JP7550348B2 - Drug sorting device and drug sorting method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a medicine sorting device that sorts medicines so that users do not take the wrong medicines. The present invention also relates to a medicine sorting system that packages medicines in single doses and sorts them.

Elderly patients (those taking the drug) and those whose symptoms have passed the acute phase often receive treatment at home. Patients who do not require emergency treatment, such as those with hypertension or hyperlipidemia, also often receive treatment at home. Patients who receive treatment at home must take their medication based on self-management.
For example, if a doctor's prescription calls for taking medication A and B in the morning, medication B at noon, and twice the amount of medication A and C after dinner, the patient needs to take the designated type and amount of medication from a medicine box or similar at the designated time and take them themselves.
However, in reality, people sometimes take the wrong type or amount of medicine, forget to take it, or end up taking the wrong medicine twice.
In particular, for elderly or weak patients, it is difficult to take out the prescribed amount of a prescribed type of medicine from a medicine box, etc., and they may not take the medicine correctly.

As a means for solving this problem, a device called a medication calendar or a medicine calendar has been proposed in Patent Documents 1 and 2.
The invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 provides a medicine containing section for containing medicine in a calendar.
In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, four medicine containers are arranged below the date. Each of the four medicine containers corresponds to a timing (method of administration) of administration, and according to the description in Patent Document 1, they are labeled "morning,""afternoon,""evening," and "before the shower."
The medicine that corresponds to the timing of taking the medicine is stored in the medicine storage section of the medication calendar. When the time to take the medicine arrives, the medicine is taken out of the corresponding medicine storage section and taken.

The above-mentioned medication calendars tend to be used not only in private homes, but also in nursing homes for the elderly and hospitals with inpatient facilities.

JP 2001-258999 A JP 2013-248873 A

The medication calendar disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a medication setting device for setting medications, and is installed in the patient's home, a care facility, or the like.
A pharmacist from a visiting pharmacy may visit a patient's home or a nursing facility to replenish medications in the medication storage section of the medication calendar.
There are also cases where a pharmacist places medication in the medication placement section of a medication calendar at their own pharmacy (dispensing room) and then takes the medication calendar with the medication still placed in it to the patient's home or care facility.
As for the format of medication calendars, there are no specific legal requirements, and each facility uses a variety of calendars.
Representative formats of medication calendars are of three types shown in FIGS.

The first type is a personal medication calendar 100 as shown in FIG. 11, which has a matrix shape composed of an axis of days of the week and an axis of timing of medication.
Specifically, the vertical axis represents the seven days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) and the horizontal axis represents "morning,""afternoon,""evening," and "before bed," creating a matrix shape.
The personal medication calendar 100 is for exclusive use by one user, and contains, for example, the medications that user Muramatsu takes in a week, sorted by day of the week and the timing of taking the medication.
For example, after lunch on Wednesday, the recipient, Muramatsu, takes the medicine stored in the lunch position in the Wednesday row.
Many personal medication calendars 100 use one week as a unit, but the number of days that constitute one unit is arbitrary, and may be in units of 10 days, two weeks, 28 days, or the like.

The second type is a daily medication calendar 101 for multiple recipients as shown in Figure 12. The daily medication calendar 101 has the days of the week when medication should be taken written in large letters, like a daily calendar. The daily medication calendar 101 also has the medicine containers arranged in a matrix shape consisting of recipient names and dosing timing axes.
Specifically, the seven names - Muramatsu, Hayata, Arashi, Fuji, Ide, Kirishima, and Morohoshi - are on the vertical axis, and "morning use,""afternoonuse,""eveninguse," and "before bed" are on the horizontal axis in the form of a matrix.
The daily medication calendar 101 is for joint use by a number of users, and contains, for example, the medications to be taken by seven users in a day, sorted by the names of the users and the timing of taking the medication.
For example, on the morning of the day, seven people, Muramatsu, Hayata, Arashi, Fuji, Ide, Kirishima, and Morohoshi, will take the medicine stored in their "morning" medicine containers. After lunch, the seven people will take the medicine stored in their "afternoon" medicine containers.
The daily medication calendar 101 for multiple recipients is used in nursing homes and hospitals. In the daily medication calendar 101, the number of recipients per unit is arbitrary, and may be 5 or 10.

The third type is a medication calendar 102 by medication time point for multiple recipients as shown in FIG.
Specifically, the timing of taking the medicine is written in large letters at the top, such as "Morning Use," and 28 names are listed, including Hongo, Ichimonji, ... Tojo, and Sano.
The medication calendar 102 is used by multiple users in nursing homes, hospitals, etc. For example, the medications to be taken by 28 users at specific times each day are stored by user name.
For example, on the morning of that day, 28 people whose names appear on the calendar will take the medicine contained in the medicine container labeled with their name.
When all the patients have taken their medication, the medication calendar 102 by medication time point is removed, and a new medication calendar 102 by medication time point for the day is prepared.
In the medication calendar by time point 102, the number of recipients that is counted as one unit is arbitrary, and may be 10 or 30.

