contact with a protruding bar portion and is located vertically above the hole  212  as shown in  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , this inclined portion  810  faces in a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the hole  212  in the initial state. 
       FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram illustrating a mechanism for enabling the locking mechanism  800  to lock/unlock the lid  310 . As shown in  FIG. 9( a ) , the engaging member  840  protrudes so as to face the front side due to biasing force of the biasing member  830  in the initial state. Further, in this state, the protruding engaging member  840  is fitted into the slit  322  formed in the lid  310  (see  FIG. 5 ) and engaged with it. 
     As described above, the unlocking device  182  of the medicine dispensing device  100  can push the inclined portion  810  through the hole  212  (see  FIG. 4 ) to move the entire portion of the shaft  820  in the rear direction. As a result, the shaft  820  moves in the rear direction against the biasing force of the biasing member  830  as shown in  FIG. 9( b ) . As a result, the engaging member  840  is spaced apart from the slit  322  as shown in  FIG. 9( b ) . As a result, the lock of the lid  310  is released and the user can open the lid  310 . 
     As described above, the shaft  820  is biased in the front direction by the biasing member  830 . More specifically, in a state that the shaft  820  is moving relative to the rear direction, a curved angle of the curved portion  832  is reduced. In the curved portion  832  in this state, elastic force occurs so as to increase the curved angle. Therefore, when the unlocking device  182  is spaced apart from the inclined portion  810 , the locking mechanism  800  returns to the state as shown in  FIG. 9( a ) . Specifically, when the unlocking device  182  is spaced apart from the inclined portion  810 , the engaging member  840  protruded by the biasing force of the biasing member  830  is fitted into the slit  322  formed in the lid  310  and engaged with it. As shown in  FIG. 9( a ) , when the lid  310  is closed, it is fitted into the slit  322  by the protrusion of the engaging member  840 . As a result, the lid  310  is locked and the user cannot open the lid  310 . With this configuration, the cassette can be removed from the medicine loading device and the biasing member  830  serving as the trigger can be returned from the releasing state of the lock to the original state. 
     §2.3 Advantage of the medicine dispensing cassette  200  In the medicine dispensing cassette  200 , whereas the medicine dispensing device  100  can release the lock of the lid  310 , the user cannot easily release the lock. Accordingly, when the medicine dispensing cassette  200  is used in the medicine dispensing device  100 , it is prevented that the improper medicine is refilled at the time of refilling the medicine into the emptied medicine dispensing cassette  200 . This is because the medicine dispensing device  100  scans the bar code attached to the label of the bottle containing the medicine to be refilled and releases the lock of the lid  310  only when the medicine in the bottle is proper as the medicine to be refilled. With this configuration, the specification of the medicine dispensing device  100  of the above embodiment can be a closed loop specification. 
     The closed loop is a specification for improving the management for the medicines by using an identification device to identify the medicines more accurately and attaching labels or the like to the containers containing the medicines in order to promote the safe use of the medicines and prevent misconception of different medicines. In particular, in the case of recovering the medicines, the recovered medicines can be safely reused by a closed loop recovery for the medicines. Usually, sources of the medicines to be recovered are mainly three sources containing return from the pharmacy, unused medicines in a hospital and return from outpatient visitors. Since distribution routes of the medicines and the states of the medicines recovered from each source generally differ from each other greatly, for example, the unused medicines in the hospital are often recovered in an almost unopened state, while the returned medicines from the outpatient visitors may be opened and damaged. As described above, when there are the plurality of recover routes, it is generally difficult to recover the medicines. In the closed loop specification of the present invention, since recovery processes can be appropriately performed with respect to the medicine dispensing device  100  on the basis of the discrimination information after the discrimination for the medicine has been performed, it is possible to prevent an error of the prescription operator and reduce labor of the prescription operator. 
     § 3 Medicine recovery method A medicine recovery method by the above-described medicine loading device based on the prescription information is shown. Specifically, in the method of the present invention, it has a step of obtaining medicine information indicating a type of a medicine which is a discrimination target, a step of comparing medicine information with cassette information indicating a type of a medicine to be contained in a medicine dispensing cassette, a step of determining whether the medicine information and the cassette information match each other and a step of releasing a locking mechanism provided at the medicine dispensing cassette when the medicine information and the cassette information match each other. 
     Medicine discriminating means further has a medicine information obtaining part and an information processing part connected to the medicine information obtaining part. The medicine discriminating means reads the cassette information provided at either one of the medicine dispensing cassette and the lid and the medicine information provided on the medicine to discriminate the type of the medicine based on this obtained information on the medicine. Further, the medicine information obtaining part includes at least one of a photographing device for obtaining an image in which information on the medicine which is a discrimination target is indicated, a first reading device for reading a code in which information on the medicine which is the discrimination target is indicated and a second reading device for reading a signal indicating the medicine information on the discrimination target. Hereinafter, as an example of the medicine information obtaining part of the medicine photographing device, description will be given to how to discriminate each medicine in the photographed image in detail. 
     § 3.1 Medicine photographing device  FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing the appearance of the medicine photographing device  900 . Although the inside is not visible by a case  910  in this figure, a placing portion  920  on which the medicine should be placed is provided at a substantially central portion of the inside of the medicine photographing device  900 . More specifically, the medicine is placed in a tray  930  as shown in  FIG. 15  and this tray  400  is set onto the placing portion  920 . Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, a portion of the medicine photographing device  900  upper than the placing portion  920  is referred to as an upper portion  901  and a portion of the medicine photographing device  900  lower than the placing portion  920  is referred to as a lower portion  902 . 
     § 3.1.1 Outer configuration of the medicine photographing device As shown in  FIG. 10 , a lower case  911 , a cutout portion  912 , a tray support member  921 , guide members  930 , an upper case  913  and a cover  914  can be seen from the outside of the medicine photographing device  900 . 
     The lower case  911  covers the lower portion  902  of the medicine photographing device  900 . The cutout portion  912  extending in the horizontal direction is formed on an upper surface of the lower case  911 . This cutout portion  912  is opened in the left-right direction and the front direction of the medicine photographing device  900 . The user can insert long packaging paper into the medicine photographing device  900  through this cutout portion  912 . Specifically, the packaging paper is spread in the horizontal direction and inserted into the cutout portion  912  from the front side. Then, the packaging paper is moved into the vicinity of the central portion of the medicine photographing device  900 . As a result, a built-in camera of the medicine photographing device  900  can photograph the medicine enclosed in the packaging paper without cutting the packaging paper. Since an internal space of the medicine photographing device  900  communicates with the external space in the left-right direction through the cutout portion  912 , even if the packaging paper is longer than a width of the medicine photographing device  900 , the user can easily insert the packaging paper into the medicine photographing device  900  in a state that the packaging paper is rewound. 
