JPH0341208B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tablet feeding device for discharging tablets to be fed from a desired tablet feeder among a large number of tablet feeders.

In conventional devices of this kind, input means for instructing tablets to be fed and respective installation positions where each tablet feeder is installed so as to be able to eject tablets have been in fixed one-to-one correspondence in advance.

Therefore, in the conventional system, firstly, a corresponding tablet feeder must be installed at each installation position without fail, and for example, if the tablet feeder is removed from the installation position and refilled with tablets, the tablet feeder must be installed at each installation position without fail. If the tablet is placed in a different location by mistake when being returned to the original location, a different type of tablet than the tablet specified by the input means will be ejected.
There was a risk of medication errors.

Second, when there are many types of tablets to handle, the tablets that are regularly used are only a fraction of all types, and some are only used very rarely. Since it is necessary to install a tablet feeder for all types of tablets, including extremely low-priced tablets, the overall size of the device is unavoidably large.

The present invention eliminates the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional methods. First, by identifying the tablet feeders installed at each installation position and obtaining positional information of each tablet feeder, the tablets to be supplied can be discharged without error. Second, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tablet feeding device that can reduce the number of installation positions compared to the types of tablets to be handled, thereby reducing the size of the entire device.

The present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, 1, 1...
2 is an input device for inputting information regarding the tablets to be supplied, and 3, 3... can each be installed with an arbitrary tablet feeder 1, 1..., and when in operation ,
These installation positions are equipped with ejection members for discharging tablets from the installed tablet feeders 1, 1..., respectively, and these installation positions 3, 3... are configured, for example, in the form of stacked shelves with a plurality of tablets arranged side by side on each shelf. , the tablets discharged from the tablet feeders 1, 1, etc. fall through a chute (not shown), pass through a supply port 5 provided at the lower end of the common hopper 4, and are fed into, for example, a continuous bag-shaped drug packaging paper (not shown) of a packaging device 6. It is now being packaged in separate packages.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, each installation position 3 is provided with an identifier 7 for identifying the tablet feeder 1 installed therein, and the identifier 7 is located in a circular recess 8 formed in the center. Eight Hall elements 9, 9... are arranged evenly in the circumferential direction, and similar Hall elements 10, 10... are arranged evenly in the circumferential direction on the outside thereof. On the bottom surface of each tablet feeder 1, there is a permanent magnet piece (rubber magnet) at only one location on the circumference corresponding to the Hall elements 9, 9, in the circular convex part 11 formed to fit into the circular concave part 8. 12 are arranged, and Hall elements 10,1
Permanent magnet pieces (rubber magnets) 13, 13... are arranged at specific locations among the eight locations corresponding to 0..., and the permanent magnet piece 12 indicates the origin position in the circumferential direction, and Permanent magnet pieces 13, 13...
The identification information of the tablet feeder 1 is shown in an 8-bit binary code in the circumferential direction with the origin position of the permanent magnet piece 12 as a reference. And tablet feeders 1, 1 installed at installation positions 3, 3...
Each identification code is stored in an appropriate arrangement memory 14 in correspondence with each arrangement of the installation positions 3, 3, . . . . That is, in the arrangement memory 14,
Tablet feeders 1, 1 at each installation position 3, 3...
...location information is stored.

The input device 2 includes a keyboard 15, a CRT display 16, and a product name memory 17. The product name memory 17 stores the product names of all types of tablets stored in the tablet feeders 1, 1, etc., and the product names are registered in advance by operating the JIS character keys on the keyboard 15. In addition to the product name, the identification code of the tablet feeder 1 containing the tablet is also registered. In other words, when registering a product name by operating the JIS character keys, for example, if the input device 2 is set to registration mode and the tablet feeder 1 containing the tablet is installed at a predetermined (position specified) installation position 3, the corresponding installation position The identification code of the tablet feeder 1 detected by the identifier 7 of No. 3 is registered in the product name memory 17. The CRT display 16 displays the product name of the tablet when registering the product name and when reading the product name memory 17 by operating the product name key on the keyboard 15, and also displays the product name of the tablet when the product name is input by operating the JIS character keys or numeric keypad on the keyboard 15. The device displays the patient's name, prescription number, prescription date, number of tablets, number of packages, and various other information.

When the above-mentioned tablet feeding device operates the product name key with the same drug name as the drug name written on the prescription and inputs the number of tablets, number of packages, etc., the product name registered in the product name memory 17 is processed. is read out, and the product name, number of tablets, number of packages, etc. are displayed on the CRT display 16.
At the same time, the identification code registered in the product name memory 17 along with the product name is read out and transferred to the placement memory 14, and the ejection member at the installation position 3 corresponding to the same identification code is activated. A predetermined number of tablets of the product name are discharged from the installed tablet feeder 1. Therefore, the operator can perform input operations while checking the CRT display 16, and even if there is a change in the installation location of the tablet feeders 1, 1...
The tablet specified by the input operation is definitely ejected, and there is no risk of erroneous administration.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which numeral 21 is provided in the input device 2, and input information such as product name, number of tablets, number of packages, etc. inputted according to the order in which the tablets are to be supplied is inputted to the input device 2. Prescription memory for storing according to the queue until the tablet ejection operation is started, 22
When the tablet feeder 1 scheduled to discharge tablets is not installed in any of the installation positions 3, 3, etc. in the queue of the prescription memory 21, that is, the position information of the tablet feeder 1 is stored in the arrangement memory 14. The display devices 23, 23, . . . which display the product name, etc. of the tablet when the tablet is not loaded are the discharge members 3, 3, . . . respectively.
LED 2 at installation position 3 where tablet feeder 1 is installed during ejection operation.
3 lights up, and the LEDs 23, 23... of the installation positions 3, 3... where the tablet feeders 1, 1... are installed where no tablets are scheduled to be ejected (that is, they are not used) in the queue of the prescription memory 21 are blinking. I'm starting to do that. The rest is the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, so similar parts are designated with the same numbers.