As mentioned above, medication calendars 100, 101, 102 come in several formats.
For example, the medication calendar disclosed in Patent Document 1 is installed in the patient's home or a care facility, and a pharmacist from a visiting pharmacy makes regular visits to the patient's home or care facility to replenish medication in the medication storage section.
In addition, if a pharmacist places medications in the medication placement sections of medication calendars 100, 101, and 102 at his or her own pharmacy (dispensing room) and then takes medication calendars 100, 101, and 102 with the medications placed therein to the patient's home or nursing facility, the pharmacist will place the specified medication in each medication placement section in accordance with the format of medication calendars 100, 101, and 102.
However, as described above, since there are a plurality of types of medication calendars 100, 101, 102, it can be confusing and requires careful operation.
Therefore, in pharmacies, the task of placing the desired medicines in each medicine placement section of the medication calendars 100, 101, and 102 is a heavy burden.

The same applies when a pharmacist from a visiting pharmacy makes rounds to patients' homes or nursing facilities to replenish medications in the medication containers at the patients' homes. In this case, the medications are sorted in advance at the pharmacy and brought to the patients' homes in that state, but sorting medications is a tedious task and prone to mistakes.

Therefore, the present invention focuses on the above-mentioned problems of the conventional technology and aims to develop a device that reduces the burden of sorting work on pharmacists.

An embodiment for solving the above-mentioned problems is a drug sorting device that is introduced to a drug packaging band in which multiple drug packages, each of which is created based on prescription information and contains one dose of drug for one patient, are connected in a band-like shape, and the drug packages are individually separated from the drug packaging band and sorted based on specific conditions.The drug sorting device has a packaging band attachment section for attaching the rolled drug packaging band, a retracting means for retracting the drug packaging band attached to the packaging band attachment section, a separating means for cutting the drug packages from the drug packaging band, and a transporting means for transporting the drug packages cut by the separating means.
A preferred embodiment is a drug sorting device that is capable of creating a daily drug set in which drug packaging of drugs to be taken by a specific user in one day is arranged according to the timing of taking the drugs, that is capable of creating an individual multiple-day drug set by collecting and bundling multiple daily drug sets for a specific user, that is capable of creating a multi-person daily drug set by collecting and bundling daily drug sets for multiple users, that is capable of creating a multi-person set by taking drugs at a specific time in which drug packaging of drugs to be taken by multiple users is grouped in a predetermined order according to the timing of taking the drugs, and that is capable of sorting the introduced drug packaging bands and discharging them in any of the following forms: an individual multiple-day drug set, a multi-person daily drug set, or a multi-person set by taking time.
A further preferred embodiment is a drug sorting device which is capable of creating a daily dosage array in a separately prepared drug setting device in which drug packages to be taken by a specific user on a day are arranged in order of the timing of taking the drug, and which is capable of creating an individual multiple-day dosage array in a separately prepared drug setting device by collecting and bundling multiple daily dosage arrays corresponding to multiple days of a specific user, and which is also capable of creating a daily dosage array for multiple users in a separately prepared drug setting device by collecting and bundling the daily dosage arrays for multiple users for each day, and which is also capable of creating a multiple-person dosage time-based array in a separately prepared drug setting device by bundling drug packages to be taken by multiple users at a specific timing in a predetermined order.
An even more preferred embodiment is a drug sorting method comprising the steps of: discharging a repeatable drug packaging strip in which one patient's daily doses are arranged and connected in order of taking the drug, or a continuous drug packaging strip in which the drug packages are grouped together and connected according to taking the drug, from a drug packaging device that packages one dose of drug for one patient based on prescription information; having a pharmacist check the multiple connected strips of drug packages; rolling up the checked drug packaging strip into a roll; and cutting the rolled up drug packaging strip into individual drug packages using the drug sorting device described above.
Another aspect for solving the above-mentioned problems is a drug sorting device that is characterized by introducing a drug packaging band in which multiple drug packages, each containing a single dose of drug, are connected in a band-like shape, and the drug packages are individually separated from the drug packaging band and sorted based on specific conditions.

The drug packaging strip is prepared based on prescription information, for example, using a drug packaging device. It is desirable that the drug packaging strip be inspected by a pharmacist before being introduced into the drug sorting device, and then introduced into the drug sorting device after the inspection.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, it is desirable to be able to create a set of daily medications in which the medication packages of the medications that a specific recipient should take each day are arranged according to the timing of taking the medication, with the specific conditions being that the medication is to be taken each day by a specific recipient.

In the above-mentioned aspect, it is possible, and preferably, possible to create an individualized multi-day medication set by setting the specific condition as the person who takes the drug and collecting multiple sets of daily medications for each specific person.

In each of the above-mentioned aspects, it is desirable to set the person taking the drug as the specific condition, and to create a set of daily medications taken by multiple users by collecting the daily doses of the multiple users into one set.

In each of the above-mentioned aspects, it is desirable to set the timing of administration as the specific condition, and to create a set of drug packages for multiple users according to the timing of administration, in a predetermined order, for multiple users.