     The tray support member  921  for supporting a member for containing the medicines is provided immediately above the cutout portion  912 . Specifically, the tray  400  is placed onto the tray support member  921 . This tray support member  921  is a substantially square plate-like member in which the circular hole  922  is opened at its central portion as shown in  FIG. 14( a ) . As shown in  FIG. 15 , a petri dish  410  is fitted in the tray  400 . When the tray  400  is set on the tray support member  921 , the petri dish  410  is inserted into the hole  922 . Further, referring back to  FIG. 14( a ) , a concave portion having a planar shape corresponding to a planar shape of the tray  400  is formed on an upper surface of the placing member  921 . An engaging portion  923  into which the tray  400  is fitted is formed by the concave portion. The tray  400  is placed onto this engaging portion  923 . Further, when the tray  400  is fitted into the engaging portion  923 , the tray  400  is stably held at the tray support member  921 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , the upper surface of the medicine photographing device  900  and the upper portion  901  of the front surface are covered by a cover  914 . As shown in  FIG. 11 , the cover  914  can be opened toward the upper side. Specifically, the cover  914  is hinged by a hinge  957  (see  FIG. 12 ) at a rear upper end of the upper case  913  and the cover  914  can pivot around this hinge  957  in the vertical direction. 
       FIG. 11  shows a state that the cover  914  of the medicine photographing device  900  is opened. As shown in this figure, when the cover  914  is opened, an upper internal space  940 , which is the upper portion  901  of the internal space of the medicine photographing device  900 , is opened toward the space in front of the medicine photographing device  900 . Then, the user can set the tray  400  onto the engaging portion  923  of the placing portion  920  through this upper internal space  940 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , a front side outer surface of the upper case  913  has a substantially inverted U shape. This front side outer surface is inclined, thereby an inclined portion  915  is formed. Specifically, the inclined portion  915  is inclined so that a distance from the rear surface of the medicine photographing device  900  becomes small from the lower side to the upper side. With this configuration, the user can easily insert the tray  400  into the upper internal space  940 . The user often moves the tray  400  from the obliquely upward side toward the obliquely downward side to insert the tray  400  into the upper internal space  940 . At this time, if the inclined portion  915  is inclined toward the rear side as it goes upward, a larger space is secured in front of an upper portion of the inclined portion  915  and thus the tray  400  is less likely to collide with the upper case  913 . In this regard, the front surface of the cover  914  is configured to cover this inclined portion  915 . Therefore, when the cover  914  is closed, the front surface thereof is located in the vicinity of the inclined portion  915  and becomes parallel to the inclined portion  915 . As described above, the upper surface and the front surface of the cover  914  form an obtuse angle in response to the configuration that the upper surface of the upper case  913  and the inclined portion  915  form an obtuse angle. 
     A lower end of the inclined portion  915  is located on the rear side than outer front surfaces of the guide members  930  and the lower case  911 . Namely, a distance from the rear surface of the medicine photographing device  900  to the lower end of the inclined portion  915  is smaller than a distance from the rear surface of the medicine photographing device  900  to the outer front surfaces of the guide members  930  and the outer front surface of the lower case  911 . With this configuration, the user can more easily insert the tray  400  into the upper internal space  940 , 
     Furthermore, a slope  916  other than the inclined portion  915  is provided on the front side outer surface of the upper case  913 . More specifically, the slope  916  is provided in a U shape of the substantially inverted U-shaped inclined portion  915 . This slope  916  is provided in front of a first camera  710  (see  FIG. 12 ) described later to protect the first camera  710  described later to protect the first camera  710 . With this configuration, when the user inserts the tray  400  into the upper internal space  940 , it is possible to prevent the tray  400  from colliding with the first camera  710 , so that it is possible to prevent a position and an orientation of the first camera  710  from being shifted. As shown in  FIG. 11 , the slope  916  forms a substantially rectangular shape and extends in the left-right direction of the medicine photographing device  900 . Further, a distance from the rear surface of the medicine photographing device  900  to the slope  916  gradually decreases from the upper side to the lower side. Namely, a horizontal position of an upper end of the slope  916  is closer to the rear surface of the medicine photographing device  900  than a horizontal position of a lower end of the slope  916 . With this configuration, the tray  400  is less likely to collide with the slope  916  at the time of insertion, so that the user can easily put the tray  400  into the rear side of the upper internal space  940 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , the pair of guide members  930  are provided between the upper case  913  and the placing portion  920 . An outer side surface of each guide member  930  extends in the vertical direction and is located on the same plane as the outer side surface of the upper case  913 . In contrast, as shown in  FIGS. 11 to 13 , an inner side surface of each guide member  930  is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, thereby slopes  931  are formed. Each slope  931  forms a substantially rectangular shape and extends in the front-rear direction of the medicine photographing device  900 . Further, the slopes  931  face the upper internal space  940 . Furthermore, one of the slopes  931  is located on the right upper side of the placing portion  920  and the other one is located on the left upper side of the placing portion  920 . Each slope  931  is formed so as to approach to a center axis of the medicine photographing device  900  from the upper side to the lower side. Namely, when they are viewed in planar view, a horizontal position of a lower end of each slope  931  is closer to the placing portion  920  than a horizontal position of an upper end of each slope  931 . Furthermore, a distance between the lower ends of the two slopes  931  is substantially equal to or slightly larger than a width of the engaging portion  923  of the tray support member  921  (see  FIG. 14( a ) ). Specifically, the distance between the lower ends of the two slopes  931  is preferably about 1 to 1.2 times the width of the engaging portion  923 . When the medicine photographing device  900  is viewed in planner view, portions of the lower ends of the slopes  931  are located at positions substantially in contact with a periphery of the hole  922  of the tray support member  921 . By employing this configuration, the user can easily place the tray  400  onto the engaging portion  923  of the tray support member  921 . 
     § 3.1.2 internal configuration of the medicine photographing device  FIGS. 12 and 13  are diagrams showing a state that cases of the medicine photographing device  900  are removed, that is, diagrams showing main members inside the medicine photographing device  900 . In this regard,  FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the medicine photographing device  900  and  FIG. 13  is a front view thereof. 
