JP7583283B2 - Dispensing control device, medicine dispensing system, and medicine dispensing program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dispensing control device, a drug dispensing system, and a drug dispensing program that controls the dispensing of drugs from drug cassettes.

A related technology is known as a drug dispensing system equipped with multiple drug cassettes capable of dispensing any type of drug (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the drug dispensing system according to the related technology, when drug information to be dispensed is input by prescription data or the like, the drug is assigned to one of the drug cassettes, the drug cassette is driven according to preset drive conditions corresponding to the drug information assigned to the drug cassette, and the drug is dispensed from the drug cassette. This reduces the user's work in dispensing any type of drug.

The drug cassette (unspecified cassette) is configured to be detachable from the mounting unit. The mounting unit includes an RFID reader/writer, which is an information reading means that reads and writes information from an RFID tag provided on the drug cassette using RFID wireless communication technology. The drug dispensing system assigns the drug information to be dispensed to the unassigned drug cassette. Specifically, the drug dispensing system records the drug information assigned to the drug cassette in the RFID tag of the drug cassette by controlling the RFID reader/writer.

Re-table 2014/112221 publication

However, in the drug dispensing system according to the related art, for example, when there is an unassigned drug cassette to which the drug information should be assigned, the user needs to mount the drug cassette in the mounting unit. Therefore, if the user is late in mounting the drug cassette in the mounting unit, the allocation of the drug information to the drug cassette will be delayed, which may result in a delay in the dispensing of the drug from the drug cassette.

The object of the present invention is to provide a drug dispensing control device, a drug dispensing system, and a drug dispensing program that are less likely to cause delays in drug dispensing.

A dispensing control device according to one aspect of the present invention includes an allocation processing unit, a drive processing unit, and a notification processing unit. The allocation processing unit allocates drug information to a drug cassette mounted in a mounting unit. The drive processing unit drives the mounting unit to which the drug cassette to which the drug information has been assigned is mounted, causing the drug to be dispensed from the drug cassette. The notification processing unit notifies notification information when unallocated drug information exists and the unallocated drug cassette is not mounted in the mounting unit.

A medicine dispensing system according to another aspect of the present invention includes the dispensing control device and a dispensing device including the mounting unit.

A medicine dispensing program according to another aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute an assignment step of assigning medicine information to a medicine cassette attached to a mounting unit, a drive step of driving the mounting unit to which the medicine cassette to which the medicine information has been assigned is attached to dispense medicine from the medicine cassette, and a notification step of notifying notification information when unassigned medicine information exists and an unassigned medicine cassette is not attached to the mounting unit.

The present invention provides a dispensing control device, a medicine dispensing system, and a medicine dispensing program that are less likely to cause delays in dispensing medicines.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a medicine dispensing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the medicine dispensing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining a configuration of a fixed cassette of the medicine dispensing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view for explaining a configuration of an unspecified cassette of the medicine dispensing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining a configuration of an unspecified cassette of the medicine dispensing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining a configuration of an unspecified cassette of the medicine dispensing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining a configuration of a mounting part for an unspecified cassette of the medicine dispensing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the manual preparation unit of the medicine dispensing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the allocation information and the driving correspondence information used in the medicine dispensing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flow chart for explaining one example of the procedure of the medicine dispensing method executed in the medicine dispensing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a first specific example of the medicine dispensing method executed in the medicine dispensing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a second specific example of the medicine dispensing method executed in the medicine dispensing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a procedure of a packaging process executed in the medicine dispensing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is an external view of the medicine dispensing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section of a medicine dispensing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings to facilitate understanding of the present invention. Note that the following embodiment is an example of the present invention and is not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, the configurations and processing functions described in the following embodiments can be selected and combined in any combination.

First Embodiment
First, a schematic configuration of a medicine dispensing system 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2.

The drug dispensing system 100 is used to dispense drugs from drug cassettes. The drug dispensing system 100 according to this embodiment executes processes from dispensing drugs to packaging them based on drug dispensing data. Users of the drug dispensing system 100 are, for example, pharmacists or doctors at medical institutions such as hospitals or pharmacies. As an example of this embodiment, the drug dispensing system 100 is used in a hospital, and the users of the drug dispensing system 100 are pharmacists at the hospital.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the medicine dispensing system 100 includes a dispensing control device 1, a tablet supply unit 2, a powdered medicine supply unit 3, a manual dispensing unit 4, a packaging unit 5, a control unit 6, and a barcode reader 7. The tablet supply unit 2 is an example of a dispensing device that includes an attachment unit 221.

The dispensing control device 1, the tablet supply unit 2, the powdered medicine supply unit 3, the manual preparation unit 4, the packaging unit 5, and the control unit 6 are connected by an internal bus N1 or the like. Furthermore, the dispensing control device 1 and the barcode reader 7 are capable of wireless communication according to a communication standard such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

The drug dispensing system 100 is controlled by the dispensing control device 1 and the control unit 6, and dispenses drugs from one or more of the tablet supply unit 2, the powdered medicine supply unit 3, and the manual dispensing unit 4 based on the drug dispensing data, and performs a packaging operation in which the drug is packaged in packaging paper in units of packets based on the time of administration, etc., by the packaging unit 5. The packaging operation is performed once by the drug dispensing system 100 based on one of the drug dispensing data, and one or more types of drug indicated in the drug dispensing data are dispensed in the packaging operation.

In this embodiment, the drug dispensing data is prescription data indicating the contents of a prescription corresponding to one patient. The prescription data includes information about the patient and information about the drug prescribed to the patient, such as the type, dosage, and usage of the drug. The drug dispensing data is data corresponding to one packaging operation in the drug dispensing system 100. In another embodiment, the drug dispensing data may be dispensing data input to the drug dispensing system 100 based on the contents of a prescription corresponding to one patient.

[Tablet supply unit 2]
The tablet supply unit 2 includes a plurality of fixed cassettes 21 capable of dispensing a predetermined specific type of tablet one tablet (unit amount) at a time, and a plurality of unspecified cassettes 22 capable of dispensing any type of tablet one tablet (unit amount) at a time by changing driving conditions. The tablets that can be dispensed by the fixed cassettes 21 and the unspecified cassettes 22 include solid medicines in various shapes such as disks, spheres, and capsules. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the unspecified cassette 22 is an example of a "medicine cassette".

Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 1, a total of 54 fixed cassettes 21 are provided, 6 vertically and 9 horizontally, and a total of four unspecified cassettes 22 are provided below them, 1 vertically and 4 horizontally. Strictly speaking, the tablet supply unit 2 has a plurality of mounting portions 211 for the fixed cassettes 21 (54 in this case) and a plurality of mounting portions 221 for the unspecified cassettes 22 (4 in this case). Note that, as another embodiment, the tablet supply unit 2 may not have the fixed cassettes 21, and may only have the unspecified cassettes 22, which are the medicine cassettes.

Each of the fixed cassettes 21 is configured to be mountable to each of the mounting sections 211 provided in the tablet supply unit 2. Here, since one of the fixed cassettes 21 is removably mounted in one of the mounting sections 211, a maximum of the same number of fixed cassettes 21 as the number of mounting sections 211 (for the fixed cassettes 21) can be mounted simultaneously in the tablet supply unit 2. Note that, as another embodiment, each of the fixed cassettes 21 may be configured to be removable from the mounting section 211, and the fixed cassettes 21 may not be removed from the mounting section 211. Also, a part of the fixed cassette 21 may be provided in the mounting section 211, and another part of the fixed cassette 21 may be removably mounted in the mounting section 211.

Each of the mounting units 211 includes a first drive unit 23 (see FIG. 2) that drives the fixed cassette 21 individually. Each of the first drive units 23 includes a drive motor 231 and an RFID reader/writer 232. The drive motor 231 supplies a drive force to the drive mechanism of the fixed cassette 21.

The RFID reader/writer 232 is an information reading means that reads and writes information from an RFID tag provided in the fixed cassette 21 using radio frequency identification (RFID) wireless communication technology. The installation locations of the RFID tag and the RFID reader/writer 232 need only be determined relatively within a range in which the RFID reader/writer 232 can read and write information from the RFID tag (of the fixed cassette 21) when the fixed cassette 21 is attached to the attachment section 211.

The RFID tag is a non-volatile recording medium in which cassette identification information for identifying each of the fixed cassettes 21 is stored, and the cassette identification information is written by the dispensing control device 1 during initial settings of the medicine dispensing system 100. In addition, the fixed cassettes 21 may be provided with read-only RFID tags in which the cassette identification information corresponding to the fixed cassettes 21 is stored in advance.

The unspecified cassettes 22 as the medicine cassettes are configured to be mountable to the mounting sections 221 provided in the tablet supply unit 2. Here, since one unspecified cassette 22 (the medicine cassette) is removably mounted in one mounting section 221, the tablet supply unit 2 can simultaneously mount up to the same number of unspecified cassettes 22 as the mounting sections 221 (for the unspecified cassettes 22). In another embodiment, a part of the unspecified cassette 22 may be provided in the mounting section 221, and another part of the unspecified cassette 22 may be removably mounted in the mounting section 221.

Each of the mounting units 221 includes a second drive unit 24 (see FIG. 2) that individually drives the unspecified cassette 22. Each of the second drive units 24 includes drive motors 241 to 244 and an RFID reader/writer 245. The drive motors 241 to 244 supply drive force to the drive mechanism of the unspecified cassette 22.

The RFID reader/writer 245 (see FIG. 7) is an information reading means that uses RFID wireless communication technology to read and write information from the RFID tag 26 (see FIG. 6) provided in the unspecified cassette 22. The installation locations of the RFID tag 26 and the RFID reader/writer 245 may be determined relatively within a range in which the RFID reader/writer 245 can read and write information from the RFID tag 26 when the unspecified cassette 22 is attached to the attachment section 221.

The RFID tag 26 is a non-volatile recording medium that records cassette identification information for identifying each of the unspecified cassettes 22, as well as drug information for the tablets assigned to the unspecified cassette 22 in the drug dispensing method described below.

The drug information is information that can identify the type of tablet (drug), such as the drug name, drug ID, JAN code, RSS code, and QR code (registered trademark). Note that the JAN code and the RSS code are numerical or textual information expressed in one-dimensional codes (barcodes, GS1 codes), and the QR code (registered trademark) is numerical or textual information represented in a two-dimensional code.

The number of unspecified cassettes 22 and the number of mounting units 221 do not have to match. For example, it is possible that a user can select any of the unspecified cassettes 22 from a number of the unspecified cassettes 22 that is greater than the number of the mounting units 221, and mount the selected cassette in the mounting unit 221. This also applies to the fixed cassettes 21 and the mounting units 211.

[Fixed cassette 21]
Here, an example of the structure of the fixed cassette 21 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Note that the structure of the fixed cassette 21 described here is merely an example, and other structures may be used as long as they have the same function. Note that Fig. 3 is a diagram in which a cover member covering the upper part of the fixed cassette 21 is omitted.

The type of tablets contained in each of the fixed cassettes 21 is predetermined. Therefore, for example, the front surface of each of the fixed cassettes 21 has drug information about the tablets contained in the fixed cassette 21 written on it in advance.

As shown in FIG. 3, the fixed cassette 21 includes a tablet storage section 212 that stores a plurality of tablets, and a tablet discharge section 213 that individually discharges the tablets stored in the tablet storage section 212. The tablet discharge section 213 is provided in a recess formed in approximately the center of the tablet storage section 212, and the tablets in the tablet storage section 212 sequentially descend toward the tablet discharge section 213.

The tablet discharge section 213 includes a rotor 214 rotatably supported by the housing of the fixed cassette 21, and an inner wall 214A covering the outer periphery of the rotor 214. When the fixed cassette 21 is mounted in the mounting section 211, the rotor 214 is connected to the drive motor 231 of the first drive section 23 via a drive transmission system such as various gears. In addition, ribs 215 and ribs 216 are formed at predetermined intervals on the outer periphery of the rotor 214. As a result, gaps 217 surrounded by the ribs 215, the ribs 216, and the inner wall 214A are intermittently formed on the outer periphery of the rotor 214. The width of the gaps 217 is determined according to the type of tablet that is predetermined as the tablet to be stored in the fixed cassette 21, and corresponds to the width of one tablet.

A gap 218 is formed between the ribs 215 and 216 over the entire outer circumferential surface of the rotor 214. Here, the height of the upper end of each of the ribs 215 and 216 is determined according to the type of tablet that is predetermined to be contained in the fixed cassette 21. Specifically, the height of the upper end of the rib 215 shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to the height of three tablets, and three tablets are inserted into each of the gaps 217 of the rotor 214. The height of the upper end of the rib 216 corresponds to the height of one tablet.

On the other hand, the inner wall 214A is formed with an outlet 219 for discharging tablets from the rotor 214, and the outlet 219 is provided with a partition plate 220 that is inserted into the gap 218. As a result, of the three tablets inserted into the gap 217 at the outlet 219, the upper two tablets are restricted from falling by the partition plate 220, and only the lower tablet is discharged. Therefore, in the fixed cassette 21, the tablets contained in the tablet storage section 212 are dispensed one tablet at a time by driving the rotor 214 by the drive motor 231.

[Unspecified cassette 22]
Next, an example of the structure of the unspecified cassette 22 as the medicine cassette will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 7. The structure of the unspecified cassette 22 described here is merely an example, and other structures may be used as long as any tablets can be dispensed one by one. For example, JP-T-2010-535683 or JP-A-2010-115493 discloses other examples of the unspecified cassette 22. The unspecified cassette 22 may be a cylindrical member having a helical inner surface, and the cylindrical member may rotate in an inclined state, so that the tablets contained in the cylindrical member move upward along the helical inner surface and are dispensed in order.

As shown in Figs. 4 to 6, the unspecified cassette 22 includes a tablet storage section 222 that stores a plurality of tablets (medicine), and a first rotor 223 and a second rotor 224 that dispense tablets from the tablet storage section 222. Note that Figs. 4 to 6 are views in which a cover member that covers the top of the unspecified cassette 22 is omitted. In addition, the unspecified cassette 22 may be configured to be capable of dispensing tablets (medicine) in predetermined unit amounts, and may be configured to be capable of dispensing, for example, multiple tablets at a time, rather than one tablet at a time.