Another aspect for solving the above problem is a drug sorting device that introduces a drug packaging band in which multiple drug packages, each containing a single dose of drug, are connected in a band, and the drug packages are individually separated from the drug packaging band and sorted. The drug sorting device is capable of creating a daily drug set in which drug packages of drugs to be taken by a specific user are arranged according to the conditions of the timing of taking the drug, of creating an individual multiple-day drug set by collecting multiple daily drug sets for a specific user, of creating a multi-person daily drug set by collecting multiple users' daily drug sets for each day, of creating a multi-person drug set by collecting multiple users' daily drug sets for each day, of creating a multi-person drug set by collecting multiple users' drug packages by the timing of taking the drug, of creating a multi-person drug set by collecting multiple users' drug packages by a specific order, and of sorting the introduced drug packaging band and discharging it in any of the following forms: an individual multiple-day drug set, a multi-person drug set for each day, or a multi-person drug set by the time of taking the drug.

In each of the above-mentioned aspects, it is desirable to have a packaging band attachment section for attaching a rolled pharmaceutical packaging band, a retracting means for retracting the pharmaceutical packaging band attached to the packaging band attachment section, a separating means for cutting the pharmaceutical packaging from the pharmaceutical packaging band, a temporary storage section for temporarily storing the cut-off pharmaceutical packaging, and a transporting means for removing the pharmaceutical packaging from the pharmaceutical packaging temporarily stored in the temporary storage section and transporting it to an individual container.

In the above embodiment, it is desirable that a separate drug setting device is provided and that the individual containers can be attached to the drug setting device.

Another aspect for solving the above problem is a drug sorting device that introduces a drug packaging band in which multiple drug packages, each containing a single dose of drug, are connected in a band-like shape, and the drug packages are individually separated from the drug packaging band and sorted, and is characterized in that it is possible to create a daily dosage sequence in a separately prepared drug setting device in which drug packages to be taken by a specific user on a day are arranged in order of the timing of taking the drug, and it is also possible to create an individual multiple-day dosage sequence in which multiple daily dosage sequences corresponding to multiple days of a specific user are collected and grouped together in a separately prepared drug setting device, and it is also possible to create a multiple-person daily dosage sequence in which multiple users' daily dosage sequences are collected and grouped together in a separately prepared drug setting device, and it is also possible to create a multiple-person dosage sequence in which multiple users' daily dosage sequences are collected and grouped together in a separately prepared drug setting device, and it is also possible to create a multiple-person dosage sequence in which multiple users' drug packages to be taken at a specific timing are grouped together in a predetermined order in a separately prepared drug setting device.

In each of the above-mentioned aspects, it is desirable to have a separately prepared drug setting device, the drug setting device having multiple drug placement sections, and a package placement means for transporting drug packages and placing the drug packages in each drug placement section.

The medicine sorting system is characterized by having a medicine packaging device that discharges a medicine packaging band consisting of multiple connected bands of medicine packages each containing a single dose of medicine, and any of the medicine sorting devices described above.

The medicine sorting device of the present invention can reduce the burden on pharmacists and dispensing assistants in the task of sorting medicines.

1 is a perspective view of a medicine sorting system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a medicine packaging device used in the medicine sorting system of FIG. 1. 1A is a front view of a drug packaging strip dispensed from a drug packaging device, in which (a) shows an example in which a day's dose has been collected and arranged in order of when to take the drugs, and (b) shows an example in which the drugs have been collected and arranged in order of when to take the drugs, 1 is a perspective view of a medicine packaging strip dispensed from a medicine packaging device. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a packaging band attachment unit, a retraction means, and a separation means of the medicine sorting device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a temporary storage box storage area of a medicine sorting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A, 1B, and 1C are explanatory diagrams illustrating the process of completing a personal medication calendar using the medicine sorting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1A, 1B, and 1C are explanatory diagrams illustrating the process of completing a daily medication calendar using a medicine sorting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1A, 1B, and 1C are explanatory diagrams illustrating the process of completing a medication calendar by time of administration using a medicine sorting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 11 is a perspective view showing another example of the temporary storage box storage area of the medicine sorting device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of a personal medication calendar. FIG. 2 is a front view of a daily medication calendar. This is a front view of a medication calendar by time of administration.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described further below.
The medicine sorting system 1 of this embodiment is composed of a medicine packaging device 110 and a medicine sorting device 2 as shown in FIG.
The medicine packaging device 110 discharges a medicine packaging band consisting of multiple medicine packages each containing a single dose of medicine, which are connected in a band shape.
The medicine packaging device 110 employed in this embodiment can accommodate solid medicines such as tablets and capsules, and powdered medicine in a single package.

As shown in FIG. 2, the drug packaging device 110 has a drug supply means 112 and a packaging means 113. The drug supply means 112 has a powdered drug supply section 116 and a solid drug supply section 115. The powdered drug supply section 116 opens the bottom of the measuring member 120 to divide and store the powdered drug contained in the measuring member 120 into divided containers 121, and can supply the powdered drug to the packaging means 113 in predetermined amounts.

2, the solid medicine supply unit 115 has a cassette type medicine supply unit 122 and a manual medicine supply unit 123. The cassette type medicine supply unit 122 has a number of medicine cassettes 126 attached to a medicine feeder (not shown) built into a medicine shelf unit 125.
The drug cassette 126 stores solid drugs and dispenses a required amount of the solid drugs as needed.

