Method and apparatus for delivering drugs

• US 5,988,858 A
• Filed: 02/11/1998
• Issued: 11/23/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yuyama Seisakusho
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yuyama Seisakusho
• Inventors: Yuyama, Shoji, Nose, Hiroshi, Morimoto, Takuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Terrell, William E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Park, Wonki K.
• Application Number:
  US09/021,864
• Time in Patent Office: 650 Days
• Field of Search: 364/478.01, 364/478.1, 364/478.13, 364/478.14, 364/478.16, 364/478.18, 364/478.02, 364/478.03, 364/478.04, 364/478.06, 364/478.08, 414/268, 414/273
• US Class Current: 700/230
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1376 the orders being assembled on a commissioning conveyor
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/025 by means, e.g. cards, providing billing information at the time of purchase, e.g. identification of seller or purchaser, quantity of goods delivered or to be delivered

Abstract

An apparatus and control method for feeding medications in which processing units, which can prepare drugs, non-drug articles and drug-related articles, are provided along a carrier feed line, and in which carriers for respective patients are fed on the feed line in the order in which preparations for carriers, preparations for medications, and preparation for receiving carriers are all finished so that a large amount of medications can be collected and delivered by carts to a plurality of wards in a hospital with high efficiency. When patient data is entered in a host computer, at least one of the processing units corresponding to this data is activated to prepare medications. When preparations in all of the processing units, tray feed units, and tray receiving unit have been made, a corresponding tray is fed on the conveyor to collect medications and is then loaded into a predetermined one of a plurality of carts.

Claims

1. An apparatus for dispensing drugs and other medical supplies, said apparatus comprising:

a feed line having a first end and a second end, wherein said feed line is either a straight or looped type of feed line;

a carrier feed unit provided at said first end of said feed line for depositing carriers for respective patients onto said feed line such that the carriers are fed on said feed line;

a plurality of processing units provided along said feed line for preparing and dispensing the drugs and the other medical supplies into the carriers being fed on said feed line;

a plurality of carrier receiving units provided at said second end of said feed line for receiving the carriers being fed on said feed line;

a control unit for controlling said plurality of processing units, based on a name or code of a patient and based on the drugs and the other medical supplies prescribed for the patient, so as to prepare the drugs and other medical supplies prescribed for the patien,t in selected ones of said plurality of processing units;

means for sending to said control unit a first signal indicating that a preparation of the drugs and the other medical supplies prescribed for the patient has been completed in the selected ones of said plurality of processing units;

means for sending to said control unit and receives a second signal indicating that one of said plurality of carrier receiving units designated for the patient can receive a carrier corresponding to the patient;

wherein said control unit, in response to receiving said first and said second signals, activates said carrier feed unit to deposit the carrier corresponding to the patient on said feed line, whereby the carrier is fed on said feed line while collecting the drugs and the other medical supplies prescribed for the patient which are dispensed from the selected ones of said plurality of processing units, and whereby the carrier is then received in the one of said plurality of carrier receiving units designated for the patient.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the carriers for respective patients are fed in the order in which preparations for feeding the carriers, preparations for the drugs and the other medical supplies in said plurality of processing units, and preparations for receiving the carriers for respective patients at said plurality of carrier receiving units are completed, and wherein each of the carriers for respective patients is received in one of said plurality of carrier receiving units based on the name or code of the patient which is stored in said control unit.

3. An apparatus as claim ed in claim 1, further comprising means for attaching an indicator, which stores the name or code of the patient and drug preparation data, to each of the carriers at said first end of said feed line, means provided near said second end of said feed line for reading the data stored in each of the indicators, and means for loading each of the carriers into a predetermined one of said plurality of carrier receiving units at a position based upon the data stored in each of the indicators.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, further comprising means for attaching an indicator, which stores the name or code of the patient and drug preparation data, to each of the carriers at said first end of said feed line, means provided near said second end of said feed line for reading the data stored in each of the indicators, and means for loading each of the carriers into a predetermined one of said plurality of carrier receiving units at a position based upon the data stored in each of the indicators.

5. A method for dispensing drugs and other medical supplies using an apparatus which comprises a feed line having a first end and a second end, a carrier feed unit, a plurality of processing units provided along the feed line, a plurality of carrier receiving units provided at the second end of the feed line, and a control unit for controlling the plurality of processing units, said method comprising:

depositing carriers for respective patients onto the feed line at the first end of the feed line using the carrier feed unit such that the carriers are fed on the feed line;

preparing and dispensing the drugs and the other medical supplies into the carriers being fed on the feed line using the plurality of processing units;

receiving the carriers being fed on the feed line using the plurality of carrier receiving units; and

controlling the plurality of processing units, based on a name or code of a patient and based on the drugs and the other medical supplies prescribed for the patient, so as to prepare the drugs and other medical supplies prescribed for the patient in selected ones of the plurality of processing units;

sending to the control unit a first signal indicating that a preparation of the drugs and the other medical supplies prescribed for the patient has been completed in the selected ones of the plurality of processing units;

sending to the control unit a second signal indicating that one of the plurality of carrier receiving units designated for the patient can receive a carrier corresponding to the patient; and

wherein the control unit, in response to receiving the first and the second signals, activates the carrier feed unit to deposit the carrier corresponding to the patient on the feed line, whereby the carrier is fed on the feed line while collecting the drugs and the other medical supplies prescribed for the patient which are dispensed from the selected ones of the plurality of processing units, and whereby the carrier is then received in the one of the plurality of carrier receiving units designated for the patient.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the carriers for respective patients are fed in the order in which preparations for feeding the carriers, preparations for the drugs and the other medical supplies in the plurality of processing units, and preparations for receiving the carriers for respective patients at the plurality of carrier receiving units are completed, and wherein each of the carriers for respective patients is received in one of the plurality of carrier receiving units based on the name or code of the patient which is stored in the control unit.

7. A method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

attaching an indicator, which stores the name or code of the patient and drug preparation data, to each of the carriers at the first end of the feed line;

reading the data stored in each of the indicators;

loading each of the carriers into a predetermined one of the plurality of carrier receiving units at a position based upon the data stored in each of the indicators.

8. A method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:

attaching an indicator, which stores the name or code of the patient and drug preparation data, to each of the carriers at the first end of the feed line;

reading the data stored in each of the indicators;

loading each of the carriers into a predetermined one of the plurality of carrier receiving units at a position based upon the data stored in each of the indicators.