The first rotor 223 is a disk-shaped member that constitutes the bottom surface of the tablet storage section 222. The rotation axis of the first rotor 223 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical direction, and the upper surface of the first rotor 223 is inclined at the predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal plane. In addition, radial ribs 223A are formed at predetermined intervals on the upper surface of the first rotor 223. The first rotor 223 is rotatably supported by the housing of the unspecified cassette 22 and is connected to a drive gear 223B (see FIG. 5).

The second rotating body 224 is a hollow annular member arranged around the first rotating body 223 in a plan view, and is an example of a conveying member that conveys the tablets in the tablet storage section 222 to the dispensing outlet 225 and dispenses them from the dispensing outlet 225. The upper end of the first rotating body 223 is located on the same horizontal plane as the second rotating body 224. The second rotating body 224 is rotatably supported by the housing of the unspecified cassette 22, and a drive gear 224A (see FIG. 6) is formed on the outer circumferential surface.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, the mounting unit 221 includes a drive gear 221A and a drive gear 221B. When the unspecified cassette 22 is mounted in the mounting unit 221, the drive gear 221A is connected to the drive gear 223B of the first rotating body 223, and the drive gear 221B is connected to the drive gear 224A of the second rotating body 224. The drive gear 221A is connected to the drive motor 241 of the second driving unit 24, and the drive gear 221B is connected to the drive motor 242 of the second driving unit 24.

Furthermore, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the unspecified cassette 22 is provided with a height regulating member 226 and a width regulating member 227 arranged on the dispensing path of the tablets transported to the dispensing outlet 225 by the second rotating body 224.

The height regulating member 226 regulates the height of the tablet (medicine) that can be transported to the dispensing outlet 225 by the second rotating body 224, and the width regulating member 227 regulates the width of the tablet (medicine) that can be transported to the dispensing outlet 225 by the second rotating body 224. As a result, in the unspecified cassette 22, only tablets that fit within the height h1 regulated by the height regulating member 226 and the width w1 regulated by the width regulating member 227 among the tablets placed on the second rotating body 224 are dispensed from the dispensing outlet 225. Therefore, in the unspecified cassette 22, when the height h1 and the width w1 are equal to or greater than the height and width of one tablet and smaller than the height and width of at least two tablets contained in the tablet storage section 222, the tablets can be dispensed one tablet at a time. More specifically, in the unspecified cassette 22, if the center of gravity of a tablet is on the second rotating body 224, there is a possibility that the tablet will remain on the second rotating body 224, so it is considered that the width w1 restricted by the width restricting member 227 is set to be equal to or greater than the width of 0.5 tablets and smaller than the width of 1.5 tablets.

The unspecified cassette 22 is provided with a height adjustment section 226A for changing the height h1 regulated by the height regulation member 226, and a width adjustment section 227A for changing the width w1 regulated by the width regulation member 227. A pinion gear is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the width adjustment section 227A, which is engaged with a rack (gear) formed on the inner peripheral surface of an elongated hole 227B formed in the width regulation member 227.

The height adjustment unit 226A is rotatably supported by the housing of the unspecified cassette 22 and is connected to a drive gear 226B (see FIG. 6). The height adjustment unit 226A moves the position of the lower end of the height restriction member 226 up and down as the drive gear 226B is driven to rotate, thereby changing the height h1 restricted by the height restriction member 226.

The width adjustment unit 227A is rotatably supported by the housing of the unspecified cassette 22 and is connected to a drive gear 227C (see FIG. 6). The width adjustment unit 227A changes the amount of protrusion of the width restriction member 227 toward the tablet storage unit 222 by driving the drive gear 227C to rotate, and changes the width w1 restricted by the width restriction member 227. Specifically, the amount of protrusion of the width restriction member 227 toward the tablet storage unit 222 is changed by the relative movement of the width adjustment unit 227A and the long hole 227B in the direction of the arrow R3 (see FIG. 4) by the rotation of the drive gear 227C.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, the mounting section 221 includes a drive gear 221C and a drive gear 221D. When the unspecified cassette 22 is mounted in the mounting section 221, the drive gear 221C is connected to the drive gear 226B, and the drive gear 221D is connected to the drive gear 227C. The drive gear 221C is connected to the drive motor 243 of the second drive section 24, and the drive gear 221D is connected to the drive motor 244 of the second drive section 24. As a result, the height regulating member 226 and the width regulating member 227 can be driven by the drive motors 243 and 244.

6 and 7, the unspecified cassette 22 and the mounting section 221 are provided with a drive gear 228A and a drive gear 228B that are connected when the unspecified cassette 22 is mounted on the mounting section 221. The drive gear 228A is connected to a lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the first rotating body 223 in the vertical direction, and the drive gear 228B is connected to a drive motor. As a result, when the drive motor is driven, a driving force is transmitted from the drive gear 228B to the drive gear 228A, and the first rotating body 223 can be raised and lowered by the lifting mechanism. Therefore, in the medicine dispensing system 100, the volume inside the tablet storage section 222 can be changed by raising and lowering the first rotating body 223, and the amount of medicine (number of tablets) that can be stored in the tablet storage section 222 can be adjusted arbitrarily. Therefore, the unspecified cassette 22 can be used both in applications where a small number of tablets are stored and in applications where a large number of tablets are stored.

In the unspecified cassette 22, when the first rotor 223 rotates in a rotation direction R1 (see Figures 4 and 5), the tablets in the tablet storage section 222 are discharged from the first rotor 223 to the second rotor 224. In the unspecified cassette 22, when the second rotor 224 rotates in a rotation direction R2 (see Figures 4 and 5), the tablets on the second rotor 224 are transported toward the dispensing outlet 225.

However, among the tablets transported by the second rotating body 224, tablets that are stacked in the height direction come into contact with the height regulating member 226 and are returned to the tablet storage section 222. Also, among the tablets transported by the second rotating body 224, tablets that are lined up in the width direction come into contact with the width regulating member 227 and are returned to the tablet storage section 222.

As a result, in the unspecified cassette 22, tablets of a size corresponding to the height h1 regulated by the height regulating member 226 and the width w1 regulated by the width regulating member 227 are transported to the dispensing outlet 225 in a state where they are lined up one tablet at a time in the circumferential direction on the second rotating body 224. Therefore, in the unspecified cassette 22, the tablets stored in the tablet storage section 222 can be dispensed one tablet at a time, and the amount of tablets dispensed can be controlled.

In the unspecified cassette 22, the height h1 regulated by the height regulating member 226 and the width w1 regulated by the width regulating member 227 are changeable, so that any type of tablet can be dispensed one tablet at a time.

That is, in the unspecified cassette 22 as the medicine cassette, at least one of the height h1 and the width w1 of the dispensing path of the medicine (tablets) formed on the second rotating body 224 can be adjusted (adjusted). In this embodiment, the dispensing control device 1 performs "calibration" to adjust at least one of the height h1 and the width w1 of the dispensing path in the unspecified cassette 22 mounted on the mounting unit 221 by controlling the drive motors 243, 244 of the mounting unit 221. That is, when the unspecified cassette 22 is mounted on the mounting unit 221, the dispensing control device 1 controls the drive motor 243 to adjust the height h1 of the dispensing path, and controls the drive motor 244 to adjust the width w1 of the dispensing path.

As will be described in detail later, the dispensing control device 1 adjusts at least one of the height h1 and the width w1 of the dispensing path in the drug cassette according to the driving conditions corresponding to the drug information assigned to the drug cassette (the unspecified cassette 22). Note that the drug dispensing system 100 according to this embodiment is capable of adjusting both the height h1 and the width w1 of the dispensing path in the calibration, but is not limited thereto, and it is sufficient if at least one of the height h1 and the width w1 of the dispensing path can be adjusted.

The dispensing outlet 225 of the unspecified cassette 22 is provided with, for example, a transmissive or reflective optical sensor 225A (see FIG. 2). The optical sensor 225A detects tablets passing through the dispensing outlet 225. Therefore, the control unit 6 can count the number of medicines (tablets) dispensed from the unspecified cassette 22 based on the detection result of the optical sensor 225A. Therefore, the control unit 6 can control the drive of the unspecified cassette 22 based on the number of medicines discharged counted using the optical sensor 225A, and dispense a specified dispensing amount (prescribed amount) of medicine from the unspecified cassette 22.

In addition, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, each of the unspecified cassettes 22 is provided with a display unit 25 whose display contents can be changed. Here, the display unit 25 is electronic paper in which the display contents are written by applying electricity, and the display of the display contents is maintained even when the electricity is not applied thereafter.

Specifically, the unspecified cassette 22 and the mounting unit 221 are each provided with a contact-type connector that is connected when the unspecified cassette 22 is mounted in the mounting unit 221. Here, the display unit 25 is connected to the connector on the unspecified cassette 22 side, and the dispensing control device 1 is connected to the connector on the mounting unit 221 side. Then, when the unspecified cassette 22 is mounted in the mounting unit 221, the display unit 25 and the dispensing control device 1 are electrically connected by the connector. This makes it possible for the dispensing control device 1 to change the display of each of the display units 25. The display unit 25 is not limited to electronic paper, and may be other display means such as a liquid crystal display. In addition, the display unit 25 may be provided in the mounting unit 221 in which the unspecified cassette 22 is mounted in correspondence with each of the unspecified cassettes 22.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, each of the unspecified cassettes 22 has the built-in RFID tag 26 that stores various information. The RFID tag 26 is a non-volatile recording medium that allows the RFID reader/writer 245 to rewrite stored information, and is used to store the cassette identification information of each of the unspecified cassettes 22 and the drug information assigned to each of the unspecified cassettes 22, as described above. The RFID tag 26 is mounted on a control board provided in each of the unspecified cassettes 22, and the control board also has a function of changing the display of the display unit 25 of the unspecified cassette 22 according to a control signal from the dispensing control device 1. The control board is equipped with an electric circuit that is driven by power supplied through the connector, power supplied from a power storage unit such as a battery mounted on the control board, or power supplied from the RFID reader/writer 245 to the RFID tag 26.

In addition, the communication means between the mounting unit 221 and the medicine cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) is not limited to RFID wireless communication technology, but may be other near field communication (NFC), non-contact communication such as optical communication, or wired communication via the connector. For example, when the mounting unit 221 and the unspecified cassette 22 communicate via wire, each of the unspecified cassettes 22 may have, instead of the RFID tag 26, another recording medium such as an EEPROM (registered trademark) from which the dispensing control device 1 can read and write information via the connector.

[Powdered Medicine Supply Unit 3]
As shown in Figure 1, the powdered medicine supply unit 3 has two input sections 31, 32, and supplies powdered medicine input into each of the input sections 31, 32 to the packaging unit 5 in package units based on the time of taking the medicine, etc., which are preset by the dispensing control device 1.

Specifically, the powdered medicine supply unit 3 has two sets of dispensing sections: a dispensing section that spreads the powdered medicine input into the input section 31 evenly on a disk and scrapes it out at a predetermined angle corresponding to the package unit, and a dispensing section that spreads the powdered medicine input into the input section 32 evenly on a disk and scrapes it out at a predetermined angle corresponding to the package unit. The powdered medicine input into the powdered medicine supply unit 3 is a total amount of prescription medicine to be prescribed to a patient that has been previously measured using a weighing device. In the powdered medicine supply unit 3, there is a limit to the minimum angle at which the dispensing section scrapes out the powdered medicine spread on the disk, and there is an upper limit to the maximum number of packets that can be dispensed from the powdered medicine supply unit 3 by one input of powdered medicine into the powdered medicine supply unit 3. In addition, the structure of the powdered medicine supply unit 3 is not limited to that described here, and it is sufficient if it can divide the input powdered medicine into a preset number of packets and dispense them.

[Manual Spreading Unit 4]
The manual distribution unit 4 includes a manual distribution storage section 41 in which a plurality of cells 411 (see FIG. 8 ) into which tablets are input in packaging units such as a preset dosing time are arranged side by side, and a manual distribution dispensing section that dispenses the tablets contained in each cell 411 to the packaging unit 5 for each cell 411. For example, the manual distribution unit 4 is used for dispensing tablets with a small number of tablets to be dispensed indicated in the medicine dispensing data, or tablets such as half tablets that are less than one tablet.

In the manual storage section 41, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of the masses 411 are arranged in a matrix in the vertical and horizontal directions. The masses 411 may be arranged in only one of the vertical and horizontal directions, or may be arranged in a staggered pattern.

The manual dispensing section may be configured to be capable of dispensing tablets stored in the mass 411 by, for example, individually opening and closing the bottom of the mass 411 of the manual storage section 41. The manual dispensing unit 4 can be used to dispense any tablet that is not previously stored in the fixed cassette 21. In the medicine dispensing system 100, tablets that are not stored in the fixed cassette 21 can be dispensed using the unspecified cassette 22 or the manual dispensing unit 4.

The efficiency of the work of feeding tablets into each of the cells 411 is worse than when feeding multiple tablets together into the tablet storage section 222 of the unspecified cassette 22. In particular, the cells 411 are arranged adjacent to each other, and the size of each cell 411 is at least smaller than the tablet storage section 222 of the unspecified cassette 22. Therefore, when the size of the tablets is small, the efficiency of the work of feeding tablets into each of the cells 411 is worse than the work of feeding tablets into the tablet storage section 222. In addition, in the manual distribution unit 4, the maximum number of packets that can be dispensed from the manual distribution unit 4 by feeding tablets into the manual distribution unit 4 at one time is limited by the number of cells 411.

[Packaging unit 5]
The packaging unit 5 controls the medicine dispensing system 100 based on the medicine dispensing data, and executes a packaging operation of packaging one or more types of medicines supplied from the tablet supplying unit 2, the powdered medicine supplying unit 3, and the manual dispensing unit 4 in one packaging paper in a package unit based on the time of administration, etc. For example, the packaging unit 5 packages the medicine in the package unit using a transparent or semi-transparent roll-shaped medicine packaging sheet and seals it by welding or the like. As a result, the medicine packaging sheet containing the medicine in the package unit is discharged from the packaging unit 5. The packaging unit 5 can also package the powdered medicine dispensed from the powdered medicine supplying unit 3 and the tablets dispensed from the tablet supplying unit 2 or the manual dispensing unit 4 in the same packaging paper.

In addition, in the packaging unit 5, only the tablets supplied from the tablet supply unit 2 or the manual distribution unit 4 may be packaged in the packaging paper, or only the powdered medicine supplied from the powdered medicine supply unit 3 may be packaged in the packaging paper. In addition, the packaging unit 5 is provided with a printing unit that prints information on the packaging paper, and prescription information such as the patient's name, time of taking the medicine, prescribed medicine, or prescribed amount can be printed on the surface of the packaging paper by the printing unit.