The packaging means 113 has a sheet feed mechanism 127 and a bag forming mechanism 128. The packaging means 113 folds the medicine packaging paper 130 fed from the sheet feed mechanism 127 in two approximately at the center in the short side direction (width direction) and presses the folded medicine packaging paper 130 to form a bag.

In the drug packaging device 110, powdered medicine or solid medicine can be dispensed from a powdered medicine supply unit 116 or a solid medicine supply unit 115 to a packaging means 113 and packaged based on prescription data inputted into an operation terminal (not shown).
Furthermore, desired printing is performed on the medicine packaging 7 by a printing means (not shown).

FIG. 3 shows the shape of the medicine package 7 discharged from the medicine packaging device 110.
The medicine packages 7 are discharged as a long, continuous band of medicine package strips 5.
The drug packaging strip 5 has at its front an information printing section 6 on which prescription information is printed, followed by a number of drug packages 7 connected together.
The name of the recipient, the name of the prescribed drug, the prescribed amount, etc. are printed on the information printing section 6. Also, the format of the drug packaging strip 5 described below is written on the information printing section 6. Furthermore, a recording means such as a two-dimensional barcode is printed on the information printing section 6, and this information is written into the two-dimensional barcode.

The drug packaging device 110 of this embodiment can discharge drug packages 7 in a repeating format, in which the daily doses are grouped together and connected in order of the timing of taking the drugs, as shown in FIG. 3(a), or in a continuous format, in which the doses are grouped together and connected according to the timing of taking the drugs, as shown in FIG. 3(b).

In a repeatable drug packaging strip 5a in which daily doses are grouped together and arranged in order of when to take them, as shown in Figure 3(a), there is an information printing section 6 at the beginning on which prescription information is printed, followed by drug packages 7 arranged in order of when to take them.
In the example shown in Figure 3(a), the medicines to be taken by the patient "Muramatsu" are lined up in series in the order of "morning use", "afternoon use", "night use", and "before bed", followed by the medicine packages 7 for the next day's "morning use", "afternoon use", "night use", and "before bed", in that order. After that, the medicine packages 7 for "morning use", "afternoon use", "night use", and "before bed" are lined up in series in the order of "morning use", "afternoon use", "night use", and "before bed".
If the doctor's prescription is for, for example, a 21-day supply, then 21 sets of "morning use,""afternoonuse,""eveninguse," and "before bedtime" will be discharged in a connected band.

In contrast, in a continuous drug packaging strip 5b, as shown in Figure 3 (b), which is grouped and connected according to the timing of administration, there is an information printing section 6 at the beginning where prescription information is printed, followed by drug packages 7 arranged in order of the timing of administration.
In the example shown in Figure 3(b), the medicines that the patient "Muramatsu" takes in the morning are connected in series, followed by the medicines that the patient "Muramatsu" takes in the afternoon. After that, the medicine packages for the night and before bed are connected.
If the doctor's prescription is for, for example, a 21-day supply, 21 packets of drug packages 7 containing "morning use" drugs are discharged in succession, followed by 21 packets of drug packages 7 containing "afternoon use" drugs.

As shown in Figure 4, each drug package 7 contains all the drugs that the patient will take at one time. The drugs enclosed in one drug package 7 may be one type of solid drug, or multiple types of solid drugs. In addition, solid drugs and powdered drugs may be contained in the same package.

Next, the medicine sorting device 2 will be described.
The medicine sorting device 2 has a housing 3 that forms an outer shell, and a packaging band attachment section 15 is provided on the top surface thereof.
The inside of the housing 3 of the medicine sorting device 2 is divided into four areas.
That is, inside the medicine sorting device 2, on the front side, there are a cutting process area 10 where the medicine packaging strips 5 are cut and inserted into temporary storage boxes (temporary storage section) 8, and a temporary storage box storage area 11 where the temporary storage boxes 8 are stored. Also, inside the medicine sorting device 2, on the back side, there are a medicine packaging pickup area 12 and a calendar storage area 13.

A number of wrapping band holders 16 are arranged in the wrapping band attachment section 15. The wrapping band holders 16 are composed of a support post 18 held in a vertical position and an insertion core member 20 that extends horizontally in a cantilever shape from the tip of the support post 18.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cutting process area 10 has a pull-in roll 21 and a cutter 22 built in.
Also, an inching table 23 is provided for inching the temporary storage box 8 by a fixed distance.

The temporary storage box storage area 11 is a shelf that houses a large number of temporary storage boxes (temporary storage sections) 8, and any temporary storage box 8 can be removed by a moving device (not shown). In addition, a removed temporary storage box 8 can be returned to a designated position.

The drug packaging pickup area 12 includes a pickup device (transport means) 25. The pickup device 25 is composed of a packaging holder 26, such as a mechanical gripper or a vacuum pad, and a moving device 27 that moves the packaging holder 26 itself. The pickup device 25 is a transport means that removes the drug packaging 7 from the temporary storage box (temporary storage section) 8 and transports it to the pocket member (individual container) 36.

