Source: http://www.google.ca/patents/US6471088
Timestamp: 2015-04-26 13:12:33
Document Index: 703701082

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 26', 'art 8', 'art 8', 'art 8', 'arts 33', 'arts 33', 'arts 33', 'art 8']

Patent US6471088 - Medicine supply apparatus - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsThere is disclosed a medicine supply apparatus which can easily and securely prevent a disadvantage that a medicine is wrongly supplied. The medicine supply apparatus comprises a plurality of tablet cases stored in a main body case storage part, each tablet case including a container for containing medicines,...http://www.google.ca/patents/US6471088?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6471088 - Medicine supply apparatusAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6471088 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/555,074PCT numberPCT/JP1999/005134Publication date29 Oct 2002Filing date21 Sep 1999Priority date29 Sep 1998Fee statusPaidAlso published asWO2000018645A1Publication number09555074, 555074, PCT/1999/5134, PCT/JP/1999/005134, PCT/JP/1999/05134, PCT/JP/99/005134, PCT/JP/99/05134, PCT/JP1999/005134, PCT/JP1999/05134, PCT/JP1999005134, PCT/JP199905134, PCT/JP99/005134, PCT/JP99/05134, PCT/JP99005134, PCT/JP9905134, US 6471088 B1, US 6471088B1, US-B1-6471088, US6471088 B1, US6471088B1InventorsShinya Uema, Hiroshi SeyaOriginal AssigneeSanyo Electric Co., Ltd.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (3), Referenced by (18), Classifications (19), Legal Events (7) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMedicine supply apparatus
US 6471088 B1Abstract
There is disclosed a medicine supply apparatus which can easily and securely prevent a disadvantage that a medicine is wrongly supplied. The medicine supply apparatus comprises a plurality of tablet cases stored in a main body case storage part, each tablet case including a container for containing medicines, and a discharge drum for discharging the medicines one by one from the container, each tablet case is provided with a memory in which identification data for identifying the tablet case is written, and a main body is provided with a controller for identifying the tablet case based on the identification data in the memory of each tablet case, and executing the drive control of the discharge drum of each tablet case.
What is claimed is: 1. A medicine supply apparatus comprising a plurality of tablet cases stored in a main body case storage part, each tablet case including a container for containing a medicine, and a discharge drum for discharging the medicine from the container,
each tablet case being provided with a memory in which identification data for identifying the tablet case is written, said apparatus further comprising a controller for identifying the tablet case based on the identification data in the memory of said each tablet case, and executing the drive control of the discharge drum of said each tablet case. 2. A medicine supply apparatus comprising a plurality of tablet cases stored in a main body case storage part, each tablet case including a container for containing a medicine, and a discharge drum for discharging the medicine from the container,
each tablet case being provided with a memory in which address data concerning the position to store the tablet case in said case storage part is written, said apparatus comprising a controller for judging based on the address data in the memory of said each tablet case whether the tablet case is stored in a wrong position or not, and executing a predetermined alarm operation when the tablet case is inserted into the wrong position.
The present invention relates to a medicine supply apparatus which supplies medicine contained in a tablet case to a container (phial or bag), and the like by the quantity designated by a prescription in a hospital, and the like.
In hospitals or pharmacies, for example, as described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5282/1982 (B65B1/30), a medicine supply apparatus (referred to as a tablet packing machine in the publication) has been heretofore used to dispense the medicine prescribed by a doctor to a patient. In such system the quantity described in the prescription of the medicines (tablets, capsules, and the like) is discharged from a discharge drum (referred to as an alignment board in the above-described publication) in the tablet case one by one, subsequently collected by a hopper and packed.
Additionally, the storage position of the tablet case is predetermined in accordance with the contained medicine, and the dispensing operation has been performed by distinguishing by the position the tablet case in which the medicine designated by the prescription is contained. Therefore, when the tablet case is stored in a wrong position, the medicine different from that of the prescription is accidentally discharged.
To solve the problem, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 49044/1992, a detachable pin is attached to the tablet case, and the tablet case is prevented from being stored in a position other than the position predetermined by the pin attaching position.