     As shown in  FIG. 12 , a frame  950  is provided on the rear side of the medicine photographing device  900 . Many of the main members of the medicine photographing device  900  are configured to be directly or indirectly attached to this frame  950 . The frame  950  is constituted of a first column  951 , a second column  952 , a third column  953 , a first beam  954 , a second beam  955 , a third beam  956  and a hinge  957 . When they are viewed in the front view, the first column  951  is provided on the rear left side of the medicine photographing device  900 , the second column  952  is provided at a rear central portion of the medicine photographing device  900  and the third column  953  is provided on the rear right side of the medicine photographing device  900 . Further, the first column  951 , the second column  952  and the third column  953  are coupled by the first beam  954 , the second beam  955  and the third beam  956 . Furthermore, the hinge  957  for pivoting the cover  914  (see  FIG. 3 ) is attached to the third beam  256  located at a top of the frame  950 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 12 and 13 , the medicine photographing device  900  includes the first camera  710 , a second camera  720 , a first light source  730 , a second light source  740 , a third light source  750 , a fourth light source  760 , the tray support member  921  and the guide members  930 . Among them, the tray support member  921  and the guide members  930  are directly attached to the frame  950 . The first camera  710 , the second camera  720 , the third light source  750  and the fourth light source  760  are attached to the frame  950  through support members. The first light source  730  is contained in the tray support member  921  and supported by the tray support member  921 . Although this matter is not shown in the figures, the second light source  940  is attached to the lower case  911  (see  FIG. 10 ) through the support member. As described above, the main members inside the medicine photographing device  900  are attached to the frame  950  instead of the case  910 . With this configuration, it becomes easier to remove the case  910  and thus maintenance work of the inner main members becomes easy. 
     The tray support member  921  is provided in the vicinity of the central portion of the medicine photographing device  900 . Further, the guide members  930  are provided immediately above the tray support member  921 . The third light source  750  is provided on the upper side of the guide members  930 . Furthermore, the first camera  710  is provided at a position higher than the third light source  750 , that is, in the vicinity of the upper surface of the medicine photographing device  900 . The second light source  740  is provided on the lower side of the tray support member  921  with being apart from the tray support member  921  by a predetermined distance. The fourth light source  760  is provided at a position lower than the second light source  740  and in the vicinity of the side surface of the medicine photographing device  900 . The second camera  720  is provided at a position lower than the fourth light source  760 , that is, in the vicinity of the bottom surface of the medicine photographing device  900 . As described above, in the medicine photographing device  900 , an upper light source is constituted of the first light source  730  and the third light source  750 . Further, in the medicine photographing device  900 , a lower light source is constituted of the second light source  740  and the fourth light source  760 . 
     As described above, the tray support member  921  is provided in the vicinity of the central portion of the medicine photographing device  900  and on the upper side of a space  917  for the cutout portion  912 . As shown in  FIG. 14( a ) , the engaging portion  923  is formed on the upper surface of this tray support member  921  and the tray  400  (see  FIG. 15 ) is placed onto this engaging portion  923  in use. Further, the first light source  730  is attached to a bottom portion of the tray support member  921 . The first light source  730  includes a first ring light  731 . This first ring light  731  is constituted by a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED) annularly arranged. The plurality of LEDs are arranged so as to surround an outer periphery of the hole  922  of the tray support member  921  and face the hole  922 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 14( b ) , when the tray  400  is placed onto the engaging portion  923 , the petri dish  410  passes through the hole  922  and protrudes toward the lower side of the tray support member  921 . Therefore, a bottom portion  411  of the petri dish  410  is located on the lower side than the lower surface of the tray support member  921 . In other words, when the tray  400  is placed onto the engaging portion  923 , the petri dish  410  is inserted into the ring of the first ring light  731  and the bottom portion  411  of the petri dish  410  is located on the lower side than the first ring light  731 . Namely, when the tray  400  is placed onto the engaging portion  923 , the first ring light  731  is located at a position higher than the bottom portion  411  of the petri dish  410  and lower than an upper surface or an upper end of the tray  400  (the highest position of the tray  400 ). At least a bottom surface and a side surface, which faces the hole  922 , of the tray support member  921  are made of a transparent material. As a result, when the first ring light  731  emits light, that emitted light propagates in a direction toward the center of the hole  922  and the lower side. As a result, the medicine supplied onto the bottom portion  411  of the petri dish  410  is directly illuminated by the light emitted from the first ring light  731  from all directions of 360° and the obliquely upward side. Namely, the first light source  730  serves as a direct light source for directly illuminating the medicine. 
     As shown in  FIG. 14( b ) , the second light source  740  is provided on the lower side of the tray support member  921  through the cutout space  917 . The second light source  740  is constituted of a second ring light  741  which is the same type as the first ring light  731 . This second ring light  741  is supported by a lower support plate  742  and an upper support plate  743 . The lower support plate  742  and the upper support plate  743  are attached to an inner surface of the lower case  911  (see  FIG. 10 ). The upper support plate  743  is made of a transparent material. Further, the upper support plate  743  has a substantially rectangular planar shape and does not have a hole in its central portion (on the lower side of the hole  922 ) unlike the tray support member  921 . With this configuration, even if the user mistakenly drops the medicine into the placing portion  920 , it is possible to prevent the dropped medicine from colliding with the second camera  720 . The lower support plate  742  has a planar shape corresponding to a planar shape of the second ring light  741  and has a hole in its central portion, which has a shape corresponding to the ring of the second ring light  741 . The second ring light  741  is located on the lower side than the bottom portion  411  of the petri dish  410 . Further, a planar position of the second ring light  741  is arranged so as to match a planar position of the first ring light  731 . When the second ring light  741  emits light, this emitted light propagates in the direction toward the center of the hole  922  and the upper side. As a result, the medicine supplied onto the bottom portion  411  of the petri dish  410 , the medicine is directly illuminated by the light emitted by the second ring light  741  from all directions of 360° and the obliquely downward side. The first light source  730  and the second light source  740  described above are mainly used for photographing the engraved marks attached to the surfaces of the medicine, mainly a tablet. More specifically, the first light source  730  is used for photographing the engraved mark positioned on the upper surface of the medicine and the second light source  740  is used for photographing the engraved mark positioned on the lower surface of the medicine. The present inventor has found that it is possible to clearly photograph the engraved marks attached to the surfaces of the tablet by configuring the first light source  730  and the second light source  740  as described above. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 12 and 13 , the third light source  750  is provided on the upper side of the guide members  930 . This third light source  750  is constituted of a plurality of bar light, specifically, a first bar light  751  and a second bar light  752 . The first bar light  751  is attached to the third column  953  through a support member  1053 . Further, the second bar light  752  is attached to the first column  951  through a support member  1054 . In other words, the first bar light  751  and the second bar light  752  are provided on the lateral side of the medicine photographing device  900 , specifically, on the lateral side than the placing portion  920 . As shown in  FIG. 13 , the first bar light  751  and the second bar light  752  are provided in a direction parallel to the front-rear direction of the medicine photographing device  900  and light emitting surfaces of the first bar light  751  and the second bar light  752  are directed obliquely downward, more specifically, toward the placing portion  920 . Further, a distance from the first bar light  751  and the second bar light  752  to the place of the placing portion  920  where the medicine should be placed is larger than a distance from the first ring light  731  to the place of the placing portion  920  where the medicine should be placed. Furthermore, the first bar light  751  and the second bar light  752  are provided at the lower ends of the slopes  931  of the guide members  930  and at a position closer to the side surface of the medicine photographing device  900  than the lower ends of the slopes  931  of the guide members  930  and the outer periphery of the hole  922  of the tray support member  921 . With this arrangement of the third light source  750 , a large space is secured by the upper internal space  940  and thus the user can easily place the tray  400  onto the placing portion  920 . 