[Control unit 6]
2, the control unit 6 includes a control unit 61 and a storage unit 62, and controls the tablet supply unit 2, the powdered medicine supply unit 3, the manual distribution unit 4, the packaging unit 5, etc., to cause the medicine dispensing system 100 to execute a packaging operation. The control unit 6 is built in the medicine dispensing system 100.

The control unit 61 is a control means having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an EEPROM (registered trademark). The control unit 61 executes various processes using the CPU in accordance with various programs prestored in a storage means such as the ROM, the EEPROM (registered trademark), or the storage unit 62.

The storage unit 62 is a storage means such as a hard disk device or SSD (Solid State Drive) that stores various data. Specifically, the storage unit 62 stores programs in advance for causing a computer such as the control unit 61 to execute various processes. The control unit 61 executes various processes in accordance with the programs, thereby dispensing medicine from the fixed cassette 21, the unspecified cassette 22, the powdered medicine supply unit 3, the manual dispensing unit 4, or the like, and packaging the medicine.

[Barcode Reader 7]
The barcode reader 7 is a code reading unit such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) that reads codes that identify medicines and is capable of reading code information such as JAN codes, RSS codes, or QR codes (registered trademark) that are written on tablet storage containers (boxes or bottles, etc.) or PTP (Press Through Pack) sheets, etc., that are provided on medicine shelves in pharmacies.

The barcode reader 7 may be, for example, a picking assistance device used by a pharmacist or the like to pick medicines. The picking assistance device is used when a pharmacist or the like manually dispenses medicines by taking them out of a medicine shelf according to a prescription, and, for example, reads the medicine from the JAN code written on the storage container and compares the read medicine with medicine dispensing data. The barcode reader 7 may also be used to read barcodes written on prescriptions.

The information read by the barcode reader 7 is input to the dispensing control device 1 by wireless communication from the barcode reader 7. The barcode reader 7 may be connected to the dispensing control device 1 by wire. When a plurality of the drug dispensing systems 100 are provided in a pharmacy, the barcode reader 7 is provided separately and pre-associated with each of the drug dispensing systems 100.

[Dispensing control device 1]
The dispensing control device 1 is a computer that comprehensively controls the medicine dispensing system 100. As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the dispensing control device 1 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a monitor 13, an operation unit 14, a communication IF 15, and the like.

Similar to the control unit 61, the control unit 11 has a CPU, RAM, ROM, and EEPROM (registered trademark), and executes various processes by the CPU according to various programs stored in storage means such as the ROM, the EEPROM (registered trademark), or the storage unit 12. The CPU is one or more processors that execute various processes, and the RAM and the EEPROM (registered trademark) are used as temporary storage memories (working areas) for the various processes executed by the CPU.

The memory unit 12, like the memory unit 62, is a storage means such as a hard disk device or SSD that stores various data, and a medicine dispensing program for causing a computer such as the control unit 11 to execute the medicine dispensing method described below is pre-stored in the memory unit 12.

The storage unit 12 also stores various databases, such as a pharmaceutical master, a patient master, a cassette master, and a pharmacy master. The control unit 11 can update the various databases stored in the storage unit 12, for example, based on data read from a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium. The control unit 11 can also change the contents of the various databases in response to user operations on the operation unit 14.

The pharmaceutical master includes information about each pharmaceutical, such as the pharmaceutical ID, pharmaceutical name, JAN code (or RSS code), pharmaceutical bottle code, classification (dosage form: powder, tablet, liquid, topical, etc.), tablet size (height and width, etc.), specific gravity, pharmaceutical type (ordinary medicine, poison, narcotic, powerful drug, antipsychotic, therapeutic drug, etc.), compounding changes, excipients, and precautions. The patient master includes information about the patient, such as the patient ID, name, sex, age, medical history, prescription history, family information, medical department, ward, and room. The pharmacy master includes information about the pharmacy, such as the pharmacy name, pharmacist name, and pharmacist ID. The cassette master is information indicating the correspondence between the cassette identification information of each of the fixed cassettes 21 mounted in the mounting unit 211 and the pharmaceutical information assigned to each of the fixed cassettes 21. The cassette master is registered by the control unit 11 in response to a user operation of the operation unit 14 during the initial setting of the pharmaceutical dispensing system 100, for example.

Furthermore, the memory unit 12 stores allocation information 121 indicating an allocation state between the unspecified cassette 22 and the drug information, and drive correspondence information 122 indicating a correspondence relationship between the drug information and the drive conditions of the unspecified cassette 22. The allocation information 121 and the drive correspondence information 122 are used in a drug dispensing method executed by the control unit 11, which will be described later.

The medicine dispensing program is recorded on a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium such as a CD, DVD, or semiconductor memory, and is read from the recording medium by a reading device such as a disk drive and installed in the memory unit 12.

It is also possible that the medicine dispensing system 100 does not have the control unit 6, and the dispensing control device 1 also functions as the control unit 6. Specifically, it is possible that the control unit 11 executes all of the series of processes that cause the medicine dispensing system 100 to function in accordance with the medicine dispensing program.

The monitor 13 is a display means such as a liquid crystal display that displays various information and operation screens in accordance with control instructions from the control unit 11. For example, the monitor 13 displays various information such as a screen for inputting drug dispensing data, a screen for selecting drug dispensing data, and a screen for selecting unspecified cassettes 22.

The operation unit 14 is an operation means such as a keyboard, mouse, or touch panel that accepts user operations, and inputs operation signals corresponding to user operations to the control unit 11. The operation unit 14 is a touch panel that accepts various operation inputs, such as an input operation of drug dispensing data on the input screen displayed on the monitor 13, a selection operation of drug dispensing data on the selection screen, a selection operation of an unspecified cassette 22 on the selection screen, and an issuance operation of drug dispensing data that requests the start of packaging of the drug dispensing data.

The communication IF 15 is a communication interface for connecting the medicine dispensing system 100 to a communication network N3 such as a LAN, and performs data communication with a higher-level system such as a prescription input terminal 200 connected via the communication network N3. The prescription input terminal 200 is, for example, an electronic medical record system installed in a hospital or elderly care facility, or a dispensing management system installed in a pharmacy inside or outside the hospital. The communication IF 15 also has a wireless communication interface such as a wireless communication card that performs wireless data communication with various wireless communication devices such as the barcode reader 7.

Then, the communication IF 15 acquires prescription data from the prescription input terminal 200 as drug dispensing data, and inputs the drug dispensing data to the control unit 11. For example, the communication IF 15 monitors whether or not drug dispensing data has been stored in a predetermined memory area of a storage means provided in the prescription input terminal 200, and when the drug dispensing data has been stored in the predetermined memory area, the communication IF 15 reads out the drug dispensing data from the predetermined memory area. Of course, the communication IF 15 may receive the drug dispensing data that is actively transmitted from the prescription input terminal 200.

The control unit 11 of the dispensing control device 1 includes an allocation processing unit 111, a drive processing unit 112, and a notification processing unit 113, as shown in FIG. 1. In addition, in this embodiment, the control unit 11 further includes a lock processing unit 114 and an adjustment processing unit 115 in addition to the allocation processing unit 111, the drive processing unit 112, and the notification processing unit 113. Specifically, the control unit 11 functions as various processing units such as the allocation processing unit 111, the drive processing unit 112, the notification processing unit 113, the lock processing unit 114, and the adjustment processing unit 115 by executing various processes related to the drug dispensing method described below according to the drug dispensing program. That is, in this embodiment, the control unit 11 embodies the main functions of the dispensing control device 1. In other words, the dispensing control device 1 according to this embodiment only needs to include the control unit 11, and the memory unit 12, the monitor 13, the operation unit 14, and the communication IF 15 may not be included as components. The control unit 11 may include multiple processors, any one of which may function as the various processing units. Also, some or all of the various processing units may be configured as electronic circuits (integrated circuits) such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits).

The control unit 11 also has functions such as a display processing unit and a reception processing unit. The display processing unit presents information to the user by displaying various screens on the monitor 13. An example of a screen displayed by the display processing unit is a cassette selection screen for selecting the unspecified cassette 22. On the cassette selection screen, for example, a plurality of selection areas for selecting each of the unspecified cassettes 22 are displayed in the same arrangement as the arrangement of each of the unspecified cassettes 22 in the medicine dispensing system 100. The reception processing unit accepts various operations by the user on the operation unit 14. An example of an operation accepted by the reception processing unit is a selection operation of the selection area on the cassette selection screen.

In another embodiment, some or all of the functions of the control section 11 may be provided in the control section 61 of the control unit 6. For example, some or all of the medicine dispensing program may be installed in the control unit 6, and the control section 61 of the control unit 6 may execute various processes related to the medicine dispensing method described below. In this case, the control section 61 embodies the main functions of the dispensing control device 1. Furthermore, in the medicine dispensing system 100, the dispensing control device 1 and the control unit 6 may cooperate to execute various processes related to the medicine dispensing method described below.

The allocation processing unit 111 executes an allocation process (allocation step) for allocating the drug information to the drug cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) mounted in the mounting unit 221. When the drug dispensing data (the prescription data) is input from the prescription input terminal 200 to the dispensing control device 1, the allocation processing unit 111 allocates the drug information of the drug to be dispensed from the unspecified cassette 22, that is, the drug information to be dispensed, contained in the drug dispensing data, to the unspecified cassette 22. The allocation processing unit 111 writes the drug information to be dispensed to the RFID tag 26 of the unspecified cassette 22, thereby allocating the drug information to the unspecified cassette 22. Specifically, the allocation processing unit 111 allocates (writes) the drug information to the unspecified cassette 22 in the mounting unit 221 when the unspecified cassette 22 to which the drug information has not yet been assigned, that is, the unspecified cassette 22 that is "unallocated", is mounted in the mounting unit 221. At this time, the allocation processing unit 111 controls the RFID reader/writer 245 of the mounting unit 221 to write the drug information to the RFID tag 26 of the unspecified cassette 22, thereby allocating the drug information.

Here, the allocation processing unit 111 can allocate the medicine information to be dispensed to the unspecified cassette 22 corresponding to the selected area accepted by the reception processing unit. The allocation processing unit 111 can also automatically allocate the medicine information to be dispensed to either the unspecified cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4.

The drive processing unit 112 executes a drive process (drive step) for driving the mounting unit 221 in which the drug cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) to which the drug information has been assigned is mounted, and dispensing the drug from the drug cassette (the unspecified cassette 22). Specifically, the drive processing unit 112 drives the drive motor 241 in the second drive unit 24 of the mounting unit 221 in which the unspecified cassette 22 is mounted, thereby rotating and driving the first rotating body 223, and drives the drive motor 242 to rotate and drive the second rotating body 224. As a result, the unspecified cassette 22 mounted in the mounting unit 221 is driven, and the drug (tablets) is dispensed from the unspecified cassette 22.

The notification processing unit 113 executes a notification process (notification step) for notifying notification information when the unallocated drug information exists and the unallocated drug cassette is not mounted in the mounting unit 221. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a plurality of mounting units 221 are provided. The notification processing unit 113 notifies the notification information when the unallocated drug information exists and the unallocated drug cassette is not mounted in the mounting unit that is not in operation while some of the mounting units 221 of the plurality of mounting units 221 are in operation. That is, the notification processing unit 113 notifies the notification information when a predetermined notification condition is satisfied. The notification conditions include a first condition, a second condition, and a third condition. The first condition is that there is "unallocated" drug information that is not yet assigned to any of the unallocated cassettes 22 despite being a target for dispensing from the unallocated cassettes 22 among the drug information included in the drug dispensing data. The second condition is that, among the multiple mounting parts 221 included in the tablet supply unit 2, there is a mounting part 221 that is not driven by the drive processing unit 112 to dispense medicine, that is ...

In this embodiment, as an example, the notification processing unit 113 notifies the user of the notification information by displaying the notification information on the monitor 13. However, the form of "notification" related to the notification processing is not limited to display on the monitor 13, and may include, for example, display on a device other than the monitor 13, audio output, printing, data output, transmission to another device, writing to a database, and writing to a memory. For example, when the notification condition is satisfied, the notification processing unit 113 may notify by displaying the lighting state (on/off, light emission color, blinking pattern, etc.) of an indicator light such as an LED. In addition, the notification processing unit 113 may output the notification information to a device other than the medicine dispensing system 100, such as a user terminal. In addition, the notification processing unit 113 may notify the user of the notification information, for example, by printing the notification information.

The adjustment processing unit 115 executes the adjustment process (adjustment step) to perform the calibration in a state where the drug information has been assigned and the drug cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) containing the drug (tablets) corresponding to the drug information is attached to the attachment unit 221. In the calibration, the adjustment processing unit 115 adjusts at least one of the height h1 and the width w1 of the drug dispensing path in the drug cassette according to the driving conditions corresponding to the drug information assigned to the drug cassette. Specifically, in a state where the unspecified cassette 22 is attached to the attachment unit 221, the adjustment processing unit 115 adjusts the height h1 of the dispensing path by controlling the drive motor 243, and adjusts the width w1 of the dispensing path by controlling the drive motor 244.

The lock processing unit 114 executes a lock process (lock step) that restricts the removal of the medicine cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) from the mounting unit 221 while the mounting unit 221 is being driven. Specifically, in the medicine dispensing system 100, each mounting unit 221 is provided with a cassette lock unit that can restrict the removal of each of the unspecified cassettes 22, and the lock processing unit 114 controls the cassette lock unit. The "restriction" here includes not only a state in which the removal of the unspecified cassette 22 is completely prohibited, but also a state in which the unspecified cassette 22 cannot be easily removed, although it can be removed by force. The cassette lock unit is configured to be switchable between two states: a "locked state" that restricts the removal of the unspecified cassette 22, and a "released state" that does not restrict it.

As one example, the cassette locking section includes an electromagnetic device provided in the mounting section 221, and in the locked state, the electromagnetic device is energized to apply an attractive force to a magnetic body provided in the unspecified cassette 22, restricting removal of the unspecified cassette 22. As another example, the cassette locking section includes a driving section such as a solenoid or a motor, and a hooking section driven by the driving section, and in the locked state, the hooking section is driven to hook onto a hole or the like of the unspecified cassette 22, restricting removal of the unspecified cassette 22.