The calendar storage area 13 is an area for storing the mount that is the base material for the medication calendars, and the completed medication calendars 30, 31, and 32 with the drug packaging held in a designated position on the mount. Note that medication calendars are often referred to as "medication calendars" by general users, so in Figures 7, 8, and 9, medication calendars 30, 31, and 32 are displayed as "medication calendars."

Next, the function of the medicine sorting device 2 will be described.
The drug sorting device 2 of this embodiment is introduced to a drug packaging band 5 which is made up of multiple drug packages 7 connected in a strip, each package containing a single dose of drug, and has the function of individually separating the drug packages 7 from the drug packaging band 5.
In addition, the medicine sorting device 2 of this embodiment can sort the medicine packages 7 based on the person who will take the medicine, whether the medicine is to be taken on a daily basis, and the timing of taking the medicine, and can further arrange them on a backing sheet 35.

In the medicine sorting device 2 of this embodiment, the medicine packaging band 5 discharged from the medicine packaging device 110 is attached to the packaging band attachment section 15 on the top surface.
Prior to mounting the medicine packaging strip 5 on the medicine packing device 110, it is desirable to inspect each medicine package 7 of the medicine packaging strip 5 to ensure that the medicines are properly contained in accordance with the prescription.
This pre-audit is carried out by a pharmacist.

For example, if the medicine packaging strip 5 is a repeating type medicine packaging strip 5a as shown in Figure 3 (a) in which the daily doses are arranged in order of the timing of taking the medicines, the medicines contained in each medicine package 7 are arranged in a repeating manner, such as morning, midday, evening, before bed, morning, midday, evening, etc., making it easy to check them.
Also, if the medicine packaging strip 5 is a continuous medicine packaging strip 5b in which medicines are grouped together according to the timing of taking them, as in Fig. 3(b), the medicines contained in each medicine package 7 will be the same, such as morning, morning, morning, ... afternoon, afternoon, afternoon, afternoon, .... Therefore, if different medicines or numbers are contained, it is easy to find a mistake.

In this embodiment, a repeatable drug packaging strip 5a in which a day's dose is grouped together and arranged in order of the timing of taking the drugs, as shown in FIG. 3(a), will be used.
5, the medicine packaging strip 5a is wound into a roll and attached to the insertion core member 20 of the packaging strip holder 16. One end of the medicine packaging strip 5a is then sandwiched between the pull-in roll 21. For example, one end of the medicine packaging strip 5a for the patient "Muramatsu" is sandwiched between the pull-in roll 21.

Then, by operating a predetermined start switch, the drug packaging strip 5a for the patient "Muramatsu" is pulled into the pull-in roll 21 and enters the housing 3. When the barcode printed on the drug packaging strip 5a is read by a barcode reader (not shown), the patient's name, packaging order (3a, 3b), and other prescription information are read into the drug sorting device 2.
Here, prescription information and the like may be read into the medicine sorting device 2 directly from a barcode or the like, or may be read indirectly by connecting to another storage device.
For example, the prescription ID or prescription information may be read out using a barcode or the like, and this information may be automatically input into another server or computer, and the information may be searched for based on the prescription ID and read into the medicine sorting device 2.

The drug packaging strip 5a introduced into the housing 3 is cut into individual drug packages 7 by a cutter 22 in the cutting process area 10 of FIG.
Here, prior to cutting up the medicine packaging strip 5a, the temporary storage box 8 is removed from the temporary storage box storage area 11 and placed on the inching table 23.
Therefore, there is a temporary storage box 8 at the position where the medicine packages 7 will fall, and the separated medicine packages 7 go into the temporary storage box 8 one by one.
Then, the inching table 23 gradually moves the temporary storage box 8, and the drug packages 7 are arranged in the temporary storage box 8 in the order in which they were connected by the drug packaging band 5a.
According to this embodiment, the medicine packages 7 are arranged in the temporary storage box 8 in the order in which they were connected by the medicine package strip 5a.
Specifically, the drug packages 7 to be taken in a day are arranged in a temporary storage box 8 in a repeating manner, such as morning, midday, night, before bed, morning, midday, night, . . .

Once the drug packaging strip 5a for the patient "Muramatsu" has been cut and all of the drug packages 7 connected to one drug packaging strip 5a have been placed into the temporary box 8, the temporary box 8 is moved to the temporary box storage area 11 and stored in a designated position.
The control device (not shown) stores therein that the temporary box 8 moved to the temporary box storage area 11 is for the recipient "Muramatsu."
Furthermore, a new temporary storage box 8 is taken out from the temporary storage box storage area 11 and placed on the inching table 23 .

Subsequently, the medicine packaging strips 5a for other recipients are cut in the same process, and when all the medicine packages 7 connected to one medicine packaging strip 5a are placed in the temporary storage box 8, the temporary storage box 8 is moved to the temporary storage box storage area 11 and stored in a predetermined position. The temporary storage box 8 moved to the temporary storage box storage area 11 this time is stored as being for the recipient "Hayada", for example.
Furthermore, a new temporary storage box 8 is taken out from the temporary storage box storage area 11 and placed on the inching table 23.

