Medicine packing apparatus

• US 7,603,197 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2002
• Issued: 10/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yuyama Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Yuyama Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Shimizu, legal representative, Shimizu, Hirohisa, Yuyama, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender; F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shaawat; Mussa
• Application Number:
  US10/105,233
• Publication Number:
  US 20020143429A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,758 Days
• Field of Search: 705/28
• US Class Current: 700/216
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A medicine packing apparatus having a memory (5) that stores shelf numbers of the respective shelf sections the respective kinds of medicines housed in medicine containers. A control unit (6) allows the memory (5) to store the corresponding relationship between the kind of a medicine housed in the medicine container and the shelf number upon attaching the medicine container to the shelf sections. The control unit (6) erases the corresponding relationship from the memory (5) when the medicine container is detached from the shelf. Thus, it is possible to carry out the operations of attaching, detaching and exchanging medicine containers during a medicine packing operation.

Claims

1. A medicine packing apparatus comprising a plurality of medicine containers housing medicines classified into respective kinds, a feed unit having a plurality of shelf sections on which the plurality of medicine containers are detachably attached, the feed unit being operable to supply the medicine corresponding to a prescription data from the plurality of medicine containers, and a packing unit for packing the medicine supplied from the feed unit, said medicine packing apparatus further comprising:

storing means storing shelf numbers of said respective shelf sections and the respective kinds of medicines housed in said medicine containers attached on the shelf section;

a medicine identifying information reading means reading medicine identifying information of a medicine container on one of said shelf sections;

a display comprising a screen having a display portion displaying shelf number, detached medicine and attached medicine; and

control means allowing said medicine identifying information reading means to read the medicine identifying information of the medicine container, allowing said display means to display the shelf number and the attached medicine and allowing said storing means to store the corresponding relationship between the kind of a medicine housed in said medicine container and the shelf number upon attaching said medicine container to said shelf sections, and allowing said display means to display the shelf number and the detached medicine and allowing said storage means to erase said corresponding relationship from said storage means upon detaching said medicine container from said shelf sections.

2. The medicine packing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display means is operable to display shelf numbers of the shelf sections to which medicine containers containing medicines included in prescription data are attached and shelf numbers of the shelf sections to which the other medicine containers that contain no medicines included in the prescription data are attached.

3. The medicine packing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a medicine container detecting means detecting the presence or absence of a medicine container on the shelf section,

wherein said control means allows said display means to display the shelf number of the shelf section to which said medicine container is attached or the shelf number of the shelf section from which said medicine container is detached, based upon a detection signal from said medicine container detecting means.

4. The medicine packing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means allows said display means to display the medicine and the shelf number of the corresponding shelf section, based upon a detection signal from said medicine identifying information reading means.

5. The medicine packing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a medicine container detecting means detecting the presence or absence of a medicine container on the shelf section,

wherein, if said medicine container is attached to the shelf section, said control means allows said display means to display the shelf number of the shelf section to which said medicine container is attached based upon a detection signal from said medicine container detecting means, and

wherein, if said medicine container is detached from the shelf section, said control means allows said display means to display the shelf number of the shelf section from which the medicine container is detached based upon a detection signal from said medicine container.

6. The medicine packing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control means allows said display means to display the medicine and the shelf number of the corresponding shelf section, based upon a detection signal from said medicine identifying information reading means.

7. The medicine packing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said control means allows said display means to display the medicine and the shelf number of the corresponding shelf section, based upon a detection signal from said medicine identifying information reading means.

8. The medicine packing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the medicine containers are adapted to house tablets or capsules to be supplied to the packaging unit in accordance with the prescription data.

9. A medicine packing apparatus comprising a plurality of medicine containers housing medicines classified into respective kinds, a feed unit having a plurality of shelf sections on which the plurality of medicine containers are detachably attached, the feed unit being operable to supply the medicine corresponding to a prescription data from the plurality of medicine containers, and a packing unit for packing the medicine supplied from the feed unit, said medicine packing apparatus comprising:

a storing unit storing shelf numbers of said respective shelf sections and the respective kinds of medicines housed in said medicine containers attached in the shelf section;

a medicine identifying information reading unit reading medicine identifying information of a medicine container on one of said shelf sections;

a display unit displaying a medicine container attaching/detaching screen comprising a frame of “

shelf number/detached medicine/attached medicine”

;

a control unit allowing said medicine identifying information reading unit to read the medicine identifying information of the medicine container, allowing said display unit to display the shelf number and the attached medicine and allowing said storage unit to store the corresponding relationship between the kind of a medicine housed in said medicine container and the shelf number upon attaching said medicine container to said shelf sections, and allowing said display unit to display the shelf number and the detached medicine and allowing said storage unit to erase said corresponding relationship from said storage unit upon detaching said medicine container from said shelf sections.