The lock processing unit 114 restricts removal of the unspecified cassette 22 from the mounting unit 221 by setting the state of the cassette lock unit of the mounting unit 221 to the locked state at least while the mounting unit 221 is being driven by the drive processing unit 112. As an example, the lock processing unit 114 switches the state of the cassette lock unit from the unlocked state to the locked state when the driving of the mounting unit 221 begins, and switches the state of the cassette lock unit from the locked state to the unlocked state when the driving of the mounting unit 221 ends. Furthermore, the lock processing unit 114 restricts removal of the unspecified cassette 22 from the mounting unit 221 by setting the state of the cassette lock unit of the mounting unit 221 to the locked state even while the calibration is being performed by the adjustment processing unit 115 in the mounting unit 221. As an example, the lock processing unit 114 switches the state of the cassette lock unit from the unlocked state to the locked state when the calibration starts, and switches the state of the cassette lock unit from the locked state to the unlocked state when the calibration ends.

The allocation information 121 and the drive correspondence information 122 will be described in detail below. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the allocation information 121 and the drive correspondence information 122.

In the allocation information 121, a drug ID capable of identifying the type of tablets currently assigned to each of the unspecified cassettes 22 is stored as the drug information. In other words, the allocation information 121 is information that represents a combination of the drug cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) and the drug information assigned thereto. Of course, drug information such as a drug name or a JAN code (or an RSS code) may be stored instead of the drug ID. Also, here, it is assumed that cassette numbers "C1" to "C6" are preset as the cassette identification information for the six drug cassettes (the unspecified cassettes 22) that can be respectively attached to the four attachment sections 221. The cassette identification information is also stored in the RFID tag 26 of each of the unspecified cassettes 22. In other words, for example, the RFID tag 26 of the unspecified cassette 22 with the cassette number "C1" stores the cassette identification information, that is, the cassette number "C1", and the drug ID "M1" as the drug information assigned to the unspecified cassette 22.

In the allocation information 121, the unspecified cassettes 22 to which no drug information is currently assigned are registered as being in an "unassigned" state. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 9, among the unspecified cassettes 22, cassette number "C1" is assigned drug information of drug ID "M1", cassette number "C3" is assigned drug information of drug ID "M2", and cassette numbers "C2", "C4", "C5", and "C6" are in an "unassigned" state in which no drug information has yet been assigned.

In addition, the driving correspondence information 122 registers the driving conditions that are set in advance corresponding to each piece of drug information. In other words, the driving correspondence information 122 is information that represents a combination of the drug information and the corresponding driving conditions. The driving conditions include pre-driving conditions related to the adjustment (calibration) of the unspecified cassette 22 before starting dispensing of tablets from the unspecified cassette 22, driving conditions related to drive control during dispensing of tablets from the unspecified cassette 22, and driving stop conditions related to drive control when dispensing of tablets from the unspecified cassette 22 is stopped.

Specifically, in the example of the drive correspondence information 122 shown in FIG. 9, information on each of the items of "height of the dispensing path," "width of the dispensing path," "dispensing speed," "first slowdown," "second slowdown," and "reverse rotation operation" is stored as the drive conditions corresponding to each of the drug information of drugs with drug IDs of "M1," "M2," "M3," and "M4." Note that the drive conditions are merely examples, and for example, if the unspecified cassette 22 uses vibration to dispense tablets one by one, the vibration frequency or amplitude of the vibration may be determined as the drive conditions.

The "height of the dispensing path" and "width of the dispensing path" items are examples of the pre-driving conditions, and are the values of the height h1 and the width w1 that are set as values that allow the second rotating body 224 of the unspecified cassette 22 to dispense tablets one by one from the dispensing outlet 225.

The "dispensing speed" item is an example of the driving condition, and is a rotation speed of the second rotating body 224 suitable for each medicine information when dispensing tablets from the unspecified cassette 22. For example, if the size of the tablet is small, and the rotation speed of the drive motor 242 is fast, the tablet is likely to be dispensed in excess before the drive motor 242 stops. On the other hand, if the size of the tablet is large, even if the rotation speed of the drive motor 242 is fast, the tablet is not dispensed in excess before the drive motor 242 stops. Therefore, for example, the tablet dispensing speed set as the driving condition, that is, the tablet conveying speed by the second rotating body 224, may differ depending on the size of the tablet. Specifically, the dispensing speed when the tablet size is large may be set to a value faster than the dispensing speed when the tablet size is small. It is also possible that not only the rotation speed of the second rotating body 224 but also the rotation speed of the first rotating body 223 is set as the driving condition.

The items "first slowdown" and "second slowdown" are examples of the drive stop conditions, and are information regarding the execution timing of the slowdown, which gradually decelerates the rotation speed of the second rotating body 224 when the dispensing of tablets from the unspecified cassette 22 is stopped. The first slowdown specifies the timing at which the rotation speed of the second rotating body 224 is decelerated to a predetermined first rotation speed. The second slowdown specifies the timing at which the rotation speed of the second rotating body 224 is decelerated from the first rotation speed to an even slower second rotation speed. For example, if the shape of the tablets contained in the unspecified cassette 22 is round and easy to roll, there is a risk that the tablets will roll and be dispensed after the drive of the second rotating body 224 is stopped. Therefore, for tablets that are easy to roll, such as spherical, the start timing of each of the first slowdown and the second slowdown is set earlier. In this embodiment, the start timing of the first slowdown and the second slowdown is set according to the remaining number of tablets to be dispensed from the unspecified cassette 22. This prevents excessive dispensing of tablets when dispensing of tablets from the unspecified cassette 22 is stopped. On the other hand, for tablets that have a shape that is difficult to roll when the drive of the second rotating body 224 is stopped, the start timing of the first slowdown and the second slowdown is set late, so that unnecessary delays in dispensing time due to the slowdown are suppressed.

The "reverse rotation operation" item is an example of the drive stop condition, and is information regarding whether or not to perform a reverse rotation operation that reverses the tablet transport direction by the second rotating body 224 when the dispensing of tablets from the unspecified cassette 22 is stopped. For example, if the drive of the second rotating body 224 is simply stopped, the reverse rotation operation is set to "Yes" for tablets with a shape that is easy to roll, such as a spherical shape, which may cause tablets remaining on the second rotating body 224 to roll and be dispensed in excess. This prevents tablets from being dispensed in excess when the dispensing of tablets from the unspecified cassette 22 is stopped. Note that when the drive of the second rotating body 224 is stopped, the reverse rotation operation is set to "No" for tablets with a shape that is difficult to roll, and the unnecessary reverse rotation operation is not performed.

The data structure of the allocation information 121 shown in FIG. 9 is merely an example, and the allocation information 121 may be stored in the storage unit 12, for example, as one item of the drug master. In this case, the drug master stores the cassette identification information of the unspecified cassette 22 assigned to each drug in correspondence with the drug. Also, the data structure of the drive correspondence information 122 shown in FIG. 9 is merely an example, and the drive conditions defined in the drive correspondence information 122 may be stored in the storage unit 12, for example, as one item of the drug master.

[Medicine dispensing method]
Hereinafter, an example of the medicine dispensing method executed by the control unit 11 of the dispensing control device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 10. The control unit 11 executes various processes related to the medicine dispensing method when a specific start operation set in advance for executing the medicine dispensing program is performed on the operation unit 14. The medicine dispensing method may be terminated in response to a specific end operation on the operation unit 14 even during execution of the medicine dispensing method. Hereinafter, the processing procedures (steps) executed by the control unit 11 will be referred to as steps S1, S2, .... The present invention may be regarded as an invention of a method (medicine dispensing method) in which a computer such as the control unit 11 executes part or all of the processes of the medicine dispensing method.

<Step S1>
First, in step S1, the control unit 11 judges whether or not a request for issuing medicine dispensing data has been made. Specifically, the control unit 11 judges that a request for issuing medicine dispensing data has been made when an issuing operation for issuing preregistered medicine dispensing data has been performed on the operation unit 14. The medicine dispensing data is prescription data acquired from a host system such as the prescription input terminal 200, or registered by a user operation on the operation unit 14, and stored in the storage unit 12.

Here, if there is no request for issuance of the drug dispensing data (S1: No), the control unit 11 returns the process to step S1. On the other hand, if the control unit 11 determines that there is a request for issuance of the drug dispensing data (S1: Yes), the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S2. Note that, when the control unit 11 receives the drug dispensing data from a higher-level system such as the prescription input terminal 200, it may determine that there is a request for issuance of the drug dispensing data without requiring the issuance operation, and shift the process to step S2.

<Step S2>
Next, in step S2, the control unit 11 judges whether the fixed cassette 21 corresponds to all the medicine information input as medicine information indicating the tablets to be dispensed by the medicine dispensing data. Specifically, the control unit 11 judges whether a tablet not included in any of the fixed cassettes 21 is included as a prescription drug in the medicine dispensing data based on the cassette master stored in the storage unit 12. The cassette master is updated by the control unit 11 based on medicine information read from an RFID tag provided in each of the fixed cassettes 21 by a reading device such as the RFID reader/writer 232 provided in each of the mounting units 211. The control unit 11 can also display an editing screen for editing the cassette master on the monitor 13 and update the cassette master in response to a user operation of the operation unit 14 on the editing screen.

If it is determined that the fixed cassette 21 corresponding to the drug information to be dispensed does not exist (S2: No), that is, if the prescription drugs included in the drug dispensing data include a type of tablet that is not contained in any of the fixed cassettes 21, the control unit 11 transitions the process to step S3. A type of tablet that is not contained in any of the fixed cassettes 21 is a tablet that needs to be assigned to the unspecified cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4 as the tablet dispensing source. Hereinafter, a type of drug (tablet) that needs to be assigned to the unspecified cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4 may be referred to as an "allocated drug."

On the other hand, if it is determined that the fixed cassettes 21 corresponding to all of the drug information to be dispensed exist (S2: Yes), that is, if all types of tablets contained in the prescription drugs included in the drug dispensing data are contained in any of the fixed cassettes 21, the control unit 11 transitions the process to step S11. In this case, when a packaging start operation is performed to start the packaging operation in step S11, a process is executed to execute the packaging operation using each of the fixed cassettes 21.

In addition, when the medicine dispensing system 100 is configured not to include the fixed cassette 21, the process of step S2 can be omitted, and the control unit 11 can shift the process to step S3 when it is determined in step S1 that a request for issuing the medicine dispensing data has been made.

<Step S3>
In step S3, the control unit 11 judges whether or not the allocation destination of the drug information of the allocation target drug among the tablets to be dispensed shown in the drug dispensing data, i.e., the dispensing source of the allocation target drug, is the unspecified cassette 22. When the drug dispensing data includes a plurality of the allocation target drugs, the control unit 11 judges whether or not to allocate the drug information of each of the plurality of allocation target drugs to the unspecified cassette 22. As an example in the present embodiment, the control unit 11 displays on the monitor 13 a screen for selecting the dispensing source from the unspecified cassette 22 and the manual distribution unit 4 for each allocation target drug, and selects the dispensing source of the allocation target drug from the unspecified cassette 22 and the manual distribution unit 4 in response to a user operation on the operation unit 14. In addition, for example, when the allocated target drug satisfies certain conditions, such as a drug having a shape that is not suitable for dispensing from the unspecified cassette 22, a drug having a dispensing amount less than a specified value, or a drug that is likely to cause colored powder to adhere to the unspecified cassette 22, the control unit 11 may automatically determine that the manual distribution unit 4 is the source of dispensing the allocated target drug.

Here, if it is determined that the destination of the drug information of the allocation target drug is the unspecified cassette 22 (S3: Yes), that is, if the source of the allocation target drug is the unspecified cassette 22, the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S4. On the other hand, if it is determined that the destination of the drug information of the allocation target drug is not the unspecified cassette 22 (S3: No), that is, if the source of the allocation target drug is the manual distribution unit 4, the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S10.

<Step S4>
In step S4, the control unit 11 judges whether or not there is a mounting unit 221 that is not driven by the drive processing unit 112 to dispense medicine, that is, a non-driven mounting unit 221, among the plurality of mounting units 221 included in the tablet supply unit 2. In other words, the control unit 11 judges whether or not the second condition, which is one of the notification conditions for the notification processing unit 113 to notify the notification information (step S6), is satisfied in step S4. In addition, in this embodiment, the mounting unit 221 in which the calibration is being performed by the adjustment processing unit 115 is also included in the "driving" state. Furthermore, the mounting unit 221 in which the unspecified cassette 22 that performs the dispensing is mounted and the state of the cassette lock unit is in the locked state, that is, the mounting unit 221 in the state that is locked in step S12 described later and is unlocked in step S147, is also included in the "driving" state.

Here, if it is determined that the non-driven mounting unit 221 exists (S4: Yes), that is, if there is a mounting unit 221 among the multiple mounting units 221 that is not driven by the drive processing unit 112 and the calibration by the adjustment processing unit 115 has not been performed, the control unit 11 determines that the second condition is satisfied and shifts the process to step S5. On the other hand, if it is determined that the non-driven mounting unit 221 does not exist (S4: No), that is, if all of the multiple mounting units 221 are driven by the drive processing unit 112 or the calibration by the adjustment processing unit 115 is being performed, the control unit 11 determines that the second condition is not satisfied and returns the process to step S4. That is, if all of the mounting units 221 are performing the calibration (S13) or the dispensing process during the packaging process (S14) described later, the control unit 11 waits in step S4 until the calibration or the dispensing process is completed in any of the mounting units 221.

<Step S5>
In step S5, the control unit 11 judges whether or not the unspecified cassette 22 to which the medicine information is not assigned is attached to the non-operated mounting unit 221 whose presence was confirmed in step S4. As an example, the control unit 11 judges whether or not the unspecified cassette 22 to which the medicine information is not assigned is attached to the mounting unit 221 by collating the cassette identification information read from the RFID tag 26 of the unspecified cassette 22 by the RFID reader/writer 245 of the mounting unit 221 with the allocation information 121. At this time, if the read cassette identification information is associated with "unspecified" in the allocation information 121, the control unit 11 judges that the unspecified cassette 22 to which the medicine information is not assigned is attached to the mounting unit 221. Furthermore, the control unit 11 also judges whether or not the unspecified cassette 22 is attached to the mounting unit 221 in the first place, regardless of whether or not it is unspecified. If the RFID reader/writer 245 is able to read any information from the RFID tag 26 of the unspecified cassette 22, that is, if communication with the RFID tag 26 is successful, the control unit 11 determines that the unspecified cassette 22 is attached to the attachment unit 221.