This tablet feeding device is designed so that the input operator can
While input operations can be performed without interruption while checking the display 16, if the product name of the tablet, etc. is displayed on the display 22, the dispensing operator can select the tablet installed at the installation position 3 where the LED 23 is flashing. By removing the feeder 1 and installing the tablet feeder 1 containing the tablets displayed on the display 22 in its place at the installation position 3, each tablet can be placed in the queue of the prescription memory 21. The tablet discharging operation can be continued without interruption, and therefore the number of installation positions 3, 3... can be reduced compared to the number of tablet feeders 1, 1... to be handled, thereby making it possible to downsize the entire device.

In the above embodiment, the Hall elements 9 and 10 were used as sensors, and the permanent magnet pieces 12 and 13 were used as objects to be detected, but the Hall elements 9 and 10
Instead, a magnetoresistive element or other suitable non-contact sensor may be used, or a seat switch or other contact sensor may be used, and the sensor and the object to be detected may be arranged in the circumferential direction. Instead, they may be arranged simply along a straight line, or the sensors and objects to be detected corresponding to each bit of the binary code may be arranged in a ring shape and arranged concentrically at predetermined intervals in the radial direction. Furthermore, any appropriate encoding other than 8-bit binary code is possible. Also, the fifth
In the illustrated embodiment, if the tablet feeder 1 scheduled to discharge tablets is not installed at any of the installation positions 3, 3, etc. in the queue of the prescription memory 21, the product name of the tablet, etc. is displayed on the display 22. However, the number of the tablet feeder 1 containing the tablet and the order of the queue may be displayed together with the product name of the tablet.
6, and if it is displayed on the CRT display 16, the display 22 can be omitted by having the input operator also serve as the dispensing operator. In addition, CRT display 16,
It should be noted that the display 22 and the LEDs 23, 23... may be combined with a sounding member that emits appropriate sounds depending on their display mode, and that the present invention can be modified in various ways to the above embodiments. Not even.

Since the present invention is configured as described above, no matter which of the installation positions each tablet feeder is installed in, the input operation corresponding to the identification information of the desired tablet feeder can be performed using the input means. The installation position of the tablet feeder can be detected without fail from the position information corresponding to the identification information, and the tablets to be fed can thereby be discharged without fail. When the tablet feeder is removed and refilled and then returned to its original location, the tablets can be ejected from the tablet feeder without fail even if the tablet feeder is installed in a different installation position, and erroneous dosing can be reliably prevented. It has excellent effects such as: In addition to the above-mentioned effects, the input means configured to allow queuing has the effect of reducing the number of installation positions compared to the types of tablets to be handled, thereby reducing the size of the entire device. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the main part of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the discriminator shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the tablet feeder, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. 1: Tablet feeder, 2: Input device, 3: Installation position, 4: Common hopper, 5: Supply port, 6: Packaging device, 7: Discriminator, 8: Circular recess, 9, 10: Hall element, 11: Circular Convex portion, 12, 13: Permanent magnet piece, 14: Placement memory, 15: Keyboard, 1
6: CRT display, 17: Product name memory, 21: Prescription memory, 22: Display, 23: LED.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A tablet feeding device configured to discharge tablets from a tablet feeder at an installation position instructed by an input means, among a large number of tablet feeders that can be arbitrarily installed at a large number of installation positions. wherein each of the tablet feeders is provided with identification information, each of the installation positions is provided with identification means for detecting the identification information of any tablet feeder installed at the position, and each of the identification means is provided with a unique installation position. A tablet feeding device comprising means for storing information in correspondence with identification information unique to each tablet feeder. 2. In a tablet feeding device configured to discharge tablets from a tablet feeder at an installation position instructed by an input means among a large number of tablet feeders that can be installed arbitrarily at a large number of installation positions, the input means is Each of the tablet feeders is configured to be capable of queuing, each of the tablet feeders is provided with identification information, each of the installation positions is provided with identification means for detecting the identification information of an arbitrary tablet feeder installed at the position, and each of the identification means is provided with identification information for detecting the identification information of an arbitrary tablet feeder installed at the position. means for storing installation position information unique to the tablet feeder in correspondence with identification information unique to each tablet feeder; and installation position information corresponding to the tablet feeder used in the queue information by the input means is stored in the storage means. A tablet feeding device characterized in that it is provided with means for indicating when it is not stored, and means for indicating installation position information corresponding to a tablet feeder that is not used in the queue information by the input means.