     Each of the first bar light  751  and the second bar light  752  includes a polarization filter and the light diffuses through this polarization filter and reaches the medicine. Specifically, it is configured so that direct light from the first bar light  751  and the second bar light  752  is cut by the polarization filters and the light diffused by the polarization filters reaches the medicine through the hole  922  of the tray support member  921 , that is, the inside of the ring of the first ring light  731 . Namely, the third light source  750  serves as a diffused light source or an indirect light source. Thus, the upper portion of the medicine is suitably illuminated. The present inventor has found that it is possible to clearly photograph the print attached to the surface of the medicine by configuring the third light source  750  as described above. Furthermore, regardless of whether the medicine is a tablet or a capsule, it is possible to clearly photograph the print. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 12  and the fourth light source  760  which is the same type as the third light source  750  is provided on the lower side of the second light source  740 . This fourth light source  760  is constituted of a plurality of bar light, specifically, a third bar light  761  and a fourth bar light  762 . The third bar light  761  is attached to the third column  953  through a support member  1063 . Further, the fourth bar light  762  is attached to the first column  951  through a support member  1064 , in other words, similarly to the first bar light  751  and the second bar light  752 , the third bar light  761  and the fourth bar light  762  are provided on the lateral side of the medicine photographing device  900 . Furthermore, similarly to the first bar light  751  and the second bar light  752 , the third bar light  761  and the fourth bar light  762  are provided in the direction parallel to the front-rear direction of the medicine photographing device  900 . Light emitting surfaces of the third bar light  761  and the fourth bar light  762  are directed obliquely upward, more specifically, toward the placing portion  920 . Similar to the relationship between the third light source  750  and the first light source  730 , a distance from the third bar light  761  and the fourth bar light  762  to the placing portion  920  is larger than a distance from the second ring light  741  to the placing portion  920 . Similar to the first bar light  751  and the second bar light  752 , each of the third bar light  761  and the fourth bar light  762  also includes a polarization filter and configured so that light diffuses through the polarization filters and reaches the medicine. More specifically, it is configured so that the diffused light from the third bar light  761  and the fourth bar light  762  passes through the inside of the ring of the second ring light  741  and reaches the medicine. With this configuration, the lower portion of the medicine is illuminated to make its print clear. 
     In this regard, although each of the third light source  750  and the fourth light source  760  is constituted of the two bar lights in the present embodiment, four bar lights may be provided in other embodiments. In this case, it is preferable to arrange the bar lights so that the four bar lights form a square shape and surround the placing portion  920 . 
     The first camera  710  is provided on the upper side of the first bar light  751  and the second bar light  752 . This first camera  710  is attached to the second column  952  through an attachment member  1011 . Then, the first camera  710  is fixed by this attachment member  1011  so as to be located vertically above the placing portion  920  and face the placing portion  920 . When the medicine photographing device  900  is viewed in the planar view from the upper side, a photographing area of the first camera  710  contains the hole  922  of the tray support member  921  and the inside of the ring of the first ring light  731 . Thus, the first camera  710  can suitably take an image of the upper surface of the medicine placed on the placing portion  920 , that is, an image of the medicine viewed from directly above. 
     The second camera  720  is provided on the lower side of the third bar light  761  and the fourth bar light  762 , This second camera  720  is attached to the second column  952  through an attachment member  1021 . Then, the second camera  720  is fixed by this attachment member  1021  so as to be located vertically below the placing portion  920  and face the placing portion  920 . When the medicine photographing device  900  is viewed in the planar view from the lower side, a photographing area of the second camera  720  contains the inside of the ring of the second ring light  741 . Thus, the second camera  720  can suitably take an image of the lower surface of the medicine placed on the placing portion  920 , that is, an image of the medicine viewed from directly below. Both of the first camera  710  and the second camera  720  described above can take a color image. 
     § 3.1.3 Configuration of placing item The tray  400  as shown in  FIG. 15  is used as a placing item for placing the medicine thereon in the medicine photographing device  900 . Tray  400  has a configuration in which a hole  421  is formed in a main body  420  having a square flat plate-like shape and a transparent cylinder  422  is fitted in the hole  421 . The petri dish  410  as shown in  FIG. 16  is provided in this cylinder  422 . 
       FIG. 16  shows the petri dish  410 . The bottom surface  411  and the side surface  412  of this petri dish  410  are transparent. An opaque and flat ring  413  is provided on an outer edge of the bottom surface  411 . When the medicine rolls into the vicinity of the inner wall of the petri dish  410 , the illumination light is diffusely reflected by this medicine and this reflection of the light adversely affects the photographing of the medicine in the vicinity. The ring  413  can suitably prevent the medicine from rolling into the vicinity of the inner wall. Furthermore, the ring  413  can reduce the unwanted reflection of the illumination light occurring in the vicinity of the boundary between the bottom surface  411  and the inner wall of the petri dish  410 . From such a point of view, it is preferable that this ring  413  is black. A width of this ring  413  is preferably about 1/20 to ½ times a radius of the bottom surface  311  of the petri dish  310 . 