In other words, in step S5, the control unit 11 determines whether the third condition, which is one of the notification conditions for the notification processing unit 113 to notify the notification information (step S6), is satisfied. The unspecified cassette 22 is manually attached to the mounting unit 221 by a user. For example, when the unspecified cassette 22 to which the medicine information has been assigned is attached to the mounting unit 221 that is not in operation, the user replaces the unspecified cassette 22 attached to the mounting unit 221 with the unspecified cassette 22 that is not assigned, thereby attaching the unspecified cassette 22 to the mounting unit 221.

Here, if it is determined that the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 is not installed in the non-operating mounting unit 221 (S5: No), that is, if the unspecified cassette 22 that is not assigned by the user is not installed in the non-operating mounting unit 221, the control unit 11 determines that the third condition is satisfied and shifts the process to step S6. Even if the unspecified cassette 22 to which the medicine information has been assigned is installed in the non-operating mounting unit 221, the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 is not installed, so the result is determined as "No" in step S5. On the other hand, if it is determined that the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 is installed in the non-operating mounting unit 221 (S5: Yes), that is, if the unspecified cassette 22 that is not assigned by the user has already been installed in the non-operating mounting unit 221, the control unit 11 determines that the third condition is not satisfied and shifts the process to step S7.

<Step S6>
In the step S6, the notification processing unit 113 of the control unit 11 notifies the user of the notification information that prompts the user to mount the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 on the mounting unit 221 (notification step). Specifically, when the notification conditions including the first condition, the second condition, and the third condition are satisfied, the notification processing unit 113 notifies the user of the notification information by displaying the notification information on the monitor 13. Here, the step S6 is executed when the step S3 is judged as "Yes", the step S4 is judged as "Yes", and the step S5 is judged as "No", and therefore the second condition is satisfied, and the step S5 is judged as "No", and therefore the third condition is satisfied. Furthermore, the step S3 is judged as "Yes", and therefore the first condition is satisfied, in which there is "unallocated" medicine information that is not yet allocated to any of the unspecified cassettes 22 despite being a target for dispensing from the unspecified cassettes 22 among the medicine information included in the medicine dispensing data.

In short, in a situation where the drug information should be assigned to the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 using the non-operating mounting unit 221, when none of the unspecified cassettes 22 are mounted in the mounting unit 221 or when the unspecified cassette 22 to which the drug information has been assigned is mounted, the notification processing unit 113 notifies the notification information. This notifies the user to prompt the user to mount the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 in the non-operating mounting unit 221. Therefore, the user who has received the notification information is given an "awareness" that he or she should perform an operation to mount the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 in the non-operating mounting unit 221. As a result, a delay in the timing at which the user mounts the drug cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) in the mounting unit 221 is unlikely to occur, and a delay in the allocation of the drug information to the unspecified cassette 22 and therefore a delay in the dispensing of the drug from the unspecified cassette 22 are unlikely to occur.

Here, in this embodiment, a plurality of the mounting units 221 are provided, and the notification information includes an instruction as to which of the plurality of mounting units 221 the unallocated medicine cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) should be mounted. That is, the notification processing unit 113 displays the notification information on the monitor 13, including information identifying the non-driven mounting unit 221 in which it has been confirmed in step S5 that the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 is not mounted, as a mounting target. Specifically, the notification processing unit 113 displays, for example, the position of the mounting unit 221 as the mounting target on the monitor 13. This allows the user to easily identify the mounting unit 221 in which the unspecified cassette 22 should be mounted according to the notification information. Note that the instruction as to which mounting unit 221 the unspecified cassette 22 should be mounted is not limited to the above example, and may be realized by, for example, lighting an LED provided in the mounting unit 221 of the mounting target.

In addition, in this embodiment, the notification information includes an instruction to prompt the user to remove the medicine cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) mounted in the mounting unit 221. In other words, when the unspecified cassette 22 to which the medicine information has been assigned is mounted in the non-operating mounting unit 221 in which it has been confirmed in step S5 that no unspecified cassette 22 unassigned is mounted, the notification processing unit 113 displays the notification information on the monitor 13, including information prompting the user to remove the unspecified cassette 22. Specifically, the notification processing unit 113 displays a character string such as "Please remove the cassette" on the monitor 13. This allows the user to remove the unspecified cassette 22 to which the medicine information has been assigned in accordance with the notification information.

After notifying the notification information, the control unit 11 returns the process to step S5. The user who has received the notification information is prompted to mount the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 in the non-driven mounting unit 221, so that in the next step S5, it is determined that the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 is mounted in the non-driven mounting unit 221 (S5: Yes), making it easier to proceed to step S7. However, if the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 is still not mounted in the non-driven mounting unit 221, it is also determined in the next step S5 that the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 is not mounted in the non-driven mounting unit 221 (S5: No), and step S6 is repeatedly executed.

In step S6, the notification processing unit 113 only needs to notify the notification information, and the content of the notification information is not limited to the above. For example, the notification information does not need to prompt the user to mount the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 in the mounting unit 221, and may simply be a simple display such as an LED that indicates that the notification condition is met.

<Step S7>
In step S7, the allocation processing unit 111 of the control unit 11 allocates the medicine information to the medicine cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) in a state where it is mounted in the mounting unit 221. At this time, the allocation processing unit 111 allocates the medicine information to the unspecified cassette 22 by using the mounting unit 221 that is not being driven and in which it has been confirmed in step S5 that the unassigned unspecified cassette 22 is mounted. In this manner, the allocation processing unit 111 executes an allocation step of allocating the medicine information to the medicine cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) in a state where it is mounted in the mounting unit 221.

Specifically, the allocation processing unit 111 causes the RFID reader/writer 245 of the non-operating mounting unit 221 in which it has been confirmed in step S5 that an unallocated unspecified cassette 22 is mounted to write the drug information to the RFID tag 26 of the unallocated unspecified cassette 22. As a result, the drug information of the allocation target drug is allocated to the unallocated unspecified cassette 22. At this time, when the allocation processing unit 111 determines the unspecified cassette 22 to which the drug information is to be allocated, it updates the contents of the allocation information 121 according to the allocation result.

In this manner, in this embodiment, when there is unallocated medicine information (S2: No and S3: Yes), and an unallocated medicine cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) is mounted in the mounting unit 221 that is not being driven (S5: Yes), the allocation processing unit 111 allocates the medicine information to the medicine cassette. In short, when an unallocated unspecified cassette 22 is mounted in the mounting unit 221 that is not being driven in a situation in which the medicine information should be allocated to the unspecified cassette 22, this triggers the allocation processing unit 111 to automatically allocate the medicine information. Therefore, the user can allocate the medicine information to the unspecified cassette 22 simply by mounting the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 in the mounting unit 221 that is not being driven, without performing any additional operations.

Here, the allocation processing unit 111 executes allocation of the drug information for each of the prescription data (the drug dispensing data). Therefore, even if the drug included in the drug dispensing data "A" is the same as the drug included in the drug dispensing data "B", the allocation processing unit 111 individually allocates the drug information of the drug to each of the unspecified cassette 22 used to dispense the drug according to the drug dispensing data "A" and the unspecified cassette 22 used to dispense the drug according to the drug dispensing data "B".

The allocation processing unit 111 further allocates prescription-related information related to the prescription data (the drug dispensing data) including the drug information to the drug cassette. In this embodiment, the allocation processing unit 111 allocates various information such as the amount of tablets to be dispensed, the patient name, the allocation date and time, the name of the pharmacist in charge, and the identification information of the prescription, together with the drug information, to the unspecified cassette 22 based on the drug dispensing data. Here, at least the identification information of the prescription corresponds to information that identifies the prescription data (the drug dispensing data) including the drug information, and is an example of the prescription-related information. In other words, the allocation processing unit 111 writes not only the drug information but also the prescription-related information that can identify at least the drug dispensing data to the RFID tag 26 of the unassigned unspecified cassette 22. In this way, the prescription-related information is also allocated to the unspecified cassette 22, making it possible to identify the prescription data (the drug dispensing data) from the information allocated to the unspecified cassette 22.

In this embodiment, the allocation processing unit 111 allocates the drug information to the drug cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) that is mounted in the mounting unit 221. Therefore, if an unassigned unspecified cassette 22 is mounted in the mounting unit 221, the user can allocate the drug information without doing anything in particular. Moreover, since the communication means between the mounting unit 221 and the drug cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) is short-range wireless communication such as RFID, the drug information can be allocated while suppressing the radiation of radio waves for wireless communication from the drug dispensing system 100 to the surroundings within the medical institution in which the drug dispensing system 100 is introduced.

The allocation processing unit 111 may allocate the medicine information, etc. to the unspecified cassette 22 without recording the medicine information, etc. in the RFID tag 26 of the unspecified cassette 22. Specifically, the cassette identification information is pre-recorded in the RFID tag 26, and the RFID reader/writer 232 can recognize the medicine information, etc. allocated to the unspecified cassette 22 based on the cassette identification information read from the RFID tag 26 and the allocation information 121.

<Step S8>
In step S8, the allocation processing unit 111 of the control unit 11 causes the display unit 25 of the unspecified cassette 22 to which the drug information has been allocated in step S7 to display the drug information allocated to the unspecified cassette 22, the prescription-related information, and the like. That is, the drug cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) has the display unit 25 that displays the allocated information (including the drug information and the prescription-related information). Specifically, the allocation processing unit 111 updates the display content of the electronic paper serving as the display unit 25 by communication between the RFID reader/writer 245 of the mounting unit 221 that is not driven and the RFID tag 26 of the unspecified cassette 22, and causes the display unit 25 to display the drug information, and the like.

For example, the display unit 25 displays the drug information assigned to the unspecified cassette 22, such as the drug name (drug ID) of the tablets "Tablet A (M1)", the amount dispensed "15 tablets", the JAN code (barcode), and prescription identification information. The information displayed on the display unit 25 is not limited to these, and may include various information such as the patient's name, the allocation date and time, or the person in charge of allocation. With this configuration, the user can check the drug information assigned to the unspecified cassette 22, i.e., the drug information of the drug to be loaded into the unspecified cassette 22, on the display of the display unit 25, making it easier to load drugs (tablets) into the unspecified cassette 22.

Here, since the display unit 25 is electronic paper, even if the unspecified cassette 22 is removed from the mounting unit 221 after the drug information is displayed in step S8, the display state (display content) of the display unit 25 is maintained. Therefore, even if the user moves the unspecified cassette 22 to a drug shelf, for example, the user can check the drug information to be inserted into the unspecified cassette 22 from the display on the display unit 25. Therefore, human error by the user when inserting tablets into the unspecified cassette 22 can be suppressed.

The control unit 11 may restrict removal of the unspecified cassette 22 from the mounting unit 221 by setting the cassette lock unit of the mounting unit 221 to the locked state during the period from when the allocation of the medicine information starts in step S7 until the updating of the display content of the display unit 25 is completed in step S8.

<Step S9>
Next, in step S9, the notification processing unit 113 of the control unit 11 judges whether or not the allocation of all the medicine information to be allocated to the unspecified cassette 22 has been completed. If it is judged that the allocation of all the medicine information has been completed (S9: Yes), that is, if the allocation of all the medicine information determined in step S3 to be the unspecified cassette 22 to the unspecified cassette 22 has been completed, the control unit 11 shifts the process to step S11. On the other hand, if it is judged that the allocation of all the medicine information has not been completed (S9: No), that is, if there is at least one unassigned medicine information, the control unit 11 returns the process to step S4. Therefore, as long as there is unassigned medicine information, the control unit 11 assigns the medicine information to the unspecified cassette 22 by repeatedly executing the processes related to steps S4 to S8.

However, if the step S5 is judged as "No" after the step S9, the first condition is satisfied at the stage of the step S9. That is, in this case, since it is judged in the step S9 that the allocation of all the medicine information has not been completed, the first condition is satisfied that there is "unassigned" medicine information included in the medicine dispensing data that is to be dispensed from the unspecified cassettes 22 but has not yet been assigned to any of the unspecified cassettes 22. Therefore, even if the step S9 is passed, in the step S6, the notification processing unit 113 will notify the notification information if the notification conditions including the first condition, the second condition, and the third condition are satisfied.

As described above, when the allocation of the medicine information to the medicine cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) mounted in the mounting unit 221 is completed, if there is further unassigned medicine information, the notification processing unit 113 notifies the notification information. In short, in step S7, when the allocation of the medicine information to the unspecified cassette 22 mounted in the mounting unit 221 is completed and there is further unassigned medicine information to be assigned to the unspecified cassette 22 (S9: No), the notification processing unit 113 notifies further of the notification information by satisfying the notification condition.

As a result, when it is determined that the unspecified cassette 22 to which the allocation of the medicine information has been completed in step S7 remains attached to the mounting unit 221 and that the unspecified cassette 22 that is not assigned is not attached to the mounting unit 221 that is not in operation (S5: No), the notification information is notified (S6). Therefore, the user is given "awareness" that the allocation of the medicine information has been completed for the unspecified cassette 22 that remains attached to the mounting unit 221 that is not in operation. As a result, a delay in the timing at which the user attaches the unspecified medicine cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) to the mounting unit 221 is unlikely to occur, and a delay in the allocation of the medicine information to the unspecified cassette 22, and therefore a delay in the dispensing of medicine from the unspecified cassette 22, is unlikely to occur.

<Step S10>
In the step S10, the control unit 11 assigns the medicine information to the manual preparation unit 4. At this time, the control unit 11 assigns the medicine information of the allocation target medicine, which is determined in the step S3 to be the manual preparation unit 4 as the dispenser (S3: No), to the manual preparation unit 4. Here, if there are a plurality of tablets among the allocation target medicines that have not been assigned to the unspecified cassette 22, the medicine information of the plurality of tablets is assigned to the manual preparation unit 4. When assigning medicine information to the manual preparation unit 4, the control unit 11 displays, for example, on the monitor 13, a message indicating that the manual preparation unit 4 should be used, that is, a message indicating that the allocation target medicine should be input to the manual preparation unit 4. When the assignment of the medicine information to the manual preparation unit 4 (S10) is completed, the control unit 11 shifts the process to the step S11.

