Drug dispensing apparatus with a printer having programmable format

• US 4,733,362 A
• Filed: 09/20/1985
• Issued: 03/22/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation), Tokyo Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Haraguchi, Manabu
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Jerry
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lastova, John R.
• Application Number:
  US06/778,033
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: 364/478, 364/479, 364/569, 364/900, 400/61, 400/62, 400/64, 221/2, 221/3, 221/9, 221/12, 221/13, 221/15, 221/76, 221/197, 53/75, 206/528, 206/534, 206/534.1, 206/538
• US Class Current: 700/235
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/30 Printed labels
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/04 Arrangements for time indication or reminder for taking medicine, e.g. programmed dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1373 for fulfilling orders in warehouses
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/00 Arrangements for producing a permanent visual presentation of the output data , e.g. computer output printersprinting or plotting combined with another operation, e.g. with conveying, G06K17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2215/0097 Printing on special media, e.g. labels, envelopes

Abstract

A drug dispensing apparatus which is arranged to form divided separate packets during intermittent transport of a packaging sheet in its longitudinal direction and to print messages for predetermined items on the separate packets. The print format may be edited as desired by an operator. Portions of the packaging sheet which are not part of the separate pockets may be printed with the cumulative status of the drug dosage which is accommodated in the printed pockets.

Claims

1. A drug dispensing apparatus which forms divided separate packages during intermittent transport of a belt-like packaging sheet in a longitudinal direction, said drug dispensing apparatus printing predetermined information for each item on said separate packages and inserting one drug dose into each of said separate packages based on a prescription which has been input into said apparatus and which indicates unique medicinal needs of a patient, said separate packages being subsequently sealed for dispensing, said drug dispensing apparatus comprising:

a plurality of symbol keys, each symbol key being provided for each item of information to be printed on said separate packages;

pring format memory having stored therein print format for designating the number of characters to be printed and for designating printing portions which indicate where the printing information for each item is to be printed on said separate packages, said print format memory having memory portions corresponding in number to a maximum number of characters which can be printed onto the separate packages;

an address means for sequentially addressing the memory portions of said print format memory each time said symbol keys are operated;

output means for outputting the character codes representing symbols input through operation of said symbol keys;

preparation means for preparing the print format in said pring format memory by loading the character codes, representing the symbols input by said symbol keys, into the addressed memory portions of said print format memory;

prescription data memory for storing specific printing for each item to be printed on said separate packages, said prescription data memory storing said specific printing by storing the character codes representing characters which represent said specific printing;

print data memory having memory portions corresponding in number to the maximum number of characters which can be printed on the separate packages, said memory portions corresponding to said memory portions of said print format memory;

detecting means for detecting a range in size of each memory portion stored for each character code stored in the memory portions of said print format memory by extracting the memory portion storing the character codes, said detecting means specifying the range for printing the specific printing with respect to the item corresponding to the symbol represented by said character code on the separate packages;

print data preparing means for preparing print data by successively addressing the memory portions of print data memory corresponding to the maximum number of characters which can be printed on the separate packages for the specific printing with respect to specific items to be printed, and also, by reading from said prescription data memory, the respective character codes, representing characters constituting the specific printing which is equivalent to said item, for successive loading thereof into said memory portions of the addressed print data memory; and

a printer for printing said separate packages based upon said print data stored in said print data memory, said separate packages being printed in synchronization with the intermittent transport of said packaging sheets in the longitudinal direction.

2. A drug dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further including a print prescription memory for storing data necessary for printing the type of drug dosage to be accommodated in the separate packages and the number of the drug doses for each type, based on the prescription information, and means for forming a prescription display portion by further transferring said packaging sheet in the longitudinal direction, after formation of the number of separate packages designated in the prescription information, said printer successively printing the data stored in said print prescription memory, onto said prescription display portion, after printing the print data stored in said print data memory, onto said separate packages.

