Drug dispenser and quantity input device

• US 6,364,517 B1
• Filed: 02/24/1998
• Issued: 04/02/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yuyama Seisakusho
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yuyama Seisakusho
• Inventors: Koike, Naoki, Yuyama, Shoji, Shimizu, Hirohisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Terrell, William E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DILLON JR, JOSEPH A
• Application Number:
  US09/028,663
• Time in Patent Office: 1,498 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/381, 235/383, 235/385, 235/435, 235/454, 221/7, 221/8, 221/364, 364/479.01, 364/479.03, 364/479.06, 364/479.1, 364/479.11, 364/479.14
• US Class Current: 700/231
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 5/18 specially adapted for controlling several coin-freed apparatus from one place
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

A device which can reduce the workload on operators during replenishment and stocktaking of drugs stored in a drug dispenser. The drug dispenser has a memory for storing data on the initial number of drugs in each of the drug feeders, a processor for calculating the number of drugs currently remaining in each drug feeder by subtracting the number of drugs discharged from each feeder from the initial number of drugs in each drug feeder, and a display for displaying the name of drugs if the number of drugs currently remaining in any drug feeder is smaller than a predetermined value. With this arrangement, an operator can easily see which drug feeders are short of drugs without directly checking the respective feeders by removing them from shelves. The workload on operators for drug replenishment is thus reduced.

Claims

1. A drug dispenser comprising:

a plurality of feeders each storing one kind of drug therein, wherein said plurality of feeders are capable of dispensing drugs according to prescriptions;

a display device; and

a control means comprising;

a detector means for detecting a current stock number for each of said plurality of feeders, wherein the current stock number is a number of drugs remaining in a respective one of said plurality of feeders;

a memory means for storing a predetermined minimum number of drugs for each of said plurality of feeders;

a means for displaying on said display device, separately for particular feeders of said plurality of feeders in which the current stock number is smaller than the respective predetermined minimum number of drugs, identification numbers or codes of said particular feeders, the current stock numbers, the predetermined minimum numbers of drugs, and names or codes of drugs to be supplied into said particular feeders, and identification numbers or codes of shelves in which the drugs to be supplied into said particular feeders are stored; and

a means for renewing the current stock number for each of said plurality of feeders supplied with drugs by adding a number inputted as a number of drugs supplied into a particular one of said plurality of feeders to the current stock number of the particular one of said plurality of feeders.

2. A drug dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein a unit weight of drugs stored in each of said plurality of feeders is stored in said memory means, and wherein said detector means detects the number of drugs in each of said plurality of feeders by weighing the drugs in each respective one of said plurality of feeders and dividing the weight for each respective one of said plurality of feeders by the respective unit weight of drugs in each respective one of said plurality of feeders.

3. A drug dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein a standard replenishing number for each of said plurality of feeders is stored in said memory means, and wherein said control means further comprises a means for adding the standard replenishing number for respective ones of said plurality of feeders to the current stock number for the respective ones of said plurality of feeders to renew the current stock number for the respective ones of said plurality of feeders, upon receiving signals indicating that drugs have been supplied into said respective ones of said plurality of feeders, to a number equal to the standard replenishing number for each of the respective ones of said plurality of feeders.

4. A drug dispenser as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an input device which comprises:

a pan which is adapted to support each of said plurality of feeders one at a time;

a reading means for reading the identification number or code of one of said plurality of feeders placed on said pan;

a means for weighing the drugs in the one of said plurality of feeders placed on said pan;

a memory means for storing a unit weight of drugs in each of said plurality of feeders;

a calculating means for detecting the number of drugs in the one of said plurality of feeders placed on said pan by dividing the weight of the drugs by the unit weight of the drugs in the one of said plurality of feeders placed on said pan; and

a means for inputting the number of drugs detected by said calculating means and the identification number or code read by said reader means into said control means;

said control means further comprises a means for substituting the number of drugs received from said input device for the current stock number of the respective one of said plurality of feeders identified by the identification number or code read by said reader means.