<Step S11>
In step S11, the control unit 11 judges whether or not a packaging start operation for starting a packaging operation has been performed. Here, the packaging start operation includes an operation of completing the input (filling) of medicines (tablets) into the unspecified cassette 22 to which the medicine information has been assigned. That is, when the medicine information has been assigned to the unspecified cassette 22 in step S7, the control unit 11 judges in step S11 whether or not a filling completion operation indicating that the filling (input) of tablets into the unspecified cassette 22 has been completed has been performed on the operation unit 14.

Specifically, when the drug information is assigned to the unspecified cassette 22 in step S7 and the drug information is displayed on the display unit 25 of the unspecified cassette 22, the user removes the unspecified cassette 22 from the mounting unit 221. Then, the user inserts the required number of tablets into the unspecified cassette 22 while referring to the prescription corresponding to the drug dispensing data or the drug information displayed on the display unit 25. After that, the user mounts the unspecified cassette 22 filled with tablets in the mounting unit 221 of the tablet supply unit 2 and performs the loading completion operation on the operation unit 14. At this time, the mounting unit 221 to which the unspecified cassette 22 filled with tablets is mounted may be the same as the mounting unit 221 used to assign the drug information to the unspecified cassette 22, or may be a different mounting unit.

In any case, the control unit 11 reads the cassette identification information of the unspecified cassette 22 from the RFID tag 26 of the unspecified cassette 22 mounted in each of the mounting units 221, and identifies the unspecified cassette 22 currently mounted in each of the mounting units 221. This allows the control unit 11 to identify the unspecified cassette 22 mounted in each of the mounting units 221, so that the user can mount each of the unspecified cassettes 22 in any of the mounting units 221. For example, even if the unspecified cassette 22 is mounted in a mounting unit 221 other than the mounting unit 221 used to assign the medicine information to the unspecified cassette 22, the control unit 11 can determine the mounting unit 221 in which the unspecified cassette 22 is mounted.

The mounting unit 221 may be provided with a mounting/removal detection sensor that detects the removal of the unspecified cassette 22, and the control unit 11 may notify the user that tablets have not been filled into the unspecified cassette 22 based on the detection result of the mounting/removal detection sensor. That is, the control unit 11 notifies the user of an error when the filling completion operation is performed without detecting the removal of the unspecified cassette 22 even once between the time when the medicine information is assigned to the unspecified cassette 22 and the time when the filling completion operation is performed. The notification is performed, for example, via the monitor 13 or audio output.

When filling of the fixed cassette 21, the unspecified cassette 22, the manual dispensing unit 4, etc. is completed for all prescription drugs included in the drug dispensing data and the packaging start operation is performed (S11: Yes), the control unit 11 transitions the process to step S12. On the other hand, if the packaging start operation is not performed (S11: No), the control unit 11 returns the process to step S1 and waits for a request to issue new drug dispensing data. In this case, for the drug dispensing data for which the allocation of drug information has already been completed, the drug dispensing system 100 can immediately start packaging processing (S14) once the packaging start operation is performed, and can allocate the drug information according to the new drug dispensing data.

In this embodiment, the drug information is assigned to the unspecified cassette 22 based on the drug dispensing data (the prescription data) by the processes from step S1 to step S10. Therefore, the packaging start operation is not performed (S11: No), and the drug information is assigned according to new drug dispensing data, so that it is possible to assign the drug information to the unspecified cassette 22 based on multiple drug dispensing data prior to the packaging operation. Therefore, the user can prepare the unspecified cassette 22 to be used for dispensing drugs of the multiple drug dispensing data by filling it with drugs prior to the packaging operation.

In other words, in a situation where the packaging operation based on one of the medicine dispensing data has neither started nor ended, it is possible to prepare the unspecified cassette 22 required for the packaging operation for multiple medicine dispensing data including the one medicine dispensing data. In this manner, in a state where the preparation of the unspecified cassette 22 for multiple medicine dispensing data is completed, when starting the packaging operation, it is necessary to specify for which of the multiple medicine dispensing data the packaging operation is to be started. The medicine dispensing data for starting the packaging operation may be specified by the control unit 11 in step S11 according to a predetermined rule, such as the order in which the medicine dispensing data was issued in step S1, or may be specified by the user.

In addition, in step S11, the control unit 11 may determine whether the packaging start operation has been performed on the operation unit 14 in addition to or instead of the filling completion operation.

<Step S12>
In the step S12, the lock processing unit 114 of the control unit 11 restricts removal of the unspecified cassette 22 from the mounting unit 221 in which at least the unspecified cassette 22 to be dispensed is mounted (lock step). Specifically, the lock processing unit 114 switches the state of the cassette lock unit of the mounting unit 221 in which the unspecified cassette 22 to be dispensed is mounted from the released state to the locked state.

The mounting unit 221 that the drive processing unit 112 drives by the drive processing is the mounting unit 221 in which the drug cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) to which the drug information has been assigned is mounted. Therefore, the lock processing unit 114 does not set the cassette lock unit to the locked state for the mounting unit 221 in which the unspecified cassette 22 to which the drug information has not been assigned is mounted. Therefore, the unspecified cassette 22 to which the drug information has not been assigned can be freely removed from the mounting unit 221. The lock processing unit 114 similarly restricts the removal of the fixed cassette 21 from which the drug information is to be dispensed from the mounting unit 211.

<Step S13>
In the next step S13, the adjustment processing unit 115 of the control unit 11 sets the driving conditions for the medicine cassette (the unspecified cassette 22) that is mounted in the mounting unit 221 in a state in which tablets corresponding to the medicine information are inserted (filled). At this time, the adjustment processing unit 115 sets the driving conditions according to the driving conditions corresponding to the medicine information assigned to the unspecified cassette 22. For example, when the advance driving conditions are included in the driving conditions, the adjustment processing unit 115 performs the calibration to adjust at least one of the height h1 and the width w1 of the medicine dispensing path in the unspecified cassette 22 according to the driving conditions (the advance driving conditions) corresponding to the medicine information assigned to the unspecified cassette 22.

After setting the drive conditions, the control unit 11 transitions to step S14, which executes the packaging process including dispensing the medicine. In other words, the drive conditions including the calibration are set immediately before the packaging process in which the medicine is actually dispensed from the unspecified cassette 22. Therefore, for example, the height h1 and the width w1 of the dispensing path adjusted by the calibration are prevented from becoming distorted when the unspecified cassette 22 is attached to or detached from the mounting unit 221, and the reliability of the drive conditions can be improved.

The timing for changing the height h1 and width w1 of the dispensing path in the unspecified cassette 22 in accordance with the drive conditions is not limited to immediately before the packaging process, but may be, for example, immediately after the allocation of the medicine information, that is, between step S7 and step S8. The drive conditions may not include the advance drive conditions, and the height h1 and width w1 of the dispensing path may be adjusted arbitrarily by manually operating the height adjustment unit 226A and the width adjustment unit 227A of the unspecified cassette 22. In this case, the user adjusts the height h1 and width w1 of the dispensing path of the unspecified cassette 22, and then mounts the unspecified cassette 22 in the mounting portion 221 of the tablet supply unit 2.

<Step S14>
In the step S14, the control unit 11 executes the packaging process. In the packaging process, the medicine dispensing system 100 dispenses and packages the prescription medicine indicated in the medicine dispensing data. The details of the packaging process will be described later. After starting the execution of the packaging process, the control unit 11 returns the process to the step S1 and waits for a request to issue new medicine dispensing data.

As a result, after starting the packaging process of the previous (Nth) medicine dispensing data, the control unit 11 can assign the medicine information to the unspecified cassette 22 to be used in the packaging operation of the next (N+1th) medicine dispensing data by the processes from step S1 to step S10. In other words, during the packaging operation of the previous medicine dispensing data, the unspecified cassette 22 to be used in the packaging operation of the next or subsequent medicine dispensing data can be determined. Therefore, the user can prepare up to filling the unspecified cassette 22 with medicine to be used in the packaging operation of the next or subsequent medicine dispensing data (N+1th) in parallel with the packaging operation of the previous (Nth) medicine dispensing data, thereby improving work efficiency.

However, if the unspecified cassettes 22 have already been prepared for a plurality of the medicine dispensing data at the time of step S11, it is preferable that the control unit 11 starts the packaging process for the next (N+1) medicine dispensing data after completing the packaging process for the previous (Nth) medicine dispensing data. This makes it possible to complete the dispensing of medicines (the packaging operation) for a plurality of the medicine dispensing data in a relatively short time. Furthermore, if all of the unspecified cassettes 22 to be used for the packaging process for the next medicine dispensing data are not mounted in the mounting unit 221 after completing the packaging process for the previous medicine dispensing data, it is preferable that the control unit 11 notifies the user that the packaging process cannot be started. The notification is made, for example, by the monitor 13 or by audio output.

Note that the above flowchart is merely an example, and processes may be added or omitted as appropriate, and the order of processes may be changed as appropriate. The same applies to the flowchart in Figure 13 described below.

[Specific examples]
A specific example (operation example) of the medicine dispensing method will be described below with reference to Figs. 11 and 12. Figs. 11 and 12 are schematic diagrams showing the states of the four mounting parts 221 of "A", "B", "C", and "D" in the tablet supply unit 2. In Figs. 11 and 12, the changes in the mounting parts 221 along the time series are indicated as "ST1", "ST2", .... Here, "non-driven" means a state in which the mounting parts 221 are not driven by the drive processing unit 112 to dispense medicine and the calibration is not performed by the adjustment processing unit 115, regardless of whether the unspecified cassette 22 is mounted in the mounting parts 221 or not.

In addition, in the first specific example (FIG. 11) and the second specific example (FIG. 12) described below, it is assumed that the first prescription data including the prescription drug IDs "M1", "M2" and "M3" and the second prescription data including the prescription drug IDs "M4" and "M5" are issued as the drug dispensing data (see step S1 in FIG. 10). In other words, the drug dispensing system 100 dispenses and packages the drug according to the first prescription data, and dispenses and packages the drug according to the second prescription data. In this case, the drug dispensing system 100 dispenses five types of drug ("M1" to "M5") from the unspecified cassette 22, which exceeds the number of the mounting units 221 (four).

[First concrete example]
11, the user first mounts the unspecified cassette 22 with cassette number "C1" in the mounting unit 221 of "A", the unspecified cassette 22 with cassette number "C2" in the mounting unit 221 of "B", and the unspecified cassette 22 with cassette number "C3" in the mounting unit 221 of "C". Then, in state ST1, the medicine dispensing system 100 assigns medicine information of "M1" to the unspecified cassette 22 with "C1" in the mounting unit 221 of "A", medicine information of "M2" to the unspecified cassette 22 with "C2" in the mounting unit 221 of "B", and medicine information of "M3" to the unspecified cassette 22 with "C3" in the mounting unit 221 of "C".

Next, in state ST2, the medicine dispensing system 100 dispenses medicine "M1" from the unspecified cassette 22 "C1" at the mounting unit 221 "A", medicine "M2" from the unspecified cassette 22 "C2" at the mounting unit 221 "B", and medicine "M3" from the unspecified cassette 22 "C3" at the mounting unit 221 "C". This completes the dispensing and packaging of the medicine related to the first prescription data.

Next, the user mounts the unspecified cassette 22 with cassette number "C4" in the mounting unit 221 of "A" and the unspecified cassette 22 with cassette number "C5" in the mounting unit 221 of "B". Then, in state ST3, the medicine dispensing system 100 assigns medicine information "M4" to the unspecified cassette 22 with "C4" in the mounting unit 221 of "A" and medicine information "M5" to the unspecified cassette 22 with "C5" in the mounting unit 221 of "B".

Next, in state ST4, the medicine dispensing system 100 dispenses medicine "M4" from the unspecified cassette 22 "C4" at the mounting unit 221 "A", and medicine "M5" from the unspecified cassette 22 "C5" at the mounting unit 221 "B". This completes the dispensing and packaging of the medicine related to the second prescription data.

That is, in the first specific example, even though the mounting unit 221 of "D" is "not driven" and available in the states ST1 and ST2, the medicine dispensing system 100 does not assign the medicine information related to the second prescription data until the mounting unit 221 is available to which the medicine information of the medicine ("M4" and "M5") related to the second prescription data can be assigned. Therefore, the medicine dispensing system 100 waits until the dispensing and packaging of the medicine related to the first prescription data is completed before starting the allocation of the medicine information related to the second prescription data, and it takes time to complete the dispensing and packaging of the medicine related to the second prescription data without effectively using the available mounting unit 221.

In the first specific example, it is not essential to switch the unspecified cassettes 22 mounted in the mounting units 221 of "A" and "B" from state ST2 to state ST3. For example, after state ST2 (after recovering any remaining medicine), the medicine dispensing system 100 may assign medicine information of "M4" to the unspecified cassette 22 of "C1" mounted in the mounting unit 221 of "A" and medicine information of "M5" to the unspecified cassette 22 of "C2" mounted in the mounting unit 221 of "B".

[Second Specific Example]
In the second specific example, as shown in Figure 12, the user first loads the unspecified cassette 22 with cassette number "C1" into the loading section 221 of "A", the unspecified cassette 22 with cassette number "C2" into the loading section 221 of "B", the unspecified cassette 22 with cassette number "C3" into the loading section 221 of "C", and the unspecified cassette 22 with cassette number "C4" into the loading section 221 of "D". Then, in state ST11, the drug dispensing system 100 assigns drug information "M1" to the unspecified cassette 22 "C1" in the mounting section 221 "A", drug information "M2" to the unspecified cassette 22 "C2" in the mounting section 221 "B", drug information "M3" to the unspecified cassette 22 "C3" in the mounting section 221 "C", and drug information "M4" to the unspecified cassette 22 "C4" in the mounting section 221 "D".

Next, in state ST12, the medicine dispensing system 100 dispenses the medicine "M1" from the unspecified cassette 22 of "C1" in the mounting unit 221 of "A", the medicine "M2" from the unspecified cassette 22 of "C2" in the mounting unit 221 of "B", and the medicine "M3" from the unspecified cassette 22 of "C3" in the mounting unit 221 of "C". Here, from state ST11 to state ST12, the user removes the unspecified cassette 22 of "C4" to which the medicine information of "M4" is assigned from the mounting unit 221 of "D", and newly attaches the unspecified cassette 22 of "C5" that is not assigned to the mounting unit 221 of "D". In other words, the unspecified cassette 22 attached to the mounting unit 221 of "D" is replaced from "C4" to "C5". As a result, in state ST12, the medicine dispensing system 100 assigns the medicine information of "M5" to the unspecified cassette 22 of "C5" in the mounting section 221 of "D".