By repeating this process, temporary storage boxes 8 containing drug packages 7 for multiple recipients are lined up in the temporary storage box storage area 11 as shown in Fig. 6. The control device also distinguishes which recipient each temporary storage box 8 is for.
In principle, all the medicines to be taken at one time are contained in one medicine package 7, but there are exceptional cases where they cannot be contained in the same medicine package 7.
For example, when a Chinese herbal medicine is prescribed, it may be packaged separately from other medicines. In such a case, the Chinese herbal medicine is stored in a temporary storage box 8 separate from the temporary storage box 8 that stores the medicine package 7, as in the case of the patient "Fuji" in FIG. 6.

The medicine sorting device 2 of this embodiment further has a function of storing the medicine packages 7 in medication calendars (medicine calendars in the drawings) 30, 31, and 32 which are medicine set devices.
In this embodiment, the medication calendars 30, 31, and 32 each have a base material, 35a, 35b, and 35c, on which necessary information is printed.
The mount 35 also has adhesive portions 37 arranged in a matrix of 7 rows and 4 rows.

In this embodiment, the medicine package 7 is automatically accommodated in a predetermined position corresponding to the format of the mount 35 .
The following is an explanation.
In the medicine sorting device 2 of this embodiment, a pocket member storage section (not shown) is provided, and the pocket member storage section stores a large number of pocket members 36. The pocket members 36 are then transported to the medicine packaging pickup area 12 by a transport mechanism (not shown).
Further, the temporary storage box 8 of a patient who uses the medication calendar 30 is transported to the medication packaging pickup area 12 .
Then, the drug packages 7 are extracted from the temporary storage box 8 in a predetermined order by the package holder 26 and placed into the pocket member 36.

7, if the medication calendar 30 (medication calendar in the drawing) is a personal medication calendar 30a, a temporary storage box 8 for one person (for example, for Muramatsu) indicated on a mount 35a is transported to the medicine packaging pickup area 12. Also, 28 pocket members 36 are transported from the pocket member storage section, corresponding to the number of glued portions 37 of the mount 35a.
Then, the drug packages 7 in the temporary storage box 8 are taken out from the front in order by the package holder 26 and placed into the pocket member 36 one by one.

The drug packages 7 to be taken each day are arranged in a repeating pattern in the temporary storage box 8, such as morning, afternoon, evening, before bed, morning, afternoon, evening, etc., so the drug packages 7 in the temporary storage box 8 are removed from the front in order by the package holder 26 and placed one by one in individual pocket members 36, so that the drug packages 7 are placed in the pocket members 36 in the order of when they will be taken.

Then, the pocket members 36 are held one by one by a packaging arrangement means (not shown), and the pocket members 36 are moved and pressed against the adhesive portion 37 of the backing paper 35 a , so that the pocket members 36 are adhered to the adhesive portion 37 .
By continuing this process, the personalized medication calendar 30 is completed.
The completed personal medication calendar 30 has the medicine packages that a specific user should take each day lined up horizontally according to the timing of taking the medicine, forming a daily medication set. The horizontal rows of the personal medication calendar 30 also have the medicine packages that a specific user (Muramatsu) should take each day lined up in order of the timing of taking the medicine, forming a daily dose arrangement.
The completed personal medication calendar 30 constitutes an individual multiple-day medication set, which is a collection of multiple daily medication sets for a specific user (Muramatsu).
Furthermore, the vertical and horizontal matrices of the personal medication calendar 30 form an individual multiple-day dosage array that is a collection of multiple daily dosage arrays corresponding to multiple days (7 days) of a specific user (Muramatsu).

Although the above has been described with respect to the case where the personal medication calendar 30 is created, the medicine sorting device 2 of this embodiment can also create other types of medication calendars 31, 32.
For example, when making a daily medication calendar 31 for multiple users, temporary storage boxes 8 for multiple users corresponding to the users written on the mount 35b are transported to the medicine packaging pick-up area 12, as shown in Figure 8. For example, temporary storage boxes 8 for seven users are transported to the medicine packaging pick-up area 12.
Further, 28 pocket members 36 are conveyed from the pocket member storage section.
Then, the drug packages 7 in each temporary storage box 8 are placed one by one in the pocket member 36 from the front. Here, four drug packages 7 are taken out one by one from each temporary storage box 8 in order and placed one by one in the pocket member 36. When the four packages have been taken out, the worker moves on to the task of taking out the drug packages 7 from the temporary storage box 8 of another person.

Then, the pocket members 36 are held one by one by a packaging arrangement means (not shown) and pressed against the adhesive portion 37 of the backing paper 35 b in order, so that the pocket members 36 are adhered to the adhesive portion 37 .
By continuing this operation, a daily medication calendar 31 for multiple recipients is completed.
The completed daily medication calendar 31 has the medicine packages to be taken by a specific user in a day lined up horizontally according to the timing of taking the medicine, forming a daily medication set. The horizontal rows of the daily medication calendar 31 also have the medicine packages to be taken by a specific user (Muramatsu) lined up in the order of the timing of taking the medicine, forming a daily dose arrangement.
The completed daily medication calendar 31 is configured as a multi-person daily medication set, in which daily medication sets for a plurality of users are collected and grouped together.
Furthermore, the vertical and horizontal matrix of the daily medication calendar 31 forms a multi-person daily medication array in which the daily medication arrays of a plurality of recipients are collected and grouped together for each day.