     Further, a capsule placing member  414  which is preferably made of a black opaque material is provided on the bottom surface  411  of the petri dish  410 . An approximately half of the bottom surface  411  of the petri dish  410  is occupied by the capsule placing member  414  and the transparent material constituting the bottom surface  411  is exposed in the other half thereof. A portion of the bottom surface  411  where this transparent material is exposed is referred to as a transparent portion  415 . It is recommended that the tablet should be placed on this transparent portion  415 . On the other hand, it is recommended that capsule types such as capsules and soft capsules should be placed on the capsule placing member  414  in principle. The capsule placing member  414  has a planar shape close to a trapezoidal shape. Specifically, the capsule placing member  414  has a long side and a short side in a lengthwise direction thereof and has two hypotenuse sides having substantially the same length in the transverse direction. A distance between hypotenuse sides thereof decreases from the long side toward the short side. By setting the planar shape of the capsule placing member  414  to such a shape, it becomes possible to place more the capsules per part area. When the capsule placing member  414  is viewed from the lateral side, the capsule placing member  414  has a portion having a wavy shape on its upper surface. In other words, the capsule placing member  414  has groove-shaped concave portions  416  and  417  on its upper surface. A width and a depth of the concave portion  416  are set to be larger than a width and a depth of the concave portion  417 . Further, a length of the concave portion  416  is larger than a length of the concave portion  417 . Thus, a relatively large capsule can be easily placed in the concave portion  416  and a relatively small capsule can be easily placed in the concave portion  417 . The capsule is placed in the concave portions  416  or  417  so that the printed characters of the capsule are directed toward the upper side. Since the concave portions  416  or  417  prevents the capsule from rolling, the first camera  710  can accurately photograph the print characters of the capsule. 
     As described above, the tray  400  is placed onto the tray support member  921  (see  FIG. 14 ). As shown in  FIG. 15( c ) , when the tray  400  is placed onto the tray support member  921 , the first ring light  731  is located in the vicinity of the upper portion of the cylinder  422 . In other words, the first ring light  731  is located in the vicinity of the upper obliquely side of the bottom surface  411  of the petri dish  410 , that is, located in the vicinity of the bottom surface  411  and on the upper side and the lateral side of the bottom surface  411 . The present inventor has found that it is possible to illuminate the medicine so that the engraved mark of the tablet can be more clearly photographed by placing the first ring light  731  at the above-described position. In this regard, as shown in  FIG. 14 , a height difference from the second ring light  741  to the bottom surface  411  of the petri dish  410  is set to be substantially equal to a height difference from the first ring light  731  to the bottom surface  411  of the petri dish  410 . From such a point of view, it is preferable that the height difference from the second ring light  741  to the bottom surface  411  of the petri dish  410  is about 0.5 to 2 times the height difference from the first ring light  731  to the bottom surface  411  of the petri dish  410 . 
     § 3.2 Medicine discrimination  FIG. 17  shows upstream processes for performing medicine discrimination. First, when the user supplies the medicines as an input to start the medicine discrimination (step  110 ), the medicine photographing device takes a plurality of images of the medicines (step  120 ). Next, the computer (the information processing part) corrects the photographed images (step  130 ). Next, the computer extracts an area in which each medicine exists from the corrected images (step  140 ). Then, discrimination is individually performed on the extracted area of each medicine (step  200 ). 
     &lt;Step  110 &gt; Medicine supplying The user first places the medicines to be discriminated in the petri dish of the tray of the medicine discriminating means. For example, it is recommended that the tablet should be placed directly on the transparent portion of the bottom surface of the petri dish and the capsule should be placed on the capsule placing member. Next, the user places this tray onto the placing portion of the medicine photographing device. 
     &lt;Step  120 &gt; Medicine image obtaining When the computer receives an input to start to photograph the medicines from the user, the computer drives the medicine photographing device to take the image of the petri dish. Specifically, the computer obtains four images of the following “image 1” to “image 4”. At this time, the computer sets photographing conditions of the camera based on setting values (e.g., a focus of the camera, an exposure time and each gain of RGB) obtained at steps of “focus adjustment of the camera” and “brightness and color calibration” described later. This improves the reproducibility of the image quality. [Image 1] The image 1 is an image obtained by photographing the petri dish from the upper side under the illumination by the first light source. This image can be obtained by turning on the first ring light and performing photographing with the first camera, [Image 2] The image 2 is an image obtained by photographing the petri dish from the lower side under the illumination by the second light source. This image can be obtained by turning on the second ring light and performing photographing with the second camera, [Image 3] The image 3 is an image obtained by photographing the petri dish from the upper side under the illumination by the third light source. This image can be obtained by turning on the first bar light and the second bar light and performing photographing with the first camera. [Image 4] The image 4 is an image obtained by photographing the petri dish from the lower side under the illumination by the fourth light source. This image can be obtained by turning on the third bar light and the fourth bar light and performing photographing with the second camera. 
     &lt;Step  130 &gt; Image correction As described later, in the medicine discriminating means, calibration is performed in advance and the computer holds calibration information obtained by this calibration as data. The computer corrects the photographed images based on this calibration information. Specifically, correction of coordinates of the photographed images is performed based on the calibration information. Thus, coordinate axes of the images photographed by the first camera coincide with coordinate axes of the images photographed by the second camera. 
     &lt;Step  140 &gt; Medicine area extraction After the image correction, an area occupied by each medicine is extracted in the images. For this purpose, the “image 1” and the “image 2” are suitably used, each of which has a tendency that the brightness greatly changes between the background and the medicine. This area extraction is performed by binarizing the brightness of each pixel with a threshold value (below the threshold value=background, over the threshold value=medicine) and separating areas over the threshold value. 
       FIG. 19  illustrates a flow of a medicine individual discrimination process  200 . The following processes are performed individually for each medicine. First, the computer associates the occupied area of one medicine in the photographed image captured from the upper side with the occupied area of this medicine in the photographed image captured from the lower side (step  210 ). Next, the computer determines whether the medicine is a tablet or a capsule (step  220 ). When it is determined that the medicine is the tablet, the computer performs a tablet discrimination process (step  300 ) and when it is determined that the medicine is the capsule, the computer performs a capsule discrimination process (step  400 ). 