In other words, the medicine dispensing system 100 according to this embodiment notifies the notification information that prompts the user to mount the unallocated unspecified cassette 22 in the mounting unit 221, and the notification information is notified when the allocation of the medicine information "M4" to the unspecified cassette 22 "C4" is completed. As a result, a user who has received the notification information can make the unspecified cassette 22 "C5" available for allocation of the medicine information "M5" by replacing the unspecified cassette 22 mounted in the mounting unit 221 "D" from "C4" to "C5".

In state ST12, when the dispensing and packaging of the medicine related to the first prescription data is completed, the user then mounts the unspecified cassette 22 with cassette number "C4" in the mounting unit 221 of "A". Here, the unspecified cassette 22 with cassette number "C4" has already been assigned the medicine information of "M4". Therefore, by checking the medicine information and the prescription-related information, etc. displayed on the display unit 25, for example, the user can easily correctly mount the unspecified cassette 22 required for dispensing the medicine related to the second prescription data.

Then, in state ST13, the medicine dispensing system 100 dispenses the medicine "M4" from the unspecified cassette 22 of "C4" at the mounting unit 221 of "A", and the medicine "M5" from the unspecified cassette 22 of "C5" at the mounting unit 221 of "D". This completes the dispensing and packaging of the medicine related to the second prescription data.

That is, in the second specific example, the attachment portion 221 of "D" is also effectively used in the states ST11 and ST12, so that the drug information of the drug ("M4" and "M5") related to the second prescription data is assigned. Therefore, the drug dispensing system 100 can start assigning the drug information related to the second prescription data without waiting until the dispensing and packaging of the drug related to the first prescription data is completed, and the time until the dispensing and packaging of the drug related to the second prescription data is completed can be shortened.

[Packaging process]
An example of the packaging process (S14 in FIG. 10) executed by the control unit 11 or the control unit 61 of the medicine dispensing system 100 will be described below with reference to FIG. 13. Here, the processing procedures (steps) executed by the control unit 11 or the control unit 61 are referred to as steps S141, S142, .... The packaging process shown in FIG. 13 focuses on dispensing medicines (tablets) from the unspecified cassettes 22, and the same process is executed for each of the unspecified cassettes 22.

<Step S141>
First, in step S141, the drive processing unit 112 of the control unit 11 drives the drive motor 241 in the second drive unit 24 of the mounting unit 221 to which the unspecified cassette 22 is attached to rotate the first rotating body 223 and drives the drive motor 242 to rotate the second rotating body 224 in accordance with the drive conditions. This drives the unspecified cassette 22 attached to the mounting unit 221, and executes a dispensing process for dispensing medicine (tablets) from the unspecified cassette 22. At this time, the control unit 11 also controls the mounting unit 211 to which the fixed cassette 21 is attached, the powdered medicine supply unit 3, the manual dispensing unit 4, and the packaging unit 5, and executes a packaging operation for packaging the dispensed medicine by the packaging unit 5 in a package unit based on the time of administration, etc.

Here, the control unit 11 specifies the drive conditions other than the preliminary drive conditions (the height h1 and the width w1). Specifically, the control unit 11 specifies the drive conditions according to the drive conditions corresponding to the medicine information assigned to the unspecified cassette 22, and executes the dispensing process according to the specified drive conditions. For example, the control unit 11 specifies items such as the dispensing speed, which is an example of the drive condition, and the first slowdown, the second slowdown, and the reverse rotation operation, which are examples of the drive stop condition, according to the drive conditions corresponding to the medicine information assigned to the unspecified cassette 22.

The control unit 11 may display the cassette identification information of each of the unspecified cassettes 22 and the setting contents of the driving conditions corresponding to each of the unspecified cassettes 22 on the monitor 13, and change the setting contents of the driving conditions in response to a user operation on the operation unit 14. This makes it possible to change the driving conditions of the unspecified cassette 22 when dispensing tablets from the unspecified cassette 22 by an arbitrary operation input by the user. In addition, the user can check the setting contents of the driving conditions corresponding to the drug information of the drug to be dispensed by referring to the monitor 13.

<Step S142>
In step S142, the drive processing unit 112 of the control unit 11 judges whether or not the packaging of the medicine dispensed from the unspecified cassette 22 has been completed. For example, when the dispensing of a preset amount of medicine (tablets) from the unspecified cassette 22 has been completed, the control unit 11 judges that the packaging has been completed (S142: Yes) and shifts the process to step S143. On the other hand, when the dispensing of a preset amount of medicine (tablets) from the unspecified cassette 22 has not been completed, the drive processing unit 112 judges that the packaging has not been completed (S142: No) and returns the process to step S141.

<Step S143>
In step S143, the control unit 11 displays the completion of dispensing on the display unit 25 of the unspecified cassette 22 from which dispensing has been completed. As an example, the control unit 11 displays a character string or a mark indicating the completion of dispensing on the display unit 25 while keeping the medicine information displayed on the display unit 25. This makes it possible to notify the user that the dispensing of the tablets from the unspecified cassette 22 in which the display unit 25 is provided has been completed. Note that other examples of the display of the completion of dispensing include erasing the display of the medicine information on the display unit 25, inverting the display color, and the like.

<Step S144>
Next, in step S144, the control unit 11 cancels the allocation of the medicine information to the unspecified cassette 22. Specifically, the control unit 11 erases the medicine information recorded in the RFID tag 26 of the unspecified cassette 22, and updates the allocation information 121. The unspecified cassette 22 from which the allocation of the medicine information has been canceled becomes in an "unallocated" state. Furthermore, the allocation of the prescription-related information allocated to the unspecified cassette 22 together with the medicine information is also canceled in step S144.

In this way, the allocation of the medicine information to the unspecified cassette 22 is cancelled when a preset allocation cancellation condition is met, and the unspecified cassette 22 becomes unallocated. In this embodiment, the allocation cancellation condition is that the packaging operation based on the medicine dispensing data using the unspecified cassette 22 is completed (S142: Yes). However, the allocation cancellation condition is not limited to this example, and may include, for example, detection of removal of the unspecified cassette 22 from the mounting unit 221 after the packaging operation is completed, or a user operation to forcibly cancel the allocation of the medicine information to the unspecified cassette 22, etc.

<Step S145>
In step S145, the control unit 11 judges whether or not there is a request to collect remaining medicine. If the number of tablets put into the unspecified cassette 22 by the user is the same as the amount to be dispensed, when the packaging operation is completed, there should be no tablets remaining in each of the unspecified cassettes 22 used in the packaging operation. However, if an excess number of tablets are put into the unspecified cassette 22 by the user, the remaining tablets will be dispensed when the unspecified cassette 22 is next used. Therefore, if there are tablets remaining in the unspecified cassette 22, it is necessary to collect the tablets (remaining medicine). Therefore, when it is necessary to collect the remaining medicine, the control unit 11 judges whether or not it is necessary to collect the remaining medicine by generating the request to collect remaining medicine.

The remaining medicine collection request occurs, for example, when the number of tablets inserted into the unspecified cassette 22 exceeds the amount to be dispensed, or when the need to collect remaining medicine is specified in response to a user operation on the operation unit 14. When the control unit 11 determines that there is a remaining medicine collection request (S145: Yes), it shifts the process to step S146. When the control unit 11 determines that there is no remaining medicine collection request (S145: No), it skips step S146 and shifts the process to step S147.

<Step S146>
In the step S146, the control unit 11 executes a remaining medicine collecting process for discharging the remaining medicine from the unspecified cassette 22 used in the packaging operation. Specifically, the control unit 61 executes the remaining medicine collecting process by driving the first rotating body 223 and the second rotating body 224 of the unspecified cassette 22 for a preset predetermined time to dispense the tablets from the unspecified cassette 22. At this time, the control unit 61 may change the discharge destination of the tablets dispensed from the unspecified cassette 22 from the packaging unit 5 to a medicine discharge tray provided in the medicine dispensing system 100. Thereby, when tablets remain in the unspecified cassette 22, the tablets can be discharged to the medicine dispensing tray, and the tablets can be prevented from remaining in the unspecified cassette 22.

Furthermore, when the remaining medicine collection process is completed, the control unit 61 may display on the display unit 25 of the unspecified cassette 22 or on the monitor 13 that collection of the tablets from the unspecified cassette 22 has been completed. If it is only necessary to display that collection of the tablets from the unspecified cassette 22 has been completed, a simple display means such as an LED that can display this information by a lighting method or lighting color may be used.

In addition, in the remaining medicine recovery process, the tablets remaining in the unspecified cassette 22 may be discharged in a state where they are packaged in packaging paper by the packaging unit 5, rather than being discharged to the medicine discharge tray.

<Step S147>
Next, in step S147, the lock processing unit 114 of the control unit 11 releases the restriction (lock) on removal of the unspecified cassette 22 from the mounting unit 221, and ends a series of processes related to the packaging process. Specifically, the lock processing unit 114 switches the state of the cassette lock unit of the mounting unit 221 in which the unspecified cassette 22 is mounted from the locked state to the released state.

[Other features]
Hereinafter, various functions of the medicine dispensing system 100 will be described. Note that the various functions described here may be functions of the medicine dispensing system 100, and may be functions realized by the control unit 61 instead of the control unit 11, or functions realized by cooperation between the control unit 11 and the control unit 61.

[Payment source change function]
As described above, in the medicine dispensing system 100, when the prescription medicine included in the medicine dispensing data includes a type of tablet that is not contained in any of the fixed cassettes 21, the medicine (tablet) is assigned as the allocation target medicine, and the dispensing source of the tablet is assigned to the unspecified cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4. Here, the dispensing source of the allocation target medicine is basically selected from the unspecified cassette 22 and the manual distribution unit 4 in the step S3 (see FIG. 10).

The dispensing control device 1 according to this embodiment has a "dispensing source change function" that changes the dispensing source of the allocation target drug between the unspecified cassette 22 and the manual preparation unit 4 even after step S3. In this embodiment, for example, even after the control unit 11 issues an instruction for the packaging process (packaging start instruction) to the control unit 61 of the control unit 6, the control unit 11 can change the dispensing source of the allocation target drug. As an example, after the unspecified cassette 22 is selected as the dispensing source of a certain allocation target drug (S3: Yes), the packaging start operation is performed in step S11 (see FIG. 10) through the processing of steps S4 to S9 (see FIG. 10), and before the packaging process of step S14 (see FIG. 10) actually starts, the control unit 11 can change the dispensing source of the allocation target drug to the manual preparation unit 4. In this case, the control unit 11 changes the allocation destination of the drug information of the allocation target drug from the unspecified cassette 22 to the manual preparation unit 4 after step S11. Conversely, the control unit 11 can also change the allocation destination of the drug information of the allocation target drug from the manual preparation unit 4 to the unspecified cassette 22 after step S11.

Specifically, even after step S3, the control unit 11 makes it possible to change the dispensing source of the assigned drug in response to a user operation on the operation unit 14 on the packaging progress screen displayed on the monitor 13. That is, the user designates the assigned drug that is assigned to, for example, the unspecified cassette 22 on the packaging progress screen, and performs a change operation on the operation unit 14 to instruct a change in the dispensing source of the assigned drug, thereby changing the allocation destination of the assigned drug from the unspecified cassette 22 to the manual distribution unit 4. Here, the user can also change the dispensing source for multiple assigned drug all at once by designating multiple assigned drug.

Furthermore, the control unit 11 may notify guidance information for informing the user of a change in the dispensing source of the allocated drug based on the current usage status of at least one of the unspecified cassette 22 and the manual distribution unit 4. As an example, when the unspecified cassette 22 is selected as the dispensing source of a certain allocated drug, but there is no free space in the unspecified cassette 22 (or the mounting unit 221), the control unit 11 notifies the user of information inquiring as to whether or not to change the dispensing source of the allocated drug to the manual distribution unit 4 as the guidance information. Here, the control unit 11 may take into account the usage status of the manual distribution unit 4, and if there is no free space in the manual distribution unit 4, the control unit 11 does not inquire as to whether or not to change the dispensing source of the allocated drug to the manual distribution unit 4.

The timing at which the control unit 11 changes the source of the allocated drug, i.e., the destination of the drug information of the allocated drug, may be any time between the selection of the unspecified cassette 22 or the manual distribution unit 4 in step S3 and the actual start of step S14 relating to the packaging process. For example, the control unit 11 may change the source of the allocated drug from the unspecified cassette 22 to the manual distribution unit 4 at any time in steps S4 to S9.

The control unit 11 may also automatically change the dispensing source of the allocated drug based on the current usage status of at least one of the unspecified cassette 22 and the manual distribution unit 4. As an example, when the unspecified cassette 22 is selected as the dispensing source of a certain allocated drug, but there is no free space in the unspecified cassette 22 (or the mounting unit 221), the control unit 11 automatically changes the dispensing source of the allocated drug to the manual distribution unit 4. Here, the control unit 11 may take into account the usage status of the manual distribution unit 4, and if there is no free space in the manual distribution unit 4, the control unit 11 does not change the dispensing source of the allocated drug.

[Modification]
A plurality of components included in the medicine dispensing system 100 may be distributed among a plurality of housings. Conversely, a plurality of components (such as the control unit 11 and the control unit 61) distributed among a plurality of housings in the above embodiment may be integrated into one housing.

Second Embodiment
As shown in Fig. 14, the medicine dispensing system 100A according to the second embodiment differs from the medicine dispensing system 100 according to the first embodiment in the configuration for collecting remaining medicines. The same configurations and processes as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

In this embodiment, the tablet supply unit 2 includes a medicine container 27 instead of the fixed cassette 21 (see FIG. 1). That is, the tablet supply unit 2 includes a mounting portion 271 for the medicine container 27 instead of the mounting portion 211 for the fixed cassette 21 (see FIG. 1). Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 14, five mounting portions 271 for the medicine container 27 are provided vertically above each of the four unspecified cassettes 22 arranged side by side. This allows the medicine containers 27 to be arranged vertically in a row above each of the unspecified cassettes 22. The tablet supply unit 2 may include the fixed cassette 21 in addition to the medicine container 27.