However, in such structure the tablet case position is set by extracting/inserting the pin, and the operation is therefore intricate, and further when the pin breaks or drops during the attaching/detaching operation, there is a problem that the case is stored in the wrong position and the wrong medicine is supplied.
The present invention has been developed to solve such conventional technical problem, and provides a medicine supply apparatus which can easily and securely prevent a disadvantage that the medicine is wrongly supplied.
According to the present invention, there is provided a medicine supply apparatus comprising: a plurality of tablet cases stored in a main body case storage part, each tablet case including a container for containing a medicine, and a discharge drum for discharging the medicine from the container, each tablet case being provided with a memory in which identification data for identifying the tablet case is written; and a controller for identifying the tablet case based on the identification data in the memory of each tablet case, and executing the drive control of the discharge drum of each tablet case.
Moreover, according to the present invention, there is provided a medicine supply apparatus comprising: a plurality of tablet cases stored in a main body case storage part, each tablet case including a container for containing a medicine, and a discharge drum for discharging the medicine from the container, each tablet case being provided with a memory in which address data concerning the position to store the tablet case in the case storage part is written; and a controller for judging based on the address data in the memory of each tablet case whether the tablet case is stored in a wrong position or not, and executing a predetermined alarm operation when the tablet case is inserted into the wrong position.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the medicine supply apparatus of the present invention when one door unit is open,
FIG. 2 is a partially perspective side view of the medicine supply apparatus when the other door unit is open,
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the medicine supply apparatus of the present invention,
FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal side view of the medicine supply apparatus showing a shelf part,
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a tablet case,
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the tablet case,
FIG. 7 is a front view of a door-side case storage part which stores only a large-capacity tablet case,
FIG. 8 is a front view of a main body side case storage part which stores only a small-capacity tablet case,
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the storage modes of the large-capacity tablet case and small-capacity tablet case to the respective case storage parts of the medicine supply apparatus of the present invention,
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the number and size proportion of the tablet cases in the respective storage modes of FIG. 9,
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the relation between the number of medicine types and the ratio with which the actual operation can be covered,
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the realation between the number of medicine types and the capacity of a tablet case,
FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the electric circuit of the medicine supply apparatus of the present invention,
FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing another tablet case recognizing operation of a controller,
FIG. 15 is a timing chart showing the backward/forward rotating operation of a motor by a controller during medicine sticking, and
FIG. 16 is a timing chart showing a conventional control operation during the medicine sticking.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a medicine supply apparatus 1 of the present invention when one door unit 2 is open, FIG. 2 is a partially perspective side view of the medicine supply apparatus 1 when the other door unit 2 is open, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the medicine supply apparatus 1 of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal side view of the medicine supply apparatus 1 showing a shelf part 26, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a tablet case 3, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the tablet case 3 with a large capacity (L).
The medicine supply apparatus 1 of the present invention is installed in a hospital, a pharmacy, and the like, and is constituted of: a main body 7 having a laterally long rectangular shape; a main body side case storage part 8 vertically mounted on the back part of a top surface 7A of the main body 7; door units 2, 2 which openably close the front face opening of the main body side case storage part 8 and are movable in a double swinging system; an extension unit 9 attachable/detachable to the back face of the main body 7 and optionally attached as occasion demands; and the like.
A hopper 11 extended/opened upward is disposed in the upper part of the main body 7, and a shutter 12 is attached to the lower end of the hopper 11. Moreover, a packing machine 13 is disposed below the hopper 11 in the main body 7, and the medicine discharged from the hopper 11 is packed in obliquely disposed rolled packing paper (not shown) and discharged from a taking port 14.
Moreover, by disposing the motor 61, and the like on the side of the tablet case 3, the shelf 26 of the main body side case storage part 8 can be thinned, so that the simplification of the structure on the case storage part side and the increase of the number of the tablet cases 3 (or 4) to be stored are realized. Furthermore, since the container 51 and drive table 52 are constituted as separate bodies, and attachable/detachable to each other, in case of the failure of the drive table 52, the table can be repaired in a detached state from the container 51. Moreover, when exchange is necessary, the drive table 52 and container 51 can separately be exchanged, so that the maintenance property is improved, and the cost during the exchange can be reduced.