     &lt;Step  210 &gt; Association of the medicines in the upper and lower images The medicine directly placed on the transparent portion of the petri dish appears in both of the images captured from the upper side (the “image 1” and the “image 3”) and the images captured from the lower side (the “image 2” and the “image 4”). Due to this step, the area occupied by the one medicine in the image captured from the upper side and the area occupied by this medicine in the image captured from the bottom side are associated with each other. Specifically, when one image of the “image 1” and the “image 2” corrected at step  130  is reversed horizontally or vertically, the area occupied by the medicine in one of the images substantially matches the area occupied by the same medicine in the other one of the images. This matched area is an area occupied by the one medicine in each of the two images. Namely, one area in the non-inverted image and an area obtained by returning the area in the inverted image overlapping with it due to the inversion release are areas respectively corresponding to the one medicine. At this time, an overlapping area in which the two images are overlapped with each other when the two images are inverted may be used as a corresponding area. 
     &lt;Step  220 &gt; Tablet/capsule determination After the association process for the medicine area has been performed, the computer determines whether the medicine is a tablet or a capsule. Since the tablet is placed onto the transparent portion of the petri dish, the upper surface of the tablet appears in the image captured from the upper side and the lower surface of the tablet appears in the image captured from the lower side. Namely, when the two images (the “image 1” and the “image 2”) are compared, if the medicine is a tablet, an area corresponding to the medicine exists in each of the image captured from the upper side and the image captured from the lower side. Therefore, in the case where the association for one area with respect to the two images can be performed at step  210 , namely, in the case where the occupied area of the medicine recognized in the image captured from the upper side is associated with the occupied area of the medicine recognized in the image captured from the lower side, the medicine is determined as the tablet. 
     On the other hand, the capsule is placed on the opaque capsule placing member. Thus, although the upper surface of the capsule appears in the image captured from the upper side, the capsule does not appear in the image captured from the lower side. Namely, when the two images (the “image 1” and the “image 2”) are compared, if the medicine is the capsule, whereas an area occupied by the medicine exists in the image captured from the upper side, an area occupied by the medicine does not exist in the image captured from the lower side. Therefore, in the case where the association for one area with respect to the two images at step  210  cannot be performed, namely, in the case where the area corresponding to the occupied area of the medicine recognized in the image captured from upper side is not recognized in the image captured from the lower side, the medicine is determined as the capsule. 
     &lt;Step  300 &gt; Tablet discrimination If one medicine selected by the computer is determined as the tablet, the process proceeds to a tablet discrimination process  300 .  FIG. 20  shows each process of the tablet discrimination process  300 . First, the computer determines whether or not the medicine is circular (step  310 ). Next, the computer performs an extraction process for the engraved mark attached to the surface of the medicine (step  320 ). Next, the computer performs an extraction process for the print attached to the surface of the medicine (step  330 ). Next, the computer determines whether or not the information attached to the surface of the medicine is the engraved mark or the print (step  340 ). Next, the computer extracts a dividing line attached to the surface of the medicine (step  350 ). Next, the computer extracts a representative color of the medicine (step  360 ). Thereafter, the computer narrows down candidate medicines for the medicine based on narrow-down information on the medicine (step  370 ). Finally, the computer performs template matching based on the engraved mark and/or the print information extracted from the images of the medicine and performs a final search (step  380 ). 
     &lt;Step  310 &gt; Circle determination The computer calculates a circularity of the area occupied by the medicine. If the circularity is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the computer determines that the medicine is circular. When the circularity is less than the predetermined value, the computer determines that the medicine is non-circular. If the medicine is determined to be circular, the computer calculates a center position and a radius of the circle. If the medicine is determined to be non-circular, the computer rotates the area occupied by the medicine so that a long axis of the area occupied by the medicine is parallel to the X axis and a short axis of the area is parallel to the Y axis. In addition, the computer calculates lengths of the long axis and the short axis of the medicine and a ratio of the lengths of the long axis and the short axis of the medicine. 
     &lt;Step  320 &gt; Engraved mark extraction The computer performs an engraved mark extraction process on the “image 1” and the “image 2”, that is, the images captured under the illumination of the first light source and the second light source. The present inventor has found that it is possible to capture the image of the medicine in which the engraved mark is emphasized when the medicine is photographed under the illumination of the first light source and the second light source. 
     &lt;Step  330 &gt; Print extraction The computer performs a print extraction process on the “image 3” and the “image 4”, that is, the images captured under the illumination of the third light source and the fourth light source, The present inventor has found that it is possible to capture the image of the medicine in which the print is emphasized when the medicine is photographed under the illumination of the third light source and the fourth light source. 
     &lt;Step  340 &gt; Engraved mark/print determination As described above, an image in which the engraved mark attached to the surface of the medicine is suitably extracted can be obtained by performing the engraved mark extraction process (step  320 ) on the images captured under the illumination of the first ring light and the second ring light. Further, an image in which the print attached to the surface of the medicine is suitably extracted by performing the print extraction process (step  330 ) on the images captured under the illumination of the first bar light, the second bar light, the third bar light and the fourth bar light (see the above equation 1). On the basis of these engraved mark extracted image and print extracted image, the computer determines whether the information attached to the surface of the medicine is the engraved mark or the print, that is, whether or not the engraved mark and the print are attached to the surface of the medicine. 
     In order to determine whether or not the engraved mark is attached to the medicine, the computer first performs the binarization process on the engraved mark extracted image obtained at step  320  with using a predetermined threshold value as a criterion. Next, the computer takes an average value of the values of the engraved mark extracted image with using this binarized image as a mask. When the average value is equal to or larger than the threshold value, the computer determines that the engraved mark exists and when the average value is smaller than the threshold value, the computer determines that the engraved mark does not exist. Similarly, in order to determine whether or not the print is attached to the medicine, the computer first performs the binarization process on the print extracted image obtained at step  330  with using on a predetermined threshold value as a criterion. Next, the computer takes an average value of the values of the print extracted image with using the binarized image as a mask. When the average value is equal to or larger than the threshold value, the computer determines that the print exists and when the average value is smaller than the threshold value, the computer determines that print does not exist. 
     &lt;Step  350 &gt; Dividing line area extraction The computer performs a dividing line area extraction process on the engraved mark extracted image obtained at step  320 . Specifically, the computer determines whether or not the dividing line exists on the medicine. When it is determined that the dividing line exists, the medicine is divided into an area where the dividing line exists and an area other than it. 