In addition, in this embodiment, the tablet supply unit 2 includes a recovery section 28 to which the medicine storage container 27 can be attached, separate from the mounting section 271. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 14, one recovery section 28 is provided below each of the four unspecified cassettes 22 arranged side by side. This allows one medicine storage container 27 to be placed below each of the unspecified cassettes 22.

The medicine storage container 27 is a container that is commonly used for multiple types of tablets (medicines). Each of the medicine storage containers 27 can store a large number of any one of the multiple types of tablets. The medicine storage container 27 is assigned medicine information for the stored medicine, similar to the unspecified cassette 22. Then, when the medicine storage container 27 is mounted in the mounting portion 271, the medicine storage container 27 can feed the stored tablets (in small amounts) into the unspecified cassette 22 below.

As an example, each of the five medicine storage containers 27 arranged above the unspecified cassette 22 with cassette number "C1" contains tablets with a medicine ID of "M1", and each of the five medicine storage containers 27 arranged above the unspecified cassette 22 with cassette number "C2" contains tablets with a medicine ID of "M2". In this case, each of the medicine storage containers 27 containing tablets with "M1" can feed (fill) tablets with "M1" in small amounts into the unspecified cassette 22 with "C1". Similarly, each of the medicine storage containers 27 containing tablets with "M2" can feed (fill) tablets with "M2" in small amounts into the unspecified cassette 22 with "C2".

15, an input path 272 is provided at the back of the mounting section 271, and the tablet supply unit 2 drives the medicine container 27 mounted on the mounting section 271 to discharge the medicine (tablets) in the medicine container 27 to the input path 272. The input path 272 is connected to the tablet container 222 (see FIG. 4) of the unspecified cassette 22 located below the mounting section 271, and the medicine discharged from the medicine container 27 is input to the unspecified cassette 22 through the input path 272. The unspecified cassette 22 dispenses the medicine (tablets) input from the medicine container 27 one tablet at a time to the packaging unit 5. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section of the tablet supply unit 2.

Here, as a means for feeding small amounts (several tablets) of tablets from the medicine container 27 into the unspecified cassette 22, there is, for example, a means for vibrating the medicine container 27 from the mounting section 271 or a means for tilting the medicine container 27. In addition, the tablets dispensed from the unspecified cassette 22 are fed into the packaging unit 5 through a hole 281 formed in the bottom surface of the collection section 28, as shown by the dashed arrow during the "dispensing process" in FIG. 15.

In the medicine dispensing system 100A according to this embodiment, the medicine storage container 27 is used to collect remaining medicine from the unspecified cassette 22. That is, when there is a remaining medicine collection request (step S145 in FIG. 13: Yes), the medicine dispensing system 100A executes a remaining medicine collection process to discharge remaining medicine from the unspecified cassette 22 used in the packaging operation (step S146 in FIG. 13). In this case, the remaining medicine is collected in the medicine storage container 27 by discharging the remaining medicine from the unspecified cassette 22 to the medicine storage container 27.

Specifically, during the dispensing process (step S141 in FIG. 13) in which medicines (tablets) are dispensed from the unspecified cassette 22 in the packaging process, the medicine container 27 is attached to the mounting section 271, as shown on the left side of FIG. 15. In this state, medicines can be fed from the medicine container 27 to the unspecified cassette 22. On the other hand, when the packaging operation is completed and the remaining medicine is collected from the unspecified cassette 22, the medicine container 27 is attached to the collection section 28, as shown on the right side of FIG. 15. In this state, the remaining medicine dispensed from the unspecified cassette 22 can be collected by the medicine container 27 attached to the collection section 28. That is, when collecting the remaining medicine, the user removes the medicine container 27 from the mounting section 271 and attaches it to the collection section 28, thereby enabling the remaining medicine to be collected by the medicine container 27. As an example, an intake port 273 for taking in remaining medicine is formed on the top surface of the medicine container 27. Therefore, the remaining medicine dispensed from the unspecified cassette 22 is collected into the medicine container 27 through the intake port 273, for example, as shown by the dashed arrow during "remaining medicine collection process" in FIG. 15.

Here, in this embodiment, the dispensing control device 1 judges whether the correct medicine container 27 is attached to the collection unit 28 during the remaining medicine collection process. In other words, the dispensing control device 1 executes the remaining medicine collection process after confirming that the medicine container 27 is attached to the collection unit 28 and that the medicine container 27 is correct. When the medicine information assigned to the unspecified cassette 22 from which the remaining medicine is discharged matches the medicine information assigned to the medicine container 27, the dispensing control device 1 judges that the medicine container 27 attached to the collection unit 28 is correct. Then, the dispensing control device 1 starts the remaining medicine collection process only after judging that the correct medicine container 27 is attached to the collection unit 28. As an example, the medicine container 27 is provided with an identification code such as a barcode indicating medicine information, and the medicine information assigned to the medicine container 27 is identified by reading the identification code with a code reading unit such as a barcode reader provided in the collection unit 28. The dispensing control device 1 determines that the drug storage container 27 attached to the collection unit 28 is correct when the drug information indicated by the identification code read by the code reading unit of the collection unit 28 matches the drug information assigned to the unspecified cassette 22.

In addition, when the medicine container 27 is attached to the mounting section 271 above the unspecified cassette 22, the dispensing control device 1 does not start the remaining medicine collection process for the unspecified cassette 22 even if the medicine container 27 is attached to the collection section 28. Whether the medicine container 27 is attached to the mounting section 271 can be determined, for example, by whether a code reading section such as a barcode reader provided in the mounting section 271 can read the identification code attached to the medicine container 27. In this embodiment, as an example, there are multiple (here, five) mounting sections 271 above the unspecified cassette 22, so if the medicine container 27 is attached to even one of these multiple mounting sections 271, the dispensing control device 1 prohibits the start of the remaining medicine collection process for the unspecified cassette 22. This makes it possible to prevent the remaining medicine collection process from being performed in a state where the medicine container 27 containing medicine (tablets) different from the medicine container 27 mounted on the collection unit 28 is mounted on the mounting unit 271 according to the next medicine dispensing data, for example. Therefore, it is easy to prevent medicine from dropping from the medicine container 27 mounted on the mounting unit 271 through the unspecified cassette 22 to the medicine container 27 mounted on the collection unit 28, and mixing of different types of medicine into the medicine container 27 mounted on the collection unit 28. The dispensing control device 1 may prohibit the start of the remaining medicine collection process for the unspecified cassette 22 only when the medicine containers 27 are mounted on all of the multiple mounting units 271.

The dispensing control device 1 also prohibits the mounting of the medicine container 27 on the mounting section 271 above the unspecified cassette 22 during the remaining medicine collection process for the unspecified cassette 22. Specifically, the dispensing control device 1 controls the prohibiting means provided on the mounting section 271 to prevent the medicine container 27 from being mounted above the unspecified cassette 22 during the remaining medicine collection process. For example, the dispensing control device 1 prohibits the mounting of the medicine container 27 on the mounting section 271 by closing a shutter as the prohibiting means of the mounting section 271 above the unspecified cassette 22 during the remaining medicine collection process for the unspecified cassette 22. This makes it easy to prevent medicine from falling from the medicine container 27 mounted on the mounting section 271 through the unspecified cassette 22 into the medicine container 27 mounted on the collection section 28, and mixing of different medicines into the medicine container 27 mounted on the collection section 28.

In addition, when the medicine storage container 27 is attached to the collection unit 28 below the unspecified cassette 22, the dispensing control device 1 does not execute the packaging process for the unspecified cassette 22. Whether the medicine storage container 27 is attached to the collection unit 28 can be determined, for example, by whether a code reading unit such as a barcode reader provided in the collection unit 28 can read the identification code attached to the medicine storage container 27. In other words, the packaging process involving the dispensing of tablets from the unspecified cassette 22 is prohibited from being executed when the medicine storage container 27 is present in the collection unit 28 for collecting the remaining medicine of the unspecified cassette 22. This makes it possible to prevent tablets dispensed from the unspecified cassette 22 by the packaging operation from being mixed in the medicine storage container 27 attached to the collection unit 28 by mistake.

Furthermore, when starting the packaging process involving dispensing tablets from the unspecified cassette 22, if the medicine container 27 is attached to the collection unit 28 below the unspecified cassette 22, the dispensing control device 1 issues a warning to the user. Specifically, the dispensing control device 1 warns the user that the medicine container 27 is attached to the collection unit 28, for example, by displaying on the monitor 13 or by audio output or other means. This makes the user aware that the medicine container 27 should be removed from the collection unit 28.

The dispensing control device 1 also prohibits the attachment of the medicine container 27 to the collection unit 28 below the unspecified cassette 22 during the packaging process involving the dispensing of tablets from the unspecified cassette 22. Specifically, the dispensing control device 1 controls the prohibiting means provided in the collection unit 28 to prevent the medicine container 27 from being attached below the unspecified cassette 22 during the packaging process. For example, the dispensing control device 1 prohibits the attachment of the medicine container 27 to the collection unit 28 by closing a shutter as the prohibiting means of the collection unit 28 below the unspecified cassette 22 during the packaging process for the unspecified cassette 22. This makes it possible to prevent tablets dispensed from the unspecified cassette 22 by the packaging operation from being mixed in with the medicine container 27 attached to the collection unit 28.

The dispensing control device 1 also issues an error notification when the medicine container 27 is attached to both the mounting section 271 above one of the unspecified cassettes 22 and the collection section 28 below it. Specifically, the dispensing control device 1 notifies the user that the medicine container 27 is attached to both the mounting section 271 and the collection section 28 by, for example, displaying on the monitor 13 or outputting audio. This makes the user aware that the medicine container 27 should be removed from the mounting section 271 or the collection section 28.

As a modification of the second embodiment, the medicine dispensing system 100A may have the mounting section 271 directly provided on the upper part of the unspecified cassette 22, not on the tablet supply unit 2, and the recovery section 28 directly provided on the lower part of the unspecified cassette 22, not on the tablet supply unit 2. According to this configuration, the medicine container 27 is directly attached to the upper part (the mounting section 271) of the unspecified cassette 22, and in this state, medicines (tablets) can be fed from the medicine container 27 to the unspecified cassette 22. Also, the medicine container 27 is directly attached to the lower part (the recovery section 28) of the unspecified cassette 22, and in this state, the remaining medicine can be recovered from the unspecified cassette 22 to the medicine container 27. In other words, depending on whether the medicine container 27 is combined with the upper side or the lower side of the unspecified cassette 22, the medicine container 27 can be used to feed medicines to the unspecified cassette 22 and to recover the remaining medicines. In addition, in the medicine dispensing system 100A, only one of the mounting unit 271 and the recovery unit 28 may be directly provided on the unspecified cassette 22.

As another modification of the second embodiment, the medicine dispensing system 100A may be configured such that the unspecified cassette 22 (or a part of the unspecified cassette 22, such as the tablet storage section 222) is removable from the tablet supply unit 2 during the remaining medicine collection process. In this case, during the remaining medicine collection process, the user can remove the unspecified cassette 22 or a part thereof, directly access the tablet storage section 222 of the unspecified cassette 22 by hand, and collect the remaining medicine. Note that the unspecified cassette 22 or a part thereof does not have to be completely removed from the tablet supply unit 2, and may be pulled out so as to be exposed from the mounting section 221 of the tablet supply unit 2, for example.

Claims (11)

an allocation processing unit that allocates medicine information to the medicine cassette in a state where the medicine cassette is mounted in the mounting unit;
a drive processing unit that drives the mounting unit to which the medicine cassette to which the medicine information has been assigned is mounted, to dispense medicine from the medicine cassette;
a notification processing unit that notifies notification information when the unallocated medicine information exists and the unallocated medicine cassette is not mounted in the mounting unit,
The mounting portion is provided in plurality,
the allocation processing unit, when unallocated medicine information exists and an unallocated medicine cassette is mounted on an unallocated mounting unit in a state in which only a part of the mounting units among the plurality of mounting units is in operation, allocates the medicine information to the medicine cassette.
Dispensing control device. a lock processing unit that restricts removal of the medicine cassette from the mounting unit while the mounting unit is being driven,
The dispensing control device according to claim 1 . an allocation processing unit that allocates medicine information to the medicine cassette in a state where the medicine cassette is mounted in the mounting unit;
a drive processing unit that drives the mounting unit to which the medicine cassette to which the medicine information has been assigned is mounted, to dispense medicine from the medicine cassette;
a notification processing unit that notifies notification information when the unallocated medicine information exists and the unallocated medicine cassette is not mounted in the mounting unit,
The mounting portion is provided in plurality,
the notification information includes an instruction as to which of the plurality of mounting units the unallocated medicine cassette should be mounted.
Dispensing control device. the notification information includes an instruction to prompt removal of the medicine cassette attached to the attachment portion,
The dispensing control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . the notification processing unit, when the allocation of the medicine information to the medicine cassette mounted in the mounting unit is completed, if there is any unallocated medicine information, notifies the notification information.
The dispensing control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The allocation processing unit further allocates prescription-related information regarding the prescription data including the medicine information to the medicine cassette.
The dispensing control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . The medicine cassette has a display unit that displays assigned information.
The dispensing control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 . and an adjustment processing unit that, when the medicine cassette to which the medicine information has been assigned and into which a medicine corresponding to the medicine information has been loaded is mounted on the mounting unit, adjusts at least one of a height and a width of a medicine dispensing path in the medicine cassette in accordance with a drive condition corresponding to the medicine information assigned to the medicine cassette.
The dispensing control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 . The mounting portion is provided in plurality,
the notification processing unit notifies the notification information when, in a state in which some of the mounting units among the plurality of mounting units are in operation, there is unallocated medicine information, and the unallocated medicine cassette is not mounted on the mounting unit that is not in operation.
The dispensing control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 . A dispensing control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 ,
A dispensing device including the mounting unit,
Drug dispensing system. an allocating step of allocating medicine information to the medicine cassette mounted in the mounting portion;
a driving step of driving the mounting unit to which the medicine cassette to which the medicine information has been assigned is mounted, to dispense medicine from the medicine cassette;
a notification step of notifying notification information when the unallocated medicine information exists and the unallocated medicine cassette is not mounted on the mounting unit;
A medicine dispensing program for causing a computer to execute the following:
The mounting portion is provided in plurality,
In the allocating step, when unallocated medicine information exists in a state in which only a part of the mounting units among the plurality of mounting units is being driven, and an unallocated medicine cassette is mounted on a mounting unit that is not being driven, the medicine information is allocated to the medicine cassette.
Drug disbursement program .