Medicine supply apparatus

• US 7,644,837 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2006
• Issued: 01/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Healthcare Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Haraguchi, Manabu, Hatsuno, Akinorl, Inamura, Atsuo, Maruyama, Toshitake, Ogura, Masayoshi, Mori, Takashi, Kobayashi, Koichi, Takahashi, Hideyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford; Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): Waggoner; Timothy R
• Application Number:
  US11/337,682
• Publication Number:
  US 20060163271A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,449 Days
• Field of Search: 221/95, 221/112, 700/239
• US Class Current: 221/95
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/103 for packaging pills or tablets
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/70 in which the articles are formed in the apparatus from components, blanks, or material constituents
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00

Abstract

An object of a medicine supply apparatus which fills medicine bottles with medicines from a plurality of tablet cases is to improve a medicine filling performance and remove restrictions on the apparatus, and the apparatus comprises: a plurality of tablet cases which contain the medicines and into which the medicines can be thrown from above; a case storage section in which the respective tablet cases are juxtaposed in one stage on a plane and whose top is openably closed; and a filling device which is disposed under this case storage section and which fills the medicine bottle with the medicine dropping from each tablet case.

Claims

1. A medicine supply apparatus arranged to fill medicine bottles of variant sizes, based on prescription data, with a medicine, comprising:

a charging unit which contains a plurality of tablet cases, each tablet case comprising a storage container, removable from the charging unit and having an open top which is openably closed with a lid, which contain the medicines and into which the medicines are provided from above;

a case storage section in which the respective tablet cases are juxtaposed on a common plane, a top of the case storage section being openably closed;

filling means disposed under the case storage section and arranged to fill medicine bottles having different dimensions with the medicine dropping from a predetermined tablet case of said plurality of tablet cases, the filling means having a medicine bottle holding means for holding the medicine bottle; and

a providing means, horizontally adjacent the charging unit, having a height adjustable transfer table for transferring the medicine bottles having different dimensions to the charging unit at a predetermined height.

2. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the filling means comprises:

the medicine bottle holding means for holding the medicine bottle; and

conveyance means for moving the medicine bottle holding means in a horizontal direction to dispose the medicine bottle under the predetermined tablet case.

3. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 2, comprising:

discharge means for dropping the medicine from each tablet case,

the medicine bottle holding means comprising;

driving means for driving the discharge means;

raising and lowering means for vertically moving the driving means to disengageably engage the driving means with the discharge means; and

medicine detecting means for detecting medicine dropping from the predetermined tablet case.

4. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

label attaching means, horizontally adjacent the charging unit, for attaching a label to the medicine bottle filled with the medicine by the filling means;

lid closing means for closing the medicine bottle filled with the medicine with a lid; and

providing means for conveying the medicine bottle provided with the label and closed with the lid to a predetermined position.

5. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

detecting means in the charging unit arranged to detect the presence of the predetermined tablet case.

6. A medicine supply apparatus arranged to fill medicine bottles of variant sizes, based on prescription data, with a medicine, comprising:

a charging unit which contains a plurality of tablet cases, each tablet case comprising a storage container, removable from the charging unit and having an open top which is openably closed with a lid, which contain the medicines;

filling means arranged to fill medicine bottles having different dimensions with the medicine discharged from a predetermined tablet case; and

providing means, horizontally adjacent the charging unit, for closing the medicine bottle filled with the medicine with a lid and conveying the medicine bottle to a predetermined position with use of a height adjustable transfer table,

the filling means in the charging unit comprising;

filling medicine bottle holding means for holding the medicine bottle; and

filling conveyance means for moving the filling medicine bottle holding means, the providing means comprising;

a medicine bottle storage section in which an empty medicine bottle is stored;

providing medicine bottle holding means for holding the medicine bottle; and

providing conveyance means for moving the providing medicine bottle holding means, wherein

the filling means and the providing means are arranged to receive and transfer the medicine bottle therebetween via a predetermined transfer base having the height adjustable transfer table.

7. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the providing means holds an empty medicine bottle of the medicine bottle storage section by means of the providing medicine bottle holding means, and moves the providing medicine bottle holding means to the transfer base by means of the providing conveyance means to dispose the empty medicine bottle on the transfer base,

the filling means in the charging unit holds the empty medicine bottle on the transfer base by means of the filling medicine bottle holding means, moves the filling medicine bottle holding means by means of the filling conveyance means to fill the medicine bottle with the medicine discharged from the tablet case, and moves again the filling medicine bottle holding means to the transfer base to dispose the filled medicine bottle on the transfer base, and

the providing means, horizontally adjacent the charging unit, holds the filled medicine bottle on the transfer base by means of the providing medicine bottle holding means to convey the medicine bottle to a predetermined position.

8. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the providing means comprises a plurality of medicine bottle storage sections detachably provided with medicine bottle units containing empty medicine bottles having different dimensions.

9. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the providing means conveys the filled medicine bottle to a predetermined providing position.