On the other hand, door side case storage parts 33 are formed in the door units 2, 2, respectively. The respective door side case storage parts 33, 33 have openings in front faces, and the front face openings are openably closed by transparent doors 34. Moreover, the left/right side face is covered with a steel plate, and the like. On the left/right side face a plurality of shelves 26 structured similarly as described above are vertically extended at predetermined intervals.
Moreover, door side chutes 37 are vertically defined over the entire width of the respective door units 2, 2 between a front side partition plate 36 and a back plate 35 at the back of the door side case storage parts 33, 33. Bottom faces 38, 38 are formed on the lower parts of the respective door side chutes 37, 37 so that the faces are narrowed and inclined toward both sides of the upper edge of the hopper 11. Furthermore, while the respective door units 2, 2 close the front face openings of the main body side case storage part 8, an opening is disposed above the hopper 11 via the through hole of the top surface 7A between both bottom faces 38, 38, and a shutter 39 is attached to the top surface 7A in a position opposite to the opening.
Furthermore, the memory 68 of the tablet cases 3, 4 which is constituted of a nonvolatile ROM is also connected to the controller 76. In this memory 68 the identification data of the tablet cases 3, 4, medicine code concerning the medicine types contained in the container 51, handled medicine numbers, and other ID information are written beforehand. Moreover, the controller 76 is connected to an external personal computer 84 via an RS-232C cable, and the like to perform the transmission/reception of data with this personal computer 84.
Additionally, instead of the above-described constitution, as shown in FIG. 14, the positions (shown by #1 to #8 . . . in FIG. 14) in the case storage part for storing the tablet cases 3, 4 are predetermined, the address data concerning the positions (shown by #1 to #8 in FIG. 14) in the case storage part to store the tablet cases 3, 4,is written to the memory 68, and the data for identifying the respective positions #1 to #8 . . . may be set on the controller 76.
By repeating the backward/forward rotating operation several times, the stuck medicines drop (lock cancellation), the medicine detection sensor 66 generates (on) the medicine detection signal, and the controller 76 then returns the motor 61 to normal control (forward rotation) again. Additionally, for example, as shown in FIG. 16, only when the dispensing operation is stopped five seconds after the occurrence of the lock state to generate the alarm, the dispensing operation stops, but in the present invention by performing the short backward/forward rotation as described above, the sticking of the medicines can automatically be canceled to successively continue (on) the dispensing operation.
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, in the medicine supply apparatus comprising: a plurality of tablet cases stored in a main body case storage part, each tablet case including a container for containing a medicine, and a discharge drum for discharging the medicine from the container, each tablet case being provided with a memory in which identification data for identifying the tablet case is written; and a controller for identifying the tablet case based on the identification data in the memory of each tablet case, and executing the drive control of the discharge drum of each tablet case. Therefore, only by attaching the tablet case to the main body case storage part, the controller can identify the tablet case by the identification data written in the memory of the tablet case.
Specifically, even when the tablet case is stored in any position of the case storage part, the controller automatically identifies each tablet case and executes the drive control of the discharge drum of each tablet case, so that the wrong medicine supply can securely be prevented, a so-called plug-in can be attained, and operability is remarkably enhanced.
Moreover, according to the present invention, there is provided a medicine supply apparatus comprising: a plurality of tablet cases stored in a main body case storage part, each tablet case including a container for containing a medicine, and a discharge drum for discharging the medicine from the container, each tablet case being provided with a memory in which address data concerning the position to store the tablet case in the case storage part is written; and a controller for judging based on the address data in the memory of each tablet case whether the tablet case is stored in a wrong position or not, and executing a predetermined alarm operation when the tablet case is inserted into the wrong position. Therefore, when the tablet case is stored in the wrong position, the controller automatically judges that to issue an alarm, the wrong medicine supply can securely be prevented, and the operability can remarkably be enhanced.
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