Furthermore, when creating a medication calendar 32 by medication time point for a plurality of recipients, temporary storage boxes 8 for a greater number of recipients are transported to the medication packaging pick-up area 12 as shown in FIG.
Then, the drug packages 7 in each temporary storage box 8 are taken out one by one from the front by the package holder 26 and placed into the pocket member 36 one by one.
In this embodiment, 28 temporary storage boxes 8 for users are transported to the medicine packaging pickup area 12. Note that if the number of users is smaller than the number of adhesive portions 37 of the mount 35c, the number of temporary storage boxes 8 will be smaller.
Then, the drug packages 7 corresponding to the relevant dosing timing (for example, morning) are taken out one by one from each temporary storage box 8 by the package holder 26 and placed into the pocket member 36 one by one.
Then, the pocket members 36 are held one by one by a moving means (not shown) and pressed against the adhesive portion 37 of the mount 35 c in order, so that the pocket members 36 are adhered to the adhesive portion 37 .
By continuing this operation, a medication calendar 32 by medication time point for a plurality of recipients is completed.

The completed medication calendar 32 by dosing time is configured as a set by dosing time for multiple users, in which drug packages to be taken by multiple users are grouped together in a predetermined order according to the timing of dosing.
The vertical and horizontal matrix of the dosing time-based medication calendar 32 constitutes a multiple-person dosing time-based array in which drug packages to be taken by multiple users at specific dosing times are grouped together in a predetermined order.

In the medicine sorting device 2 described above, the pocket members 36 are glued to the mount 35, but the attachment structure of the pocket members 36 to the mount 35 is arbitrary.
For example, the backing 35 may be provided with an engaging portion such as a hook, and the pocket member 36 may be engaged therewith.
Also, magnets may be attached to the mount 35 or the pocket member 36, and the pocket member 36 may be fixed to the mount 35 by magnetic force.
A rewritable recording means such as an RFID may be attached to the temporary storage box 8 or the pocket member 36, and when these are transported to each area or attached to the backing sheet 35, information may be exchanged or confirmed to be used as a means of error checking or information transmission.
Furthermore, a non-rewritable identifier may be attached to the temporary storage box 8 or the pocket member 36. Examples of non-rewritable identifiers include two-dimensional bar codes and bar codes.
Verification and error checking may be performed by obtaining information directly from the non-rewritable identifier, or information obtained from the rewritable recording means or the non-rewritable identifier may be input to another server, computer, etc., and used for verification and error checking.

The pocket member 36 may be provided with a structure for preventing the medicine package 7 from falling off or dropping. For example, a biasing member for biasing the opening of the pocket member 36 in a closing direction, or a biasing member for compressing the space of the pocket member 36 itself may be provided.
A structure may be considered in which when the medicine package 7 is inserted into the pocket member 36, the opening is widened, and after insertion, the opening is narrowed by a biasing member at the opening.
The biasing member is preferably a spring or some other elastic structure, and the biasing force of the spring or the like lightly presses down on the packaging paper of the medicine package 7, preventing the medicine package 7 from falling off.

The above explanation has been given assuming the use of a drug packaging strip 5a in which daily doses are grouped together and arranged in order of timing of taking, as shown in Figure 3(a), but by changing the settings of the drug sorting device 212 of this embodiment, it is also possible to accommodate a drug packaging strip 5b in a continuous format in which the doses are grouped together and connected according to timing of taking, as shown in Figure 3(b).
When using a continuous drug packaging strip 5b as shown in Figure 3 (b), when the drug packages 7 are removed from the temporary storage boxes 8 in the drug packaging pickup area 12 in a predetermined order using the packaging holder 26, the removal position will be changed.
When using the medicine packaging strip 5b, medicine packages 7 for morning use and medicine packages 7 for use before bed are located in the areas at both ends of the temporary storage box 8, and medicine packages 7 for daytime and nighttime use are located in the middle area.
The packaging holder 26 moves through the areas of the temporary storage boxes 8 and sequentially removes the pharmaceutical packages 7 from each area.

Also, as shown in FIG. 10, a morning temporary storage box 8a, a midday temporary storage box 8b, a nighttime temporary storage box 8c, and a bedtime temporary storage box 8d may be prepared for each recipient, and the medicine packages 7 may be cut in a cutting process area 10, with the morning medicines being sorted into the morning temporary storage box 8a, the midday medicines being sorted into the daytime temporary storage box 8b, the nighttime medicines being sorted into the nighttime temporary storage box 8c, and the bedtime medicines being sorted into the bedtime temporary storage box 8d.

In the above embodiment, by sequentially removing the drug packages 7 from the temporary storage box 8, a set of drug packages for one day, a set of drug packages for multiple days for an individual, a set of drug packages for multiple people per day, and a set of drug packages for multiple people by time of administration are created. In addition to this, information regarding the user and the timing of administration can be written on the surface of the drug packages 7 using a recording means such as a barcode, and sorting can be done by referring to this information.
Also, a set of medications taken in a day, a set of medications taken over multiple days for an individual, a set of medications taken in a day by multiple people, or a set by time of administration for multiple people may be created using only information from a recording means such as a barcode.

