Division-packaging method and apparatus for automatic medicine packaging machine

• US 7,549,268 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2007
• Issued: 06/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JVM Company Limited
• Original Assignee: JVM Company Limited
• Inventors: Kim, Jun Ho
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh; Louis K
• Application Number:
  US11/739,045
• Publication Number:
  US 20080149522A1
• Time in Patent Office: 792 Days
• Field of Search: 534/11, 534/55, 534/67, 534/69, 535/03, 535/04, 535/62, 700/240
• US Class Current: 53/411
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 57/14 and operating to control, or stop, the feed of articles or material to be packaged
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00

Abstract

A division-packaging method for an automatic medicine packaging machine that allows stable packaging even when total volume of each dose of medication for making a package is bigger than packaging volume of any medication envelope established in the automatic medicine packaging machine and that prevents incapability of packaging due to excess volume of each dose of medication. The method includes step of acquiring packaging volume of each medication envelope; step of computing total volume of each dose of medication; step of judging excess volume of each dose of medication; and step of division-packaging each dose of medication when the total volume of each dose of medication for making a package is bigger than the packaging volume of any medication envelope established in the automatic medicine packaging machine.

Claims

1. A division-packaging method for an automatic medicine packaging machine including steps of:

a) acquiring packaging volume of each medication envelope, wherein, after extracting packaging size of each medication envelope, the packaging volume of each medication envelope corresponding to the extracted packaging size is acquired from data of packaging volumes of medication envelopes that are preserved in advance;

b) computing total volume of each dose of medication, wherein, after extracting name and number of each dose of medication from prescription data inputted from a server computer, the total volume of each dose of medication for making a package is computed by acquiring data of total volumes of medications which are preserved in advance;

c) judging excess volume of each dose of medication, wherein the judgment of excess volume of each dose of medication is performed by comparing the acquired packaging volume of each medication envelope with the computed total volume of each dose of medication; and

d) division-packaging each dose of medication into two or more medication envelopes when the total volume of each dose of medication for making a package is bigger than the packaging volume of any medication envelope established in the automatic medicine packaging machine.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising step of indicating division-packaging status on each division-packaged medication envelope.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the indication of the division-packaging status is performed by printing on the fronts of the two or more medication envelopes of each medication package.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising step of displaying existence of division-packaged medication packages after the step of division-packaging each dose of medication into the two or more medication envelopes.