10. A medicine supply apparatus arranged to fill a medicine bottle with a medicine discharged from a predetermined tablet case, comprising:

discharge means for discharging the medicine from the predetermined tablet case;

label attaching means for printing a label to be attached to the medicine bottle arranged to provide the label to a predetermined label attaching position; and

filling means, contained in a charging unit, arranged to fill the medicine bottle with the medicine discharged from the predetermined tablet case,

the filling means comprising;

medicine bottle holding means for holding the medicine bottle by means of a holding roller;

conveyance means for moving the medicine bottle holding means to dispose the medicine bottle under the predetermined tablet case and in the label attaching position; and

driving means,

the driving means driving the discharge means, when the medicine bottle is positioned under the predetermined tablet case,

the driving means rotating the medicine bottle to attach the label to the medicine bottle, when the medicine bottle is disposed in the label attaching position.

11. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 10, comprising:

a driving gear and a driving roller which are disposed on a driving shift of the driving means,

the filling means engaging the driving gear with the discharge means to drive the discharge means such that the driving roller is detached from the medicine bottle, when the medicine bottle is positioned under the predetermined tablet case,

the filling means bringing the driving roller into contact with an outer face of the medicine bottle to rotate the medicine bottle, when the medicine bottle is disposed in the label attaching position.

12. The medicine supply apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the medicine bottle holding means comprises a pair of holding arms which are brought close to and detached from each other, each holding arm comprises a pair of holding rollers, and the respective holding arms are brought close to each other to rotatably hold the medicine bottle by means of each holding roller.

13. A medicine supply apparatus arranged to fill medicine bottles of variant sizes, based on prescription data, with a medicine, comprising:

a charging unit which contains a plurality of tablet cases, each tablet case comprising a storage container, removable from the charging unit and having an open top which is openably closed with a lid, which contain the medicines and into which the medicines are provided from above;

a case storage section in which the respective tablet cases are juxtaposed on a common plane a top of the case storage section being openably closed;

a medicine bottle holding device, disposed under the case storage section and arranged to receive medicine dropping from a predetermined tablet case;

a conveyor arranged to move the medicine bottle holder in a horizontal direction to dispose a medicine bottle of a predetermined size under said predetermined tablet case; and

a providing means, horizontally adjacent the charging unit, having a height adjustable transfer table for transferring the medicine bottles having different dimensions to the charging unit at a predetermined height.

14. A medicine supply apparatus arranged to fill medicine bottles of variant sizes, based on prescription data, with a medicine comprising:

a charging unit which contains a plurality of tablet cases, each tablet case comprising a storage container, removable from the charging unit and having an open top which is openably closed with a lid, which contain the medicines;

a medicine bottle storage section arranged to store empty medicine bottles of variant sizes;

a medicine bottle holding device arranged to receive an empty medicine bottle from the storage section;

a conveyor arranged to move the medicine bottle holding device, with an empty medicine bottle of a predetermined size thereon, to receive medicine from a predetermined tablet case; and

a providing unit, horizontally adjacent the charging unit, arranged to close the medicine bottle, filled with medicine, with a lid and convey the medicine bottle to a predetermined position, and having a height adjustable transfer table for transferring the medicine bottles having different dimensions to the charging unit at a predetermined height.

15. A medicine supply apparatus arranged to fill medicine bottles of variant sizes, based on prescription data, with a medicine, comprising:

a charging unit which contains a plurality of tablet cases, each tablet case comprising a storage container, removable from the charging unit and having an open top which is openably closed with a lid, which contain the medicines;

a medicine bottle storage section arranged to store empty medicine bottles;

a medicine bottle holding device arranged to receive an empty medicine bottle from the storage section;

a conveyor arranged to move the medicine bottle holding device, with an empty medicine bottle of a predetermined size thereon, to receive medicine from a predetermined tablet case;

a transfer base;

a filling unit that holds the empty medicine bottle on the transfer base by the medicine bottle holding device, removes the medicine bottle holding device for filling of the medicine bottle with medicine, and returns the filled medicine bottle on the medicine bottle holding device to the transfer base; and

a providing unit for holding the filled medicine bottle on the transfer base by means of the medicine bottle holding device to convey the medicine bottle to a predetermined position and having a height adjustable transfer table for transferring the medicine bottles having different dimensions to the charging unit at a predetermined height.

16. A medicine supply apparatus arranged to fill a medicine bottle with a medicine discharged from a predetermined tablet case, comprising:

a discharge drum arranged to discharge medicine from the predetermined tablet case;

a label attaching unit for printing a label and provide the printed label at a label attaching position;

a medicine bottle storage section arranged to store empty medicine bottles;

a medicine bottle holding device, having a holding roller, arranged to receive an empty medicine bottle from the storage section;

a conveyor arranged to move the medicine bottle holding device with an empty medicine bottle thereon to receive medicine from a predetermined tablet case and position the medicine bottle at a label attaching position; and

a motor arranged to drive the discharge drum and rotate the medicine bottle to attach the label to the medicine bottle, when the medicine bottle is disposed in the label at attaching position.