The drug sorting device 2 described above has the function of separating the introduced drug packaging strip 5 into individual drug packages 7, sorting them, and arranging them on the medication calendar mount 35, but it may not have the function of arranging them on the medication calendar mount 35.
For example, a plurality of sets of daily doses may be prepared in which the drug packages of the drugs to be taken by a particular user are arranged in the order of the timing of taking the drugs, and these sets may be discharged. Note that the order of the timing of taking the drugs is preferably morning, midday, evening, and before bed, but the order may be reversed, with the before bed drug at the top.
Alternatively, a plurality of sets of daily medications may be collected for each specific recipient to create an individualized set of multiple daily medications, which may then be discharged.
The drug recipient may be set as the specific condition, and the daily drug sets of a plurality of recipients may be collected for each day to create a multi-person daily drug set, which may then be discharged.
The device may also be configured to collect drug packages containing drugs to be taken by multiple recipients according to the timing of taking the drugs in a predetermined order into a set for multiple recipients according to the time of taking the drugs, and then discharge the set.

The above-described embodiment has been described on the assumption that the drug packages 7 are placed on the medication calendars 30, 31, and 32, but the placement destination of the drug packages 7 sorted by the drug sorting device 2 is not limited to the medication calendars 30, 31, and 32.
For example, multiple sets of medications taken per day may be prepared and discharged, or the medications may be sorted into sets of medications taken per day for an individual, sets of medications taken per day for multiple people, or sets of medications taken by multiple people at different times, and the medication packages 7 may be discharged from the medication sorting device 2 and placed in containers or equipment other than medication calendars.
For example, when the medicine sorting device 2 of the present invention is used for distributing medicines to hospital wards, the sorted medicine packages 7 are placed in a medicine distribution tray. In this way, the medicine sorting device 2 also contributes to reducing the workload of pharmacists and nurses in the hospital.
In this case, the medicine package 7 is inserted into, for example, a medicine distribution tray mass, rather than into the medication calendars 30, 31, and 32. The pocket member (individual container) 36 may be set inside the medicine distribution tray. In this embodiment, the medicine package 7 is placed in the medicine distribution tray.

In addition to the calendar type, the medicine setting device for setting medicines also includes a box type. The present invention can also be applied to the box type medicine setting device.
That is, in the field of home nursing care, not only the calendar format but also a drug setting device called a drug distribution box may be used.
The medication box here is a box made of inexpensive materials such as paper or plastic, and its shape and structure are not very different from medication trays used in hospitals.
The medicine sorting device 2 may have a function of feeding the medicine packages 7 into the medicine distribution box, or the medicine packages 7 discharged from the medicine sorting device 2 may be fed into the medicine distribution box.

In the embodiment described above, the medicine packaging strip 5a is separated into individual packets and temporarily stored in the temporary storage box 8, and then the medicine packages 7 to be stored are set in the pocket members 36. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the separated medicine packages 7 may be set directly in the pocket members 36.
For example, the storage section may be integrated in advance into the mount of the medication calendar. For example, a calendar bag from which the pocket member 36 cannot be removed may be used, and the medicine package 7 may be directly placed into the pocket member 36.

1 Drug sorting system 2 Drug sorting device 5 Drug packaging belt 7 Drug packaging 8 Temporary storage box (temporary storage section)
10 Separation process area 12 Pickup area 13 Calendar storage area 15 Packaging band attachment section 110 Medicine packaging device

Claims (4)

The apparatus includes a separating means for separating the medicine packages from the medicine package band, a conveying means, and a plurality of temporary placement sections,
The conveying means includes a packaging holder and a moving device for moving the packaging holder,
The separating means separates the medicine packages from the respective medicine package bands for the multiple recipients, and the package holder extracts the medicine packages from the multiple temporary placement sections in a predetermined order based on conditions including the timing of the recipients' taking the medicine.
A medicine sorting device that sorts the medicine packages by conveying the medicine packages using the moving device and assembling the medicine packages,
a function of preparing a daily dose set by arranging the drug packages of the drugs to be taken by a specific recipient in a day according to the condition of the timing of taking the drugs by the delivery means;
a function of collecting a plurality of daily medication sets for a particular recipient by the transport means to create a personalized multiple-day medication set;
A function of collecting daily dose sets of a plurality of users by the transport means and creating a multi-user daily dose set;
and a function of creating a collection of drug packages for multiple recipients according to the timing of their intake by the transport means in a predetermined order. The medicine sorting device according to claim 1, characterized in that it has the function of discharging medicines in any of the following forms: a collection of medicines taken in one day, a collection of medicines taken by an individual over multiple days, a collection of medicines taken in one day by multiple people, or a collection of medicines taken by multiple people by time of administration. The drug sorting device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it has an inching table for inching the temporary placement section. A medicine sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which has a temporary storage box storage area for storing multiple temporary storage sections.

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