     &lt;Step  360 &gt; Representative color extraction Next, the computer separately extracts the representative color of the medicine for each of the area where the engraved mark or the print is attached and the area other than it. The representative color extraction can be suitably performed by performing clustering on colors constituting the pixels. In addition, in another embodiment, instead of extracting the representative color, a determination for a color density of “white”, “light color” and “dark color” is performed on the image of the medicine, or the area where the engraved mark or the print is attached and the area other than it. This can be performed by determining to be “dark color” if the color in the area is less than a first threshold value, the “light color” if it is equal to or greater than the first threshold value and less than a second threshold value and the “white” if it is equal to or greater than the second threshold value. 
     &lt;Step  370 &gt; Narrowing down The computer accesses the database. Then, a search for the candidate medicines is performed based on the data obtained at the above steps. First, as a first step, narrowing down with respect to search target medicines is performed. Specifically, the computer narrows down the search target medicines based on at least one of the following: the type of the medicine (tablet or other type medicine), the shape of the medicine (circular or non-circular, or the ratio of the lengths of the long axis and the short axis in the case of non-circular), the size of the medicine (the diameter of the medicine in the case of circular, the length of the long axis and the length of the short axis of the medicine in the case of non-circular), the presence or absence of the engraved mark, the presence or absence of the print, the presence or absence of the dividing line, the representative color of the medicine (the representative color of the area where the engraved mark is attached, the representative color of the area where the print is attached and the representative color of the area other than it). In this regard, if the computer can access a prescription history of the patient (for example, the data of the medicine handbook), the computer can limit the search target medicines to medicines contained in the prescription history. For example, if the computer can access the data of the medicine handbook stored in a smart phone of the patient, the computer can access the data of the medicine handbook to obtain information on the medicine prescribed to the patient. When there is a medicine handbook printed on paper, the medicine handbook is scanned and converted into text data by OCR (optical character recognition), and the search target medicines can be narrowed down based on the text data. As a result, the speed of the medicine search can be increased. 
     &lt;Step  380 &gt; Template matching Thereafter, the template matching (also referred to as pattern matching) is performed between the engraved marked extracted image and/or the print extracted image obtained at the aforementioned steps and an engraved mark template image and/or a print template image for each medicine stored in the database to pick up medicines having a high possibility of matching with the discrimination target medicine. In this regard, in the case where the tablet is circular, the area of the image occupied by the medicine is moved and corrected so that the center of the circle coincides with the center of the image prior to the template matching. In another embodiment, the extracted image and the template image may be corrected so that the center of gravity of the engraved mark and/or the print coincides with the center of the image. Further, when the tablet is circular, the extracted image and/or the template image is rotated so that the result of the template matching is maximized. Thereafter, the template matching is performed on both images to calculate a score. This score indicates a degree of coincidence of the both images as a numerical value. When the score of the template matching is equal to or larger than a predetermined value or when the score is within a predetermined rank from the top rank, the computer picks up the medicine to which the template image belongs as a candidate medicine. In this regard, when the tablet has the dividing line, both of the template matching in a state that the dividing line exists and the template matching in a state that the dividing line is removed may be performed. Further, when the print or the engraved mark is constituted of words, the computer may perform the template matching on each word as one unit or may divide each word into characters, numbers and symbols to perform the template matching on each character, number and symbol. Further, the computer may extract text information from the engraved mark or the printed image with OCR and perform the template matching based on this text information. 
     &lt;Step  400 &gt; Capsule discrimination Referring back to step  220  in  FIG. 19 , if the one medicine selected by the computer is determined to be the capsule, the process proceeds to a capsule discrimination process  400 .  FIG. 20  shows each process of the capsule discrimination process  400 . First, the computer divides the capsule into two areas (step  410 ). Next, the computer extracts a representative color from each of the two areas (step  420 ). Next, the computer performs an extraction process for the print attached to the surface of the medicine from each of the two areas (step  430 ). Next, the computer determines whether or not the print is attached to the surface of the medicine (step  440 ). Thereafter, the computer narrows down the candidate medicines based on the narrow-down information on the medicine (step  450 ). Finally, the computer performs the template matching based on the print information extracted from the image of the medicine to perform a final search (step  460 ). 
     &lt;Step  410 &gt; Area dividing First, the computer divides the medicine into the two areas. In particular, the color information of the image of the medicine, specifically, the colors of the pixels are clustered. Next, the clustered color information is grouped and an area to which this color group belongs is categorized as one area. Thus, the capsule whose color is constituted of different colors on a right half side and a left half side thereof is suitably divided into the two areas. 
     &lt;Step  420 &gt; Representative color extraction Next, the computer extracts the representative color of each area of the medicine. This can be suitably performed by clustering the color information of the pixels constituting each area. 
     &lt;Step  430 &gt; Print extraction The computer performs the same process as that of step  330  on each area divided at step  410  to extract the print from each area. The present inventor has found that it is possible to more suitably extract the print from the capsule by dividing the image of the capsule into the two areas and separately performing the extraction process for the print image on these areas. 
     &lt;Step  440 &gt; Print determination The computer performs the same process as that of step  340  on each divided area of the medicine to determine whether or not the print is attached to each area. 
     &lt;Step  450 &gt; Narrowing down The computer narrows down the candidate medicines with the same manner as that of step  360 . Specifically, the computer narrows down the search target medicines based on at least one of the type of the medicine (capsule or other type medicine), the shape of the medicine (the ratio of the lengths of the long axis and the short axis of the medicine), the size of the medicine (the lengths of the long axis and the short axis of the medicine), the representative color and the presence or absence of the print in the areas to which each representative color belongs. 
     &lt;Step  460 &gt; Template matching The computer cuts out a printed portion from the print extracted image (input image) obtained at step  430 , Next, the template matching is performed on the print extracted image for each area of the print extracted image divided at step  410  with the same manner as that of step  370  to pick up the candidate medicines. 