10. The medicine packing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

a medicine container detecting unit detecting the presence or absence of a medicine container on each of the shelf sections;

wherein said display unit comprises a first frame of “

shelf number”

displaying whether or not medicine containers are attached on the shelf sections, and a second frame of “

medicine”

displaying medicines that can be attached on the shelf sections; and

wherein said control unit allowing the display unit to display the medicine container mounting state of each of the shelf sections on the first frame of “

shelf number” and

display the medicines that are attachable to the shelf sections but are not present attached to one of the shelf sections in the second frame of “

medicine”

based upon a detection signal from said medicine container detecting unit and the shelf numbers and kinds of medicines stored in said storing unit.

11. The medicine packing apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein said display unit comprises a first frame of “

shelf number”

displaying whether the medicine containers that are attached on the shelf sections are detachable or not, and a second frame of “

medicine”

displaying medicines that are included in the prescription data and must be attached on the shelf sections; and

wherein said control unit allows the display unit to display, in the first frame of “

shelf number”

, the medicines that can be detached from the shelf sections and the medicine that is included in a prescription data and is not detachable from the shelf sections and to display, in the second frame of “

medicine”

, the medicine that is included in the prescription data and must be attached on the shelf sections based upon the shelf numbers and the kinds of medicines stored in said storing unit.

12. A medicine packing apparatus comprising a plurality of medicine containers housing medicines classified into respective kinds, a feed unit having a plurality of shelf sections on which the plurality of medicine containers are detachably attached, the feed unit being operable to supply the medicine corresponding to a prescription data from the plurality of medicine containers, and a packing unit for packing the medicine supplied from the feed unit, said medicine packing apparatus comprising:

a storing unit storing medicine data which includes shelf numbers of the shelf sections and the kinds of medicines housed in the medicine containers that are attached in the shelf sections, respectively;

a medicine container detecting unit detecting the presence or absence of a medicine container on each of the shelf sections;

a display unit displaying a medicine container attaching/detaching screen that includes a first frame of “

shelf number”

for displaying whether or not medicine containers are attached on the shelf sections, and a second frame of “

medicine”

for displaying medicines that can be attached on the shelf sections; and

a control unit allowing the display unit to display the medicine container mounting state of each of the shelf section in the first frame of “

shelf number” and

display the medicines that are attachable to the shelf sections but are not presently attached to one of the shelf sections in the second frame of “

medicine”

based upon a detection signal from said medicine container detecting unit and the medicine data stored in the storing unit.

13. A medicine packing apparatus comprising a plurality of medicine containers housing medicines classified into respective kinds, a feed unit having a plurality of shelf sections on which the plurality of medicine containers are detachably attached, the feed unit being operable to supply the medicine corresponding to a prescription data from the plurality of medicine containers, and a packing unit for packing the medicine supplied from the feed unit, said medicine packing apparatus comprising:

a storing unit storing medicine data which includes shelf numbers of the shelf sections and the kinds of medicines housed in the medicine containers that are attached in the shelf sections, respectively;

a display unit displaying a medicine container attaching/detaching screen which includes a first frame of “

shelf number”

for displaying whether the medicine containers that are attached on the shelf sections are detachable or not, and a second frame of “

medicine”

for displaying medicines that are included in the prescription data and must be attached on the shelf sections; and

a control unit allowing the display unit to display, in the first frame of “

shelf number”

, the medicines that can be detached from the shelf sections and the medicine that is included in the prescription data and is not detachable from the shelf sections and to display, in the second frame of “

medicine”

, the medicine that is included in the prescription data and must be attached on the shelf sections based upon the medicine data stored in the storing unit.