Drug dispensing apparatus

• US 20070129911A1
• Filed: 09/22/2004
• Published: 06/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yuyama Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Yuyama Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Yuyama, Shoji, Kasuya, Masahiko, Kohama, Akitomi, Warashina, Masatoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,957,929 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/158
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/165 by relative movement of a point of contact or actuation and a resistive track
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/25 Selecting one or more conductors or channels from a plurality of conductors or channels, e.g. by closing contacts

Abstract

It is an object of the present invention to provide an elongated object measurement apparatus capable of measuring the length or quantity of elongated objects such as drugs arranged in a row, regardless of their size or type. One end of the elongated object is positioned with a first reference member and the other end thereof is positioned with a second reference member. The apparatus comprises a resistance circuit constituted by a plurality of resistors connected in series, wherein the resistor at one end is connected to a constant voltage source and the resistor at the other end is connected to the ground, a detection circuit comprising a plurality of switches disposed with uniform spacing along the elongated object and having one end thereof connected between the adjacent resistors and the other end thereof connected to a detection terminal, and a switch drive unit provided at the second reference member and turning the switches on. The voltage at the detection terminal of the detection circuit is measured and the length or quantity of the elongated material is computed based on the voltage.

Claims

1-7. -7. (canceled)

8. A drug dispensing apparatus comprising a cassette for containing drugs in an aligned state, a rotor disposed at one open end of said cassette, a pushing unit for pushing said drugs toward said rotor, a drive mechanism for pivoting said rotor alternately between a dispensing position and a receiving position by operating a drive switch to dispense said drugs one by one, and a measuring unit for measuring the present quantity of said drugs in said cassette, characterized in that:

a memory unit for storing a stock quantity N₀ of said drugs in said cassette is further provided; and

wherein when said rotor is returned to the receiving position from the dispensing position, the present quantity N measured by the measuring unit is compared with the stock quantity N₀ stored in said memory unit, wherein if the present quantity N is less than the stock quantity N₀, the present quantity N is stored in said memory unit as a stock quantity N₀, while if the present quantity N is same as the stock quantity N₀, it is informed that said drug has been forgotten to take out.

9. The drug dispensing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said measuring unit comprises:

a constant voltage source;

a resistance circuit comprising a plurality of resistors connected in series, in which the resistor at one end is connected to said constant voltage source and the resistor at the other end is connected to the ground;

a detection circuit comprising a plurality of switches that are disposed with uniform spacing along said drugs and have one end thereof connected between the adjacent resistors and the other end thereof connected to a detection terminal;

switch drive means provided at said pushing unit and serving to turn said switch on;

measurement means for measuring a voltage in the detection terminal of said detection circuit; and

computation means for computing the present quantity of the drugs based on the voltage measured by said measurement means.

10. The drug dispensing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said detection circuit comprises three parallel circuits connected alternately to said switches.

11. The drug dispensing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein every other switch is removed.

12. The drug dispensing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said switches are disposed equidistantly in the circumferential direction and the measurement of an elongated object in the form of a circular arc is made possible.

13. The drug dispensing apparatus ct according to claim 8, wherein said measuring unit comprises:

a constant voltage source;

a resistance circuit comprising a linear resistor disposed along said drugs and having one end thereof connected to said constant voltage source and the other end thereof connected to the ground;

a detection circuit comprising an electrically conductive sliding member disposed at said second reference member and having one end thereof in sliding contact with said resistor and the other end thereof connected to a detection terminal;

measurement means for measuring a voltage in the detection terminal of said detection circuit; and

computation means for computing the present quantity N of the drugs based on the voltage measured by said measurement means.

14. The drug dispensing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

said computation means

computes the difference between a first measurement value obtained by said measurement means when a drug of a first reference length is disposed and a second measurement value obtained by said measurement means when a drug of a second reference length is disposed;

computes the ratio of the difference between said first measurement value and second measurement value to the difference between said first reference length and second reference length; and

computes the present quantity of the drugs to be measured, from the measurement value obtained by said measurement means when the drug is disposed and from said ratio.