     § 4 Additional process of medicine discrimination software § 4.1 Additional process at “step  370 ” At step  370  described above, it is assumed that the template image corresponding to the engraved mark extracted image and/or the print extracted image is stored in the database accessed by the computer. In some cases, however, only a photograph of the medicine may be stored. In that case, an area of the medicine may be obtained from this image data and the print extraction and the engraved mark extraction may be performed in the same manner as the above-described case to use the obtained print extracted image and the obtained engraved mark extracted image as the template image. Further, this method can be used to create a template image to be stored in the database. Note that the area of the medicine can be obtained from the image data as follows. First, a background color is obtained and a portion other than the background color and characters is determined to be an area occupied by the medicine. If one or three or more areas are found, it is determined as an error. Next, a position of the center of gravity of each area is obtained and the right side and left side of the medicine are determined from the position of the center of gravity. 
     § 4.2 Calibration for camera In order to suitably practice the above embodiment, the first camera and the second camera need to be in focus. Further, it is necessary to coincide the photographing area of the first camera with the photographing area of the second camera. Furthermore, the brightness and the color of the photographed image should also be within a predetermined value range. For this reason, the calibration as described below is performed before shipping the medicine discriminating system from a factory or at the time of setting up the medicine discriminating system at a delivery destination. Note that once this calibration is performed, it is usually not necessary to perform the calibration again. 
     § 4.2.1 Camera positioning In this calibration, camera positioning is first performed. First, the tray on which the petri dish is set is set onto the placing portion  220  of the medicine photographing device  200 . Next, the petri dish is photographed by the first camera and this photographed image is displayed on the display device of the computer. At this time, a virtual image having a cross mark at a predetermined position is superimposed on the image of the petri dish and displayed. Then, the position and the angle of the first camera are finely adjusted so that this cross mark is located inside the petri dish. The same operation is performed for the second camera. 
     § 4.2.2 Camera focus adjustment Next, the focus of the camera is adjusted. First, a template with predetermined characters, symbols or diagrams is set onto the placing portion of the medicine photographing device and this template is photographed with a low magnification. Then, the focus of the camera is roughly adjusted so that the indications of the template becomes the clearest in the photographed image. After this operation has been completed, the magnification is increased and the same operation is performed to finely adjust the focus. 
     § 4.2.3 Calibration of photographing area The coordinates of the photographing areas of the upper and lower cameras can be matched by this calibration. Further, the resolutions of the cameras can also be obtained. First, a calibration sheet  910 , which is a calibration tool as shown in  FIG. 21 , is prepared. This calibration sheet  910  has a configuration in which black circles each having a predetermined size are arranged in a m×n matrix (3×4 matrix in the example shown in  FIG. 21 ) at predetermined intervals on both surfaces of a plate or a sheet having a predetermined thickness. Further, positions and sizes of the black circles are the same on both of an upper surface and a lower surface of the calibration sheet  910 . At the time of the calibration, this calibration sheet  910  is set onto the placing portion of the medicine photographing device and the calibration sheet  910  is photographed by the first camera and the second camera. Next, a transformation matrix for transforming so that each of the black circles in the image is located at a designated coordinate and has a designated size is calculated. This operation is performed on both of an image captured by photographing the calibration sheet  910  from the upper side and an image captured by photographing the calibration sheet  910  from the lower side. At step  130  described above, correction for the image obtained by photographing the petri dish is performed based on this transformation matrix. With this operation, the coordinate positions of the photographing areas of the image captured by photographing the petri dish from the upper side and the image captured by photographing the petri dish from the lower side coincide with each other. Further, from the transformation matrix, resolution (DPI) of the image, i.e., the number of pixels constituting the part length is also obtained. 
     § 4.2.4 Calibration of brightness and color The color reproducibility of the photographed image can be enhanced by this calibration. In the same manner as the case described above, the following (a) to (b) are repeatedly performed in a state that the calibration sheet  910  is placed on the placing portion. (a) Exposure adjustment: Photographing is performed by the first camera with a predetermined exposure time in a state that the first light source is turned on. Further, photographing is performed by the second camera with a predetermined exposure time in a state that the second light source is turned on. Then, the brightness of each predetermined point of the photographed image is calculated. If this brightness is higher than a target value, the exposure time of the camera is decreased. If this brightness is lower than the target value, the exposure time of the camera is increased. (b) Color (white balance) adjustment: the RGB value of each predetermined point of the photographed image is calculated. When B (blue) is larger than R (red), the gain for R is increased. When B is smaller than R, the gain for R is lowered. When B is larger than G (green), the gain for G is increased. When B is smaller than G, the gain of G is lowered. The above steps (a)-(b) are repeated until each value reaches the target value. With this operation, setting values for the camera at the time of photographing is obtained. The same operation is also performed with the third light source and the first camera and with the fourth light source and the second camera. 
     DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SINGS 
       100  . . . medicine dispensing device  110  . . . vial bottle feeding device  120  . . . label attachment device  130  . . . vial bottle carrying device  140  . . . discharge port  150  . . . cassette arranged portion  160  . . . touch panel display  170  . . . optical scanner  180  . . . medicine supplying part  181  . . . RF tag reading device  182  . . . unlocking device  190  . . . control part  200  . . . medicine dispensing cassette  210  . . . main body  211  . . . RF tag  212  . . . hole  213  . . . right side inner wall  220  . . . first rotating body  230  . . . cylindrical portion  300  . . . first sub-member  310  . . . lid  311  . . . hinge  320  . . . engaging portion  321  . . . protruding portion  322  . . . slit  323  . . . rib  400  . . . tray  410  . . . petri dish  411  . . . bottom portion  412  . . . side surface  413  . . . ring  414  . . . capsule placing member  415  . . . transparent portion  416  . . . concave portion  417  . . . concave portion  420  . . . main body  421  . . . hole  422  . . . cylinder  500  . . . main member  600  . . . third sub-member  710  . . . first camera  720  . . . second camera  730  . . . first light source  731  . . . first ring light  740  . . . second light source  741  . . . second ring light  742  . . . lower support plate  743  . . . upper light source  750  . . . third light source  751  . . . first bar light  760  . . . fourth light source  761  . . . third bar light  762  . . . fourth bar light  800  . . . locking mechanism  810  . . . inclined portion  820  . . . shaft  830  . . . biasing member  831  . . . base end portion  832  . . . curved portion  833  . . . tip end portion  840  . . . engaging member  900  . . . medicine photographing device  910  . . . case  911  . . . lower case  912  . . . cutout portion  913  . . . upper case  914  . . . cover  915  . . . inclined portion  916  . . . slope  917  . . . cutout space  920  . . . placing portion  921  . . . tray support member  922  . . . hole  923  . . . engaging portion  930  vguide member  931  . . . slope  940  . . . upper internal space  950  . . . frame