Medicine cart

• US 8,069,993 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2005
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yuyama Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Yuyama Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Yuyama, Shoji, Tomonaga, Masaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Jayne, Darnell
• Assistant Examiner(s): RODDEN, JOSHUA E
• Application Number:
  US11/665,285
• Publication Number:
  US 20090045152A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,251 Days
• Field of Search: 211/59.2, 211/59.3, 211/74, 211/184, 312/35, 312/42, 312/45, 312/61, 312/71, 312/72, 312/73, 221/130, 221/56, 221224-227, 221/279
• US Class Current: 211/59.3
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 2031/006 Medication carts
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 12/001 Trolleys for transport of medicaments, food, linen, nursing supplies carts specially adapted for surgery or diagnosis A61B50/13; hand carts B62B3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/42 the articles being delivered by motor-driven means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00

Abstract

A medicine cart (1) having excellent workability in filling and returning a medicine, comprising an upwardly opening cassette (10) storing a plurality of medicines (15a, 15b, 15c) arranged in a row in an upright state and a pressing member (47) pressing the rearmost medicine (15c) in the cassette (10) forward. An insert guide part (51) is formed at the pressing side end part of the pressing member (47) so that the medicine (15) can be inserted between the pressing member (47) and the rearmost medicine (15c). The pressing side end part of the pressing member (47) having a vertical front surface and an inclined upper surface (51), wherein both the vertical front surface and the upper surface (51) are in the shape of a concave circular arc.

Claims

1. A medicine cart comprising:

a cassette being upwardly open along substantially the entire length of the cassette, wherein the cassette is adapted to store a plurality of ampoules arranged in a row in an upright state;

a pressing member adapted to press forward a rearmost ampoule of the plurality of ampoules in the cassette; and

a constant force spring adapted to bias the pressing member to the rearmost ampoule,

wherein the pressing member includes;

a vertical, front end surface contacting the rearmost ampoule; and

an insert guide portion extending from the front end surface, the insert guide portion diagonally inclined relative to the front end surface, the medicine cart being configured for open access of the insert guide portion from above, and

wherein the insert guide portion comprises a diagonally inclined surface relative to the front end surface, the diagonally inclined surface being formed in a shape of a concave circular arc which is concave with respect to the rearmost ampoule when viewed from a direction in which the ampoule is inserted so that the ampoule can be inserted between the pressing member and the rearmost ampoule along the insert guide portion, the concave circular arc having a radius of curvature larger than a radius of the ampoule.

2. The medicine cart according to claim 1, wherein the insert guide portion is formed by notching the pressing member.

3. The medicine cart according to claim 1, wherein, in the cassette, a coming-out preventing member is adapted to cover an upper portion of a head or shoulder of the ampoule at a second position from a forefront.

4. The medicine cart according to claim 2, wherein, in the cassette, a coming-out preventing member is configured to cover an upper portion of a head or a shoulder of the ampoule at a second position from a forefront.

5. A medicine cart comprising:

an elongate upwardly open cassette adapted to receive, store, and dispense a plurality of medicine containers arranged in a row in an upright state, the medicine containers each having a body portion having a radius of curvature,

the cassette having a front end, a rear end, and an upwardly oriented opening extending substantially the entire length of the cassette for receiving the medicine containers from above, the cassette further comprising a pressing member slidingly engaged with the cassette in the opening and biased forwardly for pressing forward a rearmost medicine container of the plurality of medicine containers in the cassette, the pressing member defining an insert guide portion for receiving medicine containers between the pressing member and the rearwardly most medicine container in the row, the pressing member configured to slide rearwardly upon insertion of the rearwardly most medicine container in the row, the insert guide portion having an inclined upper surface and a vertical lower front end surface, the inclined upper surface diagonally positioned with respect to the lower front end surface, the inclined upper surface and the lower front end surface each having a concave arc shaped surface sized to have a radius of curvature larger than a radius of the medicine container.