3. A drug dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, further including a plurality of numerical/character keys provided apart from said symbol keys, and means for outputting numerical/character codes representing the numerals/characters thereof through operation of said numerical/character keys, said memory portion of said print format memory being addressed in the similar manner as in the operation of said symbol keys, also by the operation of said numerical/character keys so as to store character codes representing the numerals/characters for said keys, the memory portion of said print data memory which corresponds to said memory portion of said print format memory being loaded with the character codes of said numerals/characters stored in said memory portion to print the equivalent numerals/characters on the printing portion of the separate packages corresponding to the memory portion storing said character codes.

4. A drug dispensing apparatus which forms divided separate packages during intermittent transport of a belt-like packaging sheet in a longitudinal direction, said drug dispensing apparatus printing messages for dosage taking time on said separate packages, and inserting one drug dose into each of said separate packages based on a prescription which has been input into said apparatus and which includes unique medicinal needs of a patient, said separate packages being subsequently sealed for dispensing, said drug dispensing apparatus comprising;

print format memory having stored thereon print format for designating the number of characters to be printed and for designating printing portions which indicate where the message for dosage taking time is to be printed on said separate packages, said print format memory having memory portions corresponding in number to a maximum number of characters which can be printed onto the separate packages;

a plurality of symbol keys used for designating the region for printing the message for dosage taking time on the separate packages, when the print format is set in said print format memory;

other keys used for designating the region for not printing the message on the dosage taking time on the separate packages, when the printing format is set in said print format memory;

an address means for sequentially addressing the memory portions of said print format memory each time said symbol keys and said other keys different from said symbol keys are operated;

output means for outputting character codes representing symbols input through operation of said symbol keys;

preparation means for preparing the print format in said print format memory by loading the character codes, representing the symbols input by said symbol keys, into the addressed memory portions of said print format memory addressed through operation of said symbol keys;

a dosage taking data memory which stores the message by storing the character codes representing characters constituting the message, each message representing respective dosage taking times;

a print data memory having memory portions corresponding in number to the maximum number of characters which can be printed on the separate packages, said memory portions corresponding to said memory portions of said print format memory;

determining means for determining the taking time of the drug dose accommodated in the separate packages to be printed, by said prescription information;

detecting means for detecting a range in size of each memory portion stored for each character code stored in the print format by extracting the memory portion storing the character codes representing symbols of said symbol keys addressing the respective memory portions of said print format memory, said detecting means specifying the range for printing the message with respect to the dose taking time on the separate packages;

a memory portion addressing means for successively addressing the memory portions of the print data memory equivalent to the range for printing the messages for the dosage taking time on the separate packages, when said range is specified on said separate packages;

a print data preparing means for preparing print data by reading from said dosage taking data memory, the respective character codes representing characters constituting the message for the dosage taking time of the drug dose accommodated in the separate packages to be printed for successive loading thereof into the memory portions of said addressed print data memory; and

a printer for printing said separate packages based upon said print data stored in said print data memory, said separate packages being printed in synchronization with the intermittent transport of said packaging sheets in the longitudinal direction.

5. A drug dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said dosage taking data memory stores a plurality of messages for each dosage taking time, said drug dispensing apparatus further including a means for selecting predetermined message for each dosage taking time;

said print data preparing means reading from said dosage taking data memory, the character codes representing the respective characters constituting the message selected by said selecting means to be loaded into said print data memory.

6. A drug dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein said determining means for determining the taking time of the drug dose accommodated in the separate packages to be printed by the prescription information, can repeatedly count up to the number of dosage giving times per one day, and includes a counter which is counted up by one, each time the message with respect to the dosage taking time is printed on the separate packages, said determining means reading specific messages from said dosage taking data memory based on the count value of said counter to load into said print data memory.

7. A drug dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said determining means controls said counter so that, even when the dosage giving time is not set with respect to a certain dosage taking time, such dosage taking time is counted up.

8. A drug dispensing apparatus as claimed in claim 4, 5, or 7, further including a print prescription information, and means for forming the prescription display portion by further transferring the sheet in the longitudinal direction, after formation of the separate packages as designated in said prescription information, said printer successively printing the data stored in said print prescription memory onto said prescription display portion, after printing the print data stored in said print data